Cars 2 is a film released by Pixar in 2011, and its story occurs after the events of Cars. In the sequel, Lightning McQueen decides to participate in the World Grand Prix, a racing competition that takes place in multiple countries. He and Mater, who accompanies him to his races, get tangled in a plot to make alternative fuels look bad.
Many of the racers explode after using Allinol, and Mater surprisingly starts working alongside some spies in order to uncover exactly who is responsible. The two films are vastly different in tone and plot since Mater serves as the primary protagonist of the second film. There are numerous changes that set the two films apart. Were these changes for the better or did they betray the original film?
10 The Sequel Focuses On The First Film's Comic Relief
Rather than following Lightning McQueen again, the sequel chooses to follow Mater. Many sequels have attempted to focus on comic relief before, but the reason why the comic relief is funny in the original is because the protagonist is much more serious and grounded.
Comic relief characters often take up a small part of the movie, and either ease the tension or earn a brief laugh. When they have a starring role, they end up seeming more obnoxious.
9 The Film's Overall Message Makes No Sense
Lightning McQueen felt terrible for most of the film after his falling out with Mater. The people around him told them that if Mater was truly his friend, he would never ask him to change. If people didn't like Mater's personality, then they were the problem, not him.
Though it is important to be true to yourself is it also important to consider how your behavior impacts the people around you. If your actions are continually affecting, embarrassing, and even hurting the people around you, you need to take a look in the mirror and reconsider these actions. Mater is a goofy guy, and that is perfectly okay, but what's not okay is to hurt someone and then expect them to apologize to you.
8 The Sequel Is A Spy Movie
Like the Fast And The Furious films, Cars chose to focus less on racing and more on cool gadgets and undercover missions. For Cars, the change was jarring. Fans expected to follow Lightning McQueen's journey to becoming an even better racer under Doc Hudson's tutelage.
There were few challenges for the characters to face, and the challenges that did present themselves were solved with spy equipment and sheer luck.
7 Mater Gets A Girlfriend
Having a side character find romance is another popular trope in sequels. However, whether or not Mater would get a girlfriend was not a burning question in anyone's mind.
While this was not an integral part of the plot, it wasn't as strongly established as the one in the previous film. Rather, their budding relationship was based on misunderstandings and played for laughs at the end of the film.
6 The Original Film's Romance Is Ridiculed
The way that the relationship between McQueen and Sally Carrera blossomed was slow and natural. At first, they didn't get along since McQueen showed a complete lack of respect for Radiator Springs. However, while he fixed the road brought a new life to the community Sally opened up to him as he grew to appreciate the place and the people who lived in it.
Unfortunately, the sweetness in this relationship is nowhere to be seen in the sequel, since Sally is too busy showing her attraction towards Francesco Bernoulli, McQueen's racing rival.
5 A Major Character Was Killed Off-Screen
Doc Hudson played a huge part in McQueen's character growth. If not for his mentorship, McQueen would have never truly learned to respect his fellow race-cars, nor would he have learned modesty. After learning about Doc's tragic accident, McQueen realized that any race could be his last, and it led to a truly touching scene of McQueen helping a damaged car across the finish line at the expense of his own victory.
Doc is only mentioned briefly in the sequel, as Mater and McQueen discuss his passing while looking at Doc's posters.
4 The Film Makes Mater A Little Too Dim-Witted
Mater was always a character who wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he always had good intentions. However, some of the scenes in Cars 2 are too over the top and embarrassing. When Mater first spent time with McQueen, he didn't realize that his activities weren't fun at all for his friend.
He also showed up uninvited to McQueen's date, issued a challenge to McQueen's rival on live television without McQueen's permission, ate wasabi before screaming and guzzling water from a waterfall in front of the press, and more. Viewers understood exactly why McQueen was embarrassed.
3 The Spies Never Believe Mater's Attempts To Reveal That He Isn't A Spy
Finn McMissile and Holly Shiftwell are two spies that work with Mater throughout the film. Thanks to what can only be described as incredible luck, Mater never botched his missions. Despite his attempts to tell them that he is not a spy, neither seem to really believe him.
The more experienced agent, Finn, is convinced that Mater is only pretending to be a fool, and doesn't once consider that Mater is telling him the truth.
2 The Town's Residents Have Much Less Presence
Radiator Springs had a colorful array of inhabitants, all of which were pushed to the side. Their main role was to support McQueen during his races but didn't make any meaningful contribution until the end of the movie, where they all pitched in to defeat the villains that wanted to destroy Mater and McQueen.
If they had been cut out from the movie, it wouldn't have made a difference at all.
1 The Sequel Doesn't Progress The Plot Or Provide Significant Character Development
Although Cars 2 tells a coherent story, it functions more as a side story than as a sequel. Lightning McQueen's story does not progress in any meaningful way. Despite the fact that the film was focused on Mater, he didn't undergo any character change either.
Although he realized that he was acting like a fool and embarrassing the people around him, his friends told him that he was okay just the way he was, which just gave him permission to remain stagnant as a character.