‘Cars 3’ puts it in another gear

‘Cars 3’ explores aging in surprisingly satisfying way — and should still wow the kids

Through two big-screen movies, the “Cars” franchise has been the kids-iest thing the acclaimed Pixar Animations Studios has had to offer. ¶ Sure, everything the Disney-owned animation giant releases is appropriate for most children, but they also have boasted content that — when the company’s at its best — can be richly satisfying for the adult viewer, as well. ¶ But “Cars,” with its bright, shiny vehicle characters with big windshield eyes, always seemed most concerned with enthralling the young ones, especially little boys. Hey, there’s nothing wrong with that, but you can’t blame Mom and Dad if they haven’t exactly been counting down the days until a third “Cars” adventure skidded into theaters. ¶ Well, with its relatively well-mined themes of aging and adapting and its often-breathtaking visuals, “Cars 3” may just be the best of bunch. ¶ It’s at least the most-grown-up.

It is fueled by a simple but compelling story — gone are the odd spy-movie motifs from 2011 overheated “Cars 2” — that sees franchise hero Lightning McQueen (still voiced by Owen Wilson) fighting to stay relevant in a changing racing world.

“OK, here we go,” he says quietly, psyching himself up before a race in a way we’ve heard before. “Focus. Speed. I am speed.”

He may be speed, but he’s no longer the fastest thing on wheels. He not only loses to a brash newcomer, Jackson Storm (Armie Hammer, “Nocturnal Animals”), but he wrecks badly in the process.

DISNEY-PIXAR Lightning McQueen, left, voiced by Owen Wilson, races Jackson Storm, voiced by Armie Hammer, in a scene from “Cars 3.”