In October 2010, Michael Giacchino was hired to score music for the film, after previously working on Pixar's The Incredibles (2004), Ratatouille (2007) and Up (2009).

The score had international flavors as most of it does center around Finn McMissile (Michael Caine), and the music echoes of Radiator Springs and other elements from the first film he did not want to lose.

It’s reasonably entertaining, but I doubt anyone would consider it amongst the composer’s finer efforts and it is left trailing in the dust of Newman’s far superior music for the first instalment, which was never given the kind of release it deserved.

"[7] Filmtracks.com wrote "the songs are fine and the score is merely average, Giacchino's music broader in scope and obviously longer in length than Newman's but lacking in any distinctive highlights or convincing emotional connection.

"[8] Bill Graham of Collider wrote "the score by Michael Giacchino lacks a focused, recognizable theme".

[9] James Christopher Monger of AllMusic wrote "The film’s soundtrack reflects these changes, swapping out previous maestro Randy Newman with the extremely capable Michael Giacchino, and front-loading the collection with five very different pop songs.

"[10] Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter wrote "Michael Giacchino’s score has the effect of a super-charger on the film, as if it needed one".