Lately, everyone has been talking about "Wonder Woman," and how it is the feminist movie of the summer. However, Disney/Pixar's latest film, "Cars 3," carries a very strong feminist message that I was pleasantly surprised about.
The first two films in the Cars franchise were about a male race car, Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) who drives very fast, wins the most important races, gets a girlfriend, and also has many male friends who like to race as well. "Cars 3" introduces audiences to a new lead character, Cruz Ramirez (Cristela Alonzo), who luckily is a female.
Cruz enters Lightning McQueen's life as a motivational trainer in order to help him compete against a new generation of high-tech racers following a major car accident. We learn through a series of major events that she gave up her dream of becoming a race car because she was constantly told that it would never happen and that she could not compete with the others. In one scene, she asks McQueen if there was ever a time he felt like he was not going to be a champion racer, and he said, "I just never thought I couldn't." This clearly shows the difference between challenges faced by females and by males. [SPOILER] At the end of the film, Cruz wins a major race in Florida and gains a sponsorship with Dinoco. Cruz shows female audiences that they should never hold back on their dreams, no matter what people say to try and get into their heads.
Cruz was originally conceived by creators as a male character, but the film's new director, Brian Fee, inspired them to rewrite Cruz as a female, as he has eleven and 8-year-old daughters. For Fee, he wanted Cruz to be someone his daughters looked up to.
First of all, Cruz is yellow, rather than pink, like many other token girl characters in children's entertainment. She is also young and Hispanic, which is significant in a time where there are threats of wall-building and deportations in this country. In addition, there is absolutely no romantic chemistry between her and McQueen. They have funny banter — many jokes and one-liners — and form a fulfilling and platonic relationship. Relationships such as this are crucial for children to see. Cruz is a character that young boys and girls alike will be inspired by.
In addition to Cruz, there are other female characters that should be pointed out:
Natalie Certain (Kerry Washington), is a female car that works for the Racing Sports Network, a channel dominated by men. Kerry Washington, in my opinion, is a feminist QUEEN (which clearly comes out in her character Olivia Pope on "Scandal"), so seeing her voice a strong female character made me smile. Her character proves that there is room for females in any industry in the world.
Louise Nash (Margo Martindale) is a female racing legend, who inspires Cruz to become a racer. This character pays homage to NASCAR's "First Lady of Racing," Louise Smith, and I was pleased with the celebration of females in racing.
Lastly, Miss Fritter (Lea DeLaria) is a school bus that often participates in demolition derbies at Thunder Hollow. She is truly a crowd favorite with demolition fans and is the best and strongest racer at Thunder Hollow.
If you haven't had a chance to see "Cars 3" yet, I highly recommend it. I was pleasantly surprised by the strong characters and themes of empowerment for women. I hope that Disney continues to include feminist themes and representation in future films.
