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From slashfilm, It’s only fair, I suppose, that if we run articles trumpeting the fact that other Pixar movies have achieved some form of massively positive consensus on Rotten Tomatoes, that when the company finally releases one that falls far short of the same margin, it would be worth noting. So this weekend will stand as a milestone in the history of Pixar, as Cars 2 opens to the first generally negative consensus opinion in the company’s experience.

That isn’t to say that the film will be a flop. Far from it, in fact. It isn’t tracking through the roof, but Cars 2 will perform well enough, even if it doesn’t hit the box-office highs of other Pixar films. This is primarily a critical failure. But while there is that oft-discussed gulf between critical and public opinion, some critical failures do suggest that producers really misjudged what audiences want. Cars characters have moved ten billion bucks worth of merchandise in the past five years, which sure suggests there is an audience for a sequel. I’m eager to see how most audiences respond to the film, then.

I certainly take no joy in noting this, and curiously enough I don’t think I’ve seen anyone else reveling in the general distaste for Cars 2, either. The prevailing opinion seems to be that Pixar had to swing and miss sometime. That they did so with the film that is obviously the studio’s most commercial effort is balanced by the fact that Pixar co-founder and Cars 2 director John Lasseter very evidently approached the film with no cynicism at all. (Or, I’ll say, that I am willing to believe him when he talks about the film, which he does with a great deal of investment and passion.)