Cinema Verdict Review: Cars 2

Cars 2

OPENING: 06/24/2011

STUDIO: Pixar Animation Studios

RUN TIME: 112 min

ACCOMPLICES:
Trailer, Official Site

The Charge
We rejoin all our Radiator Spring friends as they jet-set around the world.

Opening Statement
I am a Pixar apologetic at heart. I absolutely love any, well most, Pixar films. Their motto of “Story is King” is the battle cry I let out before every film I watch. I own most of their films, which is much more then I can say for any other studio putting out all animation. So when they give me something sub-par I wince, I sob, I cry like there’s no Santa Claus. The original Cars is my least favorite of all the Pixar films. Some would say, “The least Pixar film is still better then most others” and I kind of agree with that sentiment. However, they have built themselves a rather high pedestal to stand on and when they don’t reach those heights, it’s a long way down. So what happens when these Cars go onto further adventures?

Facts of the Case
Cars 2 rejoins racecar Lightning McQueen and his best friend, tow truck Mater, as they jumpstart a new adventure to exotic new lands across the globe. The duo are joined by the hometown pit crew from Radiator Springs as they head overseas to support Lighting as he competes in the first ever World Grand Prix. But the road to the finish line is filled with plenty of potholes, detours and bombshells when Mater is mistakenly ensnared in an intriguing escapade of his own– international espionage.

The Evidence
What fails here is the same thing that failed in the original Cars, the story. It is weak and, arguably, too complex for children. We are treated to a grand Bond-like tale of double-crosses and subplots, which, because I like the spy genre, was the best part of the entire movie for me. However, I don’t feel that most 8-year-olds can track all that’s going on and may get lost and/or bored trying to keep up. Pixar usually doesn’t have this problem. Other studios tend to separate their material and jokes and say, “These topics and jokes are for the adults and these are for the kids and never the twain shall meet.” But Pixar doesn’t do that. They know to keep the attention of the entire audience all they need to do write good material and everyone will love it. Now of course Pixar has had parts of their films that may sail over the heads of the young-uns (the first 10 minutes of Up come to mind). However, they have always known how to toe the line and if they veer off for a moment to quickly bring it back to median ground so that all may enjoy.

The largest drawback for me in Cars 2 was that instead of following Lightning McQueen like we did in the first installment, his dim-witted sidekick Mater takes the lead. This upsets me in many ways. There is something to be said about having someone who is not all that bright be the person you are supposed to feel for. Forrest Gump is a recent example of this and one that was done properly. However, if they were to show us that because of Forrest’s dullness, his friends were being put at risk or even hurt we would soon lose concern for Forrest and instead be concerned for those around him. That is what I felt throughout this film for those around Mater. His idiocy is shown to affect his friends adversely but we’re supposed to feel bad for him because he didn’t mean it and he’s sorry. Sorry Mater, though your Rain Man abilities save the day, I don’t feel bad that you were yelled at. You got what was coming.

Closing Statement
While Cars 2 still does not come up to the level of most other Pixar films, it’s still better then the original in my book. That may be a personal preference though since Cars 2 had nothing to do with Nascar or country music and fairly little to do with racing. I was actually intrigued with the spy story and wished they had picked someone else to be the main protagonist to follow. That’s OK. Pixar’s been around for 25 years and they can’t be perfect forever.

The Verdict

6/10