Pixar Returns with Cars 2
Pixar's latest offering, Cars 2 zooms into theathers today. Like all movies from the Bay Area's own Pixar, it's usually not a matter of if you and your kids are going to see it, but when. Their 2006 animated feature Cars was a huge hit in our house. While it wasn't my favorite Pixar movie, it certainly struck a chord with the younger members of our household, especially my daughter, who held a long-time fascination with Mater the tow truck after she discovered the movie (she was only a few months old when it came out).
We had a the opportunity to take in an advance screening of Cars 2 last week. Unlike the first film, where the action was confined larglely to the fictional desert town of Radiator Springs, Cars 2 follows race car Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) and his hayseed tow truck buddy Mater (a top-billed Larry the Cable Guy) on an international racing series that takes place in Japan, Italy, and the UK. Complicating matters is a James Bond-style subplot involving British spy cars Finn McMissile (Michael Caine) and Holley Shiftwell (Emily Mortimer).
While Cars 2 brings back the familiar characters from the original (with the exception of the late Paul Newman's Doc Hudson), the action—and there's lots of it—centers around Mater this time out. He's at the center of the spy story in a case of mistaken identity, and gets lots of screen time. This may or may not be something that's appealing to you. Larry the Cable Guy's schtick tends to wear thin after a while, although our kids didn't seem to notice. It's a very different movie from Cars, with lots of explosions, gunfire, and chases, some of which may be a bit much of smaller kids.
Unlike many of Pixar's offerings, Cars 2 seems to be geared primarily toward children, specifically 5–10 year-olds (the one who will talk their parents into buying all those Cars 2 toys). With all the action on the screen, things don't have time to get boring, and like all Pixar products, it looks absolutely stunning. This one is in 3D, too, although we saw it in good old 2D. Automobile enthusiasts will have a good time picking up on all the auto-related references and inside jokes. For example, the villainous henchmen are all AMC Pacers, Gremlins, and Yugos, with the occasional NSU Prinz and a Zündapp Janus tossed in for good measure.
In Marin, Cars 2 is playing at the Fairfax Theatres, Century Larkspur Landing, Century Rowland Plaza, and the Century Northgate 15.
