PIXAR “Tribute” Cars

Wow, ok, I have been sitting on these for a while, so it’s high time to bust ’em out, snap some photos, and give you fine folks the skinny on this small set of celebratory cars with regards to some of Pixar’s biggest films.

• 1 / 5 – Toy Story – Combat Medic
• 2 / 5 – Monsters, Inc. – Altered Ego
• 3 / 5 – Finding Nemo – Path Beater
• 4 / 5 – The Incredibles – Fish’d & Chip’d
• 5 / 5 – Cars – Hiway Hauler

It seems a little strange to get these in the wake of so many Disney Character Cars, but it’s all good. The artwork on some of these is very much worth taking a gander at.

And so we first land on the Combat Medic, a staple of these celebratory sets due to all that blank space on the sides, just begging for some clear, uninterrupted artwork. Paying homage to the Toy Story franchise, one side is filled with Buzz Lightyear and a stark, modern background. The other side shows us Woody & Jessie with the “Woody’s Roundup” title card. They’re riding atop BullsEye with a big, layered sunset in the background.

Altered Ego is a very strange car, and I guess it’s appropriate enough for Mike & Sulley from Monsters, Inc. The metalflake gray is a nice look, and both sides feature Mike & Sulley fresh out of a closet door.

The Path Beater looks to be a rough and tumble 4WD pickup truck. It’s a bit basic and “everyman,” much like Nemo’s fairly ordinary father who beat extraordinary odds to find his kid.

I hate to say it, but I just don’t know anything much about The Incredibles. The Fish’d & Chip’d’s classic design leads to a lot of horizontal space to show off artwork of the family and it’s a very nice red color…

And bringing up the rear we have the eye-catchingly large but surprisingly lightweight Hiway Hauler, lending its space to the one and only Cars. The chrome windows are a very cool choice we don’t see too often. Other than that we’ve just got a big ol’ money shot of Lightning McQueen himself on the trailer. The artwork, instead of having the sort of CG-gloss we’re all used to when it comes to Cars, has that sort of retro-look to it, like what you’d see on a vintage lunchbox or something.

That’ll do it when it comes to this small Pixar collection. The subject matter may not be completely in my wheelhouse but it is nice to see some artwork on some cars again – it feels like the trend all but died over the course of 2019 and 2020. Stick around, ‘cuz we got at least 2 more of these “tribute” sets to cover in this giant backlog…!

Disney Series 7 Character Cars

How long has Series 7 been out? A very long time methinks; I remember seeing it for sale on the web right on the heels of Series 6, but it was months before I’d spot it in the stores and even then, they weren’t just everywhere.

Should we be blaming COVID-19 for these disruptions….? Probably. I am surprised we haven’t seen any Series 8 yet, assuming there are plans for such. But anyway, onto the long awaited Series 7:

• 1 / 6 – Mulan
• 2 / 6 – Sebastian
• 3 / 6 – Cheshire Cat
• 4 / 6 – Wreck-It Ralph
• 5 / 6 – Tiger
• 6 / 6 – Jack Jack

Mulan doesn’t much remind me of Mulan, but I was also a bit older when this came out so it’s not burned into my brain in the same way as The Little Mermaid or The Lion King. There are some obvious features like the paper fan as the spoiler and a shuriken at the upper exhaust. The color scheme is absolutely gorgeous. I love the transition from cream-colored to dark brown to blue and then a kind of sea green.

Sebastian comes to us a cartoony Caddy, and it pretty much looks like Sebastian’s face was molded onto the front of a car. The headlights almost resemble pinchers, and Sebastian’s carapace is evident as the covering of the cabin. It’s like they got off to a good start and then just walked off.

Next is the Cheshire Cat, who can be downright eerie. Overall the vehicle does a good job of representing a portly feline. He’s even got the tail and the pink/magenta stripes. But what do we think of when we think of the Cheshire Cat? Maybe a creepy oversized smile? Those big bright eyes? A floating, disconnected face…? The car tries to capture the smile where the grille would be, but it’s fairly small.

Wreck-It Ralph: truly one of the “new classics” Disney has churned out over the past several years. This vehicle is…unfamiliar to say the least, but I guess it’s supposed to be a more mobile version of your standard crane equipped with a wrecking ball – appropriate enough. There is a certain element of laziness there, like turning a police officer into a police cruiser. Ralph destroys stuff…so does this truck…but what else are we left with to connect…?

Tigger has become a tow truck, so that’s something. The colors are on point, but where is Tigger’s springy tail!? That’s like Tigger’s main thing, bouncin’ all around on his tail… I suppose it’s supposed to be part of the towing apparatus but if so, it just looks broken, or at the least bent the wrong way. What is going on there!?

Last in the set is Jack Jack from The Incredibles who I know next to nothing about. Apparently he’s got a lot of shapeshifting-related powers but you wouldn’t really know that from looking at this compact. If you give it a look directly from the front a rather creepy visage is evident between the lights (rear-view mirrors…?) and the grille…but it looks more like something from a Cars knock-off than it does a baby. They do seem to have gotten the color scheme right at least.

And that, for better or worse, is Series 7. Clearly I am underwhelmed, especially after what I considered a creative high point in Series 6. I dunno if they handed these off to the junior designers or were forced to rush them out or maybe even gathered up rejects from past series, but they feel markedly uninspired and bereft of the creativity that made these so desirable. As if to add insult to injury, 2 of them are imbued with functionless, nondescript pieces of plastic: Ralph’s wrecking ball and Tigger’s towing rig.

So what do you think? Am I being too harsh? Is there something magical about these that I’m missing? Let me know what kind of taste Series 7 left in your mouth, especially when stacked against previous series.