On the surface, it didn't seem like there was much cause for a direct sequel to this franchise, but given their track record I had to give Pixar the benefit of the doubt. In execution, it didn't take long for those early worries to be confirmed. It's like a jumbo-sized TV episode with incredible production values but a weak script. Where the original was, clearly, the worst of Pixar's properties, at least it had an honest message at heart; the abundance of interstates and high speed travel has ruined the necessity and charm of small-town America, and Cars existed to both mourn and celebrate that lost taste of cultural charm.
By comparison, there's really no reason for Cars 2 to exist. It's a straight-up Saturday morning cartoon, introducing its audience to caper after caper without the benefit of a discernible moral. And while there's really nothing wrong with that - there's an insatiable need for kid's fodder on the big screen, certainly - it's depressing to see it come from the same company responsible for generation-transcending classics like Monsters Inc., Toy Story and Up. While it'll undoubtably sell plenty of toys, this was the wrong movie at the wrong time for Pixar, and a rare instance of the studio losing ground to the competition.
Review by drqshadowBlockedParent2020-02-06T15:29:08Z
On the surface, it didn't seem like there was much cause for a direct sequel to this franchise, but given their track record I had to give Pixar the benefit of the doubt. In execution, it didn't take long for those early worries to be confirmed. It's like a jumbo-sized TV episode with incredible production values but a weak script. Where the original was, clearly, the worst of Pixar's properties, at least it had an honest message at heart; the abundance of interstates and high speed travel has ruined the necessity and charm of small-town America, and Cars existed to both mourn and celebrate that lost taste of cultural charm.
By comparison, there's really no reason for Cars 2 to exist. It's a straight-up Saturday morning cartoon, introducing its audience to caper after caper without the benefit of a discernible moral. And while there's really nothing wrong with that - there's an insatiable need for kid's fodder on the big screen, certainly - it's depressing to see it come from the same company responsible for generation-transcending classics like Monsters Inc., Toy Story and Up. While it'll undoubtably sell plenty of toys, this was the wrong movie at the wrong time for Pixar, and a rare instance of the studio losing ground to the competition.