The Great Race

My thoughts: Very overhated. I seriously don't understand the hate this movie gets, but at the same time, it's not of the best specials either.

The Great Race

Didn’t have time to post this yesterday so I did it today. Yesterday I was watching The Great Race and my shooting star Gordon came. (That’s what I mean by perfect timing) slower then Thomas but still very good.

Super happy rn! So I’ve been wanting the plarail shooting star Gordon and streamlining Thomas for a while and I was scared to ask my parents but I eventually couldn’t wait and told them and they said they’ll get them and then I’ll pay them!! So I’m FINALLY getting the plarail shooting star Gordon and streamlining Thomas SOO HAPPY YAYAY.

Mu only complain about her is that she is too over-designed: when i say this i dont mean about the type of engine she is or the rivets no its the paintwork, you thought the mcu lines were bad but this is too much its random shapes everywhere if i get to make a ho/oo model of her i would either take days to do the paint or just give up

Can somebody simplerfy her paintwork?

Usually when people talk about The Great Race, the subplot about Diesel trying to enter the show is listed as one of the bad thing about it because it supposedly doesn't advance the main plot and because it delays the movie from getting to the show sooner. And while the second point is valid, the first one isn't.

People say that the subplot is pointless because even though it puts Thomas in the Steamworks, he leaves soon after anyway and enters the show. But without that, other key parts of the movie couldn't have happened. First, Shooting Star's safety valve. If Thomas hadn't been damaged and went to the show with the others, we (the audience) wouldn't have found out about his missing safety valve, so he would've just randomly exploded in the middle of the race without any context.

Second (and more important) thing is Percy giving his slot in the competition to Thomas. The movie's main two messages are that You Can Only Be You (they even made a song about it) and that you can do anything if you put your mind to it. If Thomas hadn't been damaged and went to the show with the others, he would've just entered the competition like the others, and the second message wouldn't work well because there wouldn't be anything challenging Thomas' ability to compete. With the subplot present in the movie though, Thomas is damaged and he has to overcome his lack of confidence that it caused, and to learn that he really can do anything. The first message also wouldn't be reinforced with Percy choosing to be himself and not to compete because without the subplot he wouldn't have gone to the show.

Now, you could of course argue tht you could replace the subplot with other things to keep the rest of the movie intact. Maybe Victor phones someone at the Railway Show, who then tells Thomas & Co. about the missing safety valve for example. But if you need to replace the Diesel subplot with something else to keep the movie intact, perhaps it is important to the movie after all, no?

I also would've been fine with it even if it didn't contribute anything. I always like it when a movie shows us how other characters besides Thomas and the few characters he usually interacts with react to the Current Thing. It makes the world feel more alive because why shouldn't the other characters want to go to the show and have their own misadventures caused by that desire?

But most importantly, the subplot is fun. Shouldn't that matter the most?

The latest trailer for Cars 4: