Ranking All The Pixar Sequels From Worst To Best
How does Incredibles 2 stack up?
Not too many years ago, the idea of a Pixar sequel was still a rarity, with Toy Story the only Pixar film that ever got to have a follow-up. The studio was focused almost entirely creating new and original material, but slowly that policy has changed and evolved in a natural fashion.
Filmmakers began returning to the studio with new ideas for the worlds they had invented years earlier, and once a sequel to Cars was greenlit, the floodgates were really opened. Suddenly any and all sequels seemed like possibilities, and since then, Pixar has been on a regular schedule of releasing a sequel (or prequel) every two years or so.
This weekend sees the release of Pixar's seventh sequel, Incredibles 2. Even back in 2004, it seemed practically inevitable that audiences would one day get an Incredibles sequel, since the first film ended on a cliffhanger that was clearly setting up future adventures. And yet it's only now, fourteen years later, that the film is finally seeing release. Was it worth the wait? Does it live up to the hype? Let's see how it stacks up against Pixar's (mostly) beloved follow-ups.
7. Cars 2
Easily the nadir of Pixar's filmography, Cars 2 is a bit of a mess.
The first Cars was a decent if not exactly groundbreaking film that was all about hot-shot Lightning McQueen learning the value of slowing down every once and a while to treasure the little things. So logically, the follow-up would reduce McQueen to a supporting role, boost Larry the Cable Guy's Mater up to the protagonist position, and have the plot of a knock-off James Bond movie, right?
From the concept to execution, every artistic choice made for Cars 2 is baffling. If making a spy film that just so happened to feature talking cars wasn't strange enough, then having Mater fill the 007-lite role certainly was. Mr. the Cable Guy's tow truck was tolerable in the first film precisely because he was a supporting character, but being the lead means that the emotional weight of the film falls upon his shoulders, and he is thoroughly incapable of carrying it.
John Lasseter infamously turned down the opportunity to direct the final installment of the Toy Story trilogy he started, because he was so in love with the story of Cars 2. Hindsight being 20/20, that may not have been the best choice.