This post is taken from a Tumblr called Long Live Lemons which is no longer around.
"The car who has her headlights as her eyes from Cars 2.
I drew her the way I see her in my mind - beautiful; like all the of the lemons. I even gave her a name, Claudette.
One of the lessons of Cars 2 can be interpreted [as] bullying is a bad thing. The movie gives us the examples of cars from an era of which they just couldn’t catch a break; this is true. The movie shows these characters as what we’re supposed to see as mature men...so it leaves us to believe that their bullying happened the most when they were younger.
As the years passed and they progressed into the adults they are today, they finally broke down...and they took it to drastic measures.
One of my signature things in the Cars fandom is drawing the characters the way they want to be seen. I don’t draw the lemons with rust and angry faces. At the same time, I don’t draw them as incredibly happy cars as well. Here we have a lemon because her eyes weren’t built the way the other cars were built. I guess we should interpret this as a disability. At least, that’s the way I write it in my fan fiction. I didn’t draw her rusty and crazy like the movie portrayed her to be. I drew her casually.
The thing about Cars is that when you change the way they look, you’re changing their character. Each character is made to look a certain way. If people did more research and looked up the meanings of colors, one would find that the color of their paint jobs actually means something that has to do with their personality (besides the tuners and modified cars). I can see how some would think that I change the characters when I draw them the way I do. I agree, I do change their character. I make them more confident, but they’re still the same character.
If you were someone who didn’t feel so great about himself, you would tend to wear clothes that match your mood; your own looks will mimic your own feelings. However, that one day you smile and your clothing and appearance matches your attitude now, does that mean you’ve changed your character? No, it doesn’t. Confidence does not equal a personality change and I say that because people think that moods are the same as personalities. Personalities are permanent while moods are not, no matter how permanent they seem. If you’re feeling sad one day, even if you’re entire day feels like it’s been sad, there was a change in your mood at some point in the day, even if it were for a split second.
 |
| Not everyone can be the super cool, super agent car |
I think most people don’t sit there and take the time to analyze the Cars movies. They just see that it doesn’t work and they don’t give it the chance they deserve. There’s a lot to pull from both of them. Yes, I said both of them.
You know what else doesn’t work? Talking toys, fish, rats, and so on. None of it works because none of it is real. This, my friends, is the beauty of fiction. To be able to be pulled into a world that is crazy; that is completely insane. That’s why it’s so fun."
I have nothing to add to this.
I agree totally.
Learn from Cars.
Celebrate you.
Write fiction.
 |
| Buy the book that critics say is a "mind-blowing sci-fi read from start to end." $4.99 from Amazon now. Begin your journey today. |
I love cars! I want a Bugatti someday.
ReplyDeleteCars are great, but I do have a soft spot for the old beat up rusty ones ;) I kind of miss my first car, even though it gave me tennis elbow and had no air-con! ;) and no good sound system. gasp!
ReplyDeleteI never realised what a deep message the Cars movies have.
ReplyDeleteI adore Mater from Cars
ReplyDeleteWhat an awesome post to remind us of the symbolism in our work!
ReplyDeleteNice post. There is a lot of talent in the way those cars are drawn. The kids and I loved this movie.
ReplyDeleteThis brought to mind the fact that for most of us, the cars we own tell something about us as individuals as well.
ReplyDeleteGood stuff. I've got nothing to add either.
ReplyDeleteSo you're doing 26 days of Pixar movies?
ReplyDeleteI liked Cars 2 because I saw it with my 6 year old nephew and to him talking cars is pure comedy gold. Kids have the enviable trait that they take things at face value and enjoy it without asking questions. On the other hand, the more I thought about the movie I had the opposite reaction. There's an article at film.com that does a good job of summarizing some of problems and I've listed the 2 biggest below.
ReplyDeleteWhere do the cars come from?
Cars 2 mentions that cars are made in factories, which means we do not have to contemplate the logistics of automobile procreation. Instead, we are faced with larger questions. Who makes these cars? Why are there different makes and models of such varying degrees of quality and reliability? With humans, it makes sense that you’d have a few “clunkers” here and there, what with genetics and natural selection and dumb people breeding and everything. That isn’t the case here. These cars are presumably being manufactured by other cars, each one created on purpose, not at random like so many people are. You’d think any lemon that came off the line would be scrapped and rebuilt.
How does the caste system work?
Cars 2 establishes that vehicles such as boats, planes, and trains are also living things in this universe. What’s curious is that they’re all subservient to the cars. Perhaps that cargo ship is being paid a reasonable salary for his labors, hauling cars and their stuff across oceans. But think about it: He was built as a cargo ship. What else was he going to do for a living? He was destined to be a cargo ship from the moment he came out of the cargo ship factory. It’s disturbing to contemplate a society where your life’s path is pre-determined based on how you’re built.
No doubt there are deeper meanings in a movie like Cars but sometimes it is better to watch it like a 6 year old and just enjoy the ride.
Ah Michael, you went straight to my heart today. I love 'Cars' but more than that you cannot imagine how much I needed this post today. I was ready to quit, but now I'll go and put up my 'C' post. Thanks,my friend.
ReplyDeleteDid you know I haven't seen the animated film Cars? I don't know why not. However, I really do like the real cars.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy all the Pixar movies, but Cars is one of my favorites.
ReplyDeleteI have an award for you on my blog.
I've never seen the Cars movies.
ReplyDeleteI love this thought:
"You know what else doesn’t work? Talking toys, fish, rats, and so on. None of it works because none of it is real. This, my friends, is the beauty of fiction. To be able to be pulled into a world that is crazy; that is completely insane. That’s why it’s so fun."
M.J. Fifield
My Pet Blog
Cars fanfic, eh? Interesting.
ReplyDeleteWas Cars 2 the one where they tore up the road? If not, I missed it like I miss a lot of movies now. But I'm glad to hear you're okay with talking "so ons". My series has a gummy bear character. He's mute in the first book but not the second.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a fan of cars. It's my least fav of the pixar films. I don't find it very entertaining (though i've enjoyed it more on rewatches) and i have logistics problems with a society created by cars. Because for me, talking fish work better because they're not building giant cities with their flippers.
ReplyDeleteNot a car fan. In spite of the obvious difficulties, I would have preferred living in an era without them. Oddly enough, my son lives and breathes cars and is currently rebuilding an engine in something.
ReplyDeleteI don't know. Cars. Cars 2. Hard for me to get into it. I watched all of "Cars" at one point, and we have "Cars 2" for the boys to watch, but it doesn't hold their interest. (Mr Bunches in fact hates it.)
ReplyDeleteIt's not that it "doesn't work" (although I've wondered what's inside a "car"), as I know that rats can't talk and bugs don't build bird models. I think for me is I just don't care that much for the characters; in Cars, it seems like the merchandising came first, and then the movie was built around it. I don't know if that's the case, but that's the FEEL it gave off: Like Pixar said "Let's get all commercial up in here."
("Up in here" is my saying of the day. We're doing employee reviews and I'm trying to fit it into each one. Success rate: 100% so far.)
I rank Cars just above Ratatouille in Pixar movies, Ratatouille being the lowest because: RATS ARE GROSS, and you cannot make them better. There's a reason that "A Bug's Life" didn't focus on cockroaches.
I didn't think I would love cars, but I did!
ReplyDeleteWhere do you get time for such elaborate and colourful blogs?
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of cars, I was stranded in a traffic jam for two hours, turned around took an other route, then got stranded some more.
I WAS already here, but now I see the cover. NICE!
ReplyDeleteI find myself in one of those rare circumstances of totally disagreeing with Briane. I love Ratatouille; it may be my favorite Pixar movie. I also enjoyed both Cars movies, and I don't think it was about the merchandising. Not that they didn't take advantage of it with the second one, but that's not where the first one started.
ReplyDeleteI still haven't seen Cars 2. Saw Cars a while back, but Cars 2... Eventually, I'm sure.
ReplyDeleteI must confess, I've never seen Cars. I can't believe this one slipped by.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen the second one yet. My bad! :)
ReplyDeleteDL Hammons @ Cruising Altitude 2.0
Co-Host of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.
I was never a fan of Cars, which is a shame since I love everything that Pixar do. I think this was one more for merchandising than anything else. Still, I can't wait for Brave!
ReplyDeleteJamie Gibbs
Fellow A-Z Buddy
Mithril Wisdom
I really liked the Cars movies. The merchandising doesn't bother me because I'm not in that market :-)
ReplyDeleteMy kinds love the Cars films. It's amazing how the animators gave such life and individually to cars.
ReplyDelete