Cars 2 (2011)

Directors:

John Lasseter
Brad Lewis (co-director)

Writers:

John Lasseter (original story) &
Brad Lewis (original story) ...
(more)

Release Date:

24 June 2011 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Spy | Race | Race Car | Grand Prix | American

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 15 nominations

Cast

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)
Tony Shalhoub	...	Luigi (voice)
Jeff Garlin	...	Otis (voice)
Michel Michelis	...	Tomber (voice)
Jason Isaacs	...	Siddeley / Leland Turbo (voice)
Lloyd Sherr	...	Fillmore / Combat Ship (voice)
Bruce Campbell	...	Rod 'Torque' Redline (voice)
Teresa Gallagher	...	Mater's Computer (voice)
Jenifer Lewis	...	Flo (voice)
Stanley Townsend	...	Victor Hugo / Vladimir Trunkov / Ivan the Tow Truck (voice)
Velibor Topic	...	Alexander Hugo (voice)
Sig Hansen	...	Crabby (voice)
Guido Quaroni	...	Guido (voice)
Vanessa Redgrave	...	The Queen / Mama Topolino (voice)
John Mainieri	...	J. Curby Gremlin (voice)
Brad Lewis	...	Tubbs Pacer (voice)
Cheech Marin	...	Ramone (voice)
Jeff Gordon	...	Jeff Gorvette (voice)
Lewis Hamilton	...	Lewis Hamilton (voice)
Paul Dooley	...	Sarge (voice)
Edie McClurg	...	Minny (voice)
Richard Kind	...	Van (voice)
Katherine Helmond	...	Lizzie (voice)
John Ratzenberger	...	Mack (voice)
Michael Wallis	...	Sheriff (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Fernando Alonso	...	Fernando Alonso (voice: Spanish release)
Jess Harnell	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Junichi Kajioka	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Sonoko Konishi	...	Japanese Toilet Assistant voice (voice)
Barbara Kottmeier	...	Carla Veloso (voice)
John Lasseter	...	John Lassetire (voice)
Jan Nilsson	...	Flash (voice: Swedish release)
Colleen O'Shaughnessey	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Daniel Okeefe	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Vitaly Petrov	...	Vitaly Petrov (voice: Russian release)
Memo Rojas	...	Memo Rojas (voice: Latin American release)
Sebastian Vettel	...	Sebastian Schnell (voice: German release)
Jacques Villeneuve	...	Jacques Villeneuve (voice: French release)
Mark Winterbottom	...	Frosty (voice: Australian release)

Directed by
John Lasseter
Brad Lewis		(co-director)

Writing credits
John Lasseter		(original story) &
Brad Lewis		(original story) &
Dan Fogelman		(original story)
Ben Queen		(screenplay)

Produced by
Mark Nielsen	....	associate producer
Denise Ream	....	producer

Original Music by
Michael Giacchino

Film Editing by
Stephen Schaffer

Casting by
Natalie Lyon
Kevin Reher

Production Design by
Harley Jessup

Art Direction by
Jay Shuster

Production Management
Joshua Hollander	....	director of 3D production

Art Department
Erik Benson	....	storyboard artist
Daniel Chong	....	storyboard artist
Josh Cooley	....	storyboard artist
Brian Fee	....	storyboard artist
Craig Foster	....	graphic designer
Piper Freeman	....	production coordinator
Christy Gray	....	graphics intern
Mark Cordell Holmes	....	graphic artist
Ellen Moon Lee	....	graphic designer
Jason Merck	....	artist
Laura Meyer	....	graphic artist
Scott Morse	....	storyboard artist
Ernesto Nemesio	....	matte painter
Kevin O'Brien	....	storyboard artist
Bill Presing	....	storyboard artist
Nick Sung	....	storyboard artist
Derek Lee Thompson	....	storyboard artist
Alexander Woo	....	storyboard artist
Jack Chang	....	sketch artist (uncredited)

Sound Department
Vince Caro	....	original dialogue mixer
Frank Clary	....	assistant sound designer
Simon Diggins	....	adr recordist
Teresa Eckton	....	sound effects editor
Sean England	....	foley recordist
Pascal Garneau	....	supervising foley editor
Doc Kane	....	original dialogue mixer
Noah Katz	....	digital audio engineer
Michael Miller	....	original dialogue mixer
Tom Myers	....	sound designer
Tom Myers	....	sound re-recording mixer
Tom Myers	....	supervising sound editor
Al Nelson	....	sound effects editor
Justin Pearson	....	additional sound services
Ronald G. Roumas	....	recordist
Michael Semanick	....	sound re-recording mixer
Robert Shoup	....	sound effects editor
Michael Silvers	....	supervising sound editor
Mac Smith	....	assistant supervising sound editor
Dennie Thorpe	....	foley artist
Corey Tyler	....	foley recordist
Jana Vance	....	foley artist
Andrew Vernon	....	additional sound services

Visual Effects by
Adel Abada	....	lighting technical director
Amy L. Allen	....	digital artist
Eric Andraos	....	sets materials lead
Mimia Arbelaez	....	lighting techical director
Amit Baadkar	....	effects technical director
Nick Bartone	....	lighting technical director
Alec Bartsch	....	sets shading lead
Max Bickley	....	lighting technical director (as Maxwell Bickley)
Jeremy Birn	....	lighting artist
Brian Boyd	....	master lighting artist
Charu Clark	....	lighting artist
Justine Codron	....	lighting technical director
Trent Crow	....	shading technical artist
Francisco DeLaTorre	....	sets shading artist
Susan Fisher	....	lightspeed technical director
Jared Fong	....	character modeler/rigger
Maël François	....	lighting techical director
Carl N. Frederick	....	lightspeed technical director
Michael Frederickson	....	matte paint technical
Eric Froemling	....	visual effects artist
Michael Fu	....	motion graphic effects supervisor
Christina Garcia Weiland	....	sets dressing artist (as Christina Garcia)
Tolga Goktekin	....	visual effects artist
Ralph Gootee	....	rendering engineer
Robert Graf	....	rendering & optimization artist
Dave Hale	....	effects artist
Jim Cody Harrington	....	fx technical director
Allen Hemberger	....	fx technical director
Michael Honsel	....	character modeler/rigger
Chris Horne	....	lightspeed technical director
Tiffany Erickson Houghton	....	motion graphics artist
Wen-Chin Hsu	....	lighting technical director: Pixar
Katherine Ipjian	....	lighting artist
Yibing Jiang	....	shading technical director
Andrew Jimenez	....	visual effects artist
Sungyeon Joh	....	master lighting artist
Jason Johnston	....	visual effects artist
Thidaratana Annee Jonjai	....	character shading artist
Eduardo Martin Julve	....	lighting technical director
Mitch Kopelman	....	master lighting artist
Tanja Krampfert	....	character modeler/rigger
Matt Kuruc	....	sets technical development
Dominik P. Käser	....	software research & development
David Lally	....	crowds artist
Sherrie Law	....	sets shading & paint artist
Holly Lloyd	....	digital artist
Holly Lloyd	....	visual effects producer
Hsiao-Hsien Lo	....	crowds artist
Jenny Macy	....	shading technical director
Fatima Mojaddidy	....	systems administrator: Pixar
David Munier	....	sets shading artist
Nicholas Naugle	....	lighting artist
Ashok Nayar	....	rendering intern
Paul Oakley	....	lighting technical director
Hendrik Panz	....	digital effects artist
Leslie Pao	....	rendering coordinator
Jonathan D. Penney	....	stereoscopic rendering
Nick Pitera	....	sets modeling artist
Konstantin Promokhov	....	effects technical director
José Luis Ramos	....	lighting technical director
Kyle Ranson-Walsh	....	rendering manager (as Kate Ranson-Walsh)
Farhez Rayani	....	lighting artist: Pixar Animation Studios
Jordan Rempel	....	master lighting artist
Dawn Rivers	....	lighting technical director
Michael Rutter	....	sets dressing artist
Afonso Salcedo	....	lighting artist
Laura Savidge	....	image mastering engineer
Julien Schreyer	....	master lighting artist
Alex Seiden	....	global tech
Vincent Serritella	....	effects animation technical director
Apurva Shah	....	visual effects supervisor
Philip Shoebottom	....	shot lighting artist
Nadim Sinno	....	rendering & optimization artist
Ian Steplowski	....	character modeling and articulation artist
Stephanie Strickland	....	rendering technical director
Sonja Struben	....	lighting technical director
Joseph Suen	....	character modeler
Joseph Suen	....	sets modeler
Lan Tang	....	sets shading & paint artist
Najeeb Tarazi	....	sets technical development
Cameron Taylor	....	shading technical director
Kelli Townley	....	rendering & optimization artist: technical director
Nancy Tsang	....	sets modeler
Bill Watral	....	effects artist
Jesse Weglein	....	lighting technical director
Bob Whitehill	....	stereoscopic supervisor
Jane Yen	....	crowds artist

Camera and Electrical Department
Jeremy Lasky	....	director of photography: camera

Animation Department
Mahyar Abousaeedi	....	lead layout artist
Simon Allen	....	animator
Lindsay Andrus	....	animator (as Lindsay VanderGalien)
Josh Anon	....	layout artist
Jude Brownbill	....	animator
Adam Burke	....	animator
Andrew Cadelago	....	layout artist
Courtney Casper	....	animation technical coordinator
Guillaume Chartier	....	crowd animator
Kevin Chesnos	....	animator
Andrew Coats	....	animator
Brett Coderre	....	animator
Josh Cooley	....	additional story supervisior
Don Crum	....	animator
Eric S. Degner	....	production animator: dvd & promo
Robb Denovan	....	animator
Arik Ehle	....	crowd animation supervisor
Curran W. Giddens	....	animator
Andy Grisdale	....	layout artist
Adam Habib	....	layout artist
Chiwook Han	....	fix and additional animator
Aaron J. Hartline	....	animator
Neil Helm	....	animator
Catherine Hicks	....	animator
Tsung-Yin Hsieh	....	crowd animator
Ken Kim	....	animator
Aaron Koressel	....	animator
Shawn Krause	....	supervising animator
Todd Krish	....	animation shot support technician
Bruce Kuei	....	animator
Tingting Liu	....	fix animator
Ramiro Lopez Dau	....	animator
Michal Makarewicz	....	directing animator
Daniel Mason	....	animator
Steve Mason	....	animator
Rich McKain	....	animator
Louaye Moulayess	....	fix animator
Dave Mullins	....	supervising animator
Victor Navone	....	animation director
Erick Oh	....	fix animator
Michelle Ohana	....	animator
Sukwon Park	....	layout artist
Andreas Procopiou	....	animator
Charlie Ramos	....	layout artist
Jay Rennie	....	crowd animator
Max Sachar	....	animation coordinator
Mark Sanford	....	layout artist
Michael Sauls	....	fix animator
Andy Schmidt	....	animator
Brett Schulz	....	animator
Bob Scott	....	animator
Doug Sheppeck	....	animator
Matthew Strangio	....	animator
Benjamin Su	....	animator
Raphael Suter	....	animator
Rob Duquette Thompson	....	animator
Saschka Unseld	....	layout artist
Kristoff Vergne	....	animator
Carlo Vogele	....	animator
Bastian Wartenberg	....	layout artist
Royce Wesley	....	animator
Ricky Wight	....	fix animator
Stephen L. Wong	....	animator

Casting Department
Brendan Donnison	....	adr voice casting
Brendan Donnison	....	voice casting

Editorial Department
Colin Bohrer	....	editorial manager
Jason Brodkey	....	second assistant editor
Susan Brunig	....	color grading operator
Mark Dinicola	....	colorist
Jess Fulton	....	second assistant editor
Jason Hudak	....	associate editor
Bill Kinder	....	director of editorial and post-production
Meghan Kraft	....	editorial assistant
Richard Pinkham	....	media control transfer operator
Katherine Ringgold	....	second editor
Amera Rizk	....	second assistant editor
Jose Rosa	....	post-production assistant
Kevin Rose-Williams	....	first assistant editor
Robert Tachoires	....	media control manager
Christine Wilcock	....	management assistant
Erick Ziegler	....	post-production coordinator
Christopher Zuber	....	creative film services editorial
Shane Lefler	....	colorist (uncredited)
Shane Lefler	....	on-line editor (uncredited)
Jim Passon	....	color timer (uncredited)

Music Department
Peter Boyer	....	orchestrator
Ashley Chafin	....	music production coordinator
Andrea Datzman	....	orchestrator
Stephen M. Davis	....	music editor
Brad Dechter	....	orchestrator
George Doering	....	musician
Mark Gasbarro	....	orchestrator
Tom Hardisty	....	score recordist
Ira Hearshen	....	orchestrator
Mark LeVang	....	musician: keyboards
Frank Macchia	....	music preparation
Aaron Meyer	....	music preparation
Cameron Patrick	....	orchestrator
Justin Pearson	....	production music editor
Tim Simonec	....	conductor
Tim Simonec	....	lead orchestrator
Dan Wallin	....	music scoring mixer
Dave Wells	....	music copyist
Booker White	....	head of music preparation
Michael Aarvold	....	score engineer assistant (uncredited)

Other crew
Erik Anderson	....	laser camera operator
Bryan Bird	....	moose wrangler
Malcolm Blanchard	....	software engineer
Kelly Bonbright	....	consumer products
John Broadhead	....	tools
Shaun Brown	....	data management group: Pixar studio team
Alden Chew	....	software engineer
Per Christensen	....	RenderMan development
Jeremy Cowles	....	software engineer
Lars R. Damerow	....	technical lead: systems
Ross Dickinson	....	systems administrator
Paul Edmondson	....	production engineer
Masha Ellsworth	....	technical director
Mike Estes	....	assistant: Bruce Campbell
Edwin Fabian	....	HR coordinator
Tyler Fazakerley	....	desktop and infrastructure: Pixar studio team
Julian Fong	....	RenderMan development: Pixar studio team
Joseph Frost	....	technical lead: storage
Remy Galang	....	desktop and infrastructure
Grant Gatzke	....	a/v engineer
Jonathan Hadden	....	desktop and infrastructure (as Jon Hadden)
Robert Hamrick	....	desktop and infrastructure
John Hazelton	....	senior projectionist: Image Mastering
Kitt Hirasaki	....	software design
Michael Hitson	....	operations coordinator
Katelin C. Holloway	....	story department coordinator
Shawn Hovis	....	systems administrator and support
Ling Hsu	....	systems analyst
Jason 'Jayfish' Hull	....	desktop and infrastructure
Jose Ignacio	....	desktop and infrastructure
Ron S. Jong	....	infrastructure
Jason Kim	....	software engineer
Laurie Kim	....	software engineer
Jacob Kuenzel	....	production engineer
Erik Langley	....	scheduling manager
Chris Lasell	....	lead systems administrator
Marty Lew	....	systems administrator
Matthew Lindahl	....	desktop and infrastructure
John Robert Loy	....	software developer (as John Loy)
Edward Luong	....	software engineer
Corey Mayne	....	creative film services technical director
Jodi S. Miller	....	project manager
Fatima Mojaddidy	....	systems administrator: Pixar studio team
Lauren Montuori	....	production coordinator
BoB 'Naked BoB' Morgan	....	desktop and infrastructure
Daniella Muller	....	production assistant
Allison W. Nelson	....	production coordinator: sweatbox
Catherine Obuhoff	....	systems administrator
Adrian Ochoa	....	layout department manager
Silvia Palara	....	creative services
Luigi Passalacqua	....	craft service
Kirsten Peterson	....	additional production support
Nick Pitera	....	creative film services technical director
Peter Plackowski	....	systems administrator
Kyle Ranson-Walsh	....	story manager (as Kate Ranson-Walsh)
Susan Salituro	....	infrastructure engineer
Donald Schmidt	....	production engineer
Liz Seibert	....	production assistant
Burton Siu	....	software test engineer
David Sotnick	....	technical lead: network
Sean Stephenson	....	unix systems administrator
Sean Michael Stephenson	....	unix administrator
Mike Sundy	....	systems administrator
Tiffany Taira	....	video production
Andy Thomas	....	systems administrator
Grace Thompson	....	development associate
Erick Tryzelaar	....	team: rendering pipeline group
Dirk Van Gelder	....	software team lead
Rudy Vucelich	....	desktop and infrastructure
Jay Weiland	....	desktop and infrastructure
Ian Westcott	....	systems administrator
Wayne Wooten	....	RenderMan development
Shiqi Yang	....	software engineer
Timothy Zohr	....	marketing
Julie Adams	....	dialect coach (uncredited)
Thomas V. Thompson II	....	technology support: XGen (uncredited)

Thanks
Darla K. Anderson	....	special thanks
Tricia Andres	....	special thanks
Kevin Cresswell	....	special thanks
Steve Jobs	....	special thanks
Japeth Pieper	....	in loving memory of
Gary Rydstrom	....	special thanks
Andy Witkin	....	in loving memory of

Production Companies

• Walt Disney Pictures (presents)
• Pixar Animation Studios (as A Pixar Animation Studios Film)

Distributors

• Feelgood Entertainment (2011) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Forum Cinemas (2011) (Lithuania) (theatrical)
• Forum Hungary (2011) (Hungary) (theatrical)
• Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (2011) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (2011) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (2011) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (2011) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (2011) (France) (theatrical)
• Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (2011) (UK) (theatrical)
• Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (2011) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (2011) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (2011) (USA) (theatrical)
• Walt Disney Studios (2011) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Home Box Office (HBO) (2012) (Netherlands) (TV) (limited)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2011) (Greece) (DVD) (3D blu-ray)
• The Walt Disney Company (2011) (Spain) (all media)
• Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (2011) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (2011) (Argentina) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (2011) (Belgium) (DVD)
• Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (2012) (Germany) (DVD)
• Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (2011) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (2011) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (2011) (USA) (DVD)
• Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (2011) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Zon Lusomundo Audiovisuais (2011) (Portugal) (all media)

Other Companies

• Intelligent Media  international monitoring agency
• Klass Security and Investigations  anti-piracy security
• POP Sound  ADR recording
• Skywalker Sound  post-production sound services
• Walt Disney Records  soundtrack

Also Known As:

Runtime:

USA:106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Japanese | Italian | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | Datasat | SDDS

Certification:

USA:G | Malaysia:U | Ireland:G | Argentina:Atp | Canada:G (all jurisdictions) | UK:U | Denmark:7 | Portugal:M/6 | South Korea:All | Brazil:Livre | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Singapore:G | Germany:o.Al. | Sweden:Btl | Japan:G | Finland:K-3 | Finland:K-7/5 (self applied) | Philippines:G (MTRCB) | Netherlands:6 | Peru:PT | Spain:T/i

Company:

Walt Disney Pictures

Trivia:

Finn McMissile was originally conceived for an unused scene in the first Cars (2006) where Lightning McQueen and Sally were seeing a spy movie featuring McMissile while on a date.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): J. Curby Gremlin introduces himself as "from Detroit". Gremlins were made in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

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 now. Good luck!
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Ebert Presents: At the Movies: Episode #1.24" (2011)

Soundtrack:

Polyrhythm

Such a disappointment

16 years ago, Pixar Animation Studios released the first feature length computer animated film in history, Toy Story. What followed was an incredible run of success, an 11 film hot streak that yielded dozens of awards (including 11 Oscars), billions of dollars in box office receipts, and the admiration of audiences and critics everywhere. Year after year Pixar was a company you could rely on, and while not all the films were perfect, they all were at least of decent quality, and light years ahead of their competition from the likes of Dreamworks and Sony. So therefore it's heart-breaking to say that Pixar's hot streak has come to a crashing halt in 2011. Cars 2 is not just the weakest film in Pixar's catalogue, it is the worst high-profile animated release for some time.

If there is one Pixar film that divides opinion much more than any other, it is 2006's Cars. While by no means a bad film, it just didn't hit in the same way as films like Toy Story, Finding Nemo, or The Incredibles. It did middling numbers at the box office (by Pixar standards) and currently sits with a 74% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the only film from the studio below 90%. For director John Lasseter (also head of Pixar), Cars is obviously a very personal film, a nostalgic story about the loss small-town American values in the face of increased modernity. If it's not a complete success, credit must be given to Lasseter for at least trying to say something meaningful, and in typical Pixar fashion the film stands out in the increasingly crowded computer animation film market for at least attempting thematic depth, and it's ability to reach audiences both young and old. Cars 2 on the other hand is completely devoid of depth and subtlety, and will more than likely annoy adults while at times being arguably inappropriate for children. Returning director Lasseter takes the worst character from the first film (in my opinion the biggest reason for Cars' failure), and structures the whole story around his infuriating exploits. Imagine George Lucas, upon seeing the negative feedback following The Phantom Menace, making all of Episode 2 about Jar-Jar Binks. That's the kind of thing we're left with in Cars 2. Compounding the story problems is the troubling amount of guns and violence in the film. To make the argument that 'it's OK because they're just cars' is inexcusable. This is still supposed to be a children's film, and while the espionage sub-plot does have potential, there are elements that seem shockingly unsuitable for young kids.

This brings up a question: why would Pixar choose to revisit the only film they have produced which could conceivably be called a failure? Lasseter is on record as saying that the company would only explore sequels to their films if a good story could be developed, and the level of quality of the two Toy Story sequels seems to back up this sentiment, but it's hard to believe that anyone would think the script of Cars 2 is worthy of that high standard. Interestingly, there is one other way that Cars stands apart from other Pixar films: the estimated $8 billion merchandising revenues. While all Pixar films have profited from merchandising, none have had the global appeal of Cars. It's upsetting to think that Pixar, a company who seemed previously to place greater importance on the quality of its films than the bottom line, have gone for the easy cash grab, but there really seems to be no other reason for the existence of Cars 2. Everything about the films seems designed to increase the potential for selling merchandise, whether it's the films global locations which pander to international audiences, or the increasingly ridiculous characters and set-pieces, tailor made to be toys and video games. It's a cynical opinion, one which I had hoped I'd never feel towards a Pixar film, but it is undeniably true: Cars 2 is a film created not as an artistic endeavour, but to feed ancillary markets.

Pixar's golden run had to end sometime, and one bad film is a small price to pay for 11 good, with two or three being genuine masterpieces. What is most unfortunate is the catastrophic level of Cars 2's failure, and Pixar will undoubtedly lose a lot of respect for making such a soulless film, unworthy of the studio's name.