Just about the very first Pixar movie that IS NOT a great one

Rating: Null/10 (23 June 2012)

"Pixar itself did a perfect example of the typical uninteresting sequel with CARS 2"; I wrote that like a week ago to make a point for my TOY STORY 3 commentary, based on what I thought it was going to be my one and only viewing of CARS 2 (that happened like a year ago, on the big screen certainly). However last Monday I joined my girlfriend and her little nephews, unexpectedly, for a DVD viewing of it.
So, do I still think this is an uninteresting sequel? The answer is both yes and no. Yes because the plot doesn't have the usual amount of imagination from a Pixar film; and no just because I had a nice time watching it, it was amusing and it wouldn't be fair to say it's a complete bad movie. It's just that being Pixar, and being the sequel to one of my favorite movies from them (not to mention the fact that John Lasseter himself directed it), it SHOULD have been a complete winner.
The main problem of CARS 2 is its hollow story; we all know that Pixar knows how to deliver great stuff from a very basic idea, but this time that basic idea is, to begin with, not very good: it's the kind of classic going-in-a-world-tour material, with Lightning McQueen going to Japan, Italy and England for some car racing tour. While I haven't seen the actual film (THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS: TOKYO DRIFT) I do have seen three movies of that franchise and I recall thinking while watching the trailer for "Tokyo Drift" that they were just going to do the same thing but now in Tokyo (being that Tokyo element the main attraction). Here the problem is that nothing is quite exciting once we begin to go with our main characters to those countries; it looks great, to be fair, but for instance Lighting McQueen's participation is reduced to basically nothing memorable thanks to this repetitive thing.
The main change of CARS 2 is that now Mater is the main character. It's his film basically and he becomes the protagonist of the part of this sequel that has a James Bond element, with spy cars, British intelligence, Mater being confused as an American spy car and stuff. It's funny material, I must say, and clearly the reason why I said that I had a good time watching it. Hell, I can't deny that I was way more interested in it than the kids I was with! Anyway, CARS 2 is pretty much, and sadly, the very first Pixar movie that IS NOT great.
*Watched it (again) on 18 June, 2012