Entertaining fun

Rating: 8/10 (17 July 2011)

OK, so maybe Cars 2 doesn't peer into the meaning of life like the Toy Story series, and maybe it doesn't look into universal human truths like Wall-E or Up. However, it doesn't have to. Not all movies need to aspire to the heights of philosophy. Cars 2 was beautifully animated (sometimes breathtakingly so), laugh-out-loud funny at times, and in general, a fun summer popcorn movie that has a broad appeal.
It would, though, have been nice to feature the supporting characters a bit more heavily - I missed Sally and the Radiator Springs crew. However, it was good to see a strong female character featured, which in the animated world, is rare in non-princess movies. It was also fun to see some of Luigi and Guido's back-story.
My only minor quibble was that it was perhaps a bit more violent than it could have been (or maybe should have been, given the young age of the average Lightning McQueen fanatic). However, the violence was usually kept at acceptable levels (comparable to "Kung Fu Panda," I'd say - just with explosions rather than karate chops).
Like any Pixar movie, there are hundreds of references to other movies, pop culture, and history sprinkled through the film which will require many repeated viewings to pick up. (Of course, anyone with kids will end up viewing it repeatedly anyway, so being a parent of a small child, I personally appreciate this feature!) So, while Cars 2 won't be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, or likely a Best Picture Oscar, it was definitely worth seeing.