As with most, if not all, Pixar features, Cars 2 is a story based on friendship and never being ashamed of who you or your friends are. The difference between Cars 2 and other Pixar films is that it’s more interested in selling fun and entertainment over drama.
It’s certainly more traditional, which, for some Pixar fans, may be a downer since we’ve been spoiled over the last four years with animated films that deliver drama on a level typically reserved for live-action features. In these terms, Cars 2 is light-years (get it?) away from films such as WALL-E and Up, but that doesn’t stop it from being a fun piece of entertainment.
Just as Cars 2 is different than the recent Pixar entries, it also doesn’t bear much resemblance to the first film in the franchise. Both are fish-out-of-water features as the lead character is tossed into an unfamiliar environment, but this time around we’re looking at more of a James Bond/Johnny English style feature as international intrigue and a villainous oil plot is at the center of the story.
Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) was the lead character the first time around, but Cars 2 is undoubtedly Mater’s movie. After several cartoons centering on the buck-toothed tow truck followed the original 2006 feature, it comes as no surprise Mater (voiced by Larry the Cable Guy) is at the heart of this new installment.
The story revolves around the first-ever World Grand Prix, sponsored by a new alternative fuel called Allinol. The race is declared an opportunity to lessen the dependency on oil, and to prove Allinol is up to the task, all of the cars in competition are required to use the alternative fuel during the race. However, as racing begins some of the cars begin blowing their engines. Is Allinol to blame or is there something more sinister at work?
Despite his better judgment Lightning McQueen brings Mater along to help him as part of his pit crew, but the rusty and out of his element tow truck gets sidetracked when he is mistaken for an American secret agent and unwittingly brought into the world of espionage alongside British intelligence agents Finn McMissile (voiced by Michael Caine) and Holley Shiftwell (voiced by Emily Mortimer). From here the race becomes secondary to the investigation into just why exactly so many “lemons” are gathering in every city the World Grand Prix stops and could it have anything to do with why the race cars are experiencing engine trouble?
As the film plays out, the message is quite clear that you should never look for the acceptance or approval of others if it means being someone you’re not. And only your true friends are the ones that stick by you because of who you are. While the message is delivered far less tactfully than it is in other Pixar films, it’s a good message for kids and I think it will play well to younger audiences.
Toy Story and Toy Story 2 director John Lasseter returns (aided by co-director Brad Lewis) to helm the sequel to his 2006 feature as it is obviously a franchise close to his heart. He and his screenwriters have crafted a story in hopes of turning the tide on the critical negativity that befell the original (more so as the years have gone on and it’s become more acceptable), and Lasseter succeeded in bringing something different and better than the original, but this is still a film that falls into a different category when it comes to the Pixar oeuvre. While WALL-E may have made you believe a robot could feel, you don’t get the same level of emotion from Lasseter’s automobiles.
Cars 2 is a spy adventure for the simplest of minds, which is perfect considering the target audience. It also has enough laughs and the always impressive Pixar animation to keep the adults occupied. I didn’t even blink an eye at the nearly two-hour runtime, though I wouldn’t argue with anyone suggesting a few trims here and there.
Those, however, looking for that signature Pixar feature we’ve come to expect may be disappointed if you set your sights too high. Cars 2 isn’t as overtly dramatic as past champions in the Pixar stable, but it is a fun diversion.
