Early Warning Signs For PIXAR's Cars 2

[Dr. G]

The entire family really enjoyed Cars 2, but the general concensus is that it was not as good as Cars. Keep in mind we are a family who really enjoyed Cars, so it would be tough to top. I thought the movie got off to a bit of a slow start once we went to Radiator Springs, but I suppose they had to lay the groundwork for where everyone is. I thought the story was good, though I had to explain a couple things to my 9-year old. I didn't appreciate the Big Oil bash though--too political for my tastes. I wish I knew more about cars in general to get more of the in-jokes. I loved seeing the International destinations since I've been to all but Tokyo. The artistry was the best. I can't wait to see it on Blu-Ray and pause for the scenery. I really liked the Weezer version of You Might Think by the Cars (I'm a huge Cars fan and have all their CDs). The boys in the family liked the movie more than the girls (who really liked the first Cars). I'm guessing the lack of a romance aspect in Cars 2 (Mater and Holley didn't work, in my opinion) played a role in the girls' reaction. I'm a huge James Bond fan so loved the spy aspect of the show.

So, there's a bunch of unorganized, random thoughts. Overall, I loved the movie and will probably see it again next week in 3-D. I'll continue to buy the toys . I like that Pixar continues to try new and different things--stories, settings, characters, etc. I'd rank it solidly in the middle of the Pixar pack for me, along with Monsters Inc., The Incredibles, Finding Nemo, and Up. It was way better, in my opinion, than Bug's Life, Ratataouille, and Wall-E. But, it was not as good as Cars or the Toy Story series.

Figured I'd better post my thoughts, since I've been a bit vocal about the critics in this thread. Your mileage may vary...

[unclemike]

I just saw Cars 2 yesterday, and here is my take: it's probably the worst Pixar film I've ever seen, but it's also the best movie I've seen so far this year.

I had a lot of fun watching it, and even though some of the story was forced, still got a little touched at the end.

[JADP]

Who cares what critcs say???? I saw the movie and LOVED it! They are saying, "its too much Mater", well guess what? The movie is called Cars, not Lightning Mcqueen! In the first movie we are introduced to Lightning and his adventure lands us in Ratiator Springs and we grow to love our new friends there, now that we know them we are on a new adventure with them and instead of the story being told by Mcqueen it is a story about their friendship, together. I laughed I cried, it was full of adventure and plot twists. And most importantly like every Pixar movie it had heart and a message! The crux, "he who finds a friend has found a treasure". The animation was also far superior to any thing out there and the 3D was excellent!

[Dustysage]

Wow, even regular audiences don't seem to like it much. Regular audience members rate Cars 2 just 64% on Rotten Tomatoes (that won't be good for long term box office and word of mouth sales). I really expected that number to be a lot higher even though the critics seem to hate it (currently just 33%).

This is so sad. I'm just crazy about Pixar and the high quality of their films. Next time, they need to Call John Lasseter in a little earlier if the film looks like it's in trouble. They could probably have saved this one with about 6 months to a year of additional work on his part. He really is a miracle worker, but he's stretched so thin these days and they have him doing so much in the company.

[BuenaVista28]

Wow, even regular audiences don't seem to like it much. Regular audience members rate Cars 2 just 64% on Rotten Tomatoes (that won't be good for long term box office and word of mouth sales). I really expected that number to be a lot higher even though the critics seem to hate it (currently just 33%).

This is so sad. I'm just crazy about Pixar and the high quality of their films. Next time, they need to Call John Lasseter in a little earlier if the film looks like it's in trouble. They could probably have saved this one with about 6 months to a year of additional work on his part. He really is a miracle worker, but he's stretched so thin these days and they have him doing so much in the company.

Maybe Lassetter is the problem?

Perhaps he's losing his touch? remember this is the same guy that said fairy tales are not creative (3 days before Tangled premiered), all while he's creating sequel after sequel for Pixar.(real creative huh?!) I really hope its not the case, but just a thought.

I personally enjoy Pete Doctor and Andrew Stanton's films more anyhow.

[Aladdin]

I smell something rotten at rotten tomatoes, too.

33% for BOTH of Disney's two biggest summer releases?

Don't believe that for a moment.

And even with "professional movie critics" bashing Cars 2, with apparently any sledgehammer they can grab, 2/3rd's of the regular movie going public still give thumbs up to this movie. And 2/3rd's is certainly a far cry from a bad movie. That bears repeating 2 out 3 regular people are giving this movie a thumbs up! And just how many millions of people is that? That's still an incredible accomplishment! 2/3rd's is not a failure, especially when looking at an opening box office weekend of over 66 million. It a good story with a nice bit of Inspector Coluseau-like work by Matar. And I do think that this movie is better than Steve Martin's Pink Panther movies, and better than that the recent Get Smart movie, too. And I dare say, Cars 2 will also have the highest sales of movie related merchandise this year, compared to any other movie.

And the biggest complaint about the movie is that it's not as good as a Pixar movie should be. And it doesnt' have the emmotional drama of Toy Story 3. And then the critics calling the story everything from simplistic, to too complicated to understand. Yes, at least one critic said, It's not as good as a Pixar movie should be (holding Pixar to a higher standard? Just look at Kung Fu Panda 2 getting an 82% critic rating! Yeah, something smells REALLY Rotten at Tomatoes!)

Yes, TS3 a great movie! BUT, Cars 2 IS a good movie. TS3 may have hit a home run and 3 RBI's, BUT Cars 2 looks like it's getting at least a triple with 2 or 3 RBI's. But you read some of the critics and RT's rating system (and even some posts here) and it sounds like Cars 2 struck out at bat! I call BS on critics and RT.

This sounds discussion sounds a little like one that went on at another website, when the 1st Cars movie came out. Someone kept posting that Cars would be a failure, and spell then end of pixars success, They kept posting negative things about the movie, even when movie continued to do extremely well at the box office.

Cars 2 getting a 33% critics rating??!?!?!?!?! Yeah, just a warning ~ don't go feeding out of the THAT is Biggest bowl of RT BS of the summer.

[gameplayer951]

Well in my opinion, it was a good film, and I liked it. It had its moments, but it was pretty forgettable. The action scenes were pretty cool, though.

I think I went into the theater expecting one thing, and it was actually something completely different. I'll probably see it again soon, just so I can actually expect what they wanted me to expect in the first place. I'd give it a 6.5/10. (Cars 1 was waaay better IMO.)

[unclemike]

Maybe Lassetter is the problem?

Perhaps he's losing his touch? remember this is the same guy that said fairy tales are not creative (3 days before Tangled premiered), all while he's creating sequel after sequel for Pixar.(real creative huh?!)

Considering that those sequels were TS2 and TS3, which were both much better and more creative than the first TS (as great as that was), I don't think your comment is true. At all.

[Baloo]

1.9 % increase Monday to Tuesday box office. More than 7million for Tuesday.


Yep it's a failure. Lol

[sediment]

I smell something rotten at rotten tomatoes, too.

RT is merely collecting reviews found on the internet. Not sure why you think there is anything more to it than that.

If anything, the theory that collecting data in binary ("rotten" or "fresh") results in an average that's close to reality seems to have more problems when the film is getting 2 or 3 stars or 5 to 7 on a scale of 0 to 10. RT rating could go either way on a movie like that.

Personally, my money is spent on movies rated 80% and higher. I've limited money and time.

[BassBone]

It has been a long time coming.... I am by no means elated by this news but was it not Lasseter himself who put the breaks on the Disney sequel machine based on dwindling quality and general tackiness? Sure, Toy Story had its' sequels but many can, and have, argued that they "grew" up with the audience so they had deeper meaning. I can buy that one, but after years of not so subtle prodding and preaching from Pixar scribes about the environment, globalization, and other messages du jour I find it strange that they further milked a franchise that is very contrary to their message. Sure, they're a business owned by an even larger business and every business is in it for money (BUSINESS!). I get that too, but Lasseter's big mouth has done a bit of preaching and now Pixar and the consumer is paying for it. To be honest, I started worrying around UP. What a bleak movie.

Really? Up is one of the most beautiful, uplifting, heartwarming films I have ever seen. It is probably my favorite Pixar film.

[sediment]

This discussion sounds a little like one that went on at another website, when the 1st Cars movie came out. Someone kept posting that Cars would be a failure, and spell then end of pixars success, They kept posting negative things about the movie, even when movie continued to do extremely well at the box office.

If you want to see a bigger sellout than Cars2, you can go visit that same web site, where there is no mention at all about how rotten (tomatoes) Cars2 is. My, how things have changed in the past 5 years. You won't believe how great EVERYTHING is at DIS from that web site's POV.

[disneyland55]

Personally I did not like Cars 2 much at all. It was OK at best, and had it's moments... but it easily takes the bottom spot on my list of favorite pixar movies. I'm a huge pixar fan, I've loved every single one of their films up until this Summer. I wish I could say I loved Cars 2, just to keep up with Pixar's perfect record, but I have to be honest... it wasn't very good. I don't mean to be negative or bash the film, but I personally feel they could have done better. Some of my family members loved it, but it just didn't do anything for me.

It surprised me that I didn't like it, because I have loved almost everything Lasseter has done! But I still trust him and the Pixar brand as a whole. I can't wait to see Brave

[Coheteboy]

Personally I did not like Cars 2 much at all. It was OK at best, and had it's moments... but it easily takes the bottom spot on my list of favorite pixar movies. I'm a huge pixar fan, I've loved every single one of their films up until this Summer. I wish I could say I loved Cars 2, just to keep up with Pixar's perfect record, but I have to be honest... it wasn't very good. I don't mean to be negative or bash the film, but I personally feel they could have done better. Some of my family members loved it, but it just didn't do anything for me.

It surprised me that I didn't like it, because I have loved almost everything Lasseter has done! But I still trust him and the Pixar brand as a whole. I can't wait to see Brave

I understand what you mean. But Pixar films have a way of improving with age. At least that's what happened to me with the first CARS movie and even UP.

When I first saw UP i was extremely disappointed. I felt it was a mess of a movie with too strong of an opening and then a scatter-brained 3rd act. I still feel that way but repeat viewings allowed me to soften my views and love it for what it is because the characters are so strong.

Even though I only "liked" Cars 2, I have a feeling that I'll like it more after a few more viewings.

[RiversOfAmerica]

When I first saw UP i was extremely disappointed.

Oh, wow, I'm so glad you said this. I thought I was the only one who felt that way. I think UP is a fantastic movie. But I honestly didn't think so when I first saw it.

We tend to think that if we thought something is <insert critique here> then everyone else must find it the same. Look how many people here voice disdain for DIsney Dance Crew. Yet the seats are almost always filled, even on nonbusy days. And the kids love it. Yet, because we don't like it, we expect DCA to remove it. That type of thinking is silly, even though I'm guilty of thinking that way myself.