Cars is a 2006 animated feature film produced by Pixar and directed by both John Lasseter and the late Joe Ranft. It was the seventh Disney/Pixar feature film, and the final film by Pixar before it was bought by Disney. Set in a world populated entirely by anthropomorphic cars and other vehicles, it features the voices of Owen Wilson, Bonnie Hunt, Paul Newman, Cheech Marin, Tony Shalhoub, John Ratzenberger, George Carlin, Michael Keaton, and Larry the Cable Guy, as well as cameos by several celebrities consisting of Bob Costas, Darrell Waltrip, Jay Leno, Michael Schumacher, and Mario Andretti.
Cars premiered on May 26, 2006 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina and was released on June 9, 2006 to generally favorable reviews. It was nominated for two Academy Awards, including Best Animated Feature, and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film. It was released on DVD in late 2006 and on Blu-ray Disc in late 2007. Related merchandise, including scale models of several of the cars, broke records for retail sales of merchandise based on a Disney/Pixar film, with an estimated $1 billion in sales.[2]
Cars premiered on May 26, 2006 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina and was released on June 9, 2006 to generally favorable reviews. It was nominated for two Academy Awards, including Best Animated Feature, and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film. It was released on DVD in late 2006 and on Blu-ray Disc in late 2007. Related merchandise, including scale models of several of the cars, broke records for retail sales of merchandise based on a Disney/Pixar film, with an estimated $1 billion in sales.[2]
Plot
From left to right: Chick Hicks, Lightning McQueen, and The King.
Cars opens in the final race of the Piston Cup stock car racing season and championship in the Motor Speedway of the South, where a skilled but arrogant rookie racecar, Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson), has overtaken his opponents, avoided a car accident, and built a large lead over two other prominent figures; the cup's defending (and soon retiring) nine-time champion, Strip "The King" Weathers (Richard Petty), and perennial runner-up and dirty fighter Chick Hicks (Michael Keaton). Because of his refusal to make regular pit stops for new tires, opting only to refill his gasoline tank, Lightning's worn rear tires burst on the final lap, causing him to skid and ultimately crawl to the finish line, barely managing to tie The King and Chick Hicks in a photo finish. Race officials announce that, because the three racers are also tied in overall season points, they will compete in one final tiebreaker race to be held at the Los Angeles International Speedway, and give them one week to prepare.
While traveling down Interstate 40 to California, McQueen becomes separated from Mack (John Ratzenberger), his transport truck, and while trying to catch up he becomes lost on U.S. Route 66, catching the attention of the local sheriff (Michael Wallis) in the process. A chase ensues, during which McQueen crashes, knocks down some tires, almost damages the statue of the town's founder Stanley, and gets tangled in wires, damaging part of the main street of a town called Radiator Springs. McQueen is taken to traffic court headed up by the town's judge and doctor, Doc Hudson (Paul Newman). The town's attorney Sally Carerra (Bonnie Hunt) pleads against McQueen. He is sentenced to repave the road using "Bessie", a non-anthropomorphic asphalt-laying machine. After Mater (Larry the Cable Guy) forgets to hook him up to Bessie before releasing his parking boot, Lightning drives off only to find that his gas tank is drained to a minimum as stated by the Sheriff and Sally at the border of town.
McQueen rushes through his first day of paving; as a result, the new road surface is so bumpy, uneven, and unusable that he is ordered to scrape it off and start again. Doc offers McQueen the chance to leave, provided that he outrace Doc in a race around Willy's Butte. McQueen eagerly accepts, and leaves Doc behind at the starting line, but loses control on a sharp turn in loose dirt and crashes into a cactus patch. Doc effortlessly cruises to the finish line, remarking that McQueen races as badly as he fixes roads. McQueen is forced to scrape the botched pavement clean and start paving again.
As the ensuing days pass, McQueen starts to befriend the town's other residents ranging from Luigi (Tony Shalhoub), Guido (Guido Quaroni), Ramone (Cheech Marin), Lizzy (Katherine Helmond), Flo (Jenifer Lewis), Red (Joe Ranft), Fillmore (George Carlin), and Sarge (Paul Dooley). McQueen learns that Radiator Springs was once a thriving town until the completion of the nearby interstate highway, which bypassed the town, depriving it of its business traffic and visitors and ironically, depriving those passing visitors of the natural beauty found in the scenery along the old highway. He also learns that Sally had left behind a wealthy but unhappy life as a lawyer in California, and that Doc Hudson was once a famous racecar (the "Hudson Hornet", and a three-time Piston Cup champion at that). When Doc catches him looking at his trophies, McQueen asks the reason for which he abandoned racing in the first place. Doc, suddenly offended by this, shows McQueen a newspaper article and states that a crash in 1954 ended his racing career. Doc bitterly refuses to reveal much about his past, dismissing his old trophies as "a bunch of empty cups". McQueen comes to realize that the same racing world that brought Doc fame eventually destroyed him.
By the time McQueen finishes repaving Radiator Springs' main road, he has formed a friendly bond with the town and its residents. Rather than immediately leaving for California (as he had initially intended to do), he spends the day touring the town's businesses, receiving a fresh coat of paint from Ramone, organic fuel from Fillmore, stickers for his bumper, and new tires from Luigi in the process. The town throws a cruise party that night. During the festivities, a horde of journalists descends on the town searching for Lightning, who is then whisked away in his truck, Mack, without even a chance to bid farewell to Radiator Springs. The town's residents are sad to see him leave, while Sally, who has fallen in love with McQueen, is angry to learn that it was Doc who informed the media of McQueen's whereabouts.
The final race between McQueen, The King, and Chick Hicks is described by commentators Bob Cutlass and Darrel Cartrip as the "biggest race in history". Country Gas, East Honkers, and Ermyville are closed for the Dinoco 400, while nearly 200,000 cars watch the race at the racetrack. McQueen is distracted by his memories of Radiator Springs, losing time to the other racers. To his surprise, Doc arrives at the race, accompanied by others from Radiator Springs (except for Sally, Lizzy and Red who stayed behind to watch the race on TV), to serve as McQueen's pit crew. With Doc's coaching, a record-breakingly fast and efficient pit stop for new tires, and a few tricks learned from the small town's inhabitants, McQueen is able to get back into the race after being two laps behind .
As McQueen approaches the finish line, Chick sideswipes McQueen into the infield. McQueen initially skids through the infield, but turns this skid into a controlled drift and heads into first place. Chick sideswipes The King in a desperate attempt to avoid finishing behind him again, sending The King into a terrible rollover crash. McQueen sees this on the Jumbotron and fears that The King's racing career will end in the same way as Doc's had ended. McQueen comes to a full stop before the finish line, allowing Chick to cross first. He then backtracks to push The King across the finish line ahead of him, saying that "I think The King should finish his last race" and quoting Doc's description of the trophy as "just an empty cup". Chick's official victory is hollow, and he is jeered as a cheater, despised for taking out The King, while McQueen is cheered as a hero for his good sportsmanship. Dinoco corporation offers to sponsor McQueen, but he respectfully declines, saying that his current sponsor Rust-Eze gave him his big break and that as a result he wants to continue with them.
Two days after the race, McQueen returns to Radiator Springs, announcing that he will establish his racing headquarters there, helping to revitalize the town, with the once-abandoned Route being reclassified as "Historic Route 66."
[edit] Production
Like all Pixar productions, the animation is computer generated. This is a work-in-progress screenshot.
Unlike most anthropomorphic cars, the eyes of the cars in this film were placed on the windshield (which resembles the Tonka Talking Trucks, as well as the characters from Tex Avery's One Cab's Family short and Disney's own Susie the Little Blue Coupe), rather than within the headlights. According to production designer Bob Pauley, "From the very beginning of this project, John Lasseter had it in his mind to have the eyes be in the windshield. For one thing, it separates our characters from the more common approach where you have little cartoon eyes in the headlights. For another, he thought that having the eyes down near the mouth at the front end of the car made the character feel more like a snake. With the eyes set in the windshield, the point of view is more human-like, and made it feel like the whole car could be involved in the animation of the character."[3] The characters also use their tires as hands and feet, the exceptions being the various tow truck characters who sometimes uses their tow hooks, and the various forklift characters, who use their forks.
The original script (called The Yellow Car, about an electric car living in a gas-guzzling world) and some of the original drawings and characters were produced in 1998 and the producers agreed that Cars would be the next movie after A Bug's Life, and would be released in early 1999, particularly around June 4. However, that movie was eventually scrapped in favor of Toy Story 2. Later, production resumed with major script changes.
In 2001, the movie's working title was Route 66 (after U.S. Route 66), but in 2002, the title was changed to prevent people from thinking it was related to the 1960 television show with the same name. Also, Lightning McQueen's number was originally going to be 57 (Lasseter's birth year), but was changed to 95 (the year Toy Story was released), the number seen in the movie today.
Cars was originally going to be released on Friday, November 4, 2005, but on December 7, 2004 the movie's release date was changed to Friday, June 9, 2006.[4] Analysts looked at the release date change as a sign from Pixar that they were preparing for the pending end of the Disney distribution contract by either preparing non-Disney materials to present to other studios, or they were buying time to see what happened with Michael Eisner's situation at Disney.[5] When Jobs made the release date announcement, he stated that the reasoning was due to wanting to put all Pixar films on a Summer release schedule, with DVD sales occurring during the holiday shopping season.[4]
Cars is the last film worked on by Joe Ranft, who died in a car crash in 2005. The film was the second to be dedicated to his memory, after Corpse Bride. This is also Paul Newman's last movie before he retired in 2007.
The international versions of the film have some English text replaced by text in the local language. For the DVD it becomes the language that you choose upon inserting the disc. It's the first Walt Disney Animated Feature dubbed to Ukrainian language. The replaced text includes for instance the "Cars" movie logo, Doc's newspaper clippings, the "Closed" signs in Los Angeles and the "Lead lap" text during the last race. The Russian title of the film is "Тачки" (TAh-chki), which translates to "wheelbarrows," and is in common usage as a slang term for cars.
[edit] Soundtrack
Main article: Cars (soundtrack)
Nine of the songs on the soundtrack are by popular artists, as the last eleven are instrumentals by Randy Newman. The album was released by Disney Records on June 6, 2006.
#
Title
Artist
Information
1
Real Gone
Crow, SherylSheryl Crow
Original version
2
Route 66
Berry, ChuckChuck Berry
Originally by Nat King Cole
3
Life Is a Highway
Rascal Flatts
Originally by Tom Cochrane
4
Behind the Clouds
Paisley, BradBrad Paisley
Original version
5
Our Town
Taylor, JamesJames Taylor
Original version
6
Sh-Boom
The Chords
Original version
7
Route 66
Mayer, JohnJohn Mayer
New version (end credits)
8
Find Yourself
Paisley, BradBrad Paisley
Original version
9
Opening Race
Newman, RandyRandy Newman
Instrumental
10
McQueen's Lost
Newman, RandyRandy Newman
Instrumental
11
My Heart Would Know
Williams, HankHank Williams
Original version
12
Bessie
Newman, RandyRandy Newman
Instrumental
13
Dirt Is Different
Newman, RandyRandy Newman
Instrumental
14
New Road
Newman, RandyRandy Newman
Instrumental
15
Tractor Tipping
Newman, RandyRandy Newman
Instrumental
16
McQueen and Sally
Newman, RandyRandy Newman
Instrumental
17
Goodbye
Newman, RandyRandy Newman
Instrumental
18
Pre-Race Pageantry
Newman, RandyRandy Newman
Instrumental
19
The Piston Cup
Newman, RandyRandy Newman
Instrumental
20
The Big Race
Newman, RandyRandy Newman
Instrumental
[edit] Vehicles and voice cast
Main article: List of Cars characters
[edit] Race cars
Character
Vehicle Likeness
Gender
Eye Color
Color
Chief Sponsor
Number
Voice Actor
Lightning McQueen
LA Times: "A hybrid between a stock car and a more curvaceous Le Mans endurance racer."[6] (e.g., Lolas and the Ford GT40)
Male
Blue
Red
Rust-Eze Medicated Bumper Ointment
95
Owen Wilson
Chick Hicks
Pixar: "A generic 1980s stock car."[7] Strongly resembles a 78-88 General Motors G-Body such as Buick Regal or Grand National.
Male
Brown
Green
Hostile Takeover Bank (HTB)
86
Michael Keaton
The King
Richard Petty's 1970 Plymouth Superbird
Male
Brown
Blue
Dinoco
43
Richard Petty
[edit] Radiator Springs cars
Name
Vehicle Likeness
Gender
Eye Color
Color
License Plate #
Voice Actor
Doc Hudson
1951 Hudson Hornet, later revealed to be the Fabulous Hudson Hornet
Male
Blue
Navy Blue
51HHMD
Paul Newman
Mater
1951 International Harvester L-170 "boom" truck[8] with elements of a mid-1950s Chevrolet[7] One-Ton Wrecker Tow Truck.
Male
Hazel
Originally blue, but is now rusty.
A113
Larry the Cable Guy
Sally Carrera
2002 996-series Porsche 911 Carrera
Female
Green
Light Blue
301 PCE
Bonnie Hunt
Ramone
1959 Chevy Impala Lowrider
Male
Green
Various colors (purple with flames at the start of the movie, burnt orange and white in flashback, yellow by the end, dark blue in the "Mater and the Ghostlight" short)
LOWNSLO
Cheech Marin
Luigi
1959 Fiat 500
Male
Brown
Yellow
445 108
Tony Shalhoub
Sheriff
1949 Mercury Club Coupe (police package)
Male
Blue
Black and white
001
Michael Wallis
Fillmore
1960 VW Bus
Male
Brown
Light Green
51237
George Carlin
Sarge
A Willys model jeep, in the style used by the US Military.
Male
Brown
Military Green
41WW2
Paul Dooley
Flo
1957 Motorama show car
Female
Green
Minty Green
SHO GRL
Jenifer Lewis
Guido
Custom forklift, possibly an Isetta model
Male
Reddish Brown
Sky blue and white.
(none)
Guido Quaroni
Mack
1985 Mack Super-Liner
Male
Green
Red (Lightning McQueen Style Paint Job.)
RUSTEZ3
John Ratzenberger
Lizzie
1923 Ford Model T
Female
Grey
Black
MT23
Katherine Helmond
Red
1960s style fire truck (most closely resembles a mid-1960s Pirsch pumper but also resembles American LaFrance models)
Male
Brown
Red
002
Joe Ranft
[edit] Reception
Cars opened on June 9, 2006 to generally favorable reviews. William Arnold of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer praised it as "one of Pixar's most imaginative and thoroughly appealing movies ever",[9] and Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly called it "a work of American art as classic as it is modern." [10]
However, some critics expressed that Cars did not hold up to the standard of other Pixar films, especially after the acclaim received by The Incredibles, Pixar's previous film. "The movie is great to look at and a lot of fun," wrote critic Roger Ebert, "but somehow lacks the extra push of the other Pixar films."[11] Laura Clifford of website Reeling Reviews wrote that the film's "only real drawback is its failure to inspire awe with its visuals and to thoroughly transport with its storytelling."[12]
Rotten Tomatoes gave Cars a fresh 76% (with an average of 6.9) and it earned a 73/100 on Metacritic, both the lowest attributed to a Pixar film. In its opening weekend, Cars grossed $60.1 million, lower than previous Pixar films such as The Incredibles and Finding Nemo. In the United States, the film held onto the #1 spot for two weeks before being surpassed by Click and then by Superman Returns the following weekend. It went on to gross US$461,981,604 worldwide (ranking #6 in 2006 films) and $244,082,982 in the U.S. (the third highest-grossing film of 2006 in the country, behind Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and Night at the Museum). It was the highest-grossing animated film of 2006 in the U.S., but lost to Ice Age: The Meltdown in worldwide totals.[13]
[edit] Awards
Cars had a highly successful run during the 2006 awards season. Many film critic associations such as the Broadcast Film Critics Association and the National Board of Review named it the best Animated Feature Film of 2006. Cars also received the title of Best Reviewed Animated Feature of 2006 from Rotten Tomatoes. Randy Newman and James Taylor received a Grammy Award for the song "Our Town," which later went on to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song (an award it lost to "I Need to Wake Up" from An Inconvenient Truth). The film also earned an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature, but it lost to Happy Feet. Cars was also selected as the Favorite Family Movie at the 33rd People's Choice Awards. Perhaps the most prestigious award that Cars received was the inaugural Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film. Cars also won the highest award for animation in 2006, the Best Animated Feature Annie Award.
[edit] DVD and Blu-ray release
Cars was released on DVD in both wide-screen and full-screen editions on October 25, 2006 in Australia and New Zealand, on November 7, 2006 in the United States and Canada and on November 27, 2006 in the United Kingdom. It includes the short films Mater and the Ghostlight and One Man Band, as well as Inspiration for Cars, a 16 minute long documentary about Cars featuring John Lasseter, the director. It also had a version of the Pixar short Boundin' as an Easter Egg. According to the Walt Disney Company, five million copies of the DVD were sold in the first two days it was available.[14]
Unlike previous Pixar DVD releases, there is no two-disc special edition, and no plans to release one in the future. According to Sara Maher, DVD Production Manager at Pixar, John Lasseter and Pixar were preoccupied with productions like Ratatouille,[15]. Additional extras not seen on the DVD have since been released on the official DVD website.[16]
In the US and Canada, there were bonus discs available with the purchase of Cars at either Wal-Mart or Target. Wal-Mart featured a Geared-Up Bonus DVD Disc that focused on the music of the film, including the "Life Is A Highway" video, The Making of "Life Is A Highway", Cars: The Making of the Music, and Under The Hood, a special that originally aired on the ABC Family cable channel. Target's bonus was a Rev'd Up DVD Disc that featured material that was mostly already released as part of the official Cars podcast and focused on the inspiration and production of the movie. A two-disc edition was available from Australian retailer EzyDVD, but the second disc did not contain any animation information.
On November 6, 2007, Cars was released on Blu-ray.[17]
[edit] Merchandising
The Mattel-produced 1/55 scale Toy Cars were some of the most popular toys of the 2006 Summer Season. Dozens of characters are represented, with some having multiple versions available. Several stores had trouble keeping the toys in stock, and some models are still difficult to find because of being shipped in lower numbers than other characters. Some online Disney enthusiasts are comparing it to the same shortage that Mattel faced with its Toy Story line in 1995. Some of the die-cast cars are only readily available on eBay. On August 14, 2007, the die-cast Sarge car, made between May and July 2007, was recalled due to "impermissible levels of lead" used in the paint.[18]
On June 22, 2006 Disney Consumer Products announced that Cars merchandise broke records for retail sales based on a Disney-Pixar product, recording 10-to-1 more volume than Finding Nemo.[19] DCP reports that product expansion will take place in the fall alongside the DVD release of the film. Mattel has announced that Cars toys will continue through 2008 with the release of at least 80 new vehicles. A 36 car pack called "Speedway of the South" will feature most of the race cars seen during the opening race sequence of the film.
Estimates from the New York Daily News indicate that sales of Cars merchandise two weeks out from the release of the film amounted to $600 million USD. Estimates put out in November by the Walt Disney Company peg total sales for the brand at around $1 billion.[2]
Kelley Blue Book, the de facto resource for appraising values of vehicles, has humorously "appraised" four of the cars, Lightning McQueen, Mater, Sally Carrera, and Doc Hudson according to their make/model and personalities. [1]
The United States Department of Transportation has used scenes from the movie in a commercial regarding the Click It or Ticket campaign.
In conjunction with the film's release, a chocolate ice cream on a stick resembling a car tire was released in Australia. These ice creams were called 'Burnouts'. The naming of the particular product sparked controversy as the name 'Burnouts' was believed to have encouraged street racing and committing burnouts. These acts are illegal and heavy fines and convictions are issued to those committing these acts in Australia. It is unknown as to whether the products have been discontinued or not.
In Norway, the candy company Nidar produced candy with the characters on the outer packaging and pictures of the characters on the packaging of the assorted candy on the inside. These bags also came with Cars themed tattoos.
In the U.S., an animated Wal-Mart truck can be seen on a Wal-Mart ad and Wal-Mart TV commercial for Cars. In the Wal-Mart TV commercial the Wal-Mart truck was talking to Mater.
In South Africa, Italy, and several other countries where Opel is present (or with Opel models under Chevrolet and Vauxhall brand), GM has a campaign featuring an General Motors Astra, a Opel Meriva, and a General Motors Zafira as characters in the world of Cars, including TV ads made by Pixar, with the Opel models interacting with Lightning McQueen, Mater and Ramone.[20] The first ad involved the Opels coming to Radiator Springs as tourists. The second involved their failed attempts at auditoning for Mater. In the end the Opels lost the part to the real Mater.
In July 2006, greeting card giant Hallmark unveiled its line of 2006 Keepsake Christmas ornaments. Among the collection was an ornament featuring Lightning McQueen and Mater.
There is also a Cars clothing line, which produces various t-shirts and shorts; however, these are only found in children's sizes.
In May 2007, the Cars video game was announced to be a "Platinum Hit" on the Xbox, "Greatest Hit" on the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable, and "Player's Choice" on the Nintendo GameCube. A sequel is on its way to the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii consoles.[21]
A Cars-based attraction opened at Walt Disney Studios Paris in 2007 and scheduled to open in Disney's California Adventure in 2010.
Lightning McQueen apr MR-S
In Japan, Disney Japan and Toyota backuped racing team Cars Racing replaced its racing car "Toy Story apr MR-S" and introduced the "Lightning McQueen apr MR-S" for the 2008 Super GT season. The car was based on the Toyota MR-S and ｔhe externals of the car were modeled on its of McQueen as much as possible.[22]
[edit] Development
John Lasseter has said that the idea for cars was born after he took a cross-country road trip with his wife and five sons in 2000. When he returned to the studio after vacation, he contacted Michael Wallis, famed Route 66 historian. Wallis then led 11 Pixar animators in rented white Cadillacs on two different road trips across the route to research the film. Throughout the trip, the animators collected items they found by the roadside, like wheat, thistles, snake skin, and road kill. They attached the items, which they called "Okie hood ornaments" to the cars and at the end of the trips, they buried them in the desert during a ceremony.
For the cars themselves, Lasseter also visited the design studios of the Big Three Detroit auto makers, particularly J. Mays of Ford Motor Company. Lasseter learned how real cars were designed.
Computers used in the development of the film were four times faster than those used in The Incredibles and 1,000 times faster than those used in Toy Story. To build the cars, the animators used computer platforms very similar to a real carmaker's.[23]
[edit] Settings
The track on which the opening race (Motor Speedway of the South) takes place is actually based on an enlarged version of the real life Bristol Motor Speedway. The venue for the Piston Cup tiebreaker race (the Los Angeles International Speedway) is a conglomeration of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the Arroyo Seco in Pasadena where the Rose Bowl is located, as well as the California Speedway in Fontana. The landscape in the background behind Radiator Springs is made up of rock formations intentionally reminiscent of Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, Texas. The road map shown in the montage history of the town calls the area "Cadillac Range." Some of the mountain peaks in Cadillac Range, shown during the movie, resemble the quarter panels of late-50's Cadillacs, with their distinctive tailfins.
[edit] Radiator Springs and vicinity
The setting for the fictional town of Radiator Springs is situated between Gallup, New Mexico and Kingman, Arizona. However, the physical location of Radiator Springs in relation to I-40 is similar to that of Peach Springs, Arizona.
The story of Radiator Springs is loosely based on Amboy, California in the Mojave Desert -- a town that showed a decline in almost all traffic when I-40 opened in 1972. Sally references this in the film.
A landmark, called Radiator Cap, overlooks the town, and has two white letters ("R" and "S") written upon it, similar to the white "T" painted on Tucumcari Mountain [24]. The style and relative positioning of these letters on the landmark closely resemble the "RS" badge used on the first-generation "Rally Sport" Camaros.
Willy's Butte resembles the landmark of Mexican Hat, Utah.
Nearby "Ornament Valley" (a reference to Monument Valley) is derived from the rugged Black Mountains (Arizona) and the famous Cadillac Ranch sculpture in Amarillo, Texas.
Sally’s Cozy Cone Motel in the film is a composite of the historic Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari, N.M., and the teepee-shaped Wigwam Motels, with one in Holbrook, Ariz., and the other in San Bernardino, Calif.
Ramone’s body-art shop in the film is directly inspired by the U-Drop Inn, a recently restored Art Deco gasoline station and restaurant complex in Shamrock, Texas.
Lizzie’s Curio Shop in Radiator Springs resembles the crazy Route 66 jumble of memorabilia and knickknacks at Hackberry General Store in Hackberry, Ariz., and the SandHills Curiosity Shop, aka the City Meat Market building, in Erick, Okla.
The bridge that McQueen sees Sally driving on resembles several bridges on Route 66, including the Cyrus Avery Route 66 Memorial Bridge in Tulsa, the Colorado Street Bridge in Pasadena, Calif., and the now-closed bridge over Diablo Canyon at Two Guns, Ariz.
The waterfall near Radiator Springs appears to be inspired by (Havasupai) Havasu Falls, which isn't accessible by road, but is directly northeast of Peach Springs, Arizona.
Flo's V8 cafe looks like a V8 engine head on,with a circular air filter, tappet covers, spark plugs and pistons and connecting rods as the supports for the shelter. (And the blinking neon lights on the spark plugs, blink in the firing order of a Ford flathead V8)
[edit] Route 66
Many characters and places in the movie are directly inspired on real Route 66 places and people.
To quote the Pixar crew:
"As we traveled on Route 66, we were privileged to visit many places and to meet a number of people who live and work alongside 'The Mother Road.' The following is a list of the places and people we wanted to honor by including their names in our 'Special Thanks' credits at the end of the film." [25]
The Cars soundtrack has two versions of the classic Bobby Troup jazz standard "Route 66" (popularized by Nat King Cole), one by Chuck Berry and a new version recorded specifically for the film's credits performed by John Mayer.
Among the many references to Route 66 landmarks and personalities:
The Cozy Cone Motel's design is based on the two Wigwam Motels along Rt. 66, in Holbrook, Arizona and Rialto, California. These were once two out of seven built motels (3 remaining; the third is in Wharton, Texas, south of Houston), with individual cabins shaped like teepees. The name "Cozy Cone" was inspired by the Cozy Dog Drive-In of Springfield, Illinois, which lays claim to being birthplace of the corn dog.
The character "Fillmore", referring to the famous San Francisco music venue The Fillmore, was at one time to be named "Waldmire" after Bob Waldmire, a self-proclaimed hippie artist known to Rt. 66 fans for his detailed pen-and-ink maps and postcards of the route. Though Waldmire's family owns the Cozy Dog Drive-In, Bob, now a vegan, preferred not to see his name put on a character that would become a McDonald's Happy Meal toy.[26]
Ramone's House of Body Art is based primarily on the U-Drop Inn in Shamrock, Texas. It opened in 1936 as Tower Conoco (from its distinctive Art Deco spire) with the U-Drop Inn Cafe and a retail building attached. Many other establishments built along Route 66 in its heyday had Art Deco elements that might be reflected in the design of Ramone's.
In the background of one scene, there is a yellow billboard reading "HERE IT IS" and has an image of a Model T. It is based after the Jackrabbit Trading Post on Route 66.
Sheriff is voiced by Michael Wallis, an American historian and author of Route 66: The Mother Road.
[edit] Trailers
One Pixar tradition is to create one trailer for each of their films that contains no footage from the actual released film. The trailers for this film:
Mater accidentally hits a little bumblebee while driving, and when Lightning McQueen tells him to forget about it, McQueen hits a swarm of bees. Mater laughs at his misfortune.
[edit] Similar films
Marcus Aurelius Canônico of Folha de S. Paulo described The Little Cars series (Os Carrinhos in Portuguese), a Brazilian computer graphics film series, as a derivative of Cars. Canônico discussed whether lawsuits from Pixar would appear. The Brazilian Ministry of Culture posted Marcus Aurelius Canônico's article on its website.[27]
It has also been noted that the plot of Cars bears a striking resemblance to that of Doc Hollywood, the 1991 comedy which stars Michael J. Fox as a hotshot young doctor who, after causing a traffic accident in a small town, is sentenced to work at the town hospital, falls in love with a local law student and eventually acquires an appreciation for small town values.[28][29]
[edit] Cars 2
The logo for Cars 2
This article or section contains information about one or more scheduled or expected films.The content may change as the film's release approaches and more information becomes available.
A sequel has been announced for a Summer 2012 release. Disney has confirmed that Brad Lewis will be the director.[30] On April 9th, 2008, John Lasseter commented "the Cars are going international" in the sequel.[31]
Cars will become the second Pixar film to have a sequel, after Toy Story.
From left to right: Chick Hicks, Lightning McQueen, and The King.
Cars opens in the final race of the Piston Cup stock car racing season and championship in the Motor Speedway of the South, where a skilled but arrogant rookie racecar, Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson), has overtaken his opponents, avoided a car accident, and built a large lead over two other prominent figures; the cup's defending (and soon retiring) nine-time champion, Strip "The King" Weathers (Richard Petty), and perennial runner-up and dirty fighter Chick Hicks (Michael Keaton). Because of his refusal to make regular pit stops for new tires, opting only to refill his gasoline tank, Lightning's worn rear tires burst on the final lap, causing him to skid and ultimately crawl to the finish line, barely managing to tie The King and Chick Hicks in a photo finish. Race officials announce that, because the three racers are also tied in overall season points, they will compete in one final tiebreaker race to be held at the Los Angeles International Speedway, and give them one week to prepare.
While traveling down Interstate 40 to California, McQueen becomes separated from Mack (John Ratzenberger), his transport truck, and while trying to catch up he becomes lost on U.S. Route 66, catching the attention of the local sheriff (Michael Wallis) in the process. A chase ensues, during which McQueen crashes, knocks down some tires, almost damages the statue of the town's founder Stanley, and gets tangled in wires, damaging part of the main street of a town called Radiator Springs. McQueen is taken to traffic court headed up by the town's judge and doctor, Doc Hudson (Paul Newman). The town's attorney Sally Carerra (Bonnie Hunt) pleads against McQueen. He is sentenced to repave the road using "Bessie", a non-anthropomorphic asphalt-laying machine. After Mater (Larry the Cable Guy) forgets to hook him up to Bessie before releasing his parking boot, Lightning drives off only to find that his gas tank is drained to a minimum as stated by the Sheriff and Sally at the border of town.
McQueen rushes through his first day of paving; as a result, the new road surface is so bumpy, uneven, and unusable that he is ordered to scrape it off and start again. Doc offers McQueen the chance to leave, provided that he outrace Doc in a race around Willy's Butte. McQueen eagerly accepts, and leaves Doc behind at the starting line, but loses control on a sharp turn in loose dirt and crashes into a cactus patch. Doc effortlessly cruises to the finish line, remarking that McQueen races as badly as he fixes roads. McQueen is forced to scrape the botched pavement clean and start paving again.
As the ensuing days pass, McQueen starts to befriend the town's other residents ranging from Luigi (Tony Shalhoub), Guido (Guido Quaroni), Ramone (Cheech Marin), Lizzy (Katherine Helmond), Flo (Jenifer Lewis), Red (Joe Ranft), Fillmore (George Carlin), and Sarge (Paul Dooley). McQueen learns that Radiator Springs was once a thriving town until the completion of the nearby interstate highway, which bypassed the town, depriving it of its business traffic and visitors and ironically, depriving those passing visitors of the natural beauty found in the scenery along the old highway. He also learns that Sally had left behind a wealthy but unhappy life as a lawyer in California, and that Doc Hudson was once a famous racecar (the "Hudson Hornet", and a three-time Piston Cup champion at that). When Doc catches him looking at his trophies, McQueen asks the reason for which he abandoned racing in the first place. Doc, suddenly offended by this, shows McQueen a newspaper article and states that a crash in 1954 ended his racing career. Doc bitterly refuses to reveal much about his past, dismissing his old trophies as "a bunch of empty cups". McQueen comes to realize that the same racing world that brought Doc fame eventually destroyed him.
By the time McQueen finishes repaving Radiator Springs' main road, he has formed a friendly bond with the town and its residents. Rather than immediately leaving for California (as he had initially intended to do), he spends the day touring the town's businesses, receiving a fresh coat of paint from Ramone, organic fuel from Fillmore, stickers for his bumper, and new tires from Luigi in the process. The town throws a cruise party that night. During the festivities, a horde of journalists descends on the town searching for Lightning, who is then whisked away in his truck, Mack, without even a chance to bid farewell to Radiator Springs. The town's residents are sad to see him leave, while Sally, who has fallen in love with McQueen, is angry to learn that it was Doc who informed the media of McQueen's whereabouts.
The final race between McQueen, The King, and Chick Hicks is described by commentators Bob Cutlass and Darrel Cartrip as the "biggest race in history". Country Gas, East Honkers, and Ermyville are closed for the Dinoco 400, while nearly 200,000 cars watch the race at the racetrack. McQueen is distracted by his memories of Radiator Springs, losing time to the other racers. To his surprise, Doc arrives at the race, accompanied by others from Radiator Springs (except for Sally, Lizzy and Red who stayed behind to watch the race on TV), to serve as McQueen's pit crew. With Doc's coaching, a record-breakingly fast and efficient pit stop for new tires, and a few tricks learned from the small town's inhabitants, McQueen is able to get back into the race after being two laps behind .
As McQueen approaches the finish line, Chick sideswipes McQueen into the infield. McQueen initially skids through the infield, but turns this skid into a controlled drift and heads into first place. Chick sideswipes The King in a desperate attempt to avoid finishing behind him again, sending The King into a terrible rollover crash. McQueen sees this on the Jumbotron and fears that The King's racing career will end in the same way as Doc's had ended. McQueen comes to a full stop before the finish line, allowing Chick to cross first. He then backtracks to push The King across the finish line ahead of him, saying that "I think The King should finish his last race" and quoting Doc's description of the trophy as "just an empty cup". Chick's official victory is hollow, and he is jeered as a cheater, despised for taking out The King, while McQueen is cheered as a hero for his good sportsmanship. Dinoco corporation offers to sponsor McQueen, but he respectfully declines, saying that his current sponsor Rust-Eze gave him his big break and that as a result he wants to continue with them.
Two days after the race, McQueen returns to Radiator Springs, announcing that he will establish his racing headquarters there, helping to revitalize the town, with the once-abandoned Route being reclassified as "Historic Route 66."
[edit] Production
Like all Pixar productions, the animation is computer generated. This is a work-in-progress screenshot.
Unlike most anthropomorphic cars, the eyes of the cars in this film were placed on the windshield (which resembles the Tonka Talking Trucks, as well as the characters from Tex Avery's One Cab's Family short and Disney's own Susie the Little Blue Coupe), rather than within the headlights. According to production designer Bob Pauley, "From the very beginning of this project, John Lasseter had it in his mind to have the eyes be in the windshield. For one thing, it separates our characters from the more common approach where you have little cartoon eyes in the headlights. For another, he thought that having the eyes down near the mouth at the front end of the car made the character feel more like a snake. With the eyes set in the windshield, the point of view is more human-like, and made it feel like the whole car could be involved in the animation of the character."[3] The characters also use their tires as hands and feet, the exceptions being the various tow truck characters who sometimes uses their tow hooks, and the various forklift characters, who use their forks.
The original script (called The Yellow Car, about an electric car living in a gas-guzzling world) and some of the original drawings and characters were produced in 1998 and the producers agreed that Cars would be the next movie after A Bug's Life, and would be released in early 1999, particularly around June 4. However, that movie was eventually scrapped in favor of Toy Story 2. Later, production resumed with major script changes.
In 2001, the movie's working title was Route 66 (after U.S. Route 66), but in 2002, the title was changed to prevent people from thinking it was related to the 1960 television show with the same name. Also, Lightning McQueen's number was originally going to be 57 (Lasseter's birth year), but was changed to 95 (the year Toy Story was released), the number seen in the movie today.
Cars was originally going to be released on Friday, November 4, 2005, but on December 7, 2004 the movie's release date was changed to Friday, June 9, 2006.[4] Analysts looked at the release date change as a sign from Pixar that they were preparing for the pending end of the Disney distribution contract by either preparing non-Disney materials to present to other studios, or they were buying time to see what happened with Michael Eisner's situation at Disney.[5] When Jobs made the release date announcement, he stated that the reasoning was due to wanting to put all Pixar films on a Summer release schedule, with DVD sales occurring during the holiday shopping season.[4]
Cars is the last film worked on by Joe Ranft, who died in a car crash in 2005. The film was the second to be dedicated to his memory, after Corpse Bride. This is also Paul Newman's last movie before he retired in 2007.
The international versions of the film have some English text replaced by text in the local language. For the DVD it becomes the language that you choose upon inserting the disc. It's the first Walt Disney Animated Feature dubbed to Ukrainian language. The replaced text includes for instance the "Cars" movie logo, Doc's newspaper clippings, the "Closed" signs in Los Angeles and the "Lead lap" text during the last race. The Russian title of the film is "Тачки" (TAh-chki), which translates to "wheelbarrows," and is in common usage as a slang term for cars.
[edit] Soundtrack
Main article: Cars (soundtrack)
Nine of the songs on the soundtrack are by popular artists, as the last eleven are instrumentals by Randy Newman. The album was released by Disney Records on June 6, 2006.
#
Title
Artist
Information
1
Real Gone
Crow, SherylSheryl Crow
Original version
2
Route 66
Berry, ChuckChuck Berry
Originally by Nat King Cole
3
Life Is a Highway
Rascal Flatts
Originally by Tom Cochrane
4
Behind the Clouds
Paisley, BradBrad Paisley
Original version
5
Our Town
Taylor, JamesJames Taylor
Original version
6
Sh-Boom
The Chords
Original version
7
Route 66
Mayer, JohnJohn Mayer
New version (end credits)
8
Find Yourself
Paisley, BradBrad Paisley
Original version
9
Opening Race
Newman, RandyRandy Newman
Instrumental
10
McQueen's Lost
Newman, RandyRandy Newman
Instrumental
11
My Heart Would Know
Williams, HankHank Williams
Original version
12
Bessie
Newman, RandyRandy Newman
Instrumental
13
Dirt Is Different
Newman, RandyRandy Newman
Instrumental
14
New Road
Newman, RandyRandy Newman
Instrumental
15
Tractor Tipping
Newman, RandyRandy Newman
Instrumental
16
McQueen and Sally
Newman, RandyRandy Newman
Instrumental
17
Goodbye
Newman, RandyRandy Newman
Instrumental
18
Pre-Race Pageantry
Newman, RandyRandy Newman
Instrumental
19
The Piston Cup
Newman, RandyRandy Newman
Instrumental
20
The Big Race
Newman, RandyRandy Newman
Instrumental
[edit] Vehicles and voice cast
Main article: List of Cars characters
[edit] Race cars
Character
Vehicle Likeness
Gender
Eye Color
Color
Chief Sponsor
Number
Voice Actor
Lightning McQueen
LA Times: "A hybrid between a stock car and a more curvaceous Le Mans endurance racer."[6] (e.g., Lolas and the Ford GT40)
Male
Blue
Red
Rust-Eze Medicated Bumper Ointment
95
Owen Wilson
Chick Hicks
Pixar: "A generic 1980s stock car."[7] Strongly resembles a 78-88 General Motors G-Body such as Buick Regal or Grand National.
Male
Brown
Green
Hostile Takeover Bank (HTB)
86
Michael Keaton
The King
Richard Petty's 1970 Plymouth Superbird
Male
Brown
Blue
Dinoco
43
Richard Petty
[edit] Radiator Springs cars
Name
Vehicle Likeness
Gender
Eye Color
Color
License Plate #
Voice Actor
Doc Hudson
1951 Hudson Hornet, later revealed to be the Fabulous Hudson Hornet
Male
Blue
Navy Blue
51HHMD
Paul Newman
Mater
1951 International Harvester L-170 "boom" truck[8] with elements of a mid-1950s Chevrolet[7] One-Ton Wrecker Tow Truck.
Male
Hazel
Originally blue, but is now rusty.
A113
Larry the Cable Guy
Sally Carrera
2002 996-series Porsche 911 Carrera
Female
Green
Light Blue
301 PCE
Bonnie Hunt
Ramone
1959 Chevy Impala Lowrider
Male
Green
Various colors (purple with flames at the start of the movie, burnt orange and white in flashback, yellow by the end, dark blue in the "Mater and the Ghostlight" short)
LOWNSLO
Cheech Marin
Luigi
1959 Fiat 500
Male
Brown
Yellow
445 108
Tony Shalhoub
Sheriff
1949 Mercury Club Coupe (police package)
Male
Blue
Black and white
001
Michael Wallis
Fillmore
1960 VW Bus
Male
Brown
Light Green
51237
George Carlin
Sarge
A Willys model jeep, in the style used by the US Military.
Male
Brown
Military Green
41WW2
Paul Dooley
Flo
1957 Motorama show car
Female
Green
Minty Green
SHO GRL
Jenifer Lewis
Guido
Custom forklift, possibly an Isetta model
Male
Reddish Brown
Sky blue and white.
(none)
Guido Quaroni
Mack
1985 Mack Super-Liner
Male
Green
Red (Lightning McQueen Style Paint Job.)
RUSTEZ3
John Ratzenberger
Lizzie
1923 Ford Model T
Female
Grey
Black
MT23
Katherine Helmond
Red
1960s style fire truck (most closely resembles a mid-1960s Pirsch pumper but also resembles American LaFrance models)
Male
Brown
Red
002
Joe Ranft
[edit] Reception
Cars opened on June 9, 2006 to generally favorable reviews. William Arnold of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer praised it as "one of Pixar's most imaginative and thoroughly appealing movies ever",[9] and Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly called it "a work of American art as classic as it is modern." [10]
However, some critics expressed that Cars did not hold up to the standard of other Pixar films, especially after the acclaim received by The Incredibles, Pixar's previous film. "The movie is great to look at and a lot of fun," wrote critic Roger Ebert, "but somehow lacks the extra push of the other Pixar films."[11] Laura Clifford of website Reeling Reviews wrote that the film's "only real drawback is its failure to inspire awe with its visuals and to thoroughly transport with its storytelling."[12]
Rotten Tomatoes gave Cars a fresh 76% (with an average of 6.9) and it earned a 73/100 on Metacritic, both the lowest attributed to a Pixar film. In its opening weekend, Cars grossed $60.1 million, lower than previous Pixar films such as The Incredibles and Finding Nemo. In the United States, the film held onto the #1 spot for two weeks before being surpassed by Click and then by Superman Returns the following weekend. It went on to gross US$461,981,604 worldwide (ranking #6 in 2006 films) and $244,082,982 in the U.S. (the third highest-grossing film of 2006 in the country, behind Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and Night at the Museum). It was the highest-grossing animated film of 2006 in the U.S., but lost to Ice Age: The Meltdown in worldwide totals.[13]
[edit] Awards
Cars had a highly successful run during the 2006 awards season. Many film critic associations such as the Broadcast Film Critics Association and the National Board of Review named it the best Animated Feature Film of 2006. Cars also received the title of Best Reviewed Animated Feature of 2006 from Rotten Tomatoes. Randy Newman and James Taylor received a Grammy Award for the song "Our Town," which later went on to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song (an award it lost to "I Need to Wake Up" from An Inconvenient Truth). The film also earned an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature, but it lost to Happy Feet. Cars was also selected as the Favorite Family Movie at the 33rd People's Choice Awards. Perhaps the most prestigious award that Cars received was the inaugural Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film. Cars also won the highest award for animation in 2006, the Best Animated Feature Annie Award.
[edit] DVD and Blu-ray release
Cars was released on DVD in both wide-screen and full-screen editions on October 25, 2006 in Australia and New Zealand, on November 7, 2006 in the United States and Canada and on November 27, 2006 in the United Kingdom. It includes the short films Mater and the Ghostlight and One Man Band, as well as Inspiration for Cars, a 16 minute long documentary about Cars featuring John Lasseter, the director. It also had a version of the Pixar short Boundin' as an Easter Egg. According to the Walt Disney Company, five million copies of the DVD were sold in the first two days it was available.[14]
Unlike previous Pixar DVD releases, there is no two-disc special edition, and no plans to release one in the future. According to Sara Maher, DVD Production Manager at Pixar, John Lasseter and Pixar were preoccupied with productions like Ratatouille,[15]. Additional extras not seen on the DVD have since been released on the official DVD website.[16]
In the US and Canada, there were bonus discs available with the purchase of Cars at either Wal-Mart or Target. Wal-Mart featured a Geared-Up Bonus DVD Disc that focused on the music of the film, including the "Life Is A Highway" video, The Making of "Life Is A Highway", Cars: The Making of the Music, and Under The Hood, a special that originally aired on the ABC Family cable channel. Target's bonus was a Rev'd Up DVD Disc that featured material that was mostly already released as part of the official Cars podcast and focused on the inspiration and production of the movie. A two-disc edition was available from Australian retailer EzyDVD, but the second disc did not contain any animation information.
On November 6, 2007, Cars was released on Blu-ray.[17]
[edit] Merchandising
The Mattel-produced 1/55 scale Toy Cars were some of the most popular toys of the 2006 Summer Season. Dozens of characters are represented, with some having multiple versions available. Several stores had trouble keeping the toys in stock, and some models are still difficult to find because of being shipped in lower numbers than other characters. Some online Disney enthusiasts are comparing it to the same shortage that Mattel faced with its Toy Story line in 1995. Some of the die-cast cars are only readily available on eBay. On August 14, 2007, the die-cast Sarge car, made between May and July 2007, was recalled due to "impermissible levels of lead" used in the paint.[18]
On June 22, 2006 Disney Consumer Products announced that Cars merchandise broke records for retail sales based on a Disney-Pixar product, recording 10-to-1 more volume than Finding Nemo.[19] DCP reports that product expansion will take place in the fall alongside the DVD release of the film. Mattel has announced that Cars toys will continue through 2008 with the release of at least 80 new vehicles. A 36 car pack called "Speedway of the South" will feature most of the race cars seen during the opening race sequence of the film.
Estimates from the New York Daily News indicate that sales of Cars merchandise two weeks out from the release of the film amounted to $600 million USD. Estimates put out in November by the Walt Disney Company peg total sales for the brand at around $1 billion.[2]
Kelley Blue Book, the de facto resource for appraising values of vehicles, has humorously "appraised" four of the cars, Lightning McQueen, Mater, Sally Carrera, and Doc Hudson according to their make/model and personalities. [1]
The United States Department of Transportation has used scenes from the movie in a commercial regarding the Click It or Ticket campaign.
In conjunction with the film's release, a chocolate ice cream on a stick resembling a car tire was released in Australia. These ice creams were called 'Burnouts'. The naming of the particular product sparked controversy as the name 'Burnouts' was believed to have encouraged street racing and committing burnouts. These acts are illegal and heavy fines and convictions are issued to those committing these acts in Australia. It is unknown as to whether the products have been discontinued or not.
In Norway, the candy company Nidar produced candy with the characters on the outer packaging and pictures of the characters on the packaging of the assorted candy on the inside. These bags also came with Cars themed tattoos.
In the U.S., an animated Wal-Mart truck can be seen on a Wal-Mart ad and Wal-Mart TV commercial for Cars. In the Wal-Mart TV commercial the Wal-Mart truck was talking to Mater.
In South Africa, Italy, and several other countries where Opel is present (or with Opel models under Chevrolet and Vauxhall brand), GM has a campaign featuring an General Motors Astra, a Opel Meriva, and a General Motors Zafira as characters in the world of Cars, including TV ads made by Pixar, with the Opel models interacting with Lightning McQueen, Mater and Ramone.[20] The first ad involved the Opels coming to Radiator Springs as tourists. The second involved their failed attempts at auditoning for Mater. In the end the Opels lost the part to the real Mater.
In July 2006, greeting card giant Hallmark unveiled its line of 2006 Keepsake Christmas ornaments. Among the collection was an ornament featuring Lightning McQueen and Mater.
There is also a Cars clothing line, which produces various t-shirts and shorts; however, these are only found in children's sizes.
In May 2007, the Cars video game was announced to be a "Platinum Hit" on the Xbox, "Greatest Hit" on the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable, and "Player's Choice" on the Nintendo GameCube. A sequel is on its way to the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii consoles.[21]
A Cars-based attraction opened at Walt Disney Studios Paris in 2007 and scheduled to open in Disney's California Adventure in 2010.
Lightning McQueen apr MR-S
In Japan, Disney Japan and Toyota backuped racing team Cars Racing replaced its racing car "Toy Story apr MR-S" and introduced the "Lightning McQueen apr MR-S" for the 2008 Super GT season. The car was based on the Toyota MR-S and ｔhe externals of the car were modeled on its of McQueen as much as possible.[22]
[edit] Development
John Lasseter has said that the idea for cars was born after he took a cross-country road trip with his wife and five sons in 2000. When he returned to the studio after vacation, he contacted Michael Wallis, famed Route 66 historian. Wallis then led 11 Pixar animators in rented white Cadillacs on two different road trips across the route to research the film. Throughout the trip, the animators collected items they found by the roadside, like wheat, thistles, snake skin, and road kill. They attached the items, which they called "Okie hood ornaments" to the cars and at the end of the trips, they buried them in the desert during a ceremony.
For the cars themselves, Lasseter also visited the design studios of the Big Three Detroit auto makers, particularly J. Mays of Ford Motor Company. Lasseter learned how real cars were designed.
Computers used in the development of the film were four times faster than those used in The Incredibles and 1,000 times faster than those used in Toy Story. To build the cars, the animators used computer platforms very similar to a real carmaker's.[23]
[edit] Settings
The track on which the opening race (Motor Speedway of the South) takes place is actually based on an enlarged version of the real life Bristol Motor Speedway. The venue for the Piston Cup tiebreaker race (the Los Angeles International Speedway) is a conglomeration of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the Arroyo Seco in Pasadena where the Rose Bowl is located, as well as the California Speedway in Fontana. The landscape in the background behind Radiator Springs is made up of rock formations intentionally reminiscent of Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, Texas. The road map shown in the montage history of the town calls the area "Cadillac Range." Some of the mountain peaks in Cadillac Range, shown during the movie, resemble the quarter panels of late-50's Cadillacs, with their distinctive tailfins.
[edit] Radiator Springs and vicinity
The setting for the fictional town of Radiator Springs is situated between Gallup, New Mexico and Kingman, Arizona. However, the physical location of Radiator Springs in relation to I-40 is similar to that of Peach Springs, Arizona.
The story of Radiator Springs is loosely based on Amboy, California in the Mojave Desert -- a town that showed a decline in almost all traffic when I-40 opened in 1972. Sally references this in the film.
A landmark, called Radiator Cap, overlooks the town, and has two white letters ("R" and "S") written upon it, similar to the white "T" painted on Tucumcari Mountain [24]. The style and relative positioning of these letters on the landmark closely resemble the "RS" badge used on the first-generation "Rally Sport" Camaros.
Willy's Butte resembles the landmark of Mexican Hat, Utah.
Nearby "Ornament Valley" (a reference to Monument Valley) is derived from the rugged Black Mountains (Arizona) and the famous Cadillac Ranch sculpture in Amarillo, Texas.
Sally’s Cozy Cone Motel in the film is a composite of the historic Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari, N.M., and the teepee-shaped Wigwam Motels, with one in Holbrook, Ariz., and the other in San Bernardino, Calif.
Ramone’s body-art shop in the film is directly inspired by the U-Drop Inn, a recently restored Art Deco gasoline station and restaurant complex in Shamrock, Texas.
Lizzie’s Curio Shop in Radiator Springs resembles the crazy Route 66 jumble of memorabilia and knickknacks at Hackberry General Store in Hackberry, Ariz., and the SandHills Curiosity Shop, aka the City Meat Market building, in Erick, Okla.
The bridge that McQueen sees Sally driving on resembles several bridges on Route 66, including the Cyrus Avery Route 66 Memorial Bridge in Tulsa, the Colorado Street Bridge in Pasadena, Calif., and the now-closed bridge over Diablo Canyon at Two Guns, Ariz.
The waterfall near Radiator Springs appears to be inspired by (Havasupai) Havasu Falls, which isn't accessible by road, but is directly northeast of Peach Springs, Arizona.
Flo's V8 cafe looks like a V8 engine head on,with a circular air filter, tappet covers, spark plugs and pistons and connecting rods as the supports for the shelter. (And the blinking neon lights on the spark plugs, blink in the firing order of a Ford flathead V8)
[edit] Route 66
Many characters and places in the movie are directly inspired on real Route 66 places and people.
To quote the Pixar crew:
"As we traveled on Route 66, we were privileged to visit many places and to meet a number of people who live and work alongside 'The Mother Road.' The following is a list of the places and people we wanted to honor by including their names in our 'Special Thanks' credits at the end of the film." [25]
The Cars soundtrack has two versions of the classic Bobby Troup jazz standard "Route 66" (popularized by Nat King Cole), one by Chuck Berry and a new version recorded specifically for the film's credits performed by John Mayer.
Among the many references to Route 66 landmarks and personalities:
The Cozy Cone Motel's design is based on the two Wigwam Motels along Rt. 66, in Holbrook, Arizona and Rialto, California. These were once two out of seven built motels (3 remaining; the third is in Wharton, Texas, south of Houston), with individual cabins shaped like teepees. The name "Cozy Cone" was inspired by the Cozy Dog Drive-In of Springfield, Illinois, which lays claim to being birthplace of the corn dog.
The character "Fillmore", referring to the famous San Francisco music venue The Fillmore, was at one time to be named "Waldmire" after Bob Waldmire, a self-proclaimed hippie artist known to Rt. 66 fans for his detailed pen-and-ink maps and postcards of the route. Though Waldmire's family owns the Cozy Dog Drive-In, Bob, now a vegan, preferred not to see his name put on a character that would become a McDonald's Happy Meal toy.[26]
Ramone's House of Body Art is based primarily on the U-Drop Inn in Shamrock, Texas. It opened in 1936 as Tower Conoco (from its distinctive Art Deco spire) with the U-Drop Inn Cafe and a retail building attached. Many other establishments built along Route 66 in its heyday had Art Deco elements that might be reflected in the design of Ramone's.
In the background of one scene, there is a yellow billboard reading "HERE IT IS" and has an image of a Model T. It is based after the Jackrabbit Trading Post on Route 66.
Sheriff is voiced by Michael Wallis, an American historian and author of Route 66: The Mother Road.
[edit] Trailers
One Pixar tradition is to create one trailer for each of their films that contains no footage from the actual released film. The trailers for this film:
Mater accidentally hits a little bumblebee while driving, and when Lightning McQueen tells him to forget about it, McQueen hits a swarm of bees. Mater laughs at his misfortune.
[edit] Similar films
Marcus Aurelius Canônico of Folha de S. Paulo described The Little Cars series (Os Carrinhos in Portuguese), a Brazilian computer graphics film series, as a derivative of Cars. Canônico discussed whether lawsuits from Pixar would appear. The Brazilian Ministry of Culture posted Marcus Aurelius Canônico's article on its website.[27]
It has also been noted that the plot of Cars bears a striking resemblance to that of Doc Hollywood, the 1991 comedy which stars Michael J. Fox as a hotshot young doctor who, after causing a traffic accident in a small town, is sentenced to work at the town hospital, falls in love with a local law student and eventually acquires an appreciation for small town values.[28][29]
[edit] Cars 2
The logo for Cars 2
This article or section contains information about one or more scheduled or expected films.The content may change as the film's release approaches and more information becomes available.
A sequel has been announced for a Summer 2012 release. Disney has confirmed that Brad Lewis will be the director.[30] On April 9th, 2008, John Lasseter commented "the Cars are going international" in the sequel.[31]
Cars will become the second Pixar film to have a sequel, after Toy Story.
