Movieguide® Goes Behind The Scenes Of CARS 3
By Evy Baehr, Executive Managing Editor
Disney’s animated CARS franchise has been a Movieguide® favorite from the beginning, with both movies receiving a Movieguide® Award. Now there’s a CARS 3, and we are happy. It’s especially nice to see a G-rated movie that’s really for the whole family, not just the children, and with no subtle innuendos.
According to Producer Kevin Reher, the reason CARS is still around is, “I think it’s the characters, I think there is an appeal and a realism. People relate to the characters. I think when you walk away from a movie, if it means anything to you, if you cared at all, it’s probably because you related to the characters.”
This CARS has a few new characters, including the character Ramirez Cruz, played by Writer and Actress Cristela Alonzo of TV’s CRISTELA and MIND OF MENCIA.
Cristela says, “Cruz is a great character I loved playing. What I liked about her was that she was very good at what she does. At the same time, she still has doubts about herself, regarding the same skills that she uses to coach the cars to become the best they can be. I also like how she’s relatable to both boys and girls. You might have doubts about things, and you don’t know how you will pull something off. At the end of the day, you realize the only way you can do your best is to go for it and trust your instincts. I think that’s something we all struggle with. You think you can do something, and then you have doubts, and you realize: forget the doubts, it’s going to happen any ways. I love that about her.”
The addition of a main female character in CARS is new.
“What I liked about this story,” Cristela said, “and what I think I love about Pixar creating this world in CARS 3 is that you actually see it’s about skill. We don’t reference that she is a girl or a female driver. We talk about how good she is. It’s a lesson we tend to forget. It’s not about a boy or girl doing something, it’s about the best person doing the best that they can.”
There are some great themes in CARS 3, including the theme of having a mentor who helps you achieve your dreams.
Cristela told Movieguide® her mentors were her mother and her eighth-grade drama teacher.
“My mom was [an] immigrant from Mexico,” she said. “She came to this country and sacrificed so much so that I would have a shot to follow my dream. It’s something we never thought was possible. With her I learned with hard work and being nice puts you in the position to succeed. In eighth grade, my drama teacher forced me to go into theater because he saw something in me and changed my schedule without my knowing. Told me that I had something. I grew up in a border town, and acting is so far from that. I always thought I would do a blue-collar job like everybody in my family, [but] my teachers taught me if I had a dream to really try and do it.”
Check back for the full review of CARS 3 at www.movieguide.org/reviews/cars-3
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