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Is 'Cars 2' too violent for kids? Some readers say yes

Warning: Possible spoilers for "Cars 2" ahead."Cars 2" hasn't earned raves from the critics, but neither did the first "Cars." And if you have kids in your life, you probably know at least one who is sleeping tonight on a "Lightning McQueen bedsheet."Critics aside, we went straight to the source, our readers, to ask them what they thought. Opinions were definitely split, and there was little middl
/ Source: TODAY.com

Warning: Possible spoilers for "Cars 2" ahead.

"Cars 2" hasn't earned raves from the critics, but neither did the first "Cars." And if you have kids in your life, you probably know at least one who is sleeping tonight on a "Lightning McQueen bedsheet."

Critics aside, we went straight to the source, our readers, to ask them what they thought. Opinions were definitely split, and there was little middle ground. Viewers either loved it or they hated it.

Fans who didn't like it specifically mentioned the violence and a scene of a car being tortured, as well as a complicated spy story and a message about big oil and alternative fuels that will be lost on kids. Some didn't like Mater the tow truck being promoted to a lead character, saying there wasn't enough there.

On the other hand, those who did like it enjoyed the action and humor, and many say the kids they went with adored the film.

Here's a sampling of the comments we received.

LOVED IT

"Loved it. My nephew was transfixed for the entire show, which amazed me for a boy his age. And I was amused by the humor obviously targeted at the adults."  --Stan, Minnesota

"For an adult the plot is lacking and the dialogue was poor. To my 5 year son it was awesome. It had talking cars, swimming cars, flying cars, big cars, little cars, boats and planes of all sizes and colors. There was racing, lots of action, Mater humor and a pretty good soundtrack. The next day my son wanted to go see it again. Having seen 'Star Wars' 13 times in 1977 when the movie premiered, I can appreciate his desire to see something he loves again and again. For parents with kids especially little boys it is well worth the money to go see 'Cars 2.' 'Cars 2' was produced for kids in mind not adults and Disney from my son's point of view hit the target audience."   --Wesley, Virginia

"Having seen the movie my conclusion is that critics just don't know how to have fun these days. No, this isn't Pixar's "deepest" film, whatever that means, but it isn't supposed to be. It's a James-Bond-meets-NASCAR buddy flick, and it's loads of fun. I also disagree with those that find fault with its humor, my family and I were swapping one-liners from it all the way home."  --Tom, Connecticut

"'Cars 2' was a laugh-fest for this almost 70-year-old senior! I imagine that most of the children under 10 understood nothing of the plot line, much less the humor, much of it tongue-in-cheek. My 5-year-old grandson seemed to like it, probably because of the action, pace, color and visual humor that caught his attention. It won't have the lasting emotional impact that many 'children's movies' have had, but that's okay. As for me, I loved just about every minute of it! Two arthritic thumbs up!"  --David, Georgia

NOT A FAN

"I was thoroughly disappointed in the 'Cars' sequel. Is it really necessary to show the Cars characters having martinis? Also, quite a bit of violence, with cars shooting at each other and blowing each other up. This movie was intended for children, am I right? Shame on you Disney."  --Bev, Kentucky

"The movie was good, but not great. Just watch an old 007 movie and replace the people with talking cars. It wasn't an exciting film and felt it was lacking. "  --Brian, Connecticut

"Really? Starts out with "bad guy" cars being explicitly killed. Then a "good guy" car gets tortured for information and then killed. Whole gang threatened with death. Guns throughout. Is this a PIXAR movie? What the hell were they thinking? NOT a kids movie at all. MPAA should be ashamed for their so called "G" rating. Awful, Awful, Awful."  --Bruce, North Carolina

"Undoubtedly the worst Pixar film I have ever seen - and I am a big fan. The plot was boring and even the kids around me were leaving the theater out of boredom...left and right. It was like Wall-E on downers.....huge disappointment. The only great part was the short in the beginning with Barbie and Ken."  --Jeannine, Ohio

"I loved 'Cars I,' it was a lovely story for kids, even small kids. It talked about friendship and what really matters in life. Why did Pixar change the formula is beyond me. 'Cars 2' is a mafia movie with cars as actors. I wont buy the DVD, characters or anything that will remind my four-year-old about the movie. I am sooooo disapointed, we were so looking formard to it."    --Alejandra, Mexico