Lasseter's espionage sequel with Mater in the spotlight, its record-breaking release, the $562.1 million gross and the reaction that made it Pixar's most divisive film.
Cars 2 is Pixar's 2011 spy comedy, directed by John Lasseter, in which Mater is drawn into a plot during the World Grand Prix. It earned $562.1 million worldwide but received the most negative reviews of any Pixar film.
Cars 2 is a 2011 Pixar spy comedy in which Mater, the rusty tow truck, is pulled into an espionage plot during the World Grand Prix. Directed by John Lasseter, it is the second film in the Cars series and carried an estimated budget of $200 million, which makes it one of the most expensive films ever made. It earned $562.1 million worldwide but drew the most negative critical response in Pixar's history.
What is Cars 2 about?
British spy Finn McMissile infiltrates an oil rig owned by criminal lemon cars to rescue a fellow agent. He sees the lemons loading an emitter disguised as a television camera, and he escapes by faking his own death. Meanwhile, Lightning McQueen returns to Radiator Springs after his fourth Piston Cup, honouring the memory of Doc Hudson.
The World Grand Prix is an international race created by Sir Miles Axlerod, a former oil tycoon who wants to promote his new fuel, Allinol. Lightning and Mater travel to Tokyo, Italy and London for the three races. Mater accidentally disrupts a fight between the spy Rod Torque Redline and the lemons, and Redline is captured and killed.
The conspiracy reaches its climax in London. The lemons plan to disable Lightning, Finn and Holley are tied up, and Mater exposes Axlerod as the mastermind. The race was a cover, designed to sour the public on alternative fuels while Axlerod cashed in on oil reserves that nobody had touched. Mater is later honoured with a knighthood by the Queen, and he and Lightning reconcile.
A spy caper that asked Mater to carry the plot and drew Pixar's most divided reception.
Which cars and figures drive the story?
The film is built around its vehicles, which carry the spy plot and the race. Lightning remains a red racer, while Mater is the rusty tow truck whose unexpected skills make him the unlikely hero. Finn and Holley are the British and American agents who come to depend on him, and Big Bentley, a lemon car, is the threatening vehicle that holds the captives.
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Unique sets in the film | 118, double most earlier Pixar films |
| Share of the film animated in ten weeks | Roughly 50% |
| Estimated budget | $200 million |
| Opening weekend | $66.1 million, largest for a 2011 animated film |
| Second weekend | Down 60.3% to $26.2 million |
| Worldwide gross | $562.1 million |
How was the film made?
The film had its roots in a deleted sequence from the first film, storyboarded in 2001 and later reworked into the spy plot. Lasseter has said the origins came from three places: an espionage idea, the desire to take the characters around the world, and the friendship between Lightning and Mater at the heart of the story.
Brad Lewis, who had produced Ratatouille, was the first director, and he spent the early months on research into the countries and on Formula One racing. Denise Ream, who came onto the film in 2008, said the team had to make a spy story clear enough for an audience that included children and families.
The production was ambitious. The film uses 118 unique sets, double most earlier Pixar films, and Lasseter described it as ten times more complex than any previous Pixar film. The team built fully three-dimensional cities with procedural software and refined the driving system so the cars could make sharper turns during races.
Lasseter directed the film while also serving as executive producer on other projects. He reviewed work on an iPad during his commutes, recording voice memos for departments across the studio. He claimed that one hour on the iPad equalled three hours in the studio, and he kept attending all story meetings in person.
The story was shaped by many rounds of screenings. The team trimmed the World Grand Prix from five races, including a Paris endurance race and a Black Forest rally, to three, because the race had grown too big and the film too long.
Cars 2 was also the last Pixar film made on the old Marionette system, which was replaced by Presto in 2012. Lasseter had spent 2008 and 2009 on Cars Toons between the films, so he came back to features with a fresh view of the characters.
How did the cast change after the first film?
The cast was reshaped by real loss. Joe Ranft, who voiced Red in the first film, died in 2005, so Red has no vocal role in the sequel. George Carlin, who voiced Fillmore, died in 2008, and Lloyd Sherr took over the part.
Paul Newman, who voiced Doc Hudson, died in 2008 as well. Lasseter said the team would see how the story went without him, and Doc was eventually dropped, with the film implying that he had died before the events of Cars 2. The character's absence gave the story a new emotional weight for Lightning.
Cars 2 was also the first film Lasseter directed without Joe Ranft, his close collaborator. Lasseter said Ranft was in many ways Mater, and that sense of loss shaped the friendship at the film's core.
International versions replaced the character Jeff Gorvette with well-known racing drivers in their own countries. The change let each release feature local figures and gave the film a global flavour. Lewis Hamilton voiced a Formula One champion, and Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso appeared in their national versions.
The Italian town of Porto Corsa was invented for the film rather than copied from a real city, which let the production build a fictional setting that people might want to visit.
What is the score and soundtrack like?
Michael Giacchino composed the score, which made Cars 2 the fourth Pixar film scored by him after The Incredibles, Ratatouille and Up. It was the first and only Pixar film directed by Lasseter not to be scored by Randy Newman, who had scored the first and third films of the franchise.
The soundtrack was released on CD and as a digital download on June 14, 2011. Artists such as Weezer, Robbie Williams, Brad Paisley and Benabar contributed tracks, which gave the album a broader pop feel than the first film's soundtrack.
How did the film open and perform?
The world premiere took place at the El Capitan Theatre on June 18, 2011, and the US release followed on June 24. Cars 2 opened in 4,115 theatres in the United States and Canada, a record for a G-rated film and for Pixar at the time, and its opening weekend reached $66.1 million.
The film took $25.7 million on its debut Friday, but the second weekend fell 60.3% to $26.2 million as Transformers: Dark of the Moon took over the top spot. Domestic receipts reached $191.5 million, international markets added $370.7 million, and the combined total stood at $562.1 million.
The debut Friday alone brought in $25.7 million, the second-largest opening day for a Pixar film at the time, although it fell well short of Toy Story 3's $41.1 million. The film was also preceded in cinemas by Hawaiian Vacation, a short starring the characters of the Toy Story franchise, directed by Gary Rydstrom.
International audiences drove much of the result. The film took the top spot in several markets, including Russia, where it earned $9.42 million, and Australia, where it opened at number one. It was also the highest-grossing film of 2011 in Argentina.
Cars 2 ranked seventh among the fourteen Pixar films by worldwide box office at the time, a result that placed it in the middle of the studio's commercial record rather than at the top.
How did critics react to Cars 2?
Critics were far less generous than they had been to the first film. Rotten Tomatoes recorded 40% approval from 216 critics, with an average of 5.5/10, and Metacritic gave the film 57 from 38 critics. It is the lowest-rated Pixar film on Rotten Tomatoes and the only one with a rotten certification.
The contrast with the first film was stark. Cars had earned a warm reception and a clutch of awards, while the sequel became the first Pixar film to earn a rotten rating on the aggregator, which made its reception a turning point in the studio's critical record.
Many reviewers criticised the focus on Mater and the lack of warmth. Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal called it a frenzied sequel that seldom gets beyond mediocrity. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone praised it as a tire-burning burst of action with a beating heart, giving it three and a half stars out of four.
The backlash touched Pixar's reputation. Audiences gave a CinemaScore of A-, which tied it with Lightning and Onward for the lowest grade for a Pixar film. The film was also the first Pixar film not nominated for an Oscar, and it lost its bid for the Golden Globe to The Adventures of Tintin.
What came after Cars 2?
A legal challenge also marked the film's release. In March 2011, Jake Mandeville-Anthony sued Disney and Pixar, claiming the films were based on work he had submitted years earlier. The judge dismissed the lawsuit on July 27, 2011, ruling that the works were not substantially similar in their protectable elements.
The franchise continued with Cars 3, released on June 16, 2017, which returned to Lightning's story with a new rival. The spin-off Planes arrived on August 9, 2013, and Planes: Fire and Rescue followed on July 18, 2014. Cars on the Road later became a Disney+ series that premiered on September 8, 2022.
A video game based on the film came out on June 21, 2011 for several consoles, and an iPhone and iPad app, priced at a dollar, followed on June 23, 2011. The app reached number one on the App Store by June 28, 2011, showing how strongly the audience engaged with the brand beyond cinemas.
