As even the most fervent fan of the works of Pixar, I can admit that Cars was a misstep.

An indulgent film for Pixar head John Lasseter, it was ostensibly a love letter for an era I never knew, and resulted in what is arguably their weakest film to date.  However, Cars became a merchandising cow. As boys LOVE cars. And love to play with cars. So they sold a BUTTLOAD of merchandise.

And lo, like only few other Pixar films to date, Cars earned a sequel.  Which brings us to today, and the release of the first trailer.

With a scheduled release date of June 24, 2011, Cars 2 takes the characters from the first film and throws them all across the globe, in an homage to spy films.

While I’m really excited to see Michael Caine in action as one of the cars, I still can’t help but be bothered by Larry The Cable Guy. The man irritates me, even when it is just his voice.

But I can’t help but feel that for Pixar to do a sequel to Cars, there has to be a story worth telling - but I just can’t get excited for this.

Prove me wrong, gang. Prove me wrong.

High resolution stills are available in the gallery below.

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