Cars 2 (3D) ***

If crazy animated antics are not your bag, look away now: Lightning McQueen gives the road over to his trusted but goofy pal Mater this time in the sequel, Cars 2. It seems Lasseterand co have gone back to the original plot of the evils of gas-guzzling cars in an environmentally-conscious world, with this story’s ‘hero’, Mater, triggering a possible future series of film adventures about McQueen & Friends saving the planet.

This story follows racing star car Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) and tow-truck pal Mater (voiced by Larry the Cable Guy) who head overseas to compete in the World Grand Prix race, but fall out over trivial things. But the road to the championship becomes rocky as Mater gets caught up in an intriguing adventure of his own that involves international espionage.

Although the characters will never be a patch on the charming Toy Story ones – as emphasised by Pixar’s short animation before the main feature rolled, Cars 2 offers more exciting international appeal in its Bond-style, globe-trotting adventure. As a sequel in itself, it’s certainly an improvement in terms of storyline, but its success still depends on whether the talking cars captured your heart in the 2006 film. They can be taken on first-time face value and got on-boarded with, with their lessons of friendship and family values echoing many a good Pixar tale. Indeed, with years of inanimate objects sporting life-like faces, like Thomas The Tank Engine, there’s some endearing spark going on under the many colourful bonnets.

The further draw is two new characters that even out the US-centric narrative of the first film in special Brit agents and slick sports cars Finn McMissile (voiced by Sir Michael Caine) and Holley Shiftwell (voiced by Emily Mortimer). Both Caine and Mortimer breathe sturdy personality into their metal bodies, as the original characters fret and fuss over spiralling events. McMissile and Shiftwell are the voices of reason behind the chaos that keep the story on track to find the ultimate motoring villain. However, a Mater overload is on the cards, and much as the new characters add some dimension, it’s still a Mater-McQueen show, essentially.

For all its lush, vibrant colour and slick Pixar polish, too, the wizards behind the animating giant still fail to wow us with a true 3D spectacle. It’s debatable whether – like so many other films of late – the 3D added any significant value, especially as there are no defining scenes that spring to mind to warrant recommending seeing it in anything other than 2D. As with most 3D films, the technology offers greater depth of field, and it certainly compliments an animation such as Cars 2 that’s concerned with filling each frame with as much detail as possible – as in the landscaped racing scenes. As for the action that plays out in wide angles, with fast and furious camera whips, the 3D is rendered redundant – as expected.

Lasseter’s new film ignites a new pioneering spirit in his old cars and gives them a proper adventure that still involves a spot of racing and a big lesson in morality. It even flags the fossil verses alternative fuels debate in a fun way to get youngsters onboard at an early age. Even though Cars 2 raises the franchise’s profile, it still requires our empathy with the motorised characters, and after the fast-burn of Route 66 mayhem of the first, it’s down to whether Mater mattered, as well as the thought of him being a Yank out of water in the bigger, badder world as to whether you’ll buckle up for the global ride this time – just don’t bother with the inflated 3D price of doing so, and go 2D class.

3/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

Follow on Twitter

WATCH THE TRAILER HERE