Not living up to Pixar’s standards

Cars 2 (2011)
Certified: U
Duration: 112 minutes
Directed by: John Lasseter, Brad Lewis
Voices of: Daniel Lawrence Whitney, Owen Wilson, Michael Caine, Emily Mortimer, Eddie Izzard, Jason Isaacs, Thomas Kretschmann, Joe Mantegna, Tony Shalhoub, John Turturro, Franco Nero, Vanessa Redgrave, Cheech Marin
KRS release

I guess it had to happen at one point or another; Pixar have finally made a movie that does not live up to their usual standards. The animation of Cars 2 is delightful, vivid and sparkling, but the story, which is usually the forte of Pixar movies, is here missing altogether.

As such, the film will appeal to young ones, especially boys, but will leave the accompanying adults a bit jaded. This is quite disappointing considering that the company usually produces films that cross over from the animation field into simply being great movies with universal appeal. Last year’s Toy Story 3 was a case in point; it is a textbook example of how a sequel should be made and had all the right ingredients to deliver a movie experience that transcended all ages.

In the world of Cars, vehicles are the inhabitants of the planets. Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) is to go on a three-city tour to compete against the best of the best. He has been challenged by Italian hotrod Francesco (John Turturro). McQueen will be accompanied by long-time partner and rusty tow truck Mater (Daniel Lawrence Whitney aka Larry the Cable Guy).

The tour goes offroad once the two arrive in Tokyo and Mater gets involved in a spying ring where he meets with Finn McMissile (Michael Caine) and Holly Shiftwell (Emily Mortimer). The two are chasing Professor Z (Thomas Kretschmann) who wants to use his electromagnetic gun to disrupt the car races. This gun is also proof of the alternative fuel that can be used by this world’s inhabitants instead of fossil fuels. Mater is mistaken for a secret agent as Lightning McQueen is now the target while their friends from Radiator Springs are also in trouble. The plot of Cars 2 will leave most of its audience perplexed. It has its nifty James Bond spoof moments and Michael Caine and Emily Mortimer deliver quite some spiffy voicing which makes their characters delightful.

However, the plot suffers around the film’s middle section, which is actually surprising since Pixar have always been particularly inventive in their approach to sequels.

The first Cars is my least favourite of their films but it was still a delight to watch.

This film does not actually revolve around McQueen but throws the spotlight on the more humble Mater.

This character is supposed to be the sidekick and not the main star and this is evident from the start. Before the film, there is a short vignette titled Hawaiian Vacation which sees the characters of Toy Story making a return. This is absolutely delightful and quite a blast and shows what Pixar has always meant to its audience. Cars 2, while on a par with what some of the company’s competitors are churning out, seems too much like a merchandising exercise.