0:00 [Music]
0:02 the ending of cars is interesting to me
0:04 for a number of reasons I've seen plenty
0:06 of people who really like this movie
0:07 plenty of people who really don't and
0:09 plenty of people who are just okay with
0:11 it but this moment is one that pretty
0:14 much everyone seems to like throughout
0:15 the movie Lightning McQueen has been
0:16 desperately trying to make it to
0:18 California for the biggest race of his
0:20 career that could potentially make him a
0:22 racing Legend I'll be the first rookie
0:25 in history ever to win it over the
0:26 course of the movie though his
0:27 priorities start to shift and for the
0:29 first time in his life he starts to
0:31 genuinely care about the people around
0:32 him despite this though when the time
0:34 comes to actually do the race lightning
0:36 does pretty well thanks in no small part
0:38 to those friends the final lamp comes
0:40 and lightning seems to be a shoe in for
0:42 the Piston Cup which would make all of
0:44 his Ambitions a reality meanwhile behind
0:46 lightning Strip Weathers and Chick Hicks
0:48 resigned to the idea that neither one of
0:50 them is winning at this point are duking
0:52 out an elastic effort for second place
0:54 that is until chick as he's often known
0:57 to do takes things one step too far I am
1:09 lightning noticing what's just happened
1:10 screeches to a halt just short of the
1:12 Finish Line allowing chick to overtake
1:14 him and going back to give the retiring
1:17 Champion a dignified end to his career I
1:19 think the king should finish his last
1:21 race it's a nice ending that
1:23 demonstrates Lightning's growth from a
1:25 superficial celebrity to a more caring
1:28 and respectful person but while pretty
1:29 much everyone seems to agree with me on
1:31 this there is one point that I've heard
1:33 a few people bring up even if they do
1:35 still like the ending okay but like if I
1:37 was him I would have crossed the finish
1:39 line and won the race and then gone back
1:41 to help the king but I I guess this is a
1:43 better lesson learned or whatever the
1:45 finish line is right there come on just
1:48 go an inch further please Lightning
1:49 Lightning grows a conscience at the
1:51 stupidest time a moment that should show
1:53 me how much he's grown actually makes me
1:55 physically angry it is true that
1:57 lightning helping Strip Weathers and
1:58 taking the peson cup with G1 fair and
2:01 square are not mutually exclusive and he
2:03 could have very easily done both but I
2:04 feel like when people say that he's
2:06 giving up the championship
2:08 unnecessarily they're kind of missing
2:11 the point it's not about the Piston Cup
2:15 it's about sending a message to get
2:16 across what I mean by this let's take a
2:18 look at what actually compels lightning
2:20 to do this after he sees Strip Weathers
2:22 sitting in pain and completely wiped out
2:24 it immediately reminds him of Doc Hudson
2:26 who he learned earlier in the film had
2:29 his racing career end in a similar way
2:30 doc was injured during a race and it
2:33 took a pretty lasting toll on him not so
2:36 much physically more so in reputation
2:38 when I finally got put together I went
2:39 back expecting a big welcome you know
2:43 what they said your history this sets up
2:44 sort of the uglier side of racing that
2:46 lightning hadn't considered before
2:48 throughout the early portions of the
2:50 movie the races are treated as this big
2:52 spectacle because that is essentially
2:53 what they are they're sporting events
2:55 primarily organized as entertainment for
2:57 an audience and in those events the
2:59 racers are there to impress the audience
3:01 by performing Feats like outrunning
3:03 dozens of other cars at hundreds of
3:05 miles hour and weaving through any
3:07 hazards that come their way if done
3:09 right it seems as if they're Invincible
3:11 lightning being relatively new to the
3:13 racing circuit has had the first
3:15 impression of what that's like he's
3:17 amazing at what he does and as a result
3:18 he has entire stadiums of people
3:25 is to lightning this is a reality that
3:27 he only sees getting better as his
3:29 career goes on I mean if he's getting
3:31 this much love as a rookie imagine how
3:33 much of a God he'll no doubt become
3:35 after he wins the Piston Cup but then he
3:37 gets to no do a little bit and it's
3:39 revealed just how fragile that love
3:41 really is dog had similarly built up
3:44 this reputation as this legendary racer
3:45 and enjoyed the benefits of that for a
3:48 long time but after getting completely
3:50 wrecked mid- race he unwittingly did the
3:52 one thing that can destroy that
3:55 perception of him he made it too real
3:57 all that spectacle that people loved him
3:59 for and made him seem Unstoppable was
4:02 shattered and from then on nobody ever
4:03 saw him as anything more than just
4:06 another car who's as flawed as any other
4:09 and what so impressive about that and
4:10 it's that shallow perception of the
4:12 Piston Cup and its Racers that lightning
4:14 was annoyingly playing along with
4:15 throughout the early portions of the
4:17 movie he was showered with love and
4:20 admiration from total strangers while
4:22 also having an equally shallow view of
4:24 the supposed riff raft that come with a
4:26 gig his only friendly interactions take
4:28 the form of people heaping Praise on him
4:30 while he was being incredibly dismissive
4:32 of anyone less remarkable than him like
4:35 his pit crew or the rusty cars that look
4:37 up to him not realizing just how easily
4:39 that status of less remarkable could be
4:42 applied to anyone even someone like him
4:44 fast forward to the final race of the
4:45 movie where lightning has become a
4:47 little bit wiser as to where the value
4:49 in a person comes from lightning is in a
4:51 safe position to receive everything he's
4:52 always wanted but when he sees Strip
4:55 Weathers wiped out thoughts of do flash
4:57 into his head in particular what
4:59 happened after his wreck moved right
5:01 onto the next rookie standing in line
5:03 and now it's up to lightning if history
5:05 is going to repeat itself a multiple
5:06 time Piston Cup winner suffering a
5:09 painful end to their career only to be
5:11 overshadowed by a rookie doing something
5:13 impressive in his case being the first
5:15 rookie to ever become a champion and
5:17 with the entire world watching Lightning
5:19 decides to set an example he makes a
5:22 statement to the entire world that while
5:24 he's willing to race he's not going to
5:26 participate in a competition where such
5:28 disregard gets rewarded this grumpy old
5:31 race car I know told me something it's
5:33 just an empty cup of course while all
5:34 that is going on there's a certain
5:36 character who doesn't seem capable of
5:38 that level of
5:41 reflection yeah to me this is where
5:44 chick hick is at his most interesting up
5:47 until now he was a fun fairly one no
5:48 antagonist which was all he really
5:50 needed to be for most of the movie it's
5:52 at this point though when all the
5:54 negative superficiality that exists in
5:55 the racing circuit is taken to its
5:58 absolute extreme you know generally if
6:00 you're in a competition that you've
6:02 pretty much already lost in every way
6:04 except technicality and then the would
6:06 be winner just forfeits their guaranteed
6:08 victory at the last moment you'd
6:10 probably feel a little unfulfilled I
6:12 mean chick was in no position to catch
6:14 up to lightning legitimately and only
6:16 one because at the races end he
6:19 literally had no active competition and
6:23 yet he's just so pleased with himself no
6:25 consideration for how he cheated to get
6:27 to second place no acknowledgement that
6:29 he's demonstrably not the most skilled
6:32 who competed not even any curiosity as
6:34 to why lightning stopped short of the
6:36 Finish Line All That Matters to him is
6:38 that he's the champion showing that he
6:41 never really cared about the race it was
6:43 only ever about the glory not to mention
6:44 we can see that little message that
6:46 lightning was trying to send paying off
6:48 in a few different ways first with the
6:50 guy who came in last getting a massive
6:52 cheer from the audience while the Piston
6:54 Cup winner is shown having such a lack
6:56 of empathy and narrow-minded view of
6:57 being someone of worth that he
6:59 legitimately can't understand why people
7:02 don't like him hey how come the only one
7:05 celebrating is me huh and finally while
7:07 nobody wants to give chick any attention
7:12 [Music]
7:15 to I've made it no secret in the past
7:17 that cars is not a movie I'm overly fond
7:19 of not that I don't like it it's just
7:20 that I don't have particularly strong
7:23 feelings about it overall but there are
7:25 select few aspects like this where I can
7:28 say I love this scene obviously I prefer
7:30 to be able to say that with every scene
7:31 like I can with so many other Pixar
7:34 films but if a movie I'm slightly
7:35 indifferent about is what I have to go
7:37 through to get those truly exceptional
7:40 moments then I say so be
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7:48 Moon goddesses and will thank you so
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8:03 is in the description [Music]