Late last week, I went to go see Pixar’s Cars 2 in theater with my friend and fellow Icrontian, Bobby “UPSLynx” Miller. Before we even walked into the theater, Bobby had already done his homework and learned that Cars 2 was receiving dreadful reviews from film critics. Considering that Pixar is lauded for its unbroken record of fantastically creative and high-scoring movies, this took both of us by surprise. After seeing the movie for ourselves, we discovered why.
Before I go any further, I’ll get this out of the way: Cars 2 is an extremely entertaining movie. Already a commercial success, the film is laden with fun characters, witty banter, visual puns, and plenty of high-octane action sequences. Both parents and kids will get a kick out the wild antics that happen to Mater and his new secret agent buddies. And six months from now, I’ll probably be picking up the Blu-ray plus DVD combo pack. Make no mistake: it’s a fun movie.
This is what Cars 2 is being compared to.
While Pixar may have successfully created yet another delightful film, they also carry the curse of having built up a series of ever-increasing expectations from moviegoers. After the recent chain of WALL-E, UP, and Toy Story 3, critics have come to expect a high level of creative excellence from Pixar. With Cars 2 focusing on just being fun and relatively simple-minded, there was no way it could have matched the caliber of the previous triad. The reviews on Rotten Tomatoes alone is quite telling: while the past three rated a 96% or higher, Cars 2 crawled past the finish line at a dismal 35%.
After seeing the movie, I had a long discussion with Bobby about what went wrong. We both agreed that Cars 2 was hands-down the worst Pixar has ever produced, even though we really enjoyed it. But why? What really kept the movie down? We understand that critics are comparing the fun romp in Cars 2 to the tear-jerking scenes in UP and Toy Story 3, but there had to be something more.
After careful consideration, we realized that the key element that is missing in Cars 2 is any sincere form of emotional attachment between the audience and the characters. This attachment is a significant reason why past Pixar films have been so successful as a creative medium. Ask yourself, when was the last time you actually gave a damn about a robot, a grumpy old man, or a group of animated toys? This is Pixar’s secret sauce: compelling stories, compelling characters, and the relationships the characters form with each other.
Mater's romance is just awkward to watch.
In the first Cars movie, we actually gave a damn (eventually) about the relationship with Lightning McQueen and Sally, as well as how McQueen and Mater became best friends. But in Cars 2, so much emphasis was placed on action and comedy, the emotional parts felt forced and paper-thin. Mater even develops a “relationship” with the female spy, going as far as inferring that they become a dating couple. Yet it couldn’t have been more awkward, and not in the fun dorky way we expect from Mater, but just plain fake. As for the relationship between McQueen and Mater as friends, it felt so disjointed that it lost its charm.
Speaking of, another major pain we had with the movie was the fact that it almost exclusively centers around Mater—aka Larry the Cable Guy. Those that like Mater will have a blast, but for the rest of us that like both a diverse cast of characters AND equal share of screen time between them will find Mater’s spotlight to be grating by the time the credits roll. Added to the mess is the fact that Mater is given the cliched roll of a bumbling idiot that somehow stumbles into the position of a reluctant yet daring secret agent that still manages to romance the lady spy. Yawn.
Meanwhile, the rest of the characters in Cars 2 are left aside to rust. Sure, most of them receive some screentime, and Pixar does make the most of every second they get, but in the end it just doesn’t feel balanced. McQueen’s love interest Sally is barely seen, and Doc Hudson isn’t in the movie at all—though the latter makes sense with the passing of Doc’s voice actor Paul Newman… but it still doesn’t feel properly addressed. Finally, McQueen himself is reduced from being the main character to just “that other guy” in a bunch of “meanwhile…” sequences.
At the end of the day, Cars 2 is still every bit a fun joyride through the countryside. But anyone expecting Pixar’s usual sense of deep and provoking character interactions will be rather disappointed. While I feel that 35% is way too harsh on the movie, I will agree that the closest Pixar has ever dipped into mediocrity.
Cars 2, while featuring larger-than-life fun, feels unbalanced with weak character development.
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