Cars 2 2011

First off, a little personal history: All the way back in 1995, I received a computer game as a Christmas gift called Putt-Putt Goes to the Moon. My mom didn't even know what it was; I still can hear her saying, "What is that? A golf game?" Despite its title, it had nothing to do with any sport; Putt-Putt was actually an anthropomorphic purple convertible that actually gets launched on a rocket to the Moon while visiting a fireworks factory. As the game progresses, that titular vehicle does everything from save an alien from moon goo to play the arcade game Bear Stormin' to meet up with an abandoned NASA Rover...and, eventually makes it back to terra firma. I quickly got addicted to that game, and soon got my hands on not only other Putt-Putt titles, but also others from the same developer, Humongous Entertainment. One of their games, Let's Explore the Airport, I awaited owning for well over a year, playing the demo to death the whole time. Words can't describe my excitement when my mom randomly decided to purchase it for me as an end-of-school reward.

Fast forward to 2004: I hadn't touched any Humongous Entertainment games in years, but I did fondly remember playing them on my first Mac, which was long gone. That November, I went with some friends from church to see The Incredibles in theaters, where the trailer for the first Cars flick was unveiled. As you can imagine, those Putt-Putt games were the first thing I thought of; it was almost like a 3-D version of a childhood favorite. I actually didn't see Cars until well after it came out on DVD, but I enjoyed it, particularly the vehicle-themed spoofs of other Pixar films during the end credits.

That was years ago; the Cars franchise is now a trilogy, and I'm just now seeing the second outing. What did I think? Honestly, I had a blast with it; the action and intensity was on point, and Mater's triumph over dire circumstances was very inspiring. I loved the voice actors, especially the female British spy, Holley Shiftwell. As usual, the animation was excellent. Despite what some people may think, I think this is another winner from the studio that pioneered computer animation; it was vastly superior to the last one I sat through: the dreadful, nerve-grating Incredibles 2. If you like family-friendly action/adventure flicks, this one is for you.

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.