Gone is the dirt-ridden town of Radiator Springs and in is bright lights and shining cities in the form of Tokyo, Italy, and London. Our favorite racecar, Lightning McQueen, is challenged to race in the World Grand Prix, and this takes Lightning and his pit crew (including Mater) all around the world to three great races. The race is sponsored by a new alternative fuel source, called Allinol, so you get your eco-friendly fix in the film, as well. Along the way, Mater gets mistaken for an American spy, and gets caught up in a big game with famous spy cars Finn McMissile and Holly Shiftwell, and an evil villain, hellbent on destroying this alternative source. Mater plays the spy game, and it's fun to see Mater in a different position that he's not used to, but the way it plays out isn't ideal. Mater mistaken as a spy results in tough situations between him and McQueen, and their friendship is at stake throughout the movie. It leads to an interesting and unexpected conclusion, which (I hope) wraps up the Cars films.
I had a few problems with this new storyline in Cars 2. First, I could have done with less of the Mater-spy thing. It was fun, and I bet the kids loved it, but for me, a 15 year old who grew up loving Pixar, I had enough. Mater was the star of the show, and he gets much more screentime than the hero, McQueen. This is disappointing, since I went into the movie excited to see Lightning race around the world. There certainly was a lot of racing to be had, and these scenes were great. But for every race, there were three more spy scenes with Mater and his new pals. I couldn't take the film seriously when we were dealing with spy cars that talked. I'll admit, it was fun to see Mater in undercover situations, but I found myself missing the Radiator Springs gang even more. Speaking of which, half of them don't even come to the races, so you lose most of the charm that the original Cars had. Sally is in the film for about five minutes, and it seems to have forgotten about their whole relationship. It was good, however, that the scenes with Lightning and Mater, just being friends, were heartwarming and funny, and Mater really finds himself when others see him as a fool. The whole movie has a "be yourself" message which is great for the kids.
The acting in Cars 2 is great, and you get various new characters that help round out the movie. Owen Wilson is back as Lightning, as is Larry the Cable Guy and Bonnie Hunt as Mater and Sally, respectively. Most of the Radiator Springs voices are back, with the exception of George Carlin as Filmore, who passed away in 2008. Also gone is Doc Hudson, everyone's favorite, which is a shame. New in Cars 2 are all of Mater's spy acquaintances, who all provided top-notch voices. At the top are Michael Caine and Emily Mortimer as Mater's two spy buddies. These two really make the film, and although I didn't care for the spy theme, they still made the movie fun and exciting. Eddie Izzard and Thomas Kretschmann provide the voices for the villains.
The attention to detail in Cars 2, as is with almost every Pixar movie, is amazing as well. Every light, every wheel, every race is detailed down to the point, and this makes for a more realistic and believable experience. The races in particular, are great, and the locations where the races take place look almost real. The cars, too, look great, and cars fans should take note: there are a lot of references to classic cars here. There are a lot of explosions, and kids will love the eye candy, even if they won't get the story.
Cars 2 is a great Pixar film. Although shrouded in a ridiculous and rusty story, the movie itself is still enjoyable thanks to a great cast of characters and a fun movie overall. Even though critics are pandering the film, Cars 2 shouldn't be missed and is a great addition to the ever-growing Pixar library.
Overall: 4.0/5.0
