The reviews for Cars 2 are not high octane right now. For once, a Pixar movie doesn't have dozen of rave reviews by now, and Cars 2 may have been a long shot to get them anyway. After all, the movie is a sequel to the film regarded as Pixar's least perfect classic. But even the original Cars managed a fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, whereas the follow up may need luck to just cross the 60 percent positive barrier.
After some early high marks, the film dropped to 55 percent Wednesday, with 11 positive ratings and nine negative. Although it is early, this may be the first time that a Pixar movie ever reached a "rotten" level at any point. The review buzz actually looks worse when one looks at the positive scores, as even critics who liked the film didn't exactly love it.
Every Disney-Pixar epic ever has had at least some critical worship, although some have had more than others. Cars was regarded as the closest thing to a bomb from the studio, which left the sequel with a lot to prove. Since the franchise was reinventing itself with a spy thriller storyline, it fueled some hopes that Pixar's imagination was still strong.
But although the studio's first sequel, Toy Story 3, won universal acclaim and tears, this follow up is destined to replace its original as Pixar's worst movie. Should it still salvage a fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes, few seem ready to hold it up to the level of the Toy Story franchise, Up, Wall-E, Finding Nemo or other past animated classics. In fact, Cars 2 may just need to be lucky to match the first movie, which isn't the highest of goals.
For some reason, this particular Pixar franchise seems to be immune from the studio's usual magic touch. Of course, anything not on the level of its past masterpieces would look worse than it really is; that was what happened to the original Cars. That film was at least regarded as good but not great, yet the sequel may be the first Pixar movie to be considered downright mediocre.
Given the 11 straight classics or near-classics that the studio has put out since 1995, being the first disappointment of its kind is an infamous standing. But unless ratings pick up in a drastic hurry, Cars 2 will meet that historic fate.
A 50-60 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes doesn't signal a bomb, especially compared to other panned summer films like Green Lantern, The Hangover Part 2 and Pirates of the Caribbean 4. Yet Pixar has always been above that kind of fray in the last 15 years. However, it appears that the studio will have to settle for having a perfect record outside of Cars movies instead of a perfect record overall.
Sources
Rotten Tomatoes- "Cars 2"
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