The King's Bookworm: Pixar Has Struck Again

Cars 2

My rating: 5 star

Synopsis: Lighting McQueen heads overseas to compete in the first ever World Grand Prix hosted by Miles Axelrod. McQueen bring with him Mater and the rest of the crew. Things are going okay, until Mater gets tied up in something in which he has no experience... international espionage. This brings on a chain of events that begin to explode, making McQueen and Mater's friendship get a little rocky. With the help of some new friends will Mater be able to stop some desperate criminals who will stop at nothing - before it's too late?

Pixar has struck AGAIN.

This was better than what I expected, and then some. It was cool... it was nifty... it was geeky... it was exciting... it was thoughtful... it was intricate... it was unique... it was surprising... it had a wonderful storyline... the CG was out of this world... it was, well, simply put, Pixar. :) Although it took me a couple watches to get used to the international flavor, since I'm used to the American flavor of the first Cars. But now I love it.

Pixar has a unique history. It started out as an animation division of George Lucas'. Then Steve Jobs bought it. Then he sold it to Disney. And let's just hope Pixar stays the way it is and does not get too tainted by Disney. Let's face it - not all of Disney's movies are the greatest and all of Pixar's are some of the greatest, without a doubt.

But anyway on to the movie... :D

Tokyo was amazing and interesting. And it was where the action and first race were held. I wonder how much electricity it takes to power that metropolis.

Ah, beautiful Italy was where the next race was. Nothing better. So, so beautiful. And with some of the best food in the world. (Right, Nana? ;))

And London. Perfect for a grand slam finale. Goodness, I want to visit the British Isles sometime - Ireland, Scotland, England. LOVE it.

Now, to introduce you all to some of the the most unique and crazy characters I have ever seen in a family movie. Without telling you too much in the way of plot spoilers.

Professor Z, voiced by Thomas Kretschmann, was an interesting, know-it-all personality little car. We meet him right at the beginning of the movie... ugh. :)

Francesco Bernoulli, voiced by John Turturro, is Italian. Drives me crazy (pun not intended). I love Italians, but not this one (yes, I know he's only a fictional character :D). He's the one who challenged Lighting to race. Francesco kind of reminds me of the snobby Lighting in the first Cars.

Then there's Finn McMissile. I so want a car like this. Such a Beautiful car. And he's voiced by none other than Michael Caine. Perfect choice for a British Intelligence agent. McMissile is my favorite character out of the whole movie except for Mater. :D

Sir Miles Axelrod is the sponsor of the World Grand Prix. He also developed the Allinol alternative fuel. Eddie Izzard voices this car of many dimensions.

Holly Shiftwell is a British Intelligence linguistics agent. I like her better than Sally. She's classy and has lots of cool gadgets. She's voiced by Emily Mortimer.

So now for a few fun pictures and quotes.

Finn McMissile: My apologies, I haven't properly introduced myself. Finn McMissile, British intelligence.
Mater: Tow Mater, average intelligence.

Mater: I'll have some of that there pistachio ice cream.
Sushi Chef: No, no. Wasabi.
Mater: Oh, same old, Same old, what's up with you?
Mater: [after being served a whole plate of wasabi] Now that's a scoop of ice cream.
Sushi Chef: [in Japanese] My condolences.

The below picture is the result of Mater eating the "pistachio ice cream."

Uncle Topolino: "He who finds a friend finds a treasure."

Oh, yes and the boat... well, you may recognize it. It's the Northwestern (except it's name is Crabby in this movie) from the show Deadliest Catch. And of course that's voiced by the owner of the boat in real life, Sig Hansen.