The First Worst Movie Pixar Has Ever Brought In

Rating: 1/10 (26 June 2011)

Up until now, Pixar could do no wrong. Hopefully, this will be both the first and last time with "Cars 2." Pixar has so far been the best animated studio for the last 15 years or so, and has never delivered a bad movie even once. They don't resort to pop culture references and star egos like Dreamworks has around the same time. But then, even Pixar hasn't been intact with "Cars 2." With this movie, the studio is condescending to the level of Dreamworks also with pop culture and star egos, not to mention a confusing storyline that can baffle the young ones. Still no matter how bad the reviews, and I'm agreeing with them,the movie will rake in business like any other animated movie from the 1990s on.
What is wrong with this movie? Where can I begin? Well, first of all, the story borrows and rips off the James Bond movies during the Sean Connery era. Although Michael Caine has never been James Bond, he is sure suave and reliable enough to play any British spy, animated or live action. He definitely is the perfect fit as the British secret agent car Finn McMissile. His part is good enough, but he doesn't seem to intertwine with two of the original "Cars," the hero Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) or the redneck Mater (Larry the Cable Guy), who now upstages McQueen as the hero. Mater has the role as an unwitting agent and is foil to Finn McMissile and his sleek female assistant Holley Shiftwell (The British actress Emily Mortimer), and even falls for her at the end of the movie. Still nothing of interest.
Second, the story is way too confusing. It's all about greed of the oil supply. The villain is Sir Miles Axelrod (Eddie Izzard), who wants to replace all of the gas oil with synthetic oils so cars can use it in a World Grand Prix in Tokyo, Paris, Monte Carlo, and London. There are even offensive jokes about the Italian mafia, something never done in Pixar before, and Pixar usually has kind, sensitive humor. Mater, Finn McMissile, and Holley Shiftwell join forces to thwart this dastardly attempt and restore the oil to its normalcy, while Lightning McQueen races against a new Italian Rival Francesco Bernoulli (John Turturro).
Third and most important of all, it is rated G, and with all the frightening gunplay and violence, and literal bathroom humor, it should be rated PG. Some people would suggest it should be PG-13. Back in the day, there were numerous G-rated cartoons that should have been rated PG, and PG-rated cartoons that should be rated R. "Cars 2" is no exception to the inaccurate ratings of animated movies.
The only good things about the movie are the colorful artwork, especially in the Tokyo sequences, and the addition of other characters besides cars, such as submarines and a smiling plane named Siddeley, McMissile's espionage partner.
I'm so glad I didn't bring any small children to this movie. There were no laughs in the audiences and the children came out of there asking their parents, "What's it all about?" Original characters come back in smaller cameos, but their scenes really had no place in the movie. The actor doing Fillmore did a lame imitation of George Carlin, who died three years ago. Luckily, Doc Hudson, played by the late great Paul Newman, wasn't replaced, he had a small tribute. If "Cars 2" had the same type of endearing storyline like let's say, "Toy Story 2," or "Toy Story 3," adults would have been fine with it. But no, it had to be like any routine animated movie from other studios. Hopefully, Pixar in the future will go back to it's usual style again because there is an adult audience for animation.