and the writer of this article is a douche. Nice way to twist someone\’s word in order to create \”wittiness\”. Not

But when I finally saw it, I kinda liked it.
I think it\’s fun and entertaining.

Personally, I don\’t particularly care for \”Monsters Inc.\” or \”Finding Nemo.\” But the thing is, whether or not I love those films, I still understand that they represent a higher level of filmmaker and storytelling than \”Cars,\” merchandise aside.

Let\’s be very clear: ALL of the Pixar films have been greenlighted because they stood to make incredible merchandising revenue for Disney. The impetuses behind Toy Story 2 and 3 – films that Playlist members love or at least respect, I\’m sure – are well-documented as being predominantly financial and not originating from the Pixar creative braintrust. That Lasseter and his team were able to turn them into generally good or excellent movies is a tribute to their creative talents. Cars 2 isn\’t the first Pixar movie made to be a merchandising vehicle – it\’s (arguably) the first one where the filmmakers were unable to layer and deepen the narrative in a way that made it both a huge financial success and a piece of well-crafted storytelling.

Also, that last quote is actually quite clear. Lasseter\’s point is that, for him, as a director, the kind of inspiration and attachment that kids feel when watching these movies is what he\’s aiming to achieve. And yes, merchandising ties into that, something that I imagine is quite clear to you from when you were a child (or, you know, from writing about the entertainment business). Lasseter likely thought he could make Cars 2 a great movie on top of being a mammoth financial success for the company he heads, as he and his team did for their previous sequels. This time he failed. End of story. Doesn\’t make quite a laughably glib headline.

It\’s intellectually lazy and \”fashionable\” to pounce on Cars 2 and Lasseter right now. While I admit Cars 2 isn\’t Pixar\’s best, it\’s certainly not the terrible pox that everyone so breathlessly complains about. And it\’s not really complaining as much as it\’s revelatory excitement about getting to finally write a hit piece on Pixar.

A friendly reminder that Pixar\’s worst is often better than everyone\’s best.

The \”glass ceiling\” is an altogether a different story and worthy of genuine discussion.

I mean, it\’s fair to say that the \”Cars\” franchise represents an otherwise unprecedented creative failing, but the second one shouldn\’t shoulder all of the blame.