Cars 3

Theatrical release poster

***Cars 3*** is a 2017 American computer-animated sports comedy-adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. The sequel to *Cars 2* (2011) and the third installment of the *Cars* film series, the film was directed by Brian Fee (in his directorial debut) and produced by Kevin Reher and Andrea Warren, from a screenplay written by Kiel Murray, Bob Peterson, and Mike Rich, and a story by Fee, Ben Queen, and the writing team of Eyal Podell and Jonathan E. Stewart. John Lasseter, who directed the first two *Cars* films, served as executive producer. The returning voices of Owen Wilson, Larry the Cable Guy, Bonnie Hunt, Tony Shalhoub, Guido Quaroni, Cheech Marin, Jenifer Lewis, Paul Dooley, Lloyd Sherr, Michael Wallis, Katherine Helmond and John Ratzenberger are joined by Cristela Alonzo, Chris Cooper, Armie Hammer, Nathan Fillion, Kerry Washington, and Lea DeLaria, in addition to a dozen NASCAR personalities. In the film, Lightning McQueen (Wilson) sets out to prove to a new generation of race cars that he's still at the top of his game, with the help of young technician Cruz Ramirez (Alonzo), to prevent Jackson Storm (Hammer) from winning the Florida 500.

Talks for a third *Cars* film began in late 2011 after the release of its predecessor, and entered production in 2014, with Lasseter stating that it would be a "very emotional story", and go back to the first film's themes. The production team for the film conducted research on multiple NASCAR racers, particularly older ones, as well as a sports psychoanalyst, while also focusing on McQueen's relationship with Doc Hudson and its meaning. The production utilized a new rendering system, Rix Integration Subsystem (RIS), which was previously used in *Finding Dory* (2016). New cast members including Hammer and Alonzo were announced in January 2017, followed by Fillion, Washington and DeLaria two months later. Randy Newman, who had worked on the first film, composed the film's score with artists such as Andra Day, James Bay, Brad Paisley and Jorge Blanco contributing tracks for the film.

*Cars 3* was first screened for the NASCAR industry in Kannapolis, North Carolina on May 23, 2017, before its theatrical release in the United States on June 16, accompanied by the animated short film *Lou*. It grossed $383 million worldwide against its $175 million budget, becoming the lowest-grossing film of the franchise, but still a box office success. It received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise for its animation, story, and emotional depth, with many of them deeming it an improvement over its predecessor.'

## Plot

Five years after competing in the World Grand Prix, Lightning McQueen, now a seven-time Piston Cup champion, finds himself overshadowed by Jackson Storm, a rookie who is part of a new generation of race cars who use the latest technology to improve their performance. As Storm's success progresses throughout the season and attracts other rookies, most of the veterans either retire or are dismissed by their sponsors. In the final race of the season at Los Angeles, Lightning starts falling behind Storm after both of them pitted. He tries to keep up, but in doing so blows a tire and suffers a violent crash, leaving him badly injured and ending his worst season on record prematurely, while Storm goes on to win the Piston Cup.

Four months later, Lightning, who has since recovered from his crash, decides that he will continue racing and calls his sponsors, Rusty and Dusty Rust-eze, who reveal they have sold Rust-eze to a businessman named Sterling. Sterling assigns Lightning to train under Cruz Ramirez, where he struggles to adapt to the modern training methods. After Lightning accidentally damages a simulator, Sterling tries to force him to retire. Adamant that he can still race, Lightning instead offers that if he wins the upcoming Florida 500, he can decide if he wants to keep racing; otherwise he will retire immediately. Sterling reluctantly accepts the deal. Lightning tries to train on nearby Fireball Beach, but ends up spending most of his time teaching Cruz how to drive on the sand. Lightning then attempts to join a race undercover at a famous dirt track called Thunder Hollow, but inadvertently enters a figure-8-style demolition derby with Cruz, which she wins with both of them hiding their identities. Lightning's cover is blown when Cruz accidentally swerves to avoid a water truck, causing him to tumble over and spilling his water on Lightning, adding to his humiliation.

Frustrated for wasting his time taking care of Cruz, Lightning rages at her and accidentally breaks her trophy. An upset Cruz reveals that she had wanted to be a racer just like Lightning all her life, but never started a race due to her feeling that she could never be one. She resigns as Lightning's trainer and heads back to the training center. Guilty and with no other options, Lightning calls his friend Mater for advice. He suggests that Lightning track down Doc Hudson's mentor Smokey, in his hometown of Thomasville, Georgia, so Lightning catches up to Cruz and convinces her to rejoin him. There, he meets up with Smokey, who reveals that despite the fact that Doc never raced again, he found new happiness in training Lightning. After Lightning accepts that he will never be as fast as Storm, Smokey and Doc's old friends, Louise "Barnstormer" Nash, River Scott, and Junior "Midnight" Moon, help him learn new tricks to overcome his speed disadvantage, using Cruz as his sparring partner. However, during the final practice race, Cruz suddenly overtakes him and he suffers a flashback to his crash, shaking his confidence.

At the Florida 500, Lightning starts at the back, but with assistance from Smokey in the pits, manages to gradually push up the ranks. Sterling, who still believes Lightning can't win, orders Cruz back to the training center to prepare a rookie for the following race, despite her wanting to stay and watch the race. Overhearing the exchange and remembering Cruz's dream of racing, Lightning avoids a massive multi-car pile-up and has his crew outfit her to take his place in the race, believing she is the key to defeating Storm. While shaky at first, Cruz is able to push up the ranks, thanks to Lightning coaching her from the pits, and eventually ends up right behind Storm. Feeling threatened, he tries to intimidate Cruz, even to the point of ramming her against the wall in the final lap. Using one of Doc's old moves, Cruz flips over Storm, overtaking him and winning the race.

As Cruz celebrates her victory, Sterling offers her a role on his team, but she instead takes a counteroffer from Dinoco's owner Tex Dinoco. Since Lightning and Cruz were both wearing #95, both have won the race, meaning that Lightning gets to decide if he is done racing. Some time later, Lightning and Cruz return to Radiator Springs, where Lightning reveals that Tex has bought Rust-eze from Sterling. Now decked in Doc's old racing colors, Lightning decides to continue racing, but trains Cruz first for the season.

## Voice cast

*See also: List of Cars characters*

* Owen Wilson as Lightning McQueen, a legendary Piston Cup veteran and Sally Carrera's boyfriend.
* Cristela Alonzo as Cruz Ramirez, Lightning McQueen's trainer.
* Chris Cooper as Smokey, Doc Hudson's former mechanic and crew chief who helps out Lightning and Cruz.
* Nathan Fillion as Sterling, a rich business car and the new Rust-eze team owner.
* Larry the Cable Guy as Mater, a jolly tow truck and Lightning McQueen's best friend.
* Armie Hammer as Jackson Storm, McQueen's new racing rival.
* Tom and Ray Magliozzi as Rusty and Dusty Rust-eze, respectively, the owners of Rust-eze. Following Tom's death in 2014, unused archive recordings from the first film were used for Rusty's lines.
* Tony Shalhoub as Luigi, a Fiat 500.
* Guido Quaroni as Guido, a forklift who is Luigi's partner.
* Bonnie Hunt as Sally Carrera, a Porsche 996, and Lightning McQueen's girlfriend.
* Lea DeLaria as Miss Fritter, an intimidating monster school bus at the Thunder Hollow demolition derby.
* Kerry Washington as Natalie Certain, a statistical analyst.
* Bob Costas as Bob Cutlass, a race commentator.
* Margo Martindale as Louise "Barnstormer" Nash, a white 1950 Nash Ambassador and a retired Piston Cup racer from the 1950s who was one of the three legends to live in Thomasville with Smokey.
* Isiah Whitlock Jr. as River Scott, a grey and black 1938 Dirt Track Racer and retired Piston Cup racer who is one of Smokey's friends.
* Bob Peterson as Chick Hicks, a former rival of Lightning who now hosts his own talk show called "Chick's Picks" on Racing Sports Network. He was originally voiced by Michael Keaton in the first film.
	+ Bob Peterson also voices Dr. Damage, a white and orange modified ambulance who partakes in the Crazy 8 demolition derby.
* John Ratzenberger as Mack, a 1985 Mack Super-Liner.
* Lewis Hamilton as Hamilton, Cruz' personal voice command assistant.
	+ Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso voiced the foreign language versions of Hamilton, with Vettel voicing 'Vettel' and 'Sebastian' in the Italian and German adaptations respectively, and Alonso voicing 'Fernando' in the Spanish adaptation.
* Lloyd Sherr as Fillmore, a Volkswagen Type 2 microbus.
* Junior Johnson as Junior "Midnight" Moon, a black 1940 Ford Standard Coupe and a retired Piston Cup racer who is one of Smokey's friends.
* Cheech Marin as Ramone, a 1959 Chevrolet Impala coupé Lowrider that owns the "Ramone's House of Body Art" store.
* Katherine Helmond as Lizzie, a 1923 Ford Model T Coupe who is the elderly owner of a roadside souvenir and accessory shop (Radiator Springs Curios). This was Helmond's final appearance in the *Cars* franchise before her death in 2019.
* Paul Dooley as Sarge, a 1941 Willys Jeep.
* Jenifer Lewis as Flo, the owner of "Flo's V-8 Café" and Ramone's wife.
* Madeleine McGraw as Maddy McGear, a young car who is Lightning McQueen's biggest fan.
* Michael Wallis as Sheriff, a 1949 Mercury Eight Police Cruiser police car.
* Jerome Ranft as Red, a 1960s closed-cab Whitney Seagrave fire engine. He was originally voiced by Joe Ranft in the first film.
* Angel Oquendo as Bobby Swift, a Piston Cup racer and one of Lightning's best friends.
* Diedrich Bader as Brick Yardley, a Piston Cup racer and one of Lightning's best friends.
* Andra Day as Sweet Tea, a forklift and Louise Nash's former pitty who is now a singer at the Cotter Pin bar.

Additionally, several drivers and other racing-related personalities from NASCAR made cameo appearances, including Chase Elliott as Chase Racelott, Ryan Blaney as Ryan "Inside" Laney, Bubba Wallace as Bubba Wheelhouse, Shannon Spake as Shannon Spokes, Daniel Suárez as Danny Swervez, Ray Evernham as Ray Reverham, and Mike Joy as Mike Joyride. Richard Petty returns in the role of Strip "The King" Weathers, while his son Kyle Petty voices Cal Weathers. Humpy Wheeler, Jeff Gordon, and Darrell Waltrip all return from their previous *Cars* appearances as Tex Dinoco, Jeff Gorvette, and Darrell Cartrip, respectively. Paul Newman appears as Doc Hudson through the use of unused audio recordings from the first film.