“Cars 2”: Action-comedy!
Per Steve Zeitchik at 24 Frames:
We knew “Cars 2” was going in an “international espionage” direction, as an early press release had it. But until Tuesday morning’s trailer, we didn’t quite know how much of an action-comedy the film really was.
The Pixar sequel will do its best Austin Powers imitation when it comes out on June 24. Owen Wilson and Larry the Cable Guy reprise their roles as Lightning McQueen and Mater, the race car and tow truck with a knack for finding trouble.
This time, however, the pair forsake the small-town America (and attendant social commentary) of Radiator Springs for the glitz of Tokyo and various international destinations. The plot concerns the two traveling to a Grand Prix race and being mistaken for international operatives. “These Americans are clearly master spies,” Michael Caine’s British agent Finn MacMissile intones, incorrectly.
This is a considerable departure from the original. And frankly, I’m happy to see it as I think Cars is perhaps the least special Pixar movie. But as Zeitchik notes:
Still, this sequel, which like the original is directed by Pixar maven John Lasseter, will have some work cut out for it. The studio has never released an action-comedy before (the closest was “The Incredibles,” and that was more of a superhero riff than a comedy). And the action-comedy genre has been hit hard lately (see flops like “Killers” and “The Spy Next Door”).
The movie’s trailer: