I think I’ve seen this film before. In fact, I think I’ve seen three of these films before. The newBrad Pittracing dramaF1has taken the world by storm this month, already becoming the highest-grossing film of the leading man’s career. Many have raved aboutF1’s performances, cinematography, and accurate portrayal of Formula One. However, some critics pointed out how the blockbuster plot was riddled with clichés. People are sensing thatF1generally feels familiar, like other movies that came before. Specifically, people are noticing quite a few parallels betweenF1and Pixar’s belovedCarstrilogy.
A Conversation on F1 (Apparently It’sNotNASCAR)
From the first time that I heardF1’s premise, I thought it sounded likeCars. Granted, my knowledge of the world of motorsports is not exactly vast. My little brother, on the other hand, is ahugeracing fan. As we prepared to go to the theater to seeF1,he started to tell me what I needed to know to have a passing appreciation ofwhatever Joseph Kosinski was about to present.
First, he told me that Brad Pitt was not, in fact, playing a NASCAR driver, which immediately puzzled me. Apparently, there are a lot of differences between NASCAR and F1, but it’s mostly about the kind of cars involved. At this point, I was dumbfounded. What do you mean it’s not NASCAR? As a young woman from Texas who makes it a point to avoid sports at all costs, I truly thought up to this point that all car races were NASCAR. I quickly racked my brain for any rhyme or reason, any way to make order out of what was quickly becoming a world of technicalities I did not understand.
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The bad news is…
Then, I remembered, there actually was a racing movie I felt qualified to analyze. I could once again make sense of the world through other movies. “Wait, so it’s likeCars?” I asked my brother, proud of myself. “No,” he shot me down, “That’smore like NASCAR.”
We pivoted our conversation then to the aspects of the film (which, again, we still had not seen) that I was more comfortable discussing. I had not seen the trailer, but my brother (highly anticipatingF1as a huge F1 fan) knew a lot about what to expect plot-wise. “Okay, so it’s justabout Brad Pitt being an F1 driverand…driving around then?” I propositioned. He was starting to become exasperated with me, “No, so he’s like a retired racer and there’s a younger, newer racer (Damson Idris) that he takes under his wing.” That was the final straw. “So it IS likeCars?” I screamed. We went to the theater.
Reader, it was likeCars. I was not prepared for how similarF1would feel toCars. I also was not prepared for so many other people to be saying the same thing when I got out of the movie. On social media, memes have been popping upeverywherethat expose the overlap between the two films. There are not only parallels to the firstCarsmovie,but to the entireCarstrilogy.
InCars 2, there is actually a Formula 1 race car character, and we get a glimpse into the international racing world. InCars 3, Lightning McQueen himself becomes the “veteran” racer and partners up with rookie technician Cruz Ramirez to prove that he can still compete with “younger” racers for the Piston Cup. In fact,F1feels like an amalgamation of all threeCarsmovies, but without the heart. I am so completely serious.
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Joseph Kosinski’s Brad Pitt Formula One film raced out of the gate, collecting $146.3 million globally in its opening weekend at the box office.
Now, let me be clear, I am not implying thatF1was actually intentionally plagiarizingCarsin any way (though, that would be hilarious).It is interesting, however, that so many people foundF1’s story so formulaic (pun intended) that it evoked theCarsexperience for so many people.Cars, also, was not the first to adopt its rather simple but effective narrative structure of a cocky up-and-comer and a jaded old-timer coming together to teach each other new lessons. It works.
However, we are at the point in movie-making where recycling the same stories without any attempt to make them feel fresh, exciting, or nuanced does not cut it anymore. Financially, maybe, asthis was objectively a huge hit. Emotionally, however, time will tell ifF1has any staying power at all.Carsclearly did.
If you don’t believe me, you can see for yourself.F1is now playing in theaters, and theCarstrilogy is now streaming on Disney+.
