14 years on, I still don’t understand what Pixar was doing with the Cars franchise when it released the bizarre sequel, Cars 2. Pixar is notorious for its “What if X had feelings?” movie plotline trend, so it makes sense that the 2006 classic animated movie Cars was a hit, earning $462 million at the box office worldwide. In fact, the Pixar movie was so successful that it was actually the sixth highest-grossing film of 2006, and the movie about anthropomorphic vehicles featuring Owen Wilson launched a multimedia franchise, which included two sequels, as well as the spin-off movie, Planes.

Cars was a critical and commercial success at the time of its release, and received two nominations at the Academy Awards. Its strange concept and unique character designs made Cars a standout among other films, and the movie actually had a deeper moral message to it with Lightning McQueen’s character arc, much like many other Pixar movies. Therefore, when a Cars sequel was announced, fans had high expectations for the upcoming Pixar movie. Unfortunately, when Cars 2 released in 2011, despite its box office success, it received mixed reviews, with some regarding the film as the worst Pixar sequel ever.

Cars 2 Is One Of The Weirdest Sequels I’ve Ever Seen

While Cars 2 Has Its Charms, The Numbers Aren’t In Its Favor

Cars 2 is one of the weirdest sequels Pixar has ever done, and it is all down to the movie’s left-field plot. Considering the first Cars movie focused primarily on the famous racing car Lightning McQueen and his struggles with humility after getting lost in a small town that has never heard of him, you might expect Cars 2 to continue along the same track, perhaps even exploring the residents of Radiator Springs’ perspective on their newfound notoriety. However, Pixar decided to take the sequel movie in a completely different direction by making Cars 2 into a James-Bond-style spy movie.

With a $200 million budget, Cars 2 ranks among the most expensive films ever made, sitting in front of movies like The Hobbit and Transformers, when adjusted for inflation. As a result, you would expect the movie to be a critical success. However, with Mater randomly helping spies uncover a racing conspiracy affecting McQueen’s races, Cars 2 failed to capture what made the original so great due to its disjointed plot. The sequel received a disappointing 39% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Cars 2 was even responsible for breaking Pixar’s Oscar-nomination-per-movie streak that had lasted 16 years, cementing its unfortunate legacy.

How Cars 3 Course-Corrected The Franchise After Cars 2

Cars 3 Focused On McQueen’s Legacy In The End Of An Era

Following the sequel’s critical disappointment, Cars 3 seemingly ended Pixar’s movie franchise with Lightning McQueen’s struggles racing against newer car models, in a nostalgic and emotional story. The deeper moral message was much more prevalent in Cars 3, echoing the franchise’s original film, with critics praising the movie’s story, instead of slating Pixar for being purely sales-driven (like many felt Cars 2 was). Despite having the lowest box office of any Cars movie, Cars 3 was a surprisingly refreshing addition to the franchise, focusing on Lightning McQueen’s legacy, and receiving a much-improved score of 69% on Rotten Tomatoes.

As a result of Cars 3’s “ending of an era” storyline, there has been a distinct lack of Cars 4 updates over the years, besides the Cars on the Road series, with many feeling the Pixar franchise had come to an end. However, in 2023, co-creator Jay Ward told The Late Brake Show “there are more Cars things brewing” as he’s “working on some really fun projects right now that you will see in the next couple years.” Therefore, if Cars does return, hopefully it will stay faithful to its original themes, straying away from off-center sequels like Cars 2.

Source: The Late Brake Show