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IF my
memory serves me
correctly the story
behind
Cars
2
isn’t an elaborate
one. John Lasseter,
the head-honcho of
creative at Disney
came up with the
idea for
Cars
2
while on a
promotional tour of
some kind. He was
admiring all of the
great architecture
and places of Europe
and locales abroad
and thought how
funny it would be
having Lightning
McQueen interact
with each other and
with the places
themselves. The idea
is a noble one and
one that was
implemented well
with the Mater’s
Tall Tale shorts on
Disney channel.
However, as a
feature film, it
leaves something to
be desired with the
Pixar standard.
Let’s
be upfront. Pixar
didn’t miss with
Cars
2.
Kids LOVE it. My two
boys thought it was
funny and filled
with excitement. The
kids who became
infatuated with
Lightening McQueen
and the gang from
Radiator Springs
will like this story
even more--- or kids
right around that
age group will. But
I can see how the
older audience who
likes watching Pixar
movies with their
children as much as
their children like
watching them will
find this movie
lacking. There’s not
a unique and
original story, it’s
an expected move
forward to anyone
who’s played the
video games over the
years.
In
Cars
2,
Lightening McQueen
has become an even
bigger success as a
race car and he’s
done it with the
help of all of his
friends in Radiator
Springs. But when a
world tour
opportunity comes
along to race
against the globe’s
best race cars, he
wants to take some
time off to spend
with his friends.
Mater interjects and
enlists Lightening
to join the racing
circuit but with him
tagging along. Only
while Mater’s
tagging along in
Japan he gets tied
in to a couple of
spy cars trying to
stop a plot of world
domination and well…
hijinx and hijacks
abound as Lightening
tries to prove he’s
the best race car in
the world and Mater
tries to prove that
he’s more than a
clown.
The
animation and the
production all the
way across from
Pixar is nothing
short of superb with
Cars
2
just
like it is with all
of the Pixar movies.
The plot moves at a
steady pace that’s
predictable but
still fun to watch.
The animation is
some of the best
that’s out there
right now and the
voice acting is
spot-on. With
production,
direction,
animation, and
everything else
there’s nothing to
gripe about. It’s
just that plot and
the root of the
story aren’t up to
par with a robot
looking for love, a
fish trying to
conquer his fears
and save his son, or
a superhero that’s
having a midlife
crisis.
I’m not saying that
Pixar shouldn’t do
sequels because
there are plenty of
opportunities to
expand on some
wonderful
characters, but they
have to do it wisely
from here on out.
The places that the
characters go and
the things that they
do moving forward
are just as
important as the
characters
themselves. You
can’t have a
two-dimensional
story with Pixar’s
wonderful 3D
animation.
The extras on Cars 2
with the Blu-ray
release aren’t
great… There’s a
commentary, and two
very funny animated
shorts. The problem
is that’s all there
is. Everything else
was saved for the
5-Disc 3D Blu-ray,
Blu-ray, DVD,
Digital Copy combo
pack and that’s not
really that cool. I
get there’s
incentive to buy 3D
Blu-ray if you have
a 3D capable TV and
system you should
buy that. But after
the electronics
industry made the
transition to HDTV
such a lengthy one,
you can’t expect
every family to rush
out and buy a 3D TV
just yet. That has
to be done just as
gradually as the
last transition. And
having all of the
extras that Blu-ray
lovers crave on the
3D release is a tad
disappointing.
What’s here is
great, what’s there
is what’s better,
and it’s unfortunate
that a new format
alone can’t just be
a selling point;
it’s got to be bonus
features too.
Cars
2
is a fun movie.
You’ll laugh and
you’ll root for the
characters to
succeed but you’ll
also walk away from
it a tad
disappointed. Not
because it’s a bad
movie but because
the standard before
the movie was so
excellent. Every
film Pixar had done
before
Cars
2
raised the bar, this
movie barely cleared
it.
Brave
will be great,
there’s no doubt.
But you have to hope
that the next
Incredibles,
the next
Toy
Story,
or the next
Monsters Inc.
will be just as good
as those original
stories.
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