Cars 2

In 1995, Pixar films (now owned by Disney) started an amazing feature-film run with Toy Story, beginning a streak of 11 movies that were all good to great. With Cars 2, Pixar’s 12th effort, that run comes to a screeching, tire-shredding halt. This is not only the worst (and only bad) Pixar feature film to date, but one of the year’s worst movies, period. Cars 2 is a muddled merchandising mess tooling around on bald tires. Directors John Lasseter (who made the first two Toy Story films) and Brad Lewis have slopped together too many ideas for one movie, and none of those ideas is entertaining. Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) and Mater (Larry the Cable Guy) go on some world-racing trek, and Mater gets involved with some car spies. Have fun trying to follow this damn thing, and enjoy forking over the dough for stupid Mater toy trucks this Christmas. There’s a Toy Story short before the film that is marginally better than the feature.