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Cars 2

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Cars 2 2011 poster 14

Cars 2 is a 2011 American computer-animated spy comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It is a sequel to Cars (2006), the second film in the Cars franchise, and the 12th animated film from the studio. This was the final Pixar film animated with their old software system, Marionette, before being officially replaced with Presto in 2012. The film was directed by John Lasseter, co-directed by Brad Lewis, and produced by Denise Ream, from a screenplay written by Ben Queen, and a story by Lasseter, Lewis, and Dan Fogelman. In the film's ensemble voice cast, Owen Wilson, Larry the Cable Guy, Tony Shalhoub, Guido Quaroni, Bonnie Hunt, and John Ratzenberger reprise their roles from the first film. Paul Newman, who voiced Doc Hudson in the previous film, died in September 2008, so his character was written out of the film; George Carlin, who previously voiced Fillmore, died during the same year, and his role was passed to Lloyd Sherr. The returning cast is joined by Michael Caine, Emily Mortimer, John Turturro, Eddie Izzard, and Thomas Kretschmann, who voice the new characters introduced in this film.

The film follows race car Lightning McQueen (Wilson) and tow truck Mater (Cable Guy), who head to Japan and Europe to compete in the World Grand Prix, but Mater accidentally becomes sidetracked with international espionage, and ends up attempting to uncover a conspiracy led by a mysterious criminal mastermind and his gang which threatens all competitors in the Grand Prix, with the help of British spies Finn McMissile (Caine) and Holley Shiftwell (Mortimer).

Cars 2 was first announced in April 2008 as the schedule for a summer 2012 release alongside Up (2009) and Brave (2012), making Cars the second Pixar film to spawn a sequel after Toy Story, as well as becoming a franchise. Lasseter was confirmed to be returning as director, while Lewis was designated as co-director in June 2010. Lasseter was convinced of the story while traveling around the world promoting the first film. Michael Giacchino composed the film's score, with artists such as Weezer, Robbie Williams, Brad Paisley and Bénabar contributing original songs for the film.

Cars 2 premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles on June 18, 2011, and was released in the United States on June 24, in Disney Digital 3D and IMAX 3D as well as traditional two-dimensional and IMAX formats. It received mixed reviews from critics, with the voice acting, animation and characters receiving some praise, while criticism was aimed towards the plot and its G-rating. Despite the mixed reviews, Cars 2 continued the studio's streak of box office success, grossed $562 million worldwide against its $200 million budget, becoming the tenth highest-grossing film of 2011 and the highest-grossing film of the Cars trilogy. The film was nominated for Best Animated Feature Film at the 69th Golden Globe Awards, but lost to The Adventures of Tintin. A sequel, Cars 3, was released on June 16, 2017. To date, this is the last Pixar film to be directed by Lasseter.

Storyline[]

Plot[]

Racecar Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) and his tow-truck buddy, Mater (Larry the Cable Guy), have had their share of adventures together but nothing like what they experience when they head overseas for the first-ever World Grand Prix. While Lightning has his eye on the road to the championship, Mater takes a detour to international espionage when he meets British master spy Finn McMissile (Michael Caine) and stunning spy-in-training Holley Shiftwell (Emily Mortimer).

Genres[]

  • Children's film
  • Action
  • Adventure
  • Spy
  • Sports
  • Comedy
  • Road
  • Animation

Motion Picture Rating[]

  • Atp (Argentina) (CR)
  • PG (Australia)
  • G (Australia) (Disney+ rating)
  • Livre (Brazil)
  • G (Canada) (all jurisdictions)
  • 7 (Denmark)
  • K-3 (Finland)
  • K-7 (Finland) (self-applied)
  • Tous publics (France)
  • 0 (Germany)
  • K (Greece)
  • I (Hong Kong)
  • U (India)
  • G (Indonesia) (self-applied)
  • G (Ireland)
  • T (Italy) (DVD rating)
  • G (Japan)
  • V (Lithuania)
  • U (Malaysia)
  • AA (Mexico)
  • 6 (Netherlands)
  • G (New Zealand)
  • 7 (Norway) (2011, cinema rating)
  • Apt (Peru)
  • G (Philippines) (MTRCB)
  • O (Poland) (self-applied)
  • M/6 (Portugal)
  • 0+ (Russia)
  • G (Singapore)
  • PG (South Africa)
  • All (South Korea)
  • A/i (Spain)
  • Btl (Sweden)
  • 7 (Switzerland) (canton of Geneva)
  • 7 (Switzerland) (canton of Vaud)
  • GP (Taiwan)
  • G (Turkey)
  • U (UK)
  • G (USA)
  • G (United Arab Emirates) (self-applied)

Images[]

Cast and Crew[]

Directors[]

  • John Lasseter
  • Bradford Lewis (co-director)

Writing Credits[]

  • John Lasseter (original story by) &
  • Bradford Lewis (original story by) and
  • Dan Fogelman (original story by)
  • Ben Queen (screenplay by)

Cast[]

  • Larry the Cable Guy - Mater (voice)
  • Owen Wilson - Lightning McQueen (voice)
  • Michael Caine - Finn McMissile (voice)
  • Emily Mortimer - Holley Shiftwell (voice)
  • Bonnie Hunt - Sally Carrera (voice)
  • John Turturro - Francesco Bernoulli (voice)
  • John Ratzenberger - Mack (voice)

Producers[]

  • Denise Ream
  • Mark Nielsen (associate producer)

Details[]

Country[]

  • USA
  • Australia

Language[]

  • English

Release Dates[]

  • June 22, 2011 (Italy)
  • June 23, 2011 (Australia)
  • June 23, 2011 (Brazil)
  • June 23, 2011 (Belarus)
  • June 23, 2011 (Greece)
  • June 23, 2011 (Kuwait)
  • June 23, 2011 (Kazakhstan)
  • June 23, 2011 (Russia)
  • June 23, 2011 (Slovenia)
  • June 23, 2011 (Thailand)
  • June 23, 2011 (Ukraine)
  • June 24, 2011 (Bulgaria)
  • June 24, 2011 (Canada)
  • June 24, 2011 (Colombia)
  • June 24, 2011 (Ecuador)
  • June 24, 2011 (India)
  • June 24, 2011 (Mexico)
  • June 24, 2011 (Panama)
  • June 24, 2011 (USA)
  • June 24, 2011 (Uruguay)
  • June 28, 2011 (Austria)
  • June 29, 2011 (Poland)
  • July 6, 2011 (Belgium)
  • July 6, 2011 (Spain)
  • July 6, 2011 (Netherlands)
  • July 6, 2011 (South Africa)
  • July 7, 2011 (Argentina)
  • July 7, 2011 (Chile)
  • July 7, 2011 (Portugal)
  • July 8, 2011 (Paraguay)
  • July 10, 2011 (British Virgin Islands)
  • July 15, 2011 (Vietnam)
  • July 20, 2011 (South Korea)
  • July 21, 2011 (Peru)
  • July 22, 2011 (UK)
  • July 22, 2011 (Ireland)
  • July 22, 2011 (Iceland)
  • July 22, 2011 (Pakistan)
  • July 27, 2011 (France)
  • July 28, 2011 (Germany)
  • July 28, 2011 (Hungary)
  • July 30, 2011 (Japan)
  • August 4, 2011 (Denmark)
  • August 5, 2011 (Estonia)
  • August 5, 2011 (Lithuania)
  • August 5, 2011 (Latvia)
  • August 5, 2011 (Norway)
  • August 5, 2011 (Romania)
  • August 5, 2011 (Sweden)
  • August 11, 2011 (Hong Kong)
  • August 12, 2011 (Finland)
  • August 18, 2011 (Slovakia)
  • August 19, 2011 (Turkey)
  • August 19, 2011 (Venezuela)
  • August 24, 2011 (Philippines)
  • August 25, 2011 (Croatia)
  • August 25, 2011 (Malaysia)
  • August 25, 2011 (Singapore)
  • September 1, 2011 (Cambodia)
  • September 8, 2011 (Georgia)
  • October 12, 2011 (Indonesia)
  • November 9, 2011 (United Arab Emirates) (Blu-Ray premiere)
  • November 21, 2011 (Madagascar)
  • December 9, 2011 (Togo)
  • January 10, 2012 (Tunisia)
  • March 9, 2012 (Iran)
  • March 12, 2012 (Bhutan)
  • March 24, 2012 (Iraq)
  • May 16, 2012 (Guyana)
  • June 1, 2013 (Armenia)

Reception[]

Box office[]

Cars 2 grossed $191,452,396 in the USA and Canada, and $368,400,000 in other territories for a worldwide total of $559,852,396. Worldwide on its opening weekend it grossed $109.0 million, marking the largest opening weekend for a 2011 animated title. Overall, Cars 2 became sixth biggest Pixar film in terms of worldwide box office among twelve released.

Cars 2 made $25.7 million on its debut Friday (June 24, 2011), marking the second-largest opening day for a Pixar film after Toy Story 3's $41.1 million, but it was still the third least-attended first day for a Pixar film, only ahead of Up and Ratatouille. It also scored the fourth largest opening day for an animated feature, trailing only Toy Story 3, Shrek the Third ($38.4 million), and The Simpsons Movie ($30.8 million). On its opening weekend as a whole, Cars 2 debuted at No.1 with $66.1 million, marking the largest opening weekend for a 2011 animated feature, the sixth largest opening for Pixar, the fifth largest among films released in June, and the third largest for a G-rated film. In its second weekend, however, the film dropped 60.3%, the largest second weekend drop ever for a Pixar film, and grossed $26.2 million. It became Pixar's lowest-grossing film since A Bug's Life, making the film their first financial disappointment in North America, since the film cost $200 million to make. It was the most expensive Pixar film for 2 years along Toy Story 3, until Monsters University, which is claimed to have cost $270 million to make.

Outside North America, it grossed $42.9 million during its first weekend from 3,129 theaters in 18 countries, topping the box office. It performed especially well in Russia where it grossed $9.42 million, marking the best opening weekend for a Disney or Pixar animated feature and surpassing the entire runs of Cars and Toy Story 3. In Mexico, it made $8.24 million during its first weekend, while in Brazil, it topped the box office with $5.19 million ($7.08 million with previews). It also premiered at No.1 with $5.16 million in Australia, where it debuted simultaneously with Kung Fu Panda 2 and out-grossed it. It is the highest-grossing film of 2011 in Lithuania ($477,117) and Argentina ($11,996,480). It is the highest-grossing animated film of 2011 in Estonia ($442,707), Finland ($3,230,314), and Norway ($5,762,653).

Company Credits[]

Production Companies[]

Distributors[]

Technical Specs[]

Runtime[]

  • 106 mins

Color[]

  • Color

Aspect Ratio[]

  • 2.39:1
  • 1.78:1 (Small Widescreen)
  • 1.33:1 (pan-and-scan)

Trivia[]

  • The theatrical release had an alternate Pixar logo that reads, "Celebrating 25 Years." This has been removed from subsequent home video releases.
  • Cars 2 is Pixar's first non-Toy Story sequel, making Cars Pixar's second franchise. It is also the first to focus on the secondary character (in this case it being Mater) rather than the protagonist of the original film, followed by Monsters University (Mike Wazowski), Finding Dory (Dory), and Incredibles 2 (Elastigirl).
  • Cars is the second Pixar film to become a franchise, after Toy Story and is the final film independently before it was purchased by Disney.
  • This is the only Cars film not to have a post-credit scene.
  • This is the first Pixar film to receive a mixed critical reception.
    • It was also Pixar's first least liked movie considered by most critics to be Pixar's worst movie of all time.
  • This was the last Pixar film released before Steve Jobs' death.
  • Cars 2 is the last Pixar and only Cars film to use the 2006 Walt Disney Pictures logo. Cars 3 used the 2011 Disney logo.
  • This is the last Pixar film to be directed by John Lasseter before his departure from Pixar and Disney animation at the end of 2018.
    • It also marks the only time Randy Newman did not scored a Pixar film directed by Lasseter.
  • This is the only film in the Cars franchise not to be scored by Randy Newman, since it is instead scored by other recurring composer Michael Giacchino.
  • This is the only Cars film where the main character does not appear in a new paint job at the end.
  • This is the only Cars film where the Tractors do not appear, although they only appear in a Target commercial which was to promote the movie.
  • When Mater and Holley Shiftwell are sightseeing in Paris, there is a restaurant called Gastow's, a parody to Gusteau's restaurant from Ratatouille.
  • This third Pixar Animation Studios closing logo cuts in from black, after WALL-E and Up.
  • This is the second Pixar film of 2010s to be rated PG by the MPAA, after Shrek the Third (2007) and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009).
  • This is the fourth Pixar film to be scored by Michael Giacchino, after The Incredibles, Ratatouille, and Up.
  • Eddie Izzard and Richard Kind appear in The Wild (as the voices of Nigel and Larry respectively), another animated film by Disney released at the same year when the first Cars movie came out.
  • This is the second Pixar film to be set (partly) in Paris, France after Ratatouille.
  • Flo says "Go get 'em tiger" to Lightning McQueen. This could be a reference to Mary Jane Watson's known quote to Spider-Man.
  • The last Pixar movie to feature the 2006-2014 Walt Disney Pictures logo.
  • This is the last Pixar movie to have the current Disney logo read "Walt Disney Pictures". This was five months before The Muppets (2011).
  • This is the first Pixar sequel to produced in 2.35:1; the other sequels were produced in 1.85:1.
  • The third Disney's computer-animated sequel, after Toy Story 2 (1999) and Toy Story 3 (2010).
  • The sixth Pixar movie to be produced in 2.35:1, after A Bug's Life (1998), The Incredibles (2004), Cars (2006), Ratatouille (2007), WALL·E (2008), and Finding Nemo (2013).

Connections[]

Follows[]

Followed by[]

  • Cars 3 (2017)

References[]

Spoofs[]

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