Cars 2

Lasseter is smart enough to tell us a completely different story than in the first movie. However, it is far from other titles like "Toy Story" or "The Incredibles".

I like <em>'Cars 2'</em>. It doesn't deserve to be held in the same bracket as 2006's <em>'Cars'</em>, but that doesn't mean there's not a good time to be had with it. The premise mixes motorsport with espionage, admittedly they don't execute it incredibly but it's still satisfactory to see unfold. One slight negative is that they give Mater more screen time than Lightning McQueen, which is a mistake. Larry the Cable Guy as Mater is enjoyable, just not front and center as the lead. They could've done a similar plot that has Owen Wilson and McQueen at the forefront. Elsewhere, Michael Caine (Finn) is always a joy to listen to; even if his character isn't anything special. The racing stuff is cool, with the World Grand Prix. The parts of the story involving strictly that are definitely more entertaining than the spy stuff, especially as we get to see a few different countries via animation - which come out nicely. All in all, a weaker film than the first for sure but it's still pretty solid for a Disney animated sequel.