Pixar’s Biggest Franchise A Rip-Off Of A Michael J. Fox Movie?
Disney and Pixar's Cars is very similar to Michael J. Fox's Doc Hollywood.
The 2006 Pixar animated film Cars is currently in the top 10 on the Disney+ streaming chart. The story follows a talking race car named Lightning McQueen, who learns that fame and fortune aren’t everything when he gets stranded in a small town. Featuring the voice talents of Owen Wilson, Michael Keaton, and others, the plot is almost identical to the Michael J. Fox movie Doc Hollywood, released 15 years prior.
Doc Hollywood and Pixar’s Cars both center on a successful and arrogant protagonist who ends up in a small town and learns valuable life lessons that change his perspective. In the animated feature, Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) is a hotshot race car driver who only cares about winning the Piston Cup and securing endorsement deals.
The Pixar Cars character sees the small town of Radiator Springs as a hindrance to his career goals and dismisses its residents. Similarly, in Doc Hollywood, Ben Stone (Michael J. Fox) is a skilled surgeon who is only interested in advancing his career. He views the small town of Grady as an annoyance he has to deal with on his way to a more prestigious job in Beverly Hills.
Both characters are focused on their own success and are blind to the value of the community around them. Both movies feature a scene where the protagonist’s car breaks down, forcing him to stay in the small town longer than he intended. In Pixar’s Cars, Lightning McQueen is en route to California for the final race of the Piston Cup when he accidentally damages the road in Radiator Springs.
As a result, he is sentenced to community service and is forced to stay in the town until he repairs the damage. In Doc Hollywood, Ben Stone is traveling to Los Angeles for a new job when he crashes his car into a fence near Grady. The local court orders him to work off the damages in the town’s medical clinic. Both characters are initially frustrated and resentful about their forced stay in their respective towns.
But they gradually come to appreciate the community and its residents. Both movies also have a romantic subplot where the protagonist falls for a local woman. In Pixar’s Cars, Lightning McQueen meets Sally, a sleek Porsche who runs a local motel in Radiator Springs. She helps him to see the town’s beauty and historical value, eventually becoming his love interest.
In Doc Hollywood, Ben Stone meets Lou, a feisty ambulance driver who challenges him to think differently about his priorities. She helps him to appreciate the slower pace of life in Grady and becomes his romantic interest. In both cases, the love interest catalyzes the protagonist’s personal growth and transformation.
At the end of each film, the protagonists decide to stay in their respective towns. In the Pixar animated hit Cars, Lightning McQueen begins to see Radiator Springs as more than just an obstacle to his success and chooses his new friends over fame. In Doc Hollywood, Ben realizes that he values the simpler pleasures of life in Grady.
He turns down the job offer in Beverly Hills and decides to stay in Grady as the town’s new doctor. Although the movies have similar overarching themes, they tell their stories in distinct ways. The Pixar hit, Cars, emphasizes friendship and community, while Doc Hollywood places focus on Ben’s career and personal relationships.
