Disney and Pixar recently joined forces to produce a sequel to their hit 2006 movie Disney’s Cars. Now, we could have told you that kids like these characters because Disney Cars Party Supplies have been a top seller of ours for years. As usual with everything that Pixar seems to touch, it was wildly successful. Now, I am a huge Pixar fan. Huge. I have laughed and occasionally, cried my way through Toy Story, Monsters Inc., A Bug’s Life, the Incredibles, and all of the rest of their fantastic offerings. Up was probably one of the best movies that I saw in 2009, bar none. Seriously, that movie’s first ten minutes reduced me to ugly, hiccuping sobs in the first ten minutes, and by the end left me feeling warm and fuzzy like a cup of hot chocolate wrapped up in a Snuggie. But full disclosure here, I never saw Cars. Somehow or another, we never got around to taking the kids to see it in the theater. Eventually it came out on DVD, and we bought it, of course. The kids have watched it several times, but somehow it has always been at an inopportune time for me. I have seen snippets of it here and there, but never the whole thing. So I went into the movie theater this afternoon, a complete innocent.
Now the one thing I did know, was that Cars was all about Lightning McQueen, (Owen Wilson) the fastest race car around. So of course, I was expecting Lightning McQueen to be center stage for Cars 2. But I was oh, so wrong , for Cars 2 belongs to Tow Mater(Larry the Cable Guy). Mater is the lovable, if slightly dim-witted tow truck, who is Lightning Mcqueen’s best friend in Radiator Springs. Mater follows his friend, Lightning, to race in the World Grand Prix, where he finds himself embroiled in an international espionage adventure, without realizing it. He pairs up with Finn McMissile (Michael Caine) and Holly Shiftwell, (Emily Mortimer) a James Bond and Emma Peel type of super-spy duo. While Lightning Mcqueen does his best to hold off a rival racer Francesco Bernoulli, (John Turturro) it is up to Mater to help defeat an unknown super-criminal bent on world domination. Along the way, Mater and his friends, learn some lessons about friendship, confidence, and believing in yourself. (Let’s remember, it is a movie aimed at children!)
And make no mistake about it the children in the theater we attended LOVED it. Screamed with laughter, oohed and aahed at exciting parts, and even jumped up and down a bit. Now there have been other Pixar movies that I may rank higher, but there was still plenty for me and all of the other parents in the theater to enjoy. Pixar does it’s usual gorgeous animation work, with scenes set in Tokyo, Italy, and London that are absolutely breathtaking. There is a wide panning shot of London, that reminded me once again, of just how painstaking Pixar’s efforts are to really bring a city to life, just like they did for Paris in Ratatouille. There were plenty of grown-up asides thrown into the character’s dialogue for adults to get a laugh, while still charming the socks off of the younger kids. Michael Caine, and John Turturro are absolutely delightful, and Eddie Izzard as an international business mogul is always a treat!
So, to sum up there is plenty of good, with only a little bad to be said about this movie. Here are my major pros and cons:
Pros
A really enjoyable Toy Story Hawaiian Vacation (with all the original cast) short at the beginning of the movie
Gorgeous animation
Amusing dialogue that the whole family will be able to appreciate
An engaging storyline that had the younger kids absolutely glued to the screen
Some catchy original songs, that I heard kids humming as we left the theater.
Cons
Some of the car races go on for quite a while, I thought, adding to a fairly long running time of nearly two hours.
The story line, while great for kids, didn’t really hold my attention as well as other Pixar movies have.
A blasphemous cover of Cars “You Might Think” performed by Weezer. Rivers Cuomo, you sir, are no Ric Ocasek. (And I like Weezer.)
So to sum up, generally a fun movie that really is good for the whole family. Not the strongest Pixar offering, but still head and shoulders above some of the kids movies that come out. I think that it is a movie that appeals most to kids younger than eight or nine years old. Older kids will probably still enjoy it, but the visual style (which in some ways reminded me of Thomas the Tank Engine) combined with a fairly simple message really does seem aimed at the younger set. Do you need to see it in the theater? I will give it a qualified “yes.” Pixar’s beautiful animation really is best enjoyed on the big screen, but you will still enjoy it if you wait for it to come out on DVD and watch it at home with your family.
