He learned that lesson not on the track but in the small, sleepy Route 66 town of Radiator Springs, which provided him with a loyal, good-hearted friend (rusty tow truck Mater), an altruistic girlfriend (blue Porsche Sally), a sage mentor (former champion racer Doc Hudson), and an ensemble of colorful locals. Conversely, Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film 3½ stars out of four, and said that "the sequel is a tire-burning burst of action and fun with a beating heart under its hood. Thankfully Mater's friends are always willing to lend a helping wheel, and as the race gets underway, everyone shifts into high gear to help out an old friend. Whatever way you choose, you are bound to get a delightfully dynamic presentation that engulfs you tastefully and doesn't leave the elements competing to be heard or requiring volume tinkering.

The US release date was later confirmed to be June 24, 2011, with a UK release date set for July 22, 2011. But they seem to matter when you play to a literate audience who is well aware of your stellar critical track record. There's a lot I like about 'Cars 2', especially for car nuts like myself (I could talk octane and displacement for hours -- much to my wife's chagrin). I'm sure that doesn't hurt, but if Cars 2 were some kind of coldly calculated marketing ploy, why take so many chances?The film was presented in Disney Digital 3D and IMAX 3D, as well as traditional two-dimensional and IMAX formats.

With its twists and turns, the whole spy plot seems likely to float over the heads of young viewers, who have no reason to know the genre to which this strives to pay homage.

Still, one can't help but notice how the industry's short-sighted ways to combat these issues have probably done more harm to the notion of movie collecting than anything else.