As we continue our way through The Pixar Library,
we get to a world made up entirely of vehicles.
The world of Cars is filled with a colorful
cast of wheeled residents…
Each with their own hopes and dreams, just
like the rest of us humans…
And like us, this world of machines also has
a large spectrum of morality…
Which is our job to breakdown.
Today, we’ll be focusing on the main three
films and figuring out who in the fast lane
comes in first and who crosses the finish
line last as the most evil car in the garage.
.
I’m Brad with WickedBinge and this is Cars:
Good to Evil.
As usual, we’ll be starting with the most
pure and working our way down to the darkest
depths of the vehicle-run universe.
These characters are the Good.
Starting as most good, we have Red.
A vehicle of few words but many tears, he’s
portrayed as the most sensitive member of
Radiator Springs.
He spends his time taking care of the many
flowers he plants or being there for moral
support during McQueen’s races.
He spreads positivity wherever he goes, and
while he may not be a conversationalist, he
is proven to be a good ally.
Second place is Rusty and Dusty, the Rust-eze
owners.
Most business owners in animation-and in life-are
shady at best with often corrupt practices.
But luckily, not these guys.
They stood by their product and they stood
by McQueen, even selling the Rust-eze name
to give the racer a second chance.
Not many would be willing to sell their pride
and joy just to help their spokesperson.
We’re going to place Mater third.
Sure, he’s not the best guest to have at
dinner parties and many of the people who
are fans of the Cars franchise try to block
the second film from their memory.
But that doesn’t change that Mater was the
first to accept McQueen as a friend, even
representing the racer in the trial.
He called in to defend McQueen’s name when
the racer was being insulted on tv.
And he did try to tell Holly and Finn that
he was in fact not a spy.
It wasn’t the tow truck’s fault they didn’t
believe him.
He was also the one to figure out that Miles
was the one endangering everyone and took
the initiative to get Mr Sterling out of the
way when Cruz was being done up for the big
race.
Not the brightest, but he’s always there
to help.
Next are the King and Mrs The King.
The former face of Dinoco, the King was the
reigning champion of the Piston Cup for a
number of years.
But the legacy of trophies is not what brings
the King and his Queen this high on our list.
It was the humble nature the two of them had.
They worked as a great team towards one another
and the King took his time offering advice
to McQueen, even if that rookie didn’t take
the tips seriously at the time.
He was surprised by McQueen’s offer to help
him, but was simply grateful rather than jumping
to the conclusion McQueen was doing it for
the publicity.
These two were a truly sweet couple.
Cruz Rameriez has a fun energy about her that
can make her exhausting at times.
Even though racing was her true passion, she
put all of herself into her work and spread
positivity everywhere she went.
She wasn’t the best listener when it came
to what McQueen was trying to accomplish,
but she was doing what she was trained to
do.
And when the time comes to prove herself,
she is still the same approachable car we
get to know and love.
Next is the Sheriff of small town Radiator
Springs.
A law abiding man who strives to do his job
right, he’s the first one to encounter McQueen
in the first film.
He refuses to let his age get in the way of
doing his job and despite being close to the
town destroyed, he still treated McQueen fairly,
giving him representation and not allowing
him to be beaten after obtained.
We’re placing Smoky up next.
The man who trained Doc Hudson to race on
dirt and the man who took McQueen under his
wing.
Smoky is a traditional man of few words.
Now his methods might be a little strange
but he was able to get through to the younger
racer.
He clearly had a soft spot for Doc, thinking
of him as a son of sorts and therefore having
a liking towards McQueen for bringing Doc
from his funk.
It only makes sense to mention River, Lulu
and Jr next.
They had stepped up to help Smoky teach McQueen
how to cope with being an aging racer still
in the game.
They take some getting used to, but they do
have the best of intentions when helping our
protagonist.
We also want to take a moment to appreciate
the bit of advice that Lulu gave to Cruz:
“Life’s too short to take no for an answer.”
Tex, the owner of Dinoco, is next.
He’s a businessman but he always makes sure
the people working for him are at their peak
performance and happy to do as needed.
He’s seen joking with McQueen fairly often
about replacing any current racer with our
protagonist, but we all know he’s too nice
a guy to bully someone out of a position.
Even with Sterling, he bought the car off
with a ridiculous amount of money.
A Texas-sized offer, as the vehicle puts it.
We’ll mention Uncle Topolino and Mama Topolino
next.
They were only given a brief moment in the
second film, but gave McQueen some good advice.
They clearly have a lifetime of good and bad
experiences that they’ve drawn wisdom from.
They took the time to help McQueen remember
that friendship is a valuable thing not to
be thrown away over a misunderstanding.
Mack has earned his spot next.
A loyal worker for McQueen, he stood by the
racer even after being treated less than fairly
during the racer’s more arrogant phase.
He was quick to be on the scene when McQueen
was found and offered his apologies, believing
it was his fault his boss was missing.
He helped to take McQueen and Cruz around
during the second film, getting them to Thunder
Hollow.
He was always a reliable worker and friend
and a dependable truck.
Next we have Fillmore.
He’s a hippy trope, but his love for all
natural fuel actually helped McQueen.
He lets off good vibes wherever he is and
encourages loving energy.
He joined McQueen’s team to be sure the
racer was fueled with the best and always
did his job with care and attention.
Our next placement is the co-founder of Radiator
Springs, Lizzie.
She’s an older vehicle with some screws
loose and little understanding of personal
space, slapping bumper stickers on other cars
and dragging McQueen away for a cruise down
mainstreet.
She’s a romantic at heart, talking to the
statue of her late husband and affectionately
calling McQueen her hotrod and dotting on
him like a grandparent would.
Ramone is up next.
He can be hotblooded at times, but only when
pushed too far.
Most of the time we see him, he’s relaxed
and willing to help.
He quickly takes his place on McQueen’s
team as a detailer.
He has a distinct style to him that he’s
passionate about but we do see he grows the
more experience he has with other vehicles.
He has an upstanding work ethic and is versatile,
which is essential when working for a car
that makes big decisions such as bringing
in a new racer last minute.
Next is Ramone’s partner in crime Flo.
She runs the gas station in Radiator Springs
and was revealed to be the first to take Sally
in when the lawyer first arrived.
She works to make everyone feel welcome and
tells things as they are, calling out someone’s
nonsense stories.
Though, admittedly that someone is usually
Mater.
Sally is next.
A lawyer sick of the big city, she quickly
adjusted to small town life.
She was proud of the community that took her
in and showed loyalty towards it.
She took the time to show McQueen the pleasant
side of being away from cameras and constant
attention.
Through the films she was the voice of reason,
getting McQueen out of his funk and helping
support his choice to make Cruz his student.
We’re mentioning the Queen briefly here.
She didn’t do much of anything in the film,
but we have to at least say that her excitement
at everything happening around her was pretty
great and likely how the Queen would act.
With that said, we’ve concluded The Good…
Now we move into neutral territory…
This is The Grey Area.
Just because McQueen is used to coming in
first doesn’t mean he was anywhere close
to it on our list.
But hey, he has the benefit of being the first
when it comes to the neutral category.
This should come as no surprise considering
his actions for most of the first movie and
his temper during the third.
He came around, warming up to Radiator Springs
and helping promote the businesses there.
He showed nothing but adoration towards Sally
as they grew as a couple and he valued the
friends he had made.
When he stepped down to give Cruz her shot
at racing, it showed how much he had grown
from the first time we saw him.
We’ll place Doc, The Fabulous Hudson Hornet
next.
Rough around the edges, he was troubled by
his past and let that get in the way of treating
McQueen fairly.
When he warmed up to the then rookie, he helped
to teach the other car what was the most important.
Seeing the pride on his face when McQueen
helped the King finish the race was worth
a thousand words.
It was sad seeing the car go, but he left
behind quite a legacy.
We’re putting Luigi and Guido together.
Best friends despite their arguing at times,
they were quick to help McQueen once he took
fixing the road seriously.
They were a constant presence through the
other films, helping him train and aiding
with his pit stops.
McQueen may be a lot to handle at times, but
they’ve proven they can deal with it.
Holly Shiftwell is next.
A newly made field agent, she’s just trying
to do her job the best she can.
She’s patient, persistent and eager to learn.
She gains confidence through their adventure,
from denying she could ever be a field agent
to quickly utilizing her skillset and new
tools.
She didn’t reject Mater after realizing
he was being serious about not being a spy,
instead declaring herself his girlfriend and
having a further respect for him helping the
mission.
Next is Finn McMissile.
A shady agent, but is there really any other
kind of agent?
He got a few fighting scenes, was infuriatingly
oblivious to Mater denying being a spy, and
was quick to reprimand Holly for her questions.
Still, he was helping to save not only the
racers but all those acting as bystanders.
We’re docking him points for collateral
damage, but it got the job done.
Speaking of agents, Rod ‘Torque’ Redline
is next.
He was the agent killed after being interrogated
and planting the information on Mater.
It was shocking to see on screen death for
this franchise and we’re giving him some
hero points for the brave face he put on at
being beaten and tortured.
Even when facing the end, he refused to help
the villains.
We’re glad him being lost wasn’t in vain.
Sarge deserves his spot next.
Since he was the one who rejected Allinall
and replaced McQueen’s fuel with Filmore’s,
he ultimately saved McQueen.
Not to mention showing up with the armed forces
during the climax of the film was a pretty
impressive move.
Van and Minny were notable enough to place
on our list.
Travelers that unintentionally visited the
small route 66 town in the first film, they
showed up again at the end of the second.
They’re a typical couple, following such
tropes as a too encouraging wife and a stubborn
husband who refuses to look at maps.
But they’re a fun comedic relief when they
are seen.
We’ll place the other cars Cruz was training
next.
They’re trained to do one specific thing:
race.
And that can make them full of themselves.
But what gives them points is how much they
clearly appreciate Cruz.
They go with her training methods and while
they give each other grief on their needed
tactics, they know it works.
Next we’re placing Ms Fritter.
She thrives on the spotlight and on the chaos
that ensues from the demolition derby, but
that doesn’t make her a bad car.
Intimidation is the name of the game.
She has pride in her town and was alight with
joy at seeing McQueen race what she considered
to be her track.
Francesco Bernoulli is in much the same boat
as Chick Hicks.
He’s not a friendly guy unless you’re
a fan of his.
The only thing that makes him better than
Chick is the fact he actually expressed concern
seeing the other cars in the race hurt, opening
asking “what is going on” when he and
McQueen realized no one else was crossing
the finish line.
Chick Hicks is a jerk, no doubt, but we wouldn’t
call him evil.
He’s full of himself and used his name to
make a show where he can continue to brag
and use his credibility to tear others down.
Though the others typically involve Lightning
McQueen being in the mix, we say that’s
more him taking advantage and using the opportunity
to give grief to an old rival more than Hicks
attacking the other for no reason.
Harv was McQueen’s former agent.
He was so far removed from McQueen’s life
that we only ever heard his voice.
He showed little to no concern over his client
being missing, instead going on and on about
how much merchandise was selling due to all
the attention.
And that wraps up The Grey Area…
Finally, we’ve arrived at The Dark Side…
These are The Bad and The Evil…
Together we have Boost, Snotrod, Wingo and
DJ next.
They’re barely seen in the first film, but
they prove in that short time that they have
no value for the safety of anyone else on
the road.
They gladly help lure a moving truck to sleep
and lead him to drift off road.
It was something that could have ended way
worse than it did and since we don’t know
how many times they had done this before or
since, we have to say they are not safe to
share the road with.
Mr Sterling was tricky to place, but we have
to rank him low.
He’s one of the few men where money took
priority over the racers working for him.
He showed no concern over McQueen crashing
through the simulator, only using it to dismiss
the now aged racer.
He didn’t form a connection with anyone
trained at the facility, calling one car “the
bug guy” and he snapped at Cruz for even
daring to race before trying to use her once
he saw her potential.
Jackson Storm was a notable obstacle in the
third film.
He falls far from grace due to one moment
in particular: his slamming of Cruz into the
wall.
Racing is risky enough without actually trying
to kill the cars on the track with you.
It was bad enough when he was a cocky jerk,
but murderous?
Too far.
The lemon henchmen of the second film earned
third place.
They were taking orders for the most part,
but they could have left at any time.
They leapt on a chance to make the world see
them as powerful, and it didn’t matter who
had to be taken out.
They showed delight when causing damage and
gloated openly about their plans and success.
Professor Z has earned the silver medal.
He was the face when the boss wasn’t present
and gave off a vibe similar to that of the
Moriarty depiction in Sherlock Gnomes.
He approached everything, including risking
blowing up with a bomb, with an unsettling
calm that could only be described as psychotic.
He put out orders to kill with little to no
emotion and had the potential to do far more
damage.
Our gold medal of disgrace goes to Sir Miles
Axelrod.
Organizing a race just to destroy cars, putting
innocent bystanders at risk, nearly getting
the Queen killed.
This guy has a long resume of vile crimes.
He tried to avoid being seen as the master
behind the operations by tearing at Mater’s
credibility, yelling at everyone to help him
from this crazy tow truck.
He had put a lot of thought into destroying
the society he felt rejected by and it didn’t
matter who went down for it.
So long as he got away unscathed, that is.
But what do you think> Who are the most good
and evil characters in the Cars universe?
Let us know in the comment section below.
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and binge our Good-to-Evil playlist.
Where we break down the morality of the characters
from your favorite shows, cartoons and movies.
But most importantly, stay wicked!
