Even though I gave the first “Cars” film a positive review; I claimed it was my least favorite out of the films made by Pixar Animation. However, “Cars 2” can now claim that spot. I have given at least a positive review to all of the films released by Pixar. They all seemed to hit the right note at bringing comedy for the kids and heartfelt drama for adults, but “Cars 2” is an unnecessary remake that doesn’t bring any of those elements that I mentioned earlier.  “Cars 2” is just an average and minimally funny picture that can be considered one of Pixar’s least appealing films.

Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) is back to his hometown of Radiator Springs from winning the prestigious Piston Cup again. His elite racing skills have attached the attention of a well known Italian racecar named Francesco Bernoulli and he is voiced by John Turturro. He wants McQueen and other cars from around the world to join him in the first ever World Grand Prix; which are three separate races that will take place on three separate countries (Japan, Italy, and England).

But that’s not all because while McQueen is racing, his best friend Mater (Larry the Cable Guy) comes with him and is mistaken as an American spy by two other spies. The two spies, Finn McMissile (Michael Caine) and Holley Shiftwell (Emily Mortimer), are trying to stop an evil professor from creating a giant scheme that involves the World Grand Prix and the world’s oil supply.

Since we are dealing with spies, there will be some action and this film has probably the most action in a Pixar film since “The Incredibles”. However, “Cars 2”’s action isn’t really that thrilling, especially compared to “The Incredibles”. Not to mention that the action is probably too mature for kids because the action is full of gun fights and explosions and actual cars getting killed.  How this got past a G rating I will never know. The kids probably won’t understand all this spy business anyway. They won’t understand why all this exposition is happening because the scheme involving the professor is actually kind of complicated for a young kid. Plus the kids won’t get all the in-jokes because the spy scenes play out like a James Bond style film and I don’t think 5 year-old kids will understand an in-joke or spoof of a film they have most-likely never seen. They will probably just enjoy the bright colors and the jokes that they will understand.

This is a Pixar film and Pixar is best known for tugging at our hearts with effective drama. If you’re expecting that film in “Cars 2” then you won’t find it because “Cars 2” doesn’t have any of that.  When it tries to get across something sentimental it is not effective. Even the first “Cars” had some tender emotion such as the scenes involving the late Paul Newman’s Doc Hudson character and the climax scene was also pretty effective as well. But “Cars 2” is just practically all action and full of racing and chases. It does try to teach the value of friendship, which I think is fine, but it doesn’t come across as effective compared to other Pixar films.

The only thing I admired about this picture was the look of the film. The animation is visually dazzling with all those bright and vibrant colors and the scenes in Japan show a good example of this. The Tokyo skyline at night is very bright and alive with fantastic colors. The scenes in Italy and England are designed very elaborately and that what makes it just gorgeous to look at.

However that’s pretty much all I cared about in this film. The action is not that thrilling, the Pixar magic of comedy and drama isn’t there, and there were only a few memorable characters. I also didn’t like the idea that they were trying to make Mater the star of this film. He works more as the sidekick that provides comic relief. I also found Larry the Cable Guy’s voice over work in the first movie to be funnier, which at the same time made the Mater character more amusing.  However I didn’t care much for the Mater character in this film and I didn’t find him funny. There is just not enough humor or interest in the character to make him carry half the movie.  Perhaps the most memorable characters were Michael Caine and Emily Mortimer as British spy cars. They are just so creatively designed and their voice over work is very well done.

This film was directed by John Lasseter, who was the one behind “Toy Story”, “Toy Story 2” and “Cars”. If you have seen those films then you would realize that those films are filled with both smart comedy and heartfelt drama, but this film doesn’t. I’m just surprised that he made such an average film after making two animated masterpieces (“Toy Story” and “Toy Story 2”) and the above-average but enjoyable “Cars”.  “Cars 2” just doesn’t have that Pixar magic like the other films do. Also, if you decide to go see the film, then don’t see it in 3-D. Since 3-D makes everything darker, you won’t be able to enjoy the bright, vibrant colors.

**1/2|G|112 Minutes