thedriveintheatre

I’m part of a design team for an advertising magazine, and I’ve managed to convince my boss to do a Pixar spoof for the district magazine I’m in charge of. Being a longtime Pixar fan, this was a great opportunity for me to finally parody one of their movies in a published magazine in wide circulation within the Sydney area.

We usually recycle titles that’s been run in other districts before, so I dug ‘The Edibles’ from the archives and gave it a 2012 revamp! Yeah, the title doesn’t make sense; this was made when they used to do themes according to businesses featured in the centrespread, so for the past edition, they had an F&B theme going on.

I’ve snuck in a real-life Remy from another Brad Bird masterpiece (Ratatouille) and the Pixar Planet logo onto a real-life recreation of the Pizza Planet Truck (the body is a Toyota Hilux, while the rocket is actually TinTin’s rocket).

And of course, being a massive My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic fan, I couldn’t resist sneaking in another of the Mane Six - this time it’s Drama Queen Rarity! It’s really the same horse I used for Twilight in the December issue for another district, but with a different mane (now it’s all wavy!). It was a rush job as I added her in at the last-minute, but again it managed to pass editorial checks because I doubt anyone in my office has seen The Incredibles besides my design team colleagues. Also, I made a flash animation on the site where Rarity explodes (once though, not twice).

Enjoy the following images of the cover and centrespread.

Cover - http://i41.tinypic.com/rc52qq.jpg

Centrespread - http://i43.tinypic.com/s6uq29.jpg

Remy Closeup - http://i42.tinypic.com/rtewbp.jpg

Pixar Planet Closeup - http://i42.tinypic.com/1rw8l4.jpg

Rarity Closeup - http://i39.tinypic.com/a9wi8j.jpg

Web animation - http://www.nmags.com/cn/index.php

Oh, and I made Equestria Daily’s Nightly Roundup again! I have plans to include the rest of the Mane Six in future editions. ;)

Equestria Daily Nightly Roundup 266

P.S. I’ve hidden myself on the cover, see if you can spot me!

Looks like those little green men ain’t so little after all.

Andrew Stanton has a lot to live up to for his first live-action movie. Hot on the heels of Brad Bird, another Pixarian who also made his own live-action directorial debut in the specatcular Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, Stanton not only has to live up to the film’s reported $250 million price tag, but do the grandaddy of science-fiction tales justice.

John Carter has been a film in development purgatory for many years. Its first attempted screen adaptation by Looney Tunes director Bob Clampbett might have been stolen the title of first feature-length animated film from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, but it unfortunately failed with test audiences. Since then, it has gone through a number of notable film figures: animation legend Ray Harryhausen, producer Jeffrey Katzenberg who is now Disney and Pixar’s arch-nemesis, Robert Rodriguez and the late Frank Frazetta, and Jon Favreau, who would go on to direct another science-fiction blockbuster: Star Trek.

Eventually, though, the hot potato got passed on to Stanton, who had directed a personal favourite of this author which coincidentally, was also a science-fiction film. Wall-E, and his first Pixar film Finding Nemo, were one of the studio’s greats, and now he and Mark Andrews (also a Pixarian) have been tasked with this bringing Edgar Rice Burrough’s magnificent space opera to the big screen.

I have not read the source novels before, so I went in not knowing anything other than the cinema posters and Frank Cho and Frazetta’s renditions of the beautiful Dejah Thoris, Princess of Mars. In some aspects, the film succeeds in being the grand adventure tale it promises in the trailers and ads. The film takes a while to pick up, and one of my cinema partners almost fell asleep during the opening act. Once our hero arrives on Mars (or Barsoom, as the natives call it), the film kicks into high gear. It also features one of the most exhilarating and memorable scenes of the movie, when Carter discovers the extent of his strength and agility due to Mars’ reduced graviational pull. It managed to recapture the same childish delight of Wall-E’s first foray into outer space or the sea turtles whizzing through the East Australian Current in Nemo. The battle scenes also evoke the savagery of Frazetta’s paintings and a gladiator-style match is reminscent of a similar sequence in Star Wars Episode 2: Attack of the Clones.

Unfortunately, the film gets bogged down in tiresome exposition about halfway through, with Dejah Thoris explaining what the audience has already figured out if they have seen the trailers (that yes, he is in fact on Mars). Carter is also not so much a master of his own destiny as more of a pawn being conveniently rendered unconscious multiple times to meet the next character/go to the next setting.

Much like Finding Nemo’s Marlin, Carter has a tortured past and emotional baggage to carry with him on his journey. Unfortunately, this is hinted at early on in the film and much like Daniel Craig’s character in Cowboys & Aliens, I already figured it out way before the great revelation in the middle. Nemo does this better by getting us to empathise with the hero from the very first scene, but here it is executed in a very mauldlin and overly sentimental way. Dejah doesn’t fare better, as she is reduced to the typical damsel-in-distress-who-is-actually-capable-of-taking-care-of-herself. There’s nothing wrong with her being a stereotype, but it would’ve been much more intriguing if there was something more to her than just being the female badass.

Interestingly, it is the Tharks, who are the supporting characters in Carter’s quest, that prove the most interesting. Willem Dafoe (who voiced a fish in Finding Nemo) is Carter’s ally Tar Tarkas. His first interaction with Carter is another memorable sequence, bringing to mind Tarzan and Jane’s meeting from another of Burrough’s classics. His daughter, Sola is another empathetic character who looks out for Carter, despite his constant disobedience and ignoring of her advice. I kinda felt sorry with how much suffering her character goes through, often as a result of Carter’s nonchalant apathy and selfish desire to find his “cave of gold”. This was also another problem I had with Carter as a character; it is hard to admire him as a hero when he only looks out for himself, although this is somewhat redeemed towards the end.

Michael Giachinno, a longtime Pixar collaborator and composer of Ghost Protocol’s score, provides an entertatining, although somewhat forgetable soundtrack to Carter’s odyssey. I couldn’t remember any particularly outstanding track, and it felt very trailer soundtrack-ish. With his previous works like Wall-E, with its mechanical and etheral whines, or Up, with its classical strings and old-school adventure fanfare, or Cars, with is British surf-inspired espionage-y beats, there was a theme running through all the tracks. I can’t remember any from Carter. Maybe it will come to me on a repeat viewing, but for it to not linger in my mind, it must have been pretty unremarkable.

If you’re starting to think John Carter is a dud, either from this review or its current Tomatometer rating, I want to say it’s much better than that. When it fails, it’s mildly entertaining, but when it succeeds, much like the titular protagonist, it soars. There are unexpected moments of warmth and mirth when you least expect it. The side characters are rich and indelible (the little dog thing that chases Carter like the Roadrunner cartoons will no doubt sell Happy Meal toys faster than a White Ape). The twist ending involving none other than Burroughs himself delivers a huge payoff (my friends and I got a kick out of analysing it and the other possibilities that could’ve happened if it didn’t work out). And the final shot, when you see it, will remind you of another film which owes it a huge debt: James Camerons’ Avatar.

If you’re going in expecting something deep or insightful, you’re better off watching a George Clooney Hawaiian movie. But if you’re after a rousing pulp adventure that occassionally meanders but ultimately delivers, then suspend your disbelief and gravity and take a trip with Carter.

On Saturday, February 11th 2012, TDIT won a record five Pixar Planet Awards for ‘Funniest Member’, ‘Most Informative Member’, ‘Best Critiquer’, ‘Best Video Maker’, and ‘Best Debater’. Here is his acceptance speech, posted 2 weeks later.

Sorry for the late reply, but better late than never! For those who don’t have the time or inclination to read this whole post, just skip to the last paragraph for a ‘TL:DR’ summary!

I’m so touched to receive so many awards this year, I don’t think I’ve had this many previously! To be nominated for Best Critiquer and Best Video Maker for the third and second year running respectively is just… woah. Being the inaugural winner for ‘Best Debater’ (I should be a politician, hurr hurr) and ‘Most Informative’ was cool too. I’m flattered to think I’m the ‘Funniest’, but if I make you laugh, I guess that’s the icing on the cake! Kudos to my fellow winners, you deserve your titles! And a big thank you to those who have voted for me and supported my fanwork all these years. You are the reason why I do what I do.

To those who didn’t win or weren’t nominated this year, I strongly encourage you to keep at what you do, and hopefully you’d improve enough to be recognised next year! There are some categories which I wished I had won, like fanfiction and fanart, which I have never achieved, but I don’t let that get me down. There are people who deserve this more than I do, and maybe someday, I can be as good as them, with enough courage and perseverance!

I’m proud to be a part of this community for close to five years (I joined in late 2008), and contribute to its rich history. Over the years, I’ve seen members come and go, events commence and conclude, and the fanworks of our dedicated Planeteers florish and bloom. I will never forget the old-timers and those nights (or mornings) we shared together watching our favourite Pixar films. I will also cherish the memories I have and will continue to have with the newcomers, and watch as they continue to bring the site into a brighter future.

I remember there was one time I did a rant about how the Brain Trust should move on and let the younger Pixarians take over and move the studio forward. I’m afraid now I’m going to have to live my own words, judging by the budding talents and hardworking staff we have on this forum. While this will not be the end of my contributions to the fandom, I’m afraid my ‘golden era’ is over, as I move on the next stage of my life and the responsibilities of adulthood.

I’ll still pop in here, though, from time to time. Well, I pretty much do every week, anyway. I’m not quite sure whether I will ever leave this place, but if some day I do, I just want y’all to know it’s been a great ride, and that you made it all the more awesome.

A big shout-out too, to TSS and little_chef for organising this year’s awards. I consider you both as two of my best buds here, and I’m thankful for all the love and friendship you have given me. Same goes to everyone else here; whether you realise it or not, you have shaped my life in one way or another, and I am grateful for that. It has been an honour.

TL:DR Summary - Thank you for the Awards, and congratulations to everyone for being a part of the greatest Pixar fansite on the Internet!

Just another day at the office.

Ethan Hunt and his team of Impossible Missions Force agents are pulling off yet another ridiculously difficult assignment (breaking into the Kremlin undetected and stealing classified documents) when things go spectacularly wrong. A nuclear extremist called Cobalt detonates a bomb that destroys the Kremlin and escapes with the codes to arm Russia’s nuclear missiles, leaving Hunt and his team to be implicated in the disaster. Disavowed and branded as terrorists, the remains of the IMF must now stop Cobalt from starting World War Three, while sorting out each other’s alliances and differences.

This is Tom Cruise’s character’s latest mission in a nutshell. But for him and Brad Bird in his live-action directorial debut, the stakes are much higher: impressing longtime fans of the franchise and upping the ante from the previous instalments.

I haven’t watched the original TV show, but I’ve seen the previous three films and enjoyed each of them for different reasons. Well, okay, M:I:2 by John Woo was kinda disappointing, but at least it was set in Sydney, my second home. And I’m a fan of Bird and his movies: the traditionally-animated classic ‘The Iron Giant’, the superhero homage ‘The Incredibles’, and the inspiring tale of a rat who became a chef, ‘Ratatouille’. And now he can add another winner to his sterling resume; this is probably my second-favourite in the series (the first is still JJ Abram’s M:I:3).

Right from the first two minutes, we are thrown into an action sequence featuring Josh Holloway from Lost and the excitement doesn’t let up, even with its lengthy running time of 2 hours. Tom is clearly in his element as the lantern-jawed hero who doesn’t quit, while Simon Pegg’s Benji gets an upgrade from techie to field agent. Rounding off the crew is Paula Patton as Jane Carter, a beautiful agent with vengeance on her mind, and Jeremy Renner as William Brandt, an enigmatic analyst who shares a dark past with Hunt.

The setpieces are spectacular and brilliant; maybe it’s just me, but Bird’s experience in animation seems to have rubbed off on the film, from the spoiler-ridden ‘follow the fuse’ opening credits (unless you’ve seen the trailer), to the lifelike dust storm that swallows Dubai in one inventive chase sequence. But not surprisingly, it is the sequences sans the CGI that prove the most memorable. The standout scene of Tom scaling the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, deserves to be seen on the largest screen possible (I was lucky to catch it at the Lido IMAX in Singapore). The sight of Tom hanging by the tips of his fingers a thousand feet above the city is enough to make the strongest of viewers sweat their palms and clench their sphincters.

Michael Giacchino has interestingly worked on the last Mission Impossible as well as two of Bird’s movies. For this outing, he brings an international flavour, with clever variations of the theme in different cultural styles – from the chorus of a Russian marching band, to the percussion-driven rhythms of Arabic music. A Dean Martin favourite of mine also features in an entertaining prison breakout sequence.

The only qualms I had was that the villains were underdeveloped. Michael Nygvist gets decent screentime as Cobalt, but doesn’t really interact with Hunt as trade a few glances and punches. Vladimir Mashkov’s Russian Agent Sidorov is tasked with bringing Hunt in, but he does little beyond show up in Hunt’s wake and being an occasional annoyance. Aniel Kapoor’s arms dealer was surprisingly the most interesting to watch, as he attempts to (unsuccessfully) seduce Carter in typical Bollywood ‘tease me-tease you’ fashion.

Another letdown was the whole ‘rogue agent’ premise that was hyped in the promos and taglines. Even though they’ve been disavowed and denied backup and support, the team still get a cache of weapons and equipment, with Benji’s incredible hacking skills coming in handy during sticky situations. It’s not like Hunt had much backup in the previous movies anyway; M:I:3’s third act was more convincing in its impromptu plans and one-man-army desperation. I was expecting something along the lines of the Bourne series or Quantum of Solace’s simplicity, but the team still gets a lot of toys to play with and convenient modes of transportation. This wouldn’t be an issue if it wasn’t marketed that way, so if you’re expecting a stripped-down, bare-bones spy thriller without the fancy gadgets, this would be deceptive advertising.

So is it Mission Accomplished for Bird and his team? In my opinion, a resounding yes – it’s a character piece that manages to include emotional weight without becoming angsty, it’s a good old-fashioned spy flick without being overly reliant on shakey-cam or CGI shots, and it’s another stellar entry that takes the series in a new direction while still respecting its roots. In fact, it might even contend with Fast Five for being my favourite live-action film of the year.

Now your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to go see this movie and let me know what you think. Oh, and this blog post will self-destruct in 5 seconds.

P.S. Pixar fans will relish a reference to one of the studio’s inside jokes in the film. Let’s just say you’ll know it when you hear it.

The following was posted on Pixar Planet, Christmas Day Singapore time:

Hello again, my fellow Planeteers! Been a long time since I’ve been here, but just wanna drop by and wish y’all a very Merry Christmas, Hannukah, Saturnalia, and New Year! :) If there’s one thing great about this day (besides the birth of a very significant historical figure), it’s the one time of the year where we spend time with our friends and family, and count our blessings.

I’m grateful that I’ve started my first job out of uni barely two months after my graduation in this difficult job market. I’m glad my brother is back from his exchange in Paris and Manchester to spend the holidays with us. I’m relieved my dad made it through another operation and his back’s better (though he’s still grumpy as ever). I’m thankful to have met not one, but two Brony communities (New South Wales and Singapore) IRL and lived to tell the tale! I’m excited my siblings and I are gonna jump on the bandwagon and get iPads for Christmas, and this after I’ve already got a new iPhone 4S (Thanks, dad).

But most of all, I’m just happy to have known all of you for so many years, even though I’ve only met one in real-life and only a handful have ‘found me on Facebook. I really treasure the amazing times we had together, and I truly hope they last for many more years to come. Thank you everyone, for being my friend and fellow Planeteer, and may the Omniescent Deity Upstairs bless you all.

Season’s greetings,
Andre

:D

Disney’s best-selling “Cars” toys are being made in a factory in China that uses child labour and forces staff to do three times the amount of overtime allowed by law, according to an investigation by The Guardian.

“One worker reportedly killed herself after being repeatedly shouted at by bosses. Others cited worries over poisonous chemicals. Disney has now launched its own investigation.

It is claimed some of the 6,000 employees have to work an extra 120 hours every month to meet demand from western shops for the latest toys.

The factory, called Sturdy Products, makes toys for the giant Mattel company, which last month announced quarterly profits of £48m on the back of strong sales of Barbie dolls and Cars 2 toys. Sturdy Products, in the city of Shenzhen, also makes toys for US superstore chain Walmart. Among the brands produced are the Thomas the Tank Engine range, Matchbox cars, Cars, Toy Story, Barbie and Fisher Price products, Scrabble and the Hot Wheels sets.

The undercover investigation was carried out with the help of human rights group Sacom (Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehaviour), which helped to expose abuses in Apple’s Foxconn plant in China this year.

Sacom’s accusations against the factory include:

■ The employment of a 14-year-old. Staff also reported the presence of other child workers, according to the investigator.

■ Routine excessive overtime. Employees produced a “voluntary” document they said they had to sign agreeing to work beyond the maximum overtime legal limit of 36 hours a month, along with wage slips that suggested they were averaging 120 hours of overtime a month.

■ A harsh working environment in which workers complained of mistreatment by management. One worker injured on the production line was shouted at and ordered back to work despite needing medical treatment.

■ Concerns about the chemicals in use and poor ventilation. Employees claimed three workers had fallen ill. They said they had to hide pots of adhesive and thinners during audits of the factory by its client companies.

■ They also claimed that they were paid by the factory to give misleading answers during audits and that they were fined for failing to hit targets. The calculation of wages for different workers was described by Sacom as arbitrary.”

I’m fully aware that this has little to do with Pixar, as it is a film production company. The onus lies with Disney, Mattel and Walmart, who owe a duty of care to ensure they have a responsible and law-abiding supplier. But I thank God that I didn’t support this despicable practice by buying any Cars merch. I had half a mind to get a Finn miniature from K-Mart the other day, but this horrible expose just put me off completely.

I’m not saying that all toy suppliers are free from guilt. I bought a Rio and Kung Fu Panda Happy Meal toy of Rafael and Mr Ping respectively, and I’m not 100% certain they came from an ethically-responsible source. I’ve looked at the labels of some of the spoof T-shirts I’ve bought and they mentioned they were made in Mexico and Vietnam.

But we should all be aware of where our products come from, and do our best to ensure that they were made in a workplace which respects human rights and dignity. There’s an ongoing controversy in Australia over cattle abuse by Indonesian meat suppliers. Again, when these unsavoury practices come to the surface, we must do everything we can to ensure these horrible acts do not happen again.

In the case of Cars merch, I am not buying a single product from now on until I receive news that Disney, Mattel, and Walmart are not using Sturdy Products as a supplier and have taken steps to properly assess their manufacturers. Essentially, if the parties responsible are gonna sweep this under the carpet, I am going to boycott their product line, and encourage other fans to do the same (I’m telling all my friends on social media and RL too).

If we truly care about human rights and are abhorred by the idea of children working years before they should, or workers suffering ill treatment and abuse by their employers, then not showing our support until things change is the least we could do. I’m even considering writing in to Disney Australia. It truly hurts me as a fan to know that merchandise of one of my favourite Pixar movies is part of a disgusting systematic abuse of human rights in China.

We all need to speak out against injustice, no matter where it takes place.

Disney factory faces probe into sweatshop suicide claims - The Guardian

The following was posted in reply to a P Planeteer’s enquiry about the nature of my prolific film-watching:

As most of you who know me online and in real-life would be aware of by now, I am a student contributor to my university magazine. Essentially, we contact the editor and enquire if there’s anything that needs reviewing in the office. Sometimes, she will tip us off if there’s a concert or gig ro attend, or a DVD screener or book sample that needs previewing. Usually I grab the film premieres and advance screenings. :)

I watched Rango at Paramount Studio’s theatrette and watched an advance screening of Hoodwinked Too! and Justin Bieber on their behalf. Most of my published reviews though are unsolicited (ie I wanted to submit a review of a film I recently watched with my own money). So basically all the films you see on my list except for the ones I mentioned, as well as Season of the Witch and Big Mommas (which I saw through my friend’s illegal copies while staying over at their place) are all paid for with my own money and seen in cinemas with my friends or alone. Oh, and Water for Elephants was a free redemption with a voucher I got from a loyalty programme.

I’ve even seen Rio and Cars 2 twice legitimately (with my 2nd viewing of Cars 2 in IMAX) and Kung Fu Panda 2 and Thor twice uh… illegitimately (theatre sneak-ins with friends after watching the first movie). So you can imagine how much cash I’ve spent in one cinema chain alone, especially since tickets typically go for $15 on weekends there.

I’m aware some people (like Harry Knowles, Peter Travers, or a Pixar blogger whose name I won’t mention) are invited to attend press screenings by the studio and they write glowing reviews to promote the movie. Of course, sometimes they may feel honest about their opinion, but then there’s always the possibility that they were simply impressed by the fact that they got to watch a movie before everyone else and hence rave about it.

I’m not that kind of person, if I hated a movie, I’ll say I hate it, whether I got a free pass or not. I gave Bieber 6/10 and Hoodwinked 4/10, for example. I’ve priased other movies like Kung Fu Panda 2 and Cars 2 which I forked out ridiculous amounts of my own cash (or to be exact, my parents’) to attend the premiere screening or see in a large-format like IMAX. If I like a movie, I will still try to think what aspects could be improved on. And of course, I try my best to remain objective. On a personal level, I enjoyed Hoodwinked Too! thouroughly because I dig spy movies and spoofs and parodies and mash-ups, but if I want to be professional, i’ll have to say it was an abysmal movie with sub-standard CGI and storytelling.

I think as reviewers, we must be confident in the knowledge that our opinions can’t be bought. We have to have that sort of integrity and conviction in our assessment of a film, and not be swayed by a studio giving you a free pass, or your university for that matter. A critic is not a PR-spokesperson.

Accordion not included.

A while back, I wrote a post describing 5 things I expected from Pixar’s sequel Cars 2 such as ‘It will be a spy movie’, ‘There will be few slapstick jokes’, ‘There will be heart & soul’, et cetera. I’ve provided a link to that post at the end of this one. It is now time to review that post in light of having seen the film, as well as to add a few retrospective details.

1) It will be a spy movie

Pixar has definitely struck it out of the ballpark in this area. I really wondered how they were going to pull of a conspiracy plot that would somehow involve Lightning and Mater without feeling too far a stretch, but I’m glad it was plausible and even logical in the end. Danger - tick. Excitement - tick. Hell, there’s even a little adult innuendo, although it’s more of the chaste flirting type (although Holley’s last name comes tantalisingly close).

There’s not so much spoofs or parodies of the spy genre as more of loving homages. So we get an enemy-base infiltration sequence in the beginning, a couple of car chases (always a perennial staple), a backalley fistfight (or should I say, tyrefight?) and a dramatic countdown finale.

Pixar also doesn’t portray a romantic view of the secret agent occupation; characters are tortured and killed in various gruesome fashions, and as a spy, Finn has many enemies and fewer friends (there is a great line he tells Mater that expresses this axiom). I would’ve liked more backstabbings and double-crosses, or even a twist that I wouldn’t see coming at the end, but sadly most of the plot was very predictable.

But like Lasseter said, this is a spy movie.

2) There will be few slapstick jokes and pop-culture references.

On the scatological front, the trailer revealed most of the toilet jokes (thankfully). There was a line where Mater almost cusses when he fails to pronounce the last syllable of Holley’s surname (whether this was intentional or not, I don’t know). But most of the gags are of the ‘Mater-acting-silly’ kind.

With regards to pop-culture references, they are thankfully not the ‘flavour of the month’ kind used by lesser Dreamworks movies or any of the ‘(insert genre) Movies’ that will get dated two years from now. Rather, these are grander and more timeless cultural perceptions and stereotypes. So we get Japanese kei cars with dewy anime-eyes, Italian mothering-types who smother you with home-cooked food, stern-faced Queen’s Guards with giant bearskin hats, that sort of thing. It is very interesting how Pixar takes these cultural observations and ‘Cars-ify’ them within the world’s internal logic, so I can appreciate that.

3) The antagonist will not be a straw villain.

Oh man, Professor Z… he’s not exactly the most memorable Pixar antagonist - he has awfully little screentime and even fewer remarkable lines, but his actions speak louder than his words. What he lacks in quoteworthy bad-guy dialogue he makes up for in callous indifference in his acts of villainy. We witness the aftermath of his murder of Finn’s colleague in a rather brutal way (by cars’ standards) in the opening act, and one of the most unforgettable scenes is of his slow and sadistic torture of Bruce Campbell’s character.

Unfortunately, he doesn’t directly dispose of his victims, instead relying on his henchmen Acer and Grem to do the dirty deeds. Also, there are moments where he breaks out-of-character and becomes weak, like when he recalls his past of being treated as a lemon in the casino, or when he is captured by Finn and squeals when he is pressured to reveal the bomb disarming code. It’s great to show moments of vulnerability in the antagonist; Kung Fu Panda 2 handled that very well with Lord Shen’s moments of self-doubt. The way Cars 2 did it though, felt like it was played for laughs with Z’s dramatic sobbing when he recollected his memories of being teased as a lemon, or when he flees from Finn when his men abandon him. It would’ve been more bad-ass and in-character if he had simply faltered during the ‘remembering’ scene, or if he actually tried to fight Finn one-on-one instead of relying on his henchmen or escape crafts.

Also, the big baddy had a nice reveal (thanks to Mater’s sudden burst of intelligence), but as another Pixar Planet member pointed out, they still won in the end since they had legitimate ownership of the oil fields.

4) There will not be loads and loads of characters.

I am disappointed to say that Pixar let me down on this aspect. But not because there were too many characters, but that I wish they devoted more time to letting us get to know them. I know it’s very difficult to squeeze in a few more lines for a film with this many sub-plots and settings (despite the 2 hour-length). But I would’ve loved to hear more lines from Lightning’s fellow racers- I, personally, was disappointed to hear barely a word from my favourite racer Carla Veloso, but I’m sure fans of other cars like Max, Rip and Shu would feel likewise. I mean, they could’ve said something, maybe a congratulation to the winner of each race, or maybe a cuss word or two when they’re overtaken, something like that. At least Lewis got a few quick sentences.

Another Pixar Planeteer also pointed out that Uncle and Mama Topolino’s role could’ve easily been replaced by Sally as a confidante to Lightning during a crisis point in his relationship with Mater. Granted, it was nice to hear about Luigi and Guido’s backstory, but the Topolinos were superfluous characters.

As for Finn and Holley, I wish they included a scene where they had a heart-to-heart talk with Mater to take the spy game seriously. I can just imagine Holley having a quiet moment with Mater amidst all the chaos, and she questioning Mater why is he doing this, what does he stand to gain from trying to stop Professor Z. Or Finn, revealing a little of his past as a spy, seeing all his friends die and being unable to do a damn thing about it. Something like that! Again, missed opportunity.

It’s great though, to see the returning characters put to good use. Filmore, in particular, plays a crucial role in the film’s climax that I didn’t see coming, so good on that VW truck, maaaan!

5) There will be heart and soul.

Ooh, this one’s tricky. Yes, it has more heart than the average animated fare put out nowadays. The emotional backbone of the story is Lightning and Mater’s friendship and how that is put to the test when time passes on. I loved how Mater was upset about Lightning having less time with him as best-buds, only to find new friends in the form of Finn and Holley (the latter, I think, stands a good chance of being his next ‘Doreen’).

But when compared to other Pixar films, it lacks that certain spark, that sincere and honest ‘I’ve got a story to tell’ enthusiasm. The emotional backbone is diluted by the whole spy plot, and it is difficult to sum up the story in less than five words.

Truck tries to be a spy.
Truck mistaken for secret agent.
Tow truck saves the world.

Okay, bad illustration. But it is difficult to find the core, the theme, the by-line… I will elaborate more about this in my next post, but I was very disappointed at how this was handled.

Don’t get me wrong. Cars 2 has its heart in the right place. It just didn’t come through as clearly and succintly as I hoped through all that exposition and convoluted plot.

So was I proven right on all the points I made? To an extent, yes. Pixar hit a home run on a few like ‘It’s a spy movie’ and ‘Few slapstick and pop-culture references’. It was kinda iffy on others like ‘The antagonist will not be a straw villain’ and ‘There will be heart and soul’. As I’ve said in my review, Cars 2 is Pixar’s best movie since The Incredibles. But it just… lacks that special something that elevates it to the greats. I still like the film much more than the critics did, but I don’t think I’ll be fawning over it as much as I did for all the other animated films I’ve seen this year.

5 Things I Expect From Cars 2

Cars 2 Review