Restart your engines because the race is on again! CARS 2, Disney Pixar’s exciting and action-packed sequel to CARS is now playing in a theatre near you.
It’s racing season and Lightning McQueen, his best friend and tow truck Mater, his ‘carfriend’ Sally, and the whole gang are back! Lightning, his hometown pit crew and Mater leave Radiator Springs to head overseas for the first ever World Grand Prix. Only the fastest car will win the race through Japan, France, Italy and Britain! All the competitors have to use a new type of alternative car fuel called Allinol, a new ‘green’ replacement for gasoline, but things go sour and the blame is put on Allinol. While Lightning worries about the race, Mater finds himself involved in a top-secret James Bond type spy mission run by British spies Finn McMissile and Holley Shiftwell. All the while, a supervillain, Professor Z, is keen on sabotaging the race and proving that Allinol is not all that’s it made out to be. Will Lightning have what it takes to stay away from trouble and be the world’s fastest car? Go McQueen!
The voices behind the movie really had their ‘car’ in gear because the voiceovers for each of the cars are a perfect match. Just to name a few – Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson), Mater (Larry the Cable Guy), Finn McMissile (Michael Caine), Holley Shiftwell (Emily Mortimer) and Sally (Bonnie Hunt).
Overall, this is really Mater’s time to shine and he takes the lead position in this movie with the spy mission sub-plot. As well, it’s Mater who steals the show, when his attempt to use a Japanese toilet results in the funniest scenes in the movie. Mater also proves that he may just be a rusty tow truck and he may not be the smartest in the lot, but he’s a faithful and supportive friend even when his friends let him down.
As the movie progresses so does the animation, action and 3D visuals – everything gets better and better. The cars get more and more detailed and the race scenes get faster and faster. As well, the detail in the locations is amazing – however, I don’t think that the 3D necessarily adds much to the visual.
(L-R) Mrs. Potato Head, Barbie, Ken, Aliens, Jessie, Buzz Lightyear ©Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
If one movie isn’t enough, the new Pixar short HAWAIIAN VACATION, plays before the movie. It stars our favourite toys from TOY STORY 3 and tells the story of Ken and Barbie’s, if it wasn’t obvious from the title, Hawaiian vacation – or so they think. An unexpected problem faces the cute couple and they are forced to ‘hang-five’ from home. It’s so good – let’s hope that Pixar makes a TOY STORY 4.
‘Allinol’, Cars 2 is a great family-friendly flick and is a definite summer box-office hit – VROOM!
Rating: 4/5