Pixar`s Cars franchise has had somewhat of a split personality so far, starting off as a traditional sports movie in its first iteration before veering into a completely new direction in its sequel as a comedy spy adventure. But like a NASCAR driver continually turning left, the series has finally come full circle. During a recent visit to Pixar`s HQ in Emeryville, California, for a sneak preview of Cars 3, the film`s creators told GameSpot and other assembled press that if the first Cars was about how a brash young athlete made it to the top of his sport, Cars 3 is about how that same athlete copes with the slow, sad realization that the passage of time has finally robbed them of their talent. Cars 3 returns to the franchise`s roots by shifting its focus to the cocky Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) as he attempts to get to the top of the racing world.But wait, you say. Wasn`t that the plot of the first movie?While Cars 3 seems to follow the template of the original, the similarities look to be purely superficial. Yes, McQueen`s main quest within the film is to win a big race, but everything surrounding that goal is different this time around. `Cars 3 is really the third act of the Cars story,` Cars 3 writer Mike Rich said. `In the first act, Lightning McQueen is a brash, cocky, young rookie who has speed on his side. It was even in his mantra: `I am speed.` He had all the answers, and his appreciation for the sport was just very, very limited to what was in it for him in that particular moment.`But the problem, the challenge that he presented us with when we last we saw him was that he`s on top of the world. He`s a champion race car driver. He`s had so many things go his way, and that`s not a good place to start when you`re trying to craft a story.`Story supervisor Bob Peterson (a longtime Pixar writer who worked on films like Finding Nemo, as well as doing the voices for Dug in Up and Roz in Monsters Inc.) said the creative team looked to the world o ...
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