12 Movies That Were Ruined By One Dumb Decision

8. Making Mater The Protagonist - Cars 2

In a way Cars 2 was exactly what the fans wanted. It's just that we're not the fans; Pixar's sentient vehicles has always been more exclusively aimed at children than the studio's other releases. The thing with Cars 2 is that unlike the first film, which despite its more juvenile trappings boasted an enjoyable experience for all ages, it is an objectively bad movie. The script is uncharacteristically sloppy and the jokes consistently fail to land.

The central problem is the shift in protagonist. The first film had the typical, but ultimately likeable arc of Lightning McQueen from stuck up celebrity to small town saver, but Owen Wilson's race cartook a backseat in the sequel to Larry The Cable Guy's Mater. A hillbilly tow truck, all Mater is is a funny voice and dumb statements; other than that his character is as rusted as his body. And with such little depth any film based around him would be equally surface level; there's a vague attempt to comment on his stupidity, but the plot is really as dumb as its hero.

If you trace back the development of the film it becomes apparent why this happened. The idea of a spy film set in the Cars world popped into John Lasseter's mind when promoting the first film; he kept thinking of how his creations would interact in the various countries he visited. The man behind Toy Story evidently adored his characters too much to realise their weaknesses.