This should ABSOLUTELY be kept in mind and the narrative-building impulse is SUCH a big part of how stuff (and people, and studios) get canonized.

Like, I’m kind of surprised there hasn’t been a sustained campaign to rehabilitate 1941 for such purposes.

I also recognize it’s weird to have seen Cars 3 but only half of 1 and none of 2. What am I, thirteen?

Part of the temptation of overpraising Cars (at least for me) is the narrative of every one of Pixar’s first eleven films being great.

Rarely have I felt more out of touch with my peers when they’ve insisted that Cars is one of the untouchable Pixar classics, and that it’s reputation was only sullied when the sequels were released. I mean, I guess that we were all awash in Cars merch – I had plenty of Lightning McQueen toys strung around my house – but it still stymies me how anyone in their double digits could group the film in the same category as something like Incredibles or Ratatouille, yet be shocked at the (low) quality of something like The Good Dinosaur.

“Toy Story 3 came after only Lightyear”

Ha!

Cars 2 is just completely unserious, an utter nonsense spy story starring Larry the Cable Guy. I watched it again as an adult and didn’t hate it to the same degree as I did when I was younger. In fact I kinda admired how uunhinged it got. Still hate it of course.

Cars 1 is an odd duck, weirdly earnest and deconstructive of its own existence, but also logy and diffuse in writing, and also very clearly birthing a merchandising machine with its toy-friendly designs and trailer-ready catchphrases. Never know what to do with it when I watch it.

Cars 3 carries itself with this elegiac importance like 1 and 2 were these beloved and straightforward racing films, which kinda undoes much of its potential charm since neither is; it’s like if Toy Story 3 came after only Lightyear or something. But I still have a soft spot for it; easily my favorite of the three.

One of only two Pixar movies I’ve never seen. You just reminded me I finally started Cars 1 about three weeks ago and, upon being interrupted, could not muster the will to finish it; outside of the lighting tech Pixar is at, it’s very nearly unwatchable in all respects. And that’s the one people like? And Cars 2 is *worse*?

(Cars 3 is basically fine somehow.)

D’oh! Went back and finished that sentence.

Dog Man is probably my favorite post-Last Wish DWA film, but it hasn’t been their strongest stretch. Honestly they’ve never had an unimpeachable run, but 2016-2020 comes closest: Panda 3, Trolls, Boss Baby, Captain Underpants, Dragon 3, Abominable, Trolls 2, Croods 2. I tilt positive on all of those and pretty enthusiastically for a couple of them. (Except, wait, I think I just mixed up Abominable and Smallfoot, and have never seen Abominable.)

As far as studios shooting themselves in the foot after a high point, nothing will ever touch Cars 2 following Toy Story 3 for me personally.

Something! Fairy tale-based magic spells, as I recall.

Yeah, without checking, I think I had this as my no. 2 for 2022, for its obvious weaknesses (especially Horner finally screwing up the structure) it’s really remarkable at being a kid’s film with real gnarliness in it, and while for me DWA has done the WDAS thing of making an immediate downward slide after making one their very best movies (not that I would put this all the way up with Moana), I’m obviously very enthused about the studio releasing a third Crawford feature. (Croods 2 is also real good.)