I hate to be a killjoy here but Cars 2 emerges as the first official misfire for Pixar, despite the fact that director John Lasseter and crew avoid subjecting the audience to one of those straight up rehash jobs. Is Cars 2 a bad film? Certainly not. Its vibrant, its colorful, its fast paced, and its beautifully animated, but its severely lacking in creative storytelling, sufficient laughs, and heart--three key ingredients that make up every feature in the Pixar canon. In Cars 2, Lightening McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) is challenged to race the World Grand Prix by a cocky European Formula 1 car named Francesco Bernoulli (voiced by John Turturro).

So, McQueen and his dimwit buddy Mater (voiced by Larry the Cable Guy) leave the happy confines of Radiator Springs and hit the road for a world wide adventure that trades in the slice of Americana that was the first Cars film for a spy and espionage actioneer that--while fast paced--feels overly long. Cars 2 reduces McQueen to a supporting character while Mater is front and center. New to the series are Finn McMissile (voiced by Michael Caine) and Holley Shiftwell (voiced by Emily Mortimer)--two secret agent cars who team with a clueless Mater in an attempt to solve a mystery at the heart of the stuffy plot. The racing sequences in Cars 2 feel almost unnecessary and aside from a little friction between McQueen and Francesco in the first act, there's no real conflict between these apparent competitors.

Also somewhat lacking is the strained relationship between Mater and McQueen. Its almost as if McQueen has forgotten everything he learned about the moronic but sweet natured tow truck in the first installment. Some of the spy and espionage stuff works (particularly the final fifteen minutes which includes a lively action sequence capped off by a twist that I must confess, I didn't see coming). But despite the gorgeous animation and a few noteworthy sequences, I never felt truly engaged by what was going on. Having said that, my kids were glued to the screen, although even they would be hard pressed to tell you what was happening with the plot because aside from being overly long, the story is a bit complicated for your average youngster. I suppose that even a sub par Pixar film is more entertaining then a lot of the junk playing at your local multi-plex but as far as I'm concerned, Kung Fu Panda 2 is the stronger animated effort. Here's to hoping Pixar's upcoming Brave is the big time rebound we're all expecting. On a side note, Cars 2 was preceded by a wonderful Toy Story short. I don't want to go into the plot, but I will say it was worth the price of admission alone.