Cars 2 is a Snoozer

The much anticipated return of the Cars franchise was a top priority for the family this summer. We saw the new film Cars 2 from Disney’s Pixar division, this weekend. Zzzzzzzz.

Our three-year-old made it through the first hour and 15 then started running around and eventually curled up in my lap and feel asleep. It runs about 120 minutes, racing through 5 different countries –Japan, Italy, Austria, France and the United Kingdom. Knowing that it’s the Grand Prix racing series actually made it harder to sit through, knowing it was not ending with the next race.

We pick the story back up several years after Lightening McQueen’s (Owen Wilson) self-less sacrifice to help his idol The King sputter to the finish line of the tie breaker for the Piston Cup from the original movie. McQueen is living the life he wanted with his friends in Radiator Springs when he’s not on the circuit. He’s won the Piston Cup 4 times since the first film and he’s a big star.

He’s got his lovely Sally (Bonnie Hunt) and his best friend Mater (Larry the Cable Guy) and the story begins with his return to his home to relax and reconnect…until…

Mater shoots off his mouth on a call-in show and the challenge begins for McQueen to defend himself from the Formula One racing car Francesco Bernoulli (John Turturro) on the European racing circuit and the games begin.

Now things get complicated and quasi-political.

While McQueen is defending the faux pas of his rough-around-the-edges best friend Mater, Mater somehow accidently gets involved in a complicated spy subplot that might interest the older viewers but will mostly be lost on the target audience. The slogan for the movie is “McQueen drives while Mater spies.” Yawn.

The “lemons” are the main element of a criminal ring who are trying to take over (hello, cash for clunkers…) with some throwback characters like Acer the Pacer and Grem the Gremlin. My very favorite comedian/actor Eddie Izzard plays the chief bad guy Miles Axelrod. Sir Michael Caine is also charming as the spy Finn McMissle. Even Captain Sig Hansen from “The Deadliest Catch’s” Northwestern makes a cameo.

The movie takes some jabs at “Big Oil” and alternative fuel is heralded as the solution that doesn’t quite work due to the nefarious intent of the greedy businessman Axelrod. In the end, McQueen’s friends save the day and McQueen’s life, of course. Mater is proven to be much smarter than we all thought and now they’re all equal (insert group hug here).

Ok. It’s a kid’s movie, right? My older kids loved it. They claim it’s better than the first, but I suspect it’s because it’s fresh in their minds. The simplicity of the story from the first Cars was charming and endearing. This one tries to be more Bourne Identity than Toy Story.  But it is fun to look for the puns – Carate in Japan, Prince Wheeliam in Britain, Mel Dorado – and the racing scenes are entertaining. All in all, it’s a long summer movie for the 6 and over crowd and doesn’t have any wincing moments for parents that so many films have now.

Check out all the add-ons, games, apps and contests at www.disney.go.com/cars.

Photo courtesy: Disney’s Pixar