Saw this the other day... My brother and I are
still talking about it. And I don't usually like movies. Gotta say, the story itself is pretty good... but in my opinion, the gold is in the subtleties and the execution.
When I first saw Venellope and her glitchiness, the very first thing I thought was "unused beta character"... a thought backed up by her knowledge of the unfinished track that she calls her home. In a way, that could be another explanation for why she's depicted on the side of the machine, but not an available racer as the art for the machine might have been finalized before they realized they couldn't finish her in time.
But that's just me overthinking it, I guess.
Also... Didn't the appearance of Cybug-Turbo just scream True Last Boss? It had everything! The cracked cobble-Mentos floor of a "volcanic" arena... the imminent destruction of the world unfolding around them... the twisted version of a villain thought to be defeated... That was genius. At least, that's what I was thinking when I saw it.