"Cars 2": Lost Pixar

"Cars 2" may be Pixar's most failed work to date. This kind of failure is not only a misstep in business operation and box office, but also a loss of theme and feelings. Judging from the data alone, "Cars Story 2" did not benefit much from 3D. Of the 68 million box office in North America in its first week, the revenue from 3D screens only accounted for 40% ("Toy Story 3", on the other hand. is 60%). This does not mean that the audience is tired of all 3D movies, because the pursuit and response of "Transformers 3" in 3D technology a week later is significantly stronger than "Game 2". Although the two films are not the same in genre and target audience, as summer entertainment blockbusters, the schedule is too close, forcing audiences and media to compare side by side when watching movies. The final result is that "Change 3" easily exceeded 200 million in the first week, while the box office of "Game 2" fell to a mere several million dollars in the third week. The critics' accusations and the disappointment of fans have long been Waterloo" curve.

It may not be "fair" to compare "Cars" with "Transformers". The latter has accumulated fans over the years as a foundation, while the former only relies on the reputation of "Pixar", the golden sign, but if the film itself is of excellent quality , the current situation can also be avoided. John Lasseter, the Pixar leader, Disney power figure, and "nominal" director, needs to reflect on himself. Was it too soon for Pixar to "turn around" this time? Lost the "little table lamp" of their feelings and competed with DreamWorks and Blue Sky for pure entertainment effects, which greatly disappointed the fans who liked them. Promoting the story with sincere feelings, this is the "magic weapon" that Pixar has moved us over the years: the father-son relationship in "Finding Nemo", the childhood memories of the "Toy Story" series, the persistent ideal in "Ratatouille", "Flying". The mutual support in "House Ring Travel Notes" and the apocalyptic sentiments of "Wall-E" make Pixar's leading technology shell hide a "shiny soul". Even in "Game 1" five years ago, there were "road plots" that penetrated into the bones of Americans, but in "Game 2", they were all gone. This is nothing more than a patchwork under the banner of the World Tour, a loose plot with no structure, tiresome off-line characters, spy movie routines that have been spoofed and parodied countless times, an hour and a half movie, Except for a few beautiful scenes, nothing more can be remembered.





In the first episode, there is still the road of self-discovery of the racing car "McQueen". Although the emotional clues from one end to the end are somewhat preachy, they are at least complete, and the extremely anthropomorphic racing car can be regarded as an innovation. But in "Game 2", the trailer "Dan Ya" was upgraded from a supporting role to a protagonist. It was an interesting character, but it was shown off again and again by the screenwriters, which became annoying. Turning a mediocre grass-roots character into a hero by mistake, the comedy effect created by this "identity misalignment" is originally an indiscriminate method used by Hollywood. This time, Pixar almost copied the whole idea lazily. Dian Ya went off the line and was foolish. Every time he succeeded, he failed, but at the last moment, his IQ increased sharply, thwarting the conspiracy to save the queen. There is no room for explanation, and in the noisy dialogue, the audience is almost driven from one city to another, whether it is Japan or Italy, Paris or London, different cultural symbols are compulsorily given to each other. In terms of background and characters, even if it is visually impactful, it still gives people a sense of cheapness. When I came to Japan, I made a fuss about wasabi and toilets, and when I came to the UK, I had to see Big Ben and the Queen. These superficially curious labels were applied tirelessly, even if they created gag jokes, but the plot and characters were not too big. push. Recalling Pixar's previous works, which were also in Paris, "Ratatouille" honestly worked hard on French cuisine, not to say that foreign cultures should not be displayed, but it was purely for the commercial factors of the global box office. It makes the already thin plot even more fragmented. Although there are many beautiful views of the bay in the film, but there is no character emotion to enrich, even if the animation technology is advanced, "Race 2" is not as touching and expressive as "Rio"... It is far from enough to rely on the cars to sell "cute" drop.

The only bright spot in the film is not the soy-sauce racing car, nor the chicken-blooded trailer, but the calm and sharp Aston Martin. Perhaps only the "Bond Car" dubbed by Michael Caine can get back a little bit of residual feelings for the film. "Cars" is not the most artistic work of Pixar, and its success lies more in the commercial promotion of derivative products. "Race 2" is sure to make these cute cartoon car models popular again, but as a film, Pixar should reflect on whether it is still following the motto of "most concerned about the story".

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