# Cars 2: Pixar's first critical flop? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 23, 2011, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-2-pixars-first-critical-flop/586539 "2011-06-23T10:24:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-2-pixars-first-critical-flop/586539/61 "2011-06-24T15:49:54Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > I didn’t really have any problem with the living, driverless cars, but what’s really puzzed me is – why does Radiator Springs have _[side](http://www.google.com/search?q=radiator+springs&hl=en&safe=active&gbv=2&tbm=isch&ei=CXwETvnGCIjDgQfLxdG_DQ&start=240&sa=N)[walks](http://www.andybaird.com/travels/skylarking/new-home/photos/Radiator-Springs-3.jpg)_??? > > Were there once humans in this world, before the Cars became sentient and took over, _ala_ Terminator? That would add a rather dark subtext, wouldn’t it? Yes. It’s the world of Stepher King’s _Trucks_ and _Maximum Overdrive_, but made all warm and fuzzy and brightly colored. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-2-pixars-first-critical-flop/586539/62 "2011-06-24T15:58:47Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > It does seem to be a shameless grab for cash. And while there’s nothing wrong with that, I find it a little amusing as I remember threads comparing Pixar movies to Dreamworks movies. Some people thought that Dreamworks just copied everything that Pixar did and relied excessively on celebrity voice actors and references to pop culture. The general impression some people seemed to have was that Pixar wouldn’t sacrifice art for commerce, while they seemed to think the opposite of Dreamworks. Yes, but it seems the responsible party is Disney and the marketing people. The Pixar creatives aren’t terribly happy about doing this movie. Of course, nobody’s perfect and nobody’s universally awful. Dreamworks has been improving greatly of late and Pixar isn’t staffed by Muses. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-2-pixars-first-critical-flop/586539/63 "2011-06-24T16:21:41Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > Yes, but it seems the responsible party is Disney and the marketing people. The Pixar creatives aren’t terribly happy about doing this movie. Pixar’s John Lasseter has been the CCO (Chief Creative Officer) at Disney for a few years now, so as much pressure as he might get from other suits, he’s still calling the shots from a creative output perspective. I think the original is easily the weakest of all the Pixar features, but I’ll still see this out of curiosity. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-2-pixars-first-critical-flop/586539/64 "2011-06-24T16:45:55Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > I didn’t really have any problem with the living, driverless cars, but what’s really puzzed me is – why does Radiator Springs have _[side](http://www.google.com/search?q=radiator+springs&hl=en&safe=active&gbv=2&tbm=isch&ei=CXwETvnGCIjDgQfLxdG_DQ&start=240&sa=N)[walks](http://www.andybaird.com/travels/skylarking/new-home/photos/Radiator-Springs-3.jpg)_??? > > Were there once humans in this world, before the Cars became sentient and took over, _ala_ Terminator? That would add a rather dark subtext, wouldn’t it? Perhaps the humans destroyed themselves, leaving only cars behind. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-2-pixars-first-critical-flop/586539/65 "2011-06-24T16:56:50Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > Of course, nobody’s perfect and nobody’s universally awful. Dreamworks has been improving greatly of late and Pixar isn’t staffed by Muses. _How to Train Your Dragon_ impressed me far more than _Cars_ did (and I assume far more than \*Cars 2 \*will). If Dreamworks can keep doing work like that, Pixar will have real competition. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-2-pixars-first-critical-flop/586539/66 "2011-06-24T17:37:26Z")
The problem with _Cars_ is the their world not only makes no sense, it doesn’t have any internal consistency. How did these cars build their technology without **hands**? The creative team worked around a lot of that by having stuff controlled with plates they could drive over, but how do you build a plate with no hands? Every other Pixar movie at least attempted to work within the limitations of the reality of the characters - the fish in _Finding Nemo_ didn’t have any technology, nor did the rats in _Ratatouille_. But the cars had a whole world that could not possibly be created by them. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-2-pixars-first-critical-flop/586539/67 "2011-06-24T17:46:59Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > _How to Train Your Dragon_ impressed me far more than _Cars_ did (and I assume far more than \*Cars 2 \*will). If Dreamworks can keep doing work like that, Pixar will have real competition. I felt “Kung Fu Panda” was the finest Dreamworks cartoon yet, and is better than Pixar’s weaker efforts. “How To Train Your Dragon” wasn’t bad but it seemed to borrow a lot from Sony’s “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.” Better’n “Cars,” though. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-2-pixars-first-critical-flop/586539/68 "2011-06-24T18:00:06Z")
> [@panamajack](#): > > [This article](http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_18322417) suggests that maybe it’s John Lasseter. It doesn’t say he pushed for the sequel exactly, but a lot of the drive seems to have come from him. > [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > Pixar’s John Lasseter has been the CCO (Chief Creative Officer) at Disney for a few years now, so as much pressure as he might get from other suits, he’s still calling the shots from a creative output perspective. I think the original is easily the weakest of all the Pixar features, but I’ll still see this out of curiosity. To add to this, a recent _Entertainment Weekly_ article about Lassiter and Pixar also suggested that _Cars 2_ was his brainchild and he had the idea for the sequel way back when they made the original. The article doesn’t seem to be online, but in an interview Lassiter describes a deleted scene from _Cars_ in which McQueen and his date watch a drive-in movie featuring a James Bond-type car named McMissle. Lassiter thought at the time it would be fun to make a _Cars_ spy caper in that vein. And now he has. Of course, the billions of dollars in merchandising also helped, but I’m not going to claim there was _no_ artisitic inspiration. Also, my six-year-old can’t wait to see this. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-2-pixars-first-critical-flop/586539/69 "2011-06-24T18:00:38Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > “How To Train Your Dragon” wasn’t bad but it seemed to borrow a lot from Sony’s “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.” Eh. I can see some of the similarities you’re thinking of (misunderstood nerd with misfit inventions, the giant fishbowl/the torch tower falling down), but the character archetype isn’t unique to Cloudy and much of what happens is a natural consequence of the personality. Besides, Cloudy was released in September 09 and HTTYD came out the following March; unless there were folks sharing ideas during production, it seems unlikely that that’s a large enough window to allow for lifting ideas. Besides, while Cloudy is a fun movie, HTTYD is IMO simply superior in plot, writing, and aesthetic. Even if it did borrow ideas, I personally don’t count that against something that does those ideas better than the original. Steeeeeve ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-2-pixars-first-critical-flop/586539/70 "2011-06-24T18:03:20Z")
As one who didn’t like, nay, detested, the first movie (especially the faux sentimentality about towns along the US Route system being destroyed by “evil” highways), I’m experiencing a bit of schadenfruede (sp!) at the RT ratings. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-2-pixars-first-critical-flop/586539/71 "2011-06-24T18:28:07Z")
Didn’t like _Cars_ very much, largely because of that “Tomato” person. He bugged the crap out of me. Learning that he’s playing an even larger role in the sequel makes me very unlikely to want to see it. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-2-pixars-first-critical-flop/586539/72 "2011-06-24T18:40:29Z")
Alright, looks like the Tomatometer is finally setting down. Near-final tally: **35% based on 113 reviews.** For reference, that’s 1% less than that Dreamworks Will Smith fish movie,[Shark Tale](http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/shark_tale/). ---
**Author:** ![markdash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@markdash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markdash)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-2-pixars-first-critical-flop/586539/73 "2011-06-24T18:43:50Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > The problem with _Cars_ is the their world not only makes no sense, it doesn’t have any internal consistency. How did these cars build their technology without **hands**? The creative team worked around a lot of that by having stuff controlled with plates they could drive over, but how do you build a plate with no hands? Every other Pixar movie at least attempted to work within the limitations of the reality of the characters - the fish in _Finding Nemo_ didn’t have any technology, nor did the rats in _Ratatouille_. But the cars had a whole world that could not possibly be created by them. There is a God in the Cars universe. (They call him “the manufacturer.”) ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-2-pixars-first-critical-flop/586539/74 "2011-06-24T18:56:41Z")
But why the hell did they have anthropomorphic libidos? ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-2-pixars-first-critical-flop/586539/75 "2011-06-24T19:27:03Z")
The truth is dark and disturbing. There are people _everywhere_ in **Cars** ; the cars just choose not to see them. Their world is a construct of their own minds, where they see only what is important to them, and imagine the rest. The whole movie is one giant **Brazil** -esque mindfuck. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-2-pixars-first-critical-flop/586539/76 "2011-06-24T19:29:17Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#): > > The truth is dark and disturbing. > > There are people _everywhere_ in **Cars** ; the cars just choose not to see them. Their world is a construct of their own minds, where they see only what is important to them, and imagine the rest. The whole movie is one giant **Brazil** -esque mindfuck. Carlton Haulstons: Speed bumps are people! Peeeeeeeople! 🙂 -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-2-pixars-first-critical-flop/586539/77 "2011-06-24T19:34:30Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I felt “Kung Fu Panda” was the finest Dreamworks cartoon yet, and is better than Pixar’s weaker efforts. “How To Train Your Dragon” wasn’t bad but it seemed to borrow a lot from Sony’s “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.” > > Better’n “Cars,” though. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs was pure and unadulterated awesomeness. (I liked Kung Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon as well, but not nearly as much.) ---
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-2-pixars-first-critical-flop/586539/78 "2011-06-24T20:37:09Z")
I will probably watch this one anyway but I am disappointed that they have apparently dropped their standards just to sell merchandise. I have always thought that making money and good storytelling went hand in hand for Pixar and it appears they have sacrificed the second for the first. I haven’t seen Cloudy but I think How to Train is the best of the non-Pixar films and would probably rank it somewhere in the middle of the Pixar pack. I liked KungFu Panda too. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-2-pixars-first-critical-flop/586539/79 "2011-06-24T21:14:15Z")
Even if they are going for the merchandising dollars, don’t most movies have toy tie-in opportunities? I’ve seen plenty of Buzz Lightyears and Woody the Cowboys, and while I haven’t seen as many Incredibles toys, there’s no reason they couldn’t be made. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-2-pixars-first-critical-flop/586539/80 "2011-06-24T21:18:16Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Even if they are going for the merchandising dollars, don’t most movies have toy tie-in opportunities? I’ve seen plenty of Buzz Lightyears and Woody the Cowboys, and while I haven’t seen as many Incredibles toys, there’s no reason they couldn’t be made. Indeed, but none have sold as much as Cars. Plus much of Toy Story was built around existing toys; better to make your own, from a purely profit standpoint. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-2-pixars-first-critical-flop/586539.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-2-pixars-first-critical-flop/586539.md?page=5)