Cars 2 | Review
Boy, I really need to give Pixar more credit. After eleven animated features, you would think there’d be no worries over whether or not a Pixar film will be good or not. Sure, their new film, ‘Cars 2’, is a sequel to one of the most under-appreciated and least-favorable films in the bunch. However, with this sequel Pixar brings glory and greatness to the infamously unfavorable ‘Cars’, and I’m extremely glad they did so.
I, for one, am one of the few who actually appreciate the original ‘Cars’ for what it’s worth. The film didn’t have the same magic and level of sophistication as most Pixar films do, but it was still a great movie with a positive message, well-crafted racing sequences, and beautiful animation. ‘Cars 2’ has all three of these.
The star of the sequel is no longer Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson), but his goofy and lovable best friend, Mater (Larry the Cable Guy). This switch in main protagonist is a little strange and unconventional for sequels, and I definitely had doubts about how well Mater would be able to hold a film together without getting annoying and boring; he was tolerable in ‘Cars’ because his comic relief came in small doses. My worries never came true because instead of annoyance and boredom, Mater brought a lot of humor, charm, and fun to the film.
‘Cars 2’ has two main story-lines, one involving Mater and the other involving Lightning McQueen. Miles Axlerod (Eddie Izzard) is an ex-oil tycoon who is promoting his new renewable fuel, Allinol, with the first ever World Grand Prix. Champion race cars from all over the world are invited to this competition, including Lightning McQueen, and all participants must use Allinol in the competition. Honestly, this is a pretty clever way to promote a new type of fuel, and it’s impressive. While Lightning is off racing in the competition, Mater is dragged into a spy adventure involving a scheme to ruin the Allinol brand and forever establish big-named oil as the superior source of fuel.
The World Grand Prix is a clever way to introduce us to the rest of the world that is ‘Cars’. The competition is a three-part race taking place in three different places, Tokyo (spelled Towkyo in the film, ha), Italy, and London. The Japanese city life is wonderfully represented in ‘Cars 2’, with bright lights and signs all over the place, and gorgeous city-scape. The Italian landscape is just as beautiful, yet in a different way. And the same goes for London. The level of detail and beauty in ‘Cars 2’ is truly impressive. In fact, director John Lasseter (‘Toy Story’, ‘A Bug’s Life’ & ‘Cars’) has stated ‘Cars 2’ required the most detail of any Pixar film ever. Wow.
It’s amazing how different ‘Cars 2’ is from the first film, especially with the whole James Bond aspect of the sequel. Before seeing the film, and judging from only the trailers, I was initially taken aback by how different ‘Cars 2’ is from the first ‘Cars’. I was a little uneasy because the first film’s major lesson was on the importance of the little things in life, and how the olden times should be remembered and cherished. ‘Cars 2’ seemed like it wanted you to forget the first film, and to forget the small story and lesson, considering the sequel’s scope is larger and more action-packed. However, this sequel never feels like any of that. I’m sure Pixar wants to win over all of the ‘Cars’-haters, but ‘Cars 2’ is a wonderful addition to the original story, and it wonderfully expands on their world. I appreciate it.
When I say ‘Cars 2’ is action-packed I really mean it, and boy is it a lot of fun! The entire spy-adventure Mater gets himself stuck in is extremely entertaining, and we get to experience more ‘Cars’-wonders and technology. The action sequences are brilliantly animated and beautiful, as always.
The humor in ‘Cars 2’ is a lot more slapstick and childish in comparison to the first film, but it never feels forced here. Practically every joke is genuinely funny, mostly because of how lovable and charming Mater is.
What I loved about the original ‘Cars’ was the racing sequences. The opening and closing races in the first film were amazing. Exciting and exhilarating, I couldn’t help but watch in awe at the breathtaking racing sequences. The animation is top-notch and make for great races that are usually boring in real life. ‘Cars 2’ has many racing sequences, and they’re all breathtaking as well.
‘Cars 2’ has the same supporting cast from the first, though this time they’re joined by delightful new additions: The great Michael Caine (‘The Dark Knight’) voices the British super-spy Finn McMissile, Emily Mortimer (‘The Pink Panther 2’) is fellow spy Holly Shiftwell, and John Turturro (‘Transformers’) pulls out a hilarious Italian accent for the Italian race car, and Lightning McQueen rival, Francesco Bernouilli.
I liked ‘Cars’, but I love ‘Cars 2’. This is a wonderful sequel, something major Hollywood sequels usually struggle in doing. Though this sequel is a major change of pace from the original, ‘Cars 2’ is ultimately too enjoyable to really care. The film is more action-driven than emotional, but I don’t mind it, plus there’s still a lot of heart in it. It may not be an instant classic like ‘Wall-E’, ‘Finding Nemo’, or ‘Toy Story’, but amazing animation and attention to detail, a great script, and wonderful voice-acting make ‘Cars 2’ a great and entertaining animated feature film.
Three and a half out of four Kents.
Extra Note(s):
A lot of people are complaining about ‘Cars 2’, and asking why Pixar decided to make a sequel to a film most people don’t really care about, and not for the more popular ones like ‘The Incredibles’ or ‘Wall-E’. Some are saying it’s a quick cash-grab from Pixar, and many are disappointed that ‘Cars 2’ won’t be as great as most Pixar films. There’s a lot wrong with all of these thoughts. Pixar has stated before that they’ll never make a sequel to any of their films unless they have a great story to tell that’s as good, or better, than the original. They’ve done this with the ‘Toy Story’ series, and ‘Cars 2’ is definitely a step up from the original. Pixar doesn’t do anything half-heartedly, everything is done first-rate. I have a small theory that the guys at Pixar probably wanted to win over all of the ‘Cars’-haters, which is why so much effort went into ‘Cars 2’ to make it great. Also, John Lasseter loves cars and Japanese culture, and this film seems to be a love letter to the both of them.
The third Pixar sequel is going to be one for ‘Monsters, Inc.’ It’s actually a prequel to the first film, and I’m confident Pixar will wow people with the second addition to the ‘Monsters, Inc.’ story.
The next Pixar film is going to be an original fairy tale, called ‘Brave’. The film poster and promotional art look amazing.
The trailers for ‘Cars 2’ do a terrible job at promoting the film. Even I was uneasy and disappointed with the film merely from the advertisements, but the film is gladly way different.
