** A Geek Daddy received the featured product for free to review **
My kids and I have been having a good time playing the new Cars 3: Driven to Win video game that features racing competitions with characters and locations from all three of the Disney PIXAR Cars movies. The controls are easy enough to use so that young kids can comfortably play the game without getting frustrated or overwhelmed yet it is also challenging enough so that adult will enjoy participating in the races as well. With the ability for four players to race against one another at the same time in split screen head-to-head action it is really easy to get the whole family engaged in competing against one another.Perfect for a weekend game night, Cars 3: Driven to Win is a video game families can have a lot of fun playing together.
The setting for the video game takes place after the final big race in Cars 3. Note there are some spoilers in the game if you haven't already seen the movie. Based upon its game play and great graphics though, you'll have an entertaining time playing it even if you've never seen a Cars movie. Is there anyone out there who has never seen a Disney PIXAR Cars movie?
Cars 3: Driven to Win includes a variety of customizable playable characters including Lightning McQueen, Mater, Mack, Cruz Ramirez and Jackson Storm. Some of the characters are playable right away and others need to be unlocked by winning races, completing stunts and achieving a variety of objectives as you progress through the game. Cars 3: Driven to Win also features 20 unique tracks that highlight 13 iconic race environments from the Cars movies.
There are six exciting modes of game play in Cars 3: Driven to Win. The variety of racing options keeps the game interesting for repetitive play. Race Mode lets you challenge a pack of characters from the Cars movies in a first to complete a number of laps is the winner challenge. Battle Race allows you to collect power-ups including missiles, oil slicks, and rocket engines to take out your competition with during the race. In Takedown Mode the player who takes out the most opponents during the race wins instead of the first to cross the finish line. Best Lap Challenge has players race against themselves to set a track record. Playground Mode lets players explore a fantastic obstacle course. Stunt Showcase has players perform stunts to earn points. The player who earns the most points before time runs out wins the competition.
Then there is Piston Cup mode. Combine a variety of locations and modes to create your own unique racing series. For example engage in Race Mode at Florida International Speedway, Stunt Showcase at Thunder Hollow Destruction Derby and Battle Mode at Radiator Springs Interstate Pass. Whoever has the best record among the three races will win be crowned your family's Piston Cup champ! Have fun mixing up the locations and modes to make every Piston Cup competition you play on Cars 3: Driven to Win exciting and unique.
The ability to allow players to personalize the attributes of their favorite Cars characters and race as them, great visual effects and backgrounds, a variety of playable game modes, and its overall fun factor, have earned Cars 3: Drive to Win the nod of approval from A GEEK DADDY. Whether you are a fan of the Cars movie series or just enjoy automobile racing, this is a video game you are going to repeatedly want to play over and over again. This really is a very fun family-friendly game to play!
Cars 3: Driven to Win is being distributed by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment under license from Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media. The game was developed by Avalanche Software, the same video game studio that created the popular Disney Infinity video games. It is available for Playstation 4 and Playstation 3 computer entertainment systems, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Nintendo Switch, and Wii U.
So CARS 3 has finally rolled into into movie theaters and of course my kids and I raced over to our local MJR Cinema to see the newest adventure of Lightning McQueen and friends. I've been enthusiastically anticipating going on a family outing to see CARS 3 since having the opportunity to meet with the movie's creative dynamic duo, Jay Schuster and Jay Ward, at the Detroit Auto Show earlier this year. When I mentioned that my daughter was a big fan of the Cars movies, Schuster noted so was his and they had really put some effort into making this story inspirational for female fans. While watching this movie you'll notice they've incorporated several new female characters who play important roles in the story. These include:
CRUZ RAMIREZ
She becomes Lightning McQueen's personal trainer as he tries to revamp his racing style to become more competitive against a new generation of more technologically advanced cars that are emerging on the Piston Cup circuit. There is a Millennial versus Generation X dynamic that plays out between Cruz and McQueen as both try to get a better understanding of each others differing perspective of both racing and the world around them.
NATALIE CERTAIN
Statistics are the name of the game in sports today whether you are talking about sabermetrics in baseball or performance analytics on the race course these numbers are being heavily scrutinized to provide a competitive edge. Natalie Certain is a book-smart mathematician who also has a very polished and stylish look. She is the go to authority on which cars have the edge in the Piston Cup races during their television broadcasts. This character's role in the movie highlights how auto racing is changing on and off the track from the days when Lightning McQueen was a rookie.
MISS FRITTER
The bad ass you don't want to mess with in this movie isn't some tank of a guy but rather a lady school bus. She keeps a collection of license plates hanging from her frame taken from all of the cars she's crushed. Miss Fritter isn't a villain though. She's just one tough cookie who has no problem playing with the boys.
LOUISE "BARNSTORMER" NASH
Instead of trying to beat the new rookies on the track by their own game, Lightning hunts down friends of his mentor Doc Hudson to see if these racing legends can provide him an old-school edge in beating his new competition. He meets up with a number of legendary race cars including the "First Lady of Racing" Louise Barnstormer Nash. After having to steal her racing number to compete in her first race because females weren't allowed to compete, Nash earned respect on the track for her fearless driving style and for beating the Fabulous Hudson Hornet in three back-to-back races during the early years of the Pistons Cup.
My daughter was delighted by the inclusion of more female characters within the movie. What was nice about these characters were they weren't just in the background but all play important roles in the movie's plot. The movie has a subtle female empowerment theme to it meant to encourage the little girls in the audience like mine and Schuster's daughters to be encouraged not to be intimidated in pursuing their dreams whether they may be racing cars or running the company that is building them.
Of course boys will like this movie too! CARS 3 is full of vibrant and dynamic settings that make you feel like these cartoonish characters could be racing around in a real world setting instead of in an animated movie. The scenery and backgrounds are stunning and the animation of the characters is top-notch.
Taking the popularity of Mater from the first movie, PIXAR developed CARS 2 to be a humorous comedy revolving around the rusty tow truck. CARS 3 goes back to the racing roots of the original CARS movie. Mater is in the movie of course, but his antics are much more subdued. Luigi and Guido, the "tire guys," are the beneficiaries of this getting much more screen time than in previous movies. Don't worry though, Mater still gets his moments in the spot light!
CARS 3 begins with Lightning McQueen having been racing for 10 years (the actual time period between the release of CARS and CARS 3 is also what has transpired in the movie)
and has won 5 Piston Cup championships over that period. He and the other cars he has been competing against over the years are suddenly blindsided by a new generation of blazing-fast racers. One by one rookies replace the veteran racers. Trying to get
back to the front of the pack, McQueen turns to an eager young race
technician named Cruz Ramirez for help plus
gets some inspiration from the late Fabulous Hudson Hornet. Making his
way through some unexpected turns #95 shows that he isn't done yet. Can
Lightning McQueen win another Piston Cup and take another cruise
through victory lane? You'll have to see the movie to find out!
My son really enjoyed the movie because of all of the racing scenes in it and he was awed by the new race cars in the movie. He said they were really cool looking and in fact he was rooting for Jackson Storm, the rookie sensation who is the main nemesis in the movie, to win the races. He said Jackson Storm had an awesome look and he liked the car's wining attitude. Sorry Lightning!
My daughter was more torn by the movie. She really liked the female characters and their role in the movie, but she also said the film had a more serious tone to it than the previous Cars films which made her sad. She wished they had made a few more light-hearted movies about McQueen and his friends from Radiator Springs having fun adventures instead of the current movie's dramatic plot about getting older and dealing with changing times.
From a parent's perspective, I appreciate the movie is rated G making it a great selection for a summer family outing to the movie theater. CARS 3 has incredible visual effects, some wonderful comedic moments and great characters. I really liked them incorporating the legendary race cars into the story too.
On a more critical note, unlike the past movies that had a really nice pace to them, there were parts to CAR 3 that just seemed to drag on and on. Plus the tension of McQueen's fate, like my daughter pointed out, was like an emotional anchor that really did drag the fun factor of the movie down. Despite that criticism, I would recommend going to see CAR 3 though because you'll appreciate the theater experience of viewing the movie on the big screen and it is overall was an enjoyable kid-friendly summer movie that parents can feel comfortable taking their children to.
Who else is excited that CARS 3 will be racing into movie theaters soon?! My family is revving to go to see the next chapter in one of our favorite movie franchises. Can't wait for the green flag to drop and the new adventure to start. Thanks to our friends at Disney PIXAR we have a fun board game featuring Lightning McQueen and the cast of automobiles from Cars 3 to play with while we're idling for the film's debut weekend. A Geek Daddy is also happy to be able to share this free build it yourself board game called RACE TO THE FINISH with our fans.
Can you be the first to cross the finish line in this racing themed game? Pick from four of the Cars characters from the movie and compete to be the first across the finish line. Roll the dice with the lowest number getting the first turn. Roll the dice to see how many spaces your character can move during a turn. Or your roll may show "Draw a Card." Follow the instructions on the card you pull to see where you go.
Everything you need to build this game is embedded below. Just download the sheets and print them out. After a little bit of cutting and taping you'll have an entertaining game to play. Have a fun family night watching the previous movies and playing RACE TO THE FINISH in anticipation of going to see Cars 3.
Cars 3 promises to be full of
action, racing, funny moments and fun adventure scenes. The movie begins with
Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) blindsided by a new generation
of blazing-fast racers. Trying to get back to the front of the pack,
McQueen turns to an eager young race technician named Cruz Ramirez
(voiced by Cristela Alonzo) for help plus gets some inspiration from the
late Fabulous Hudson Hornet. Making his way through some unexpected
turns #95 shows that he isn't done yet. Can Lightning McQueen win
another Piston Cup and take another cruise through victory lane? We'll
have to see the movie to find out!
Learn more about Cars 3 at cars.disney.com which includes character profiles, craft ideas, games, videos and an online store of themed merchandise. Also check out their Twitter and Facebook accounts as we head into the final stretch to the opening weekend of Cars 3!
During this year's Detroit Auto Show, I had the great opportunity to meet up with Jay Ward, Creative Director, and Jay Shuster, Production Designer, for the upcoming Disney PIXAR Cars 3 movie that will be roaring into movie theaters on June 16, 2017. They mentioned to me that they've been working on Cars 3 for five years! While
the movie is scheduled to be released this summer, they said the film was going to continue to get tune ups until just a
couple of weeks before it is released. Ward and Shuster were very proud that the studio was going over
every little detail of the film to make sure everything is just right
and movie goers can appreciate an exceptional experience at the theater
viewing it. CLICK HERE to read the full details about my discussion with this dynamic duo who have played a major role in creating the Cars movie franchise that so many families, including my own, are fans of.
Cars 3 promises to be another entertaining movie chock full of action, racing and fun adventure scenes. The movie begins with Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) blindsided by a new generation of blazing-fast racers. Trying to get back to the front of the pack, McQueen turns to an eager young race technician named Cruz Ramirez (voiced by Cristela Alonzo) for help plus gets some inspiration from the late Fabulous Hudson Hornet. Making his way through some unexpected turns #95 shows that he isn't done yet. Can Lightning McQueen win another Piston Cup and take another cruise through victory lane? We'll have to see the movie to find out!
Growing up in the Motor City, I have naturally developed a love of cars. So in addition to my children enjoying these wonderful animated movies, I've also really liked them as well. Our whole family is really enthusiastic to see Cars 3 when it rolls into theaters. Join us in getting geared up for the movie by having some fun with these great free Cars 3 downloadable activity sheets that my friends from Disney PIXAR provided A Geek Daddy to share with you:
Plus here's a a snippet from the upcoming Cars 3 movie:
Learn more about Cars 3 at cars.disney.com which includes character profiles, craft ideas, games, videos and an online store of themed merchandise. Also check out their Twitter and Facebook accounts as we head towards the green flag being waved for the opening weekend of Cars 3!
The third film in the Disney•Pixar Cars movie franchise is racing into theaters this June and Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment and Disney Consumer Products & Interactive Media just announced a video game tie-in in conjunction with the film's release. Cars 3: Driven to Win promises to be a world-class competitive racing game that features key characters from the upcoming film. Picking up after the final big race in the movie, the video game extends the storyline of Cars 3 with an expanded adventure and lets players participate in a high speed competition filled with both familiar and new faces.
Players will be able to join Lightning McQueen and Cruz Ramirez as they prepare to take on rival racer Jackson Storm. The game features more than 20 customizable playable characters including popular heroes from past Cars films as well as the next generation racers being introduced in Cars 3. Players can also select their favorite race environments from a series of iconic settings from the film, such as Radiator Springs and Florida International Speedway, with over 20 unique tracks to choose from across 13 different locations.
Cars 3: Driven to Win will empowers players to master their
driving skills so they can engage in an exceptional virtual competitive racing experience. With six
thrilling modes for gamers to learn and advance their abilities, players
can progress their character through training and tests of racing
proficiency that unlock new modes, tracks, characters and more. Players
can hone a wide variety of skills and abilities including Drifting,
Turbo, Two-wheel Driving, Driving Backwards and Side-Bash. Each unique
mode and ability allows players to explore the deeper gameplay mechanics
and earn rewards for their expertise. The video game aims to be an exhilarating,
action-packed experience where training and skill give players an edge on the race course but also incorporates all the elements that have made the Cars movies popular so it will be family friendly and playable by both kids and adults.
Additionally, players will be able to experience Cars 3: Driven to Win by competing against friends or by racing on their own through the various racing styles
and modes available in the video game. It will
include local split-screen cooperative play, allowing players either to compete
against one another or team up working together to win the race. Cars 3: Driven to Win will be available for the Playstation 4, Playstation 3, XBOX ONE, XBOX 360, Nintendo Switch and Wii U beginning June 13, 2017.
Lightning McQueen from Disney PIXAR's popular animated CARS movie franchise will be displayed on Cobo Center's exhibit floor throughout the length of the 2017 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit. This year's event is open for the public to attend from January 14 - 22nd. Visit naias.com for more information about show hours and purchasing tickets for Detroit's annual auto show that in addition to showcasing a real life Lightning McQueen car will also feature 750 vehicles ranging from autonomous and electric cars to tricked out full-size trucks on display.
To kick-off Lightning McQueen's visit to the Motor City, Disney PIXAR held a special press conference during the NAIAS Media Preview days that A Geek Daddy was able to attend.John Lasseter, Chief Creative Officer at PIXAR, noted that this appearance was the roll out of promotional efforts for the new CARS 3 movie that is scheduled to arrive at movie theaters across the US on June 16, 2017. He explained that CARS was born at the Detroit Auto Show because when the concept for the original movie was being considered the first thing Pixar did was attend NAIAS to do some research for developing the film. So to begin promoting the new movie, CARS 3, Pixar wanted to return where it all began. Lasseter then introduced the Creative Director, Jay Ward, and Production Designer, Jay Shuster, for CARS 3 to provide some insight on the development of some of the movie's key characters.
In the original CARS movie, Lightning McQueen was the arrogant hot-shot rookie taking on veteran racers for a chance to be the Piston Cup champion. The tables have turned in CARS 3 as McQueen is now the experienced racer on the track fending off challenges from rookie challengers who are full of attitude. When Lightning McQueen is involved in a racing accident does he have what it takes to come back and compete to be the Piston Cup champion again?
Lightning McQueens new antagonist and lead adversary in CARS 3 is named JACKSON STORM who is challenging him as top car on racetrack. Jackson Storm is fast, sleek and ready to race. A front-runner in the
next generation of racers, Storm’s quiet confidence and cocky demeanor
are off-putting—but his unmatched speed threatens to redefine the sport.
Trained on high-tech simulators that are programmed to perfect
technique and maximize velocity, Jackson Storm is literally built to be
unbeatable—and he knows it.
When creating Jackson Storm, PIXAR wanted the character to clearly be distinct from Lighting
McQueen. So Storm's profile is more angular than Lighting McQueen’s rounded shape. He also has a darker palate.
Jackson Storm's 'S' logo design is inspired by international symbol for hurricane. A cool Pixar detail about them playing off the Storm in the characters name in designing the race car's layout!
Shuster and Ward then introduced CRUZ RAMIREZ, the new girl on the racetrack in CARS 3 who helps Lightning McQueen get his groove back.Ramirez is a sunny-but-fierce unconventional trainer at the
Rust-eze Racing Center. She expertly arms the team’s talented rookies
with cutting-edge tools to tear up the track—but she nearly stalls when
her longtime idol Lightning McQueen shows up. While she’d love to help
him find his way back to the top, she knows the competition is faster
than ever, and victory is all about speed—or is it?
The creative team shared that while the movie is digitally animated there is still a lot of old fashioned hands-on effort put into designing its characters. To make sure each character is portraying just the right vibe each one is hand sketched out numerous times to get it just right before the digital process starts. Shuster and Ward wanted Cruz Ramirez to be a blend between an American Muscle Car and a
European Sports Car. The resulting style is something between Lightning
McQueen and Jackson Storm, which is symbolic of her role in training Lighting
McQueen is some new racing techniques but having equipped Jackson Storm to be top gun of the race track.
Inspired by how real life automotive industry designers utilize clay to model new vehicles, PIXAR did the same to craft the layout for its CARS 3 characters before digitally animating them.
After hand drawing and clay modeling the CARS 3 characters, PiIXAR utilizes computer programming to digitize them and create the environment they interact in. The final digital design for Cruz Ramirez in CARS 3:
Lightning McQueen may now be an aged veteran taking on hot shot rookie cars trying to win the Piston Cup away from him but he has a fresh, new modernized NASCARinspired paint job in CARS 3. He is world champion—a modern-day racing legend who’s
riding high with five Piston-Cup wins under his hood; but suddenly, Lightning McQueen
finds himself faced with a new generation of racers who threaten not
only his dominance in the sport—but the confidence that got him there.
Determined to get back to the pole position, the #95 must decide if his
love for racing is enough to fuel the comeback of his life.
Lightning McQueen rolls into the Detroit Auto Show!
After the press conference, I had a chance to meet one-on-one with Jay Ward and Jay Shuster.
In addition to working on steering the creative direction of all three Cars films for PIXAR, Jay Ward was also instrumental in the development of the Cars Land attraction at Disney California Adventure. I have to give him some well deserved kudos on Cars Land because that was one of the highlights of our family's Disneyland vacation. Of course the CARS movies are some of my kids favorite films to watch as well!
Shuster is a Metro Detroit native and the automotive industry is in his blood as his father worked as a car designer during Jay's childhood growing up in Birmingham, Michigan. As a boy, Jay Shuster's room was filled with automobile sketches, blueprints, and models. This diehard Star Wars fan was impressed that he got his start in the film industry at Lucasfilm working on
Star Wars Episodes 1 & 2 (Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones)
designing vehicles and environments for the movies. Moving over to PIXAR, his sci-fi focus continued as he designed the character Wall-E before focusing on the CARS movies.
Take a look at a snippet from the upcoming CARS 3 movie:
Jay Ward mentioned to me that they've been working on CARS 3 for 5 years. While the movie is scheduled to be released in just a few months, they aren't done yet. Ward said they will be fine tuning the movie until just a couple of weeks before it is released. He said they are going over every little detail of the film to make sure everything is just right and movie goers can appreciate an exceptional experience at the theater viewing it.
Jay Schuster mentioned that like me, he and Jay Ward, both have daughters who love the CARS movies. So he said they wanted Cruz Ramirez to be more than just a love interest for Lightning McQueen by having an integral role in the movie's racing plot as a strong female leading character. Ward chipped in "just to make it clear there isn't a romantic relationship between Cruz and Lightning in the film -- Sally is still his girlfriend." He noted that Sally, Mater and other cast members from previous movies are in CARS 3 but they tend to stay in Radiator Springs while Lightning, Jackson and Cruz are traveling to various locations for Piston Cup races.
I asked if there might be any cameos in the movie by any of the characters from Disney's PLANES movies in CARS 3, but was told that a cross-over would probably not be happening. Ward noted PLANES is produced by Disney Animation Studios and while PIXAR is owned by Disney they are treated as separate entities. It doesn't seem like CARS want PLANES flying in on their parade.
Discussing how my wife, I and our kids enjoys watching CARS movies together, Jay Ward said that he is proud that CARS 3 is a movie that is fun for families to experience together. "Parents will have a good time, children will have a good time and teenagers will pretend they're too old for this movie yet really enjoy it too," Ward said. "I really think Cars 3 is the strongest film of the three both emotionally and story wise. It is also a very family-friendly movie based upon how it delves into the theme of relationships in a journey that parents and kids can enjoy together."
CARS 3 features the voices of Owen Wilson (Lightning McQueen), Armie Hammer (Jackson Storm), and Christela Alonzo (Cruz Ramirez). It is a perfect movie for a summer family outing to the movie theater. Learn more about CARS at disney.cars.com which includes character profiles, craft ideas, games, videos and an online store of themed merchandise. Also don't forget to swing by the Detroit Auto Show to say hello to Lightning McQueen before he races out of town on January 22!
