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FILMTRACKS.COM
PRINTER-FRIENDLY VIEW 
Review of Cars 3 (Randy Newman)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... if you've always embraced your soft spot for Randy
Newman's innocuous, Americana-styled wholesomeness for the Pixar
universe and seek a belated return to this realm by the composer in true
form.
Avoid it... if you expect Newman to embolden his thematic core from the first film with any memorable force, the neat reprises existing but not forming a truly cohesive narrative; additionally be aware of a rather one-dimensional recording.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
Cars 3: (Randy Newman) Though considered the ugly
step-child of the Pixar properties for more than a decade, the
Cars franchise continues to dazzle young boys with its
anthropomorphic vehicles, proving, perhaps, that it's actually the
spin-off Planes franchise that deserves the greater scorn. Only
the third film in the series since the 2006 original, Cars 3
returns almost all the original voice cast back for another encore
(unused recordings of Paul Newman were even resurrected for the
occasion), largely bypassing the events of the second, 2011 film, and
wrapping up the Radiator Springs/Lightning McQueen ascendance storyline.
McQueen, having been the triumphant new kid on the track in the first
film, is nearing forced retirement due to a more technologically adept
younger generation of racers. He inevitably transitions his role from
champion to coach over the course of the film, seeking to leave the
track a winner and inspire other cars in more ways than the usual,
demeaning endorsement deals. The film performed reasonably well,
baffling critics with its staying power, and some of its renewed charm
compared to Cars 2 is no doubt owed to composer Randy Newman, the
original musical voice of Pixar animation who is in his 70's and
semi-retired in the 2010's. The famed songwriter and performer was
inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013, and Monsters
University from that year represents his only major foray into film
music in the decade. His return for Cars 3 is as vital to the
Pixar universe as John Williams is to Star Wars; as much as
Michael Giacchino attempted to step in competently for Cars 2, he
was the wrong match for this franchise and listeners shrugged off that
score as a misguided substitute. Newman's compositional voice is almost
as memorable as his actual one, and while most of his Pixar-related
music is generally described as "the Toy Story sound," it does
explore different facets of the composer's Americana sensibilities in
each distinct franchise. One of the more intriguing aspects of the
>Cars concept for Newman is his continuing decision not to employ
representations of vehicle sounds into his music.
For Cars 3, Newman employed an orchestral ensemble of 110 players and enjoyed a return by orchestrator and composer Don Davis (who was also concurrently scoring his first feature in a long time) to produce exactly the score you expect to hear from him. Absolutely no surprises await the listener in Cars 3, Newman's blend of brightly optimistic, major-key action and wistfully sorrowful passages of lamentation returning the franchise to its core musical identities despite once again battling song placements throughout. The Cars franchise of film scores has never enjoyed an overwhelming set of melodic identities; Newman's most memorable scores are often paired with the melodies of popular songs that accompany them, and such singing from Newman was absent in Cars. After Giacchino totally ignored Newman's material for the sequel, Cars 3 refreshingly reprises several recurring motifs from the original, though non-fans of the concept may miss them and instead latch onto the plainly obvious overall tone of similarity that Newman brings back to the table. Such casual listeners may (justifiably) hear as many references to Toy Story as Cars in this work, the parody applications of Western or luau personality, along with the requisite moments of tenderness, really not differing from that more acclaimed franchise's music very much. Newman retains his ability to take even the most melancholy of cues and maintain their major-key optimism, and Car 3 certainly utilizes an excess of these contemplative moments for McQueen. Genres are bent at will, light waltzes never seemingly far from Newman's mind. Thematically, the franchise still lacks a primary thematic identity, leaving the whole as something that perpetually reminds you of something else, whether it's the equivalent personality of Cars, the heroics of Williams' racing pageantry in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (this returns wholesale from the first score), the twist of melodic romanticism from Alan Silvestri's Back to the Future, or the occasional James Horner-like orchestrations in "Temple of Rust-Eze" and "The Fabulous Lightning McQueen" (certainly the Davis influence). That latter infusion is particularly interesting, especially in that it tends to provide a more robust bass region that Newman otherwise applies. For concept enthusiasts, Newman supplies new themes for Cars 3 built around old ones and reprises some favorites in full fashion. In the second half of "Doc's Painful Demise" and opening of "Flashback & Pit Stop," you hear a generational theme (the aforementioned Back to the Future derivative) that is expanded upon in "A Career on a Wall" before the two variants of that same idea merge appropriately in "If This Track Could Talk," the most poignant dramatic cue in Cars 3 (though it ends badly as needed for comedic purposes). The most obvious returning thematic element from Cars is the victory theme from its finale, reprised shortly late in "Flashback & Pit Stop" before expressing itself in full several times at the end of "Victory Lane." This latter cue is the most satisfying bookending of the franchise's score music anyone could have expected, surrounding the victory identity with both the pageantry and generational themes in glorious fashion. The score concludes with a much tighter narrative than it begins, the quality of Newman's emotional connections improving as the work progresses. One has to remember that this music is all so familiar to veteran film score listeners that it may be difficult to become excited about its merely functional passages. An appreciation of Newman's continued mastery of his domain is required even if this music continues to seem like innocuous, inconsequential fluff. That said, this recording is extremely shallow, taking the 110 players and making them sound one-dimensional and distractingly dull, especially in prancing proclamations like "Smokey Starts Training/A Blaze of Glory." There is poor separation, for instance, between specialty layers like the percussion highlights, and the ensemble as a whole, the spread of instruments through the soundscape poorly assigned in the channels. As a result, this score deserves to sound much better than it does, the lack of vivaciously dynamic spread really damaging its allure. Someone needs to introduce Debbie Wiseman's recording team (think Wilde) to Newman so that the personality of his scores can excel both in warmth and breadth. Overall, Cars 3 is an affectionate return by Newman to his undeniably attractive and unique comfort zone. It may not be a stellar score by most measures, especially in its recording, but you simply cannot discount how delightful it is to continue hearing Newman grace the Pixar universe with his trademark style. ***
TRACK LISTINGS:
Total Time: 50:14
NOTES & QUOTES:
The insert includes a list of performers but no extra information about the score or film.
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The reviews and other textual content contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Christian Clemmensen at Filmtracks Publications. All artwork and sound clips from Cars 3 are Copyright © 2017, Walt Disney Records and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 7/30/17 (and not updated significantly since). |
