Cars 2 (11/1/2011)

Rated G.

Staring the voices of Owen Wilson, Larry the Cable Guy and Michael Caine

Directed by John Lasseter and Brad Lewis (Toy Story and Cars)

Not the best Pixar film but still far better than a lot of other animated films.

Star racecar Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) and the incomparable tow truck Mater (Larry the Cable Guy) take their friendship to exciting new places in Cars 2 when they head overseas to compete in the first-ever World Grand Prix to determine the world’s fastest car. But the road to the championship is filled with plenty of potholes, detours and hilarious surprises when Mater gets caught up in an intriguing adventure of his own: international espionage. Mater finds himself torn between assisting Lightning McQueen in the high-profile race and towing the line in a top-secret mission orchestrated by master British super spy Finn McMissile (Michael Caine) and the stunning spy-in-training Holley Shiftwell (Emily Mortimer).

Cars 2 is visually amazing. It is full of color, fun and incredible detail. In fact, during the scenery shots I almost forgot I was watching a cartoon. There is a stellar cast…and Larry the Cable Guy (yes, that’s my way of saying Larry is not stellar).

But seriously, what else do you expect from Pixar. Well, one might say a quality story. And this is where things fall apart. The story is too sophisticated for young viewers. This film covered topics like spies (and a ton of James Bond jokes), “car talk” (complete with lemons like Pacers and Gremlins), torture and death. As I watched the film in a packed theater, you could feel the younger audience totally disengage when some of these “heavier” topics were on screen. Somewhere between those topics and just watching the cars racing (which is exactly what those kids love) is where they should have landed.

Then there was the not so subtle message that oil is “bad.” Come on Pixar, stop trying to indoctrinate my kids!

Finally there is Larry the Cable Guy…check that…then there is WAY TOO MUCH Larry the Cable Guy. I’ll admit I thought some of his jokes were funny, but this movie is really about him and just like his stand up routine, it’s funny at first but after 3 or 4 jokes…it’s just annoying.

Cars 2 has plenty going on…maybe too much. I thought it was ok, but my kids loved it. So I’ll meet in the middle with a Theater Worthy…because it is a fun movie that the whole family can enjoy.

SHOULD KIDS SEE IT?
There is nothing offensive, but be prepared for some “boring scenes” where younger viewers will just tune out.

Conversation Starter
Three Simple Questions (with Answers You May Be Looking for):

Q: What’s the message/theme of this movie?
A: Mater is like a fish out of water once he leaves Radiator Springs. His lack of sophistication and social graces embarrasses Lightning McQueen, and causes him to lash out at Mater. In a pivotal scene, McQueen tells him he has to change or go home.

Q: How do you suppose we—as serious Christ-followers—should react to this movie?
A: As you could imagine those words hurt Mater and he decides to, in fact, go home.

Have you ever been hurt by someone’s words? What happened?

Have you ever hurt someone with your words? What happened?

There is no doubt there is power in words. Just read James 3:2-6

Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way.

We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth. And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches.

But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body.

What are some of the things James compares the tongue to?

Discuss how your tongue has sparked a fire.

Q: How can we move from healthy, Bible-based opinions about this movie to actually living out those opinions?
A: We all need to work on taming our tongues.

Read Ephesians 4:29

“Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.”

Think about what your week would look like if everything you said was good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.

Commit to living out Ephesians 4:29 this whole week.