Cars 2 (2011)

Star race car Lightning McQueen and his pal Mater head overseas to compete in the World Grand Prix race. But the road to the championship becomes rocky as Mater gets caught up in an intriguing adventure of his own: international espionage.

Directors:

John Lasseter, Brad Lewis

Writers:

John Lasseter (original story), Brad Lewis (original story),

Stars:

Larry the Cable Guy, Owen Wilson, Michael Caine

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 15 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Larry the Cable Guy	...	Mater (voice)
Owen Wilson	...	Lightning McQueen (voice)
Michael Caine	...	Finn McMissile (voice)
Emily Mortimer	...	Holley Shiftwell (voice)
Eddie Izzard	...	Sir Miles Axlerod (voice)
John Turturro	...	Francesco Bernoulli (voice)
Brent Musburger	...	Brent Mustangburger (voice)
Joe Mantegna	...	Grem (voice)
Thomas Kretschmann	...	Professor Z (voice)
Peter Jacobson	...	Acer (voice)
Bonnie Hunt	...	Sally (voice)
Darrell Waltrip	...	Darrell Cartrip (voice)
Franco Nero	...	Uncle Topolino (voice)
David Hobbs	...	David Hobbscap (voice)
Patrick Walker	...	Mel Dorado (voice)

Storyline

After Mater gets his best friend, star race car Lightning McQueen, a spot in the very first World Grand Prix, he is given the job of pit crew chief. But while they are in Japan, Mater crosses paths with Holly Shiftwell, a spy searching for an American spy. Unknown to Mater, the American spy attached a tracking device on him while being attacked. Thinking the tow truck is the spy, Holly and another spy, Finn McMissile, take Mater around the world to find and stop an evil plot created by "lemons," old cars considered ugly.

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Plot Keywords:

spy | race | race car | grand prix | american | 

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family

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Certificate:

G

Details

Official Sites:

Disney [uk] Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English Japanese Italian French

Release Date:

24 June 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Auta 2

Box Office

Budget:

$200,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$66,135,507 (USA) (24 June 2011)

Gross:

$191,450,875 (USA) (9 December 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Pictures, Pixar Animation Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Fillmore's license plate reads 51237. George Carlin's birthday is May 12, 1937.

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Goofs

Lightning McQueen calls Sir Miles Axlerod "Sir Axlerod" several times. The correct way to address him would be "Sir Miles"; a knight is addressed as "Sir" followed by his first name.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Leland Turbo: [speaking into a video recorder] This is agent Leeland Turbo. I have a flash transmission for agent Finn McMissile. Finn, my cover's been compromised. Everything's gone pear-shaped. You won't believe what I've found out here. This is bigger than anything we've ever seen. And no one even knows it exists. Finn, I need backup. But don't call the cavalry, it could blow the operation. And be careful! It's not safe out here!
[sees something offscreen, gets alarmed]
Leland Turbo: Transmitting my coords ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

In the beginning of the credits, the story of Mater and Lightning's trip around the world is told through pastel-like, mildly animated postcard pictures.

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Connections

Spoofs Ratatouille (2007)

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Soundtracks

"Nobody's Fool"
Written and performed by Brad Paisley
Produced by Frank Rogers
Brad Paisley appears courtesy of Arista Nashville

User Reviews

Flawed but still enjoyable

The best of Pixar's films have protagonists who are a small part of a very large world and are almost helpless against incredible odds - Toy Story, Wall-E, Finding Nemo etc. The protagonists of Cars are very big in a very small world, so do not play to the strengths of Pixar.

However, being Pixar, they still make these films better than anyone else would have with the same material. Cars and Cars 2 are intelligently written and filled with more detail than you could comfortably fit into a single screening.

This movie is not so much a sequel to the first as an affectionate James Bond parody that happens to be set in the Cars universe. Whereas the original Cars was thematically slow and patient, this one deliberately takes things in the exact opposite direction. Whether anyone will prefer the first film or the second is entirely their preference, and it is wrong to say that one is better than the other. Each film has its own appeals and drawbacks.

The main weakness of this film is a failure to create any kind of sympathy for the characters. They are not alone, they are not lost, they have friends and allies and the resources to get out of any situation. It never feels like there is any real danger, as there is with the Toy Story films. Whereas the first film had enough focus on character development to compensate for this, the subplot about the tested friendship between McQueen and Mater seems especially insubstantial here.

Nevertheless, I feel like this is an enjoyable installment in the franchise, never letting your attention wander and always ready with a clever idea. They have demonstrated that they are willing to go in entirely new directions with this world - maybe if they make a third film, they can make something truly worthy of the Pixar name?

If I were rating this in comparison to other Pixar films, my score would be lower... but scoring this as a film on its own, I think it is deserving of between five and seven stars.