Cars 2 Review

Rated G

Running Time: 1 Hour & 46 Minutes

Cast (voice):

Owen Wilson-Lightning McQueen

Daniel Lawrence Whitney aka Larry the Cable Guy-Mater

Michael Caine-Finn McMissile

Emily Mortimer-Holley Shiftwell

Eddie Izzard-Sir Miles Axlerod

John Turturro-Francesco Bernoulli

Thomas Kretschmann-Professor Zündapp

Bonnie Hunt-Sally Carrera

John Ratzenberger-Mack

Cheech Marin-Ramone

Jenifer Lewis-Flo

Tony Shalhoub-Luigi

Guido Quaroni-Guido

Michael Wallis-Sheriff

Paul Dooley-Sarge

Lloyd Sherr-Fillmore

Katherine Helmond-Lizzie

Bruce Campbell-Rod 'Torque' Redline

Directed by John Lasseter and Brad Lewis

Pixar's prowess at CG animation remains unmatched but "Cars 2" fails to meet the high bar set by the studio's previous efforts.

Well, it was a good run while it lasted. Pixar Animation Studios has always prided itself with crafting visually stunning yet also emotionally involving animated films but with “Cars 2,” the once-invincible studio seems to have made a major fender-bender. Despite its exploration of the fleeting nature of celebrity and the loss of small-town America to an increasingly impersonal modern world, critics and audiences weren’t quite as enamored with 2006’s “Cars” compared to Pixar’s previous efforts. Although it earned a respectable $462 million at the worldwide box office, the film ended up becoming a cash cow for Disney thanks to its massive merchandising potential, with products bearing the “Cars” license earning a gargantuan $10 billion in worldwide retail sales. The sequel, arriving five years later, seems to have been green-lit with the intention of selling even more toys and that is precisely the reason that “Cars 2” fails to engage. The creativity that Pixar has always exhibited has been replaced by the almighty dollar. The CG animation is visually lush and colorful but “Cars 2” is strangely inert despite the switch to a more action-packed premise, resulting in many loud explosions yet all of it feels…pedestrian. Kids will laugh at all the cheap jokes but adults will likely be bored given the film’s derivative nature. 

Doc Hudson has passed away since the events of the first film and Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) has gone on to win four Piston Cups, becoming a worldwide celebrated racing champion. He returns home to Radiator Springs to spend some time with his girlfriend, Sally Carrera (Bonnie Hunt) and best friend, Mater the Tow Truck (Larry the Cable Guy) but finds himself forced back into the world of racing. Oil tycoon Sir Miles Axlerod (Eddie Izzard) is now a green power advocate and has created a new biofuel he dubs ‘Allinol.’ To promote this new fuel, he decides to sponsor the first World Grand Prix, with every race car, including the boastful Francesco Bernoulli (John Turturro), participating. When Bernoulli makes some disparaging remarks about McQueen on live television, Mater calls and defends his best friend. McQueen decides to settle this feud once and for all and enters into the World Grand Prix, taking Mater along for the first time as part of his pit crew. Meanwhile, a group of ‘lemon’ cars (defective vehicles) led by Professor Zündapp (Thomas Kretschmann) and an unknown criminal mastermind is sitting on the world’s largest untapped oil reserves. Wielding a special weapon that can emit an electromagnetic pulse, they plan to sabotage the World Grand Prix by causing the Allinol fuel to ignite (that does not make sense, shouldn’t an EMP disable the cars but look at me, I’m applying logic in a world of talking cars). British secret agents Finn McMissile (Michael Caine) and Holley Shiftwell (Emily Mortimer) are attempting to foil this heinous plot. At Tokyo, Japan where the first race is held, Mater makes a fool out of himself and embarrasses McQueen in front of Axelrod. While in the bathroom, he encounters Shiftwell, who mistakes him for an American spy that she and McMissile were supposed to rendezvous with. Despite the case of mistaken identity, Mater ends up being caught in a world of international intrigue when Professor Zündapp and his boss targets McQueen. 

“Cars 2” switches gears and puts Mater front and center with Lighting McQueen as the supporting character, so at least there was an attempt at trying something different. Let’s get the good out of the way first. Pixar’s prowess at CG animation remains undiminished and the worldwide scope, spanning locations such as Japan, Italy, and England, really lends itself in creating a colorful and richly animated film. I was unable to view “Cars 2” in 3D as many of its screens had been usurped by the recently-released “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2” but I doubt the extra dimension would’ve added much to the experience. The consensus from critics seems to be that the 3D, while unobtrusive, fails to be utilized at its full potential and that’s a shame since this is digitally created film. As for the bad, “Cars 2” is surprisingly derivative, even by Pixar standards. Instead of focusing on small-town America or something of actual substance like the previous film, the tone has changed to an action spy flick. As such, it indulges in many spy clichés with secret meetings, explosive chases, cackling criminal masterminds, and farfetched gadgets but all of this makes it obvious that the reason this sequel exists is to sell toys. This is most apparent with new characters like Finn McMissile, who is packing so much weaponry that he makes a Swiss army knife look like a child’s toy, and Holly Shiftwell, who can transform into a flying vehicle. There are numerous action scenes but like its predecessor, the film is plagued by a long running time that tends to drag rather than engage. The thematic richness that is a staple of Pixar is nowhere to be found. Well, that’s not entirely true. There’s something about alternative fuels and going green, plus the importance of friendship and being true to yourself but all of it comes off as half-baked, clichéd, and derivative—three adjectives I thought I would never use in describing a Pixar film. The story of a bumbling fool caught in a case of mistaken identity has been done before so it makes the proceedings rather predictable. Some of the jokes produced a chuckle, such as Mater mistaking wasabi for ice cream or experiencing a high-tech toilet in Japan but for the most part, it goes for easy targets. It’ll appeal to children but adults will roll their eyes. 

The voice acting, while good, isn’t anything to write home about. Larry the Cable Guy is clearly enjoying himself and part of the reason he’s the main focus is that children love his simpleton antics. The problem is that he works best in small doses but since he’s in almost every frame, he ends up gratingly annoying. In fact, while he was endearing in the original, here he just comes off as stupid. He’s like the Jar Jar Binks of Pixar. With Lightning McQueen playing second fiddle, Owen Wilson fails to give his character any sense of real personality. You can tell his heart’s not in it and is only fulfilling a contractual obligation. All of the supporting characters from Radiator Springs, such as Bonnie Hunt’s Sally Carrera amount to nothing but glorified cameos. Michael Caine and Emily Mortimer livens things up with their respective characters but ultimately, their inclusion is more about merchandise potential. One would expect that Pixar would get someone from the older James Bond flicks to provide McMissile’s voice to lend some credibility to the spy premise. John Turturro manages to be pretty funny as the overconfident formula race car Francesco Bernoulli with his overdone, stereotypical Italian accent. 

Released on June 24, 2011, “Cars 2” has received overwhelmingly negative reviews with a low 34% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics found it ‘visually appealing as any other Pixar production, but all that dazzle can't disguise the rusty storytelling under the hood.’ I expected the film to be less than impressive given that the initial previews failed to grab me and predicted a score of around 60% but never did I anticipate that reception would be this negative. There is no debate: this is Pixar’s worst film by far. Box office wise, “Cars 2” opened with a sizable $66 million but it was riding on the trusted brand name of Pixar rather than its marketing. However, it lags behind its predecessor due to negative reviews and has earned only $281 million worldwide against a $200 million production budget. Like all Pixar films, it was preceded by a seven-minute short titled “Toy Story: Hawaiian Vacation” and while it’s fun to see all these beloved characters again, even I found this to be lacking. It seems like Pixar can’t catch a break and is experiencing a slump. “Cars 2” will only appeal to children and given the kid sitting behind me with his obnoxious laughing, it proves my point. Adults will be bored and I discovered the mother sitting next to me to be furiously texting. This sequel will sell a lot of toys and this focus on merchandising is what proves to be the undoing for “Cars 2.” The visuals look amazing and the action is loud but it lacks any heart and soul, becoming easy disposable entertainment. The trailers attached included Pixar’s upcoming “Brave,” to be released next summer and I found this one-minute preview to be more engaging than the entirety of “Cars 2.” This sequel is not terrible by any means; it’s just dull and derivative but hopefully this rare misstep can be swept under the rug and forgotten.

Final Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Mama Topolino: Chi trova un amico, trova un tesoro.

Uncle Topolino: It means, "He who finds a friend finds a treasure."