12 Inferior Film Sequels That Totally Missed The Point Of The Originals

3. Cars 2 Turns A Goofy Supporting Character Into An Annoying Lead Character

Prior to Cars 2, Pixar released eleven feature films that were all major box office hits and critically praised, a streak that made the animation company seem infallible. Cars 2 proved otherwise. Cars was extremely successful at the box office and became one of Disney's top grossing films in merchandising. That's a jaw-dropping feat considering how much merchandise Disney sells. When the inevitable sequel was released in 2011 it snapped Pixar's streak. Cars 2 reduces the original's lead character Lightning McQueen to a supporting role and instead focuses on Mater, a dimwitted tow truck that was a supporting character in the original. Just because audiences liked Mater in the first movie didn't mean they wanted to see an entire movie about him. Cars 2 is also a parody of the spy genre, featuring dozens of easy gags parodying James Bond that are nowhere near as clever as Pixar's usual high-quality writing. As a result, Cars 2 is the second lowest-grossing Pixar movie in the U.S. (though it performed significantly better overseas). In 2013 Disney released a spinoff of the series titled Planes, which was even less successful than Cars 2 (a second Planes spinoff is set for release in July 2014). However, the sequel and spinoffs are doing one favor for Pixar: they are making the original Cars look better in hindsight.