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Cars 2 poster

Movies that feel likeCars 2 (2011)

Star race car Lightning McQueen and his pal Mater head overseas to compete in the World Grand Prix race. But the road to the championship becomes rocky as Mater gets caught up in an intriguing adventure of his own: international espionage.

If you loved Cars 2, the closest films we have are A Bug's Life (1998), Toy Story (1995) and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009). All three share Cars 2's whimsical and warm feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Trolls (2016).

🍅 40% Rotten Tomatoes★ 6.2 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. John Lasseterwhimsicalwarmcozyepicwittyplayful
6 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · Hulu · Disney Plus

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If Cars 2 hit the spot, these will too

Looking for the series itself? Also in this series: Cars (2006) · Cars 3 (2017)

A Bug's Life poster
A Bug's Life
1998 · dir. John Lasseter
🍅 92%★ 7.2adventure · animation · comedyDisney+

Lasseter's earlier troupe of critters bumbling into heroism

The difference: An underdog fable — no spy plot, and sturdier storytelling

On behalf of "oppressed bugs everywhere," an inventive ant named Flik hires a troupe of warrior bugs to defend his bustling colony from a horde of freeloading grasshoppers led by the evil-minded Hopper.

Toy Story poster
Toy Story
1995 · dir. John Lasseter
🍅 100%★ 8.3family · comedy · animationHuluDisney+

Lasseter's original odd-couple friendship under pressure

The difference: A genuine classic — richer than Cars 2 on every level

Led by Woody, Andy's toys live happily in his room until Andy's birthday brings Buzz Lightyear onto the scene. Afraid of losing his place in Andy's heart, Woody plots against Buzz. But when circumstances separate Buzz and Woody from their owner, the duo eventually learns to put aside their differences.

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs poster
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
2009 · dir. Carlos Saldanha
🍅 46%★ 6.9animation · comedy · familyHuluDisney+

Familiar friends plunged into a flashy new world of peril

The difference: Herd-family antics — no espionage angle at all

Times are changing for Manny the moody mammoth, Sid the motor mouthed sloth and Diego the crafty saber-toothed tiger. Life heats up for our heroes when they meet some new and none-too-friendly neighbors – the mighty dinosaurs.

Penguins of Madagascar poster
Penguins of Madagascar
2014 · dir. Simon J. Smith
🍅 74%★ 6.6family · animation · adventure

Comic-relief sidekicks promoted to their own spy adventure

The difference: Nonstop wordplay velocity — even less interested in heart

Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private join forces with undercover organization The North Wind to stop the villainous Dr. Octavius Brine from destroying the world as we know it.

The Secret Life of Pets 2 poster
The Secret Life of Pets 2
2019 · dir. Chris Renaud
🍅 60%★ 6.4animation · comedy · family

Talking-critter comedy juggling several capers at once

The difference: Three loose plots stapled together — slighter than it looks

Max the terrier must cope with some major life changes when his owner gets married and has a baby. When the family takes a trip to the countryside, nervous Max has numerous run-ins with canine-intolerant cows, hostile foxes and a scary turkey. Luckily for Max, he soon catches a break when he meets Rooster, a gruff farm dog who tries to cure the lovable pooch of his neuroses.

Storks poster
Storks
2016 · dir. Doug Sweetland
🍅 65%★ 6.8adventure · animation · comedy

Both keep coming back to the same thing: villain

The difference: Reviewed even better

Storks deliver babies…or at least they used to. Now they deliver packages for a global internet retail giant. Junior, the company’s top delivery stork, is about to be promoted when he accidentally activates the Baby Making Machine, producing an adorable and wholly unauthorized baby girl...

Rio 2 poster
Rio 2
2014 · dir. Carlos Saldanha
🍅 50%★ 6.3animation · adventure · comedyDisney+

A bright globe-trotting sequel that leans on color and song

The difference: Musical jungle family drama — the villain barely registers

It's a jungle out there for Blu, Jewel and their three kids after they're hurtled from Rio de Janeiro to the wilds of the Amazon. As Blu tries to fit in, he goes beak-to-beak with the vengeful Nigel, and meets the most fearsome adversary of all: his father-in-law.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 poster
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2
2013 · dir. Cody Cameron
🍅 71%★ 6.3animation · family · comedy

A zany sequel piling gag on gag in a candy-colored world

The difference: Food-pun overload — even more frantic and disposable

After the disastrous food storm in the first film, Flint and his friends are forced to leave the town. Flint accepts the invitation from his idol Chester V to join The Live Corp Company, which has been tasked to clean the island, and where the best inventors in the world create technologies for the betterment of mankind. When Flint discovers that his machine still operates and now creates mutant food beasts like living pickles, hungry tacodiles, shrimpanzees and apple pie-thons, he and his friends must return to save the world.

Trolls poster
Trolls
2016 · dir. Mike Mitchell
🍅 76%★ 6.4adventure · animation · comedy

Relentless cheer, bright surfaces and a big musical finish

The difference: Glitter-pop musical — track-list energy instead of set pieces

After the monstrous Bergens invade Troll Village, Princess Poppy, the happiest Troll ever born, and overly-cautious, curmudgeonly outcast Branch set off on a journey to rescue her friends. Their mission is full of adventure and mishaps, as this mismatched duo try to tolerate each other long enough to get the job done.

Minions poster
Minions
2015 · dir. Kyle Balda
🍅 55%★ 6.4family · animation · adventureNetflixPeacock

The same preoccupation in both: villain

Minions Stuart, Kevin and Bob are recruited by Scarlet Overkill, a super-villain who, alongside her inventor husband Herb, hatches a plot to take over the world.

The Croods poster
The Croods
2013 · dir. Kirk DeMicco
🍅 71%★ 7.1animation · adventure · family

One thread runs through both: angry

The prehistoric Croods family live in a particularly dangerous moment in time. Patriarch Grug, his mate Ugga, teenage daughter Eep, son Thunk, and feisty Gran gather food by day and huddle together in a cave at night. When a more evolved caveman named Guy arrives on the scene, Grug is distrustful, but it soon becomes apparent that Guy is correct about the impending destruction of their world.

The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run poster
🍅 66%★ 5.9adventure · animation · comedyParamount+

Whimsical where it counts, warm underneath

The difference: Leans harder into fantasy than Cars 2 does

When his best friend Gary is suddenly snatched away, SpongeBob takes Patrick on a madcap mission far beyond Bikini Bottom to save their pink-shelled pal.

In the mood for more whimsical?

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The best-reviewed films that share Cars 2’s defining feeling.