Cars (film)
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Cars is an animated feature film presented by Walt Disney Pictures, produced by Pixar Animation Studios, and distributed by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution. Its release date was June 9, 2006 in the US, and will be released on July 28, 2006 in the UK. This movie is the seventh Disney/Pixar feature film.
Directed by John Lasseter (Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2), the film is set in a world populated entirely by anthropomorphized cars and other vehicles, and features the voices of Owen Wilson, Bonnie Hunt, Paul Newman, Cheech Marin, Tony Shalhoub, John Ratzenberger, George Carlin, Larry the Cable Guy, Richard Petty, and Darrell Waltrip. The film was rated G by the MPAA.
The film premiered on May 26, 2006 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina.
- 1 Plot
- 2 Production
- 3 Critical reaction
- 4 Box office performance
- 5 Vehicles and voice cast
- 6 Video game adaptation / follow-up
- 7 Merchandising
- 8 DVD
- 9 Individual characters
- 10 Cultural diversity
- 11 NASCAR Differences
- 12 Setting
- 13 Route 66
- 14 References to previous Pixar movies
- 15 References to other movies
- 16 Attached short films
- 17 References
- 18 External links
Plot
Lightning McQueen is a red race car who has dreamed all his life of winning the Piston Cup Championship. Arrogant and overconfident, McQueen believes he is a "one man show", and ignores the advice of his pit crew. McQueen has an enormous lead in the final lap of the Piston Cup Championship and is about to become the first rookie to win it, until his rear tires (which he hadn't let his pit crew take the time to change) blow out. McQueen barely finishes the race and ends up in a three-way tie with the cheater Chick Hicks and the veteran champion, "The King" Strip Weathers.
After the race, McQueen and his transport truck buddy Mack (seemingly his only real friend) begin a journey across the country from North Carolina to California where the tie-breaker race will be held. Lightning wants to get to California first and refuses to let Mack stop for the night at a nearby truck stop. With each mile down Interstate 40 Mack gets even more tired, eventually dozing off on the road completely. Four tricked-out street racers have fun with the sleeping rig, and a bump in the road causes a sleeping McQueen to roll onto the interstate highway. After narrowly avoiding collisions, McQueen attempts to find Mack, but instead mistakenly chases a similar looking trailer, and finds himself lost on Route 66. He speeds past the Sheriff of Radiator Springs, who gives chase; McQueen mistakes the Sheriff's back-fires for gunshots and speeds away through the darkness, tearing up the main street of Radiator Springs until he becomes caught in some telephone wires.
Next morning, McQueen awakens to find himself impounded. After talking with Mater the tow truck, he is taken to court. Local judge and doctor Doc Hudson initially orders the race car out of town immediately, but Sally, the town's attorney, arrives and convinces the Doc to make the race car stay and repair the road. With Doc's mind changed for him, he hooks McQueen up to Bessie, the large, dirty asphalt machine. McQueen is told that it should take him three days to finish repaving the stretch he damaged.
McQueen remains interested only in leaving the town to make it to his race. McQueen makes an escape attempt and a botched rush job at fixing the road, Doc Hudson challenges McQueen to a desert race: if McQueen wins, he leaves town and Doc fixes the road. If Doc wins, Lightning fixes the road Doc's way. At the race, Doc is left in McQueen's dust as the hot rod roars off at the start of the race. Doc remains at the starting line, before requesting Mater's help as they slowly go down the road. As Doc expected, McQueen overshoots a tight turn in the dirt, and winds up over a cliff in a cactus patch. Doc wins the race as Mater fishes McQueen out of the patch.
After the race, McQueen fixes half the road, amazing the townsfolk with its paved smoothness. Since he had ran out of asphalt, the Sheriff allows him to try to make the turn again, but he continues to fail. Doc hints that he is to use the opposite lock steering, but McQueen ignores his elder. After a time, he finds out Doc's biggest secret: he was the famous Piston Cup racer, the Fabulous Hudson Hornet, and the winner of three consecutive trophies. Angered, Doc forces him out of the clinic's garage. He also reveals that his career ended prematurely because of a devastating crash. When he was fixed back up, no one wanted him anymore. Sally finally decides to take McQueen for a drive through Route 66, ending at the Wheel Well Motel, an old hotel located at the top of a bluff overlooking the entire town and valley. At the top, McQueen learns that the town once thrived, before being bypassed after the construction of Interstate 40 decades ago. As time goes on, McQueen understands their troubles, and becomes friends with all of the residents. Doc tips off the media that McQueen is in their town after McQueen helps everyone out, and he is whisked away with Mack and a mob of reporters to the big race.
At the race in California, Lightning is distracted by thoughts of Sally and Radiator Springs. Lagging behind, McQueen finally revitalizes after half of Radiator Springs townsfolk arrive to become his pit crew, making it to the race, with Doc as the crew chief. This encouragement enables McQueen to catch up to the leaders and make a run for the race. On the last lap, Chick Hicks takes a desperate resort to avoid coming in last place, and rear-ends The King, sending him into the air, ending in a horrific end-over-end flip. Lightning, almost about to win, sees the screen and the wreck. Remembering how Doc's crash ended his career, he hits his brakes, stopping just short of the finishing line. He sits there until Chick passes, before going back and pushing The King to the line to finish his career with dignity, knowing that he didn't want the fate that Doc suffered to happen to The King as well. Chick wins the Piston Cup, but is completely booed; everyone admires The King and McQueen. McQueen is offered the Dinoco endorsement, but turns it down to remain with his original sponsor, Rust-eze, saying that "they gave me my big break." But he does ask that Tex, the president of Dinoco, do him a favor and give Mater a ride in Dinoco's helicopter, to follow through on a promise he'd made. He then decides to move to Radiator Springs and build his racing headquarters there, along with a Doc Hudson Museum. Thanks to McQueen, Radiator Springs gets a boost of tourism again, revitalizing the town, and the once abandoned Route 66 becomes a major traffic roadway once more, having officially been reclassified as "Historic Route 66".
Production
Unlike most animated cars, the film's cars' eyes were placed on the windshield. 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.”[Cars Production Information]
The original script was written in 1998 and the producers agreed that Cars would be the next movie after A Bugs Life, and would be released in early 1999. However, that movie was scrapped and the production of Toy Story 2 took place. 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.
Cars is the last film made by the late Joe Ranft; the film was dedicated to his memory.
Cars was originally going to be released on November 4, 2005, but soon after the trailer's release in January 2005, the movie's release date was changed to June 9, 2006. Not only wouldn't it receive a summer release, one of the complex shots in the movie crashed Pixar's server. Chicken Little was instead released on November 4.
Critical reaction
Initial critical reaction was generally positive. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three stars (out of a possible four) and said, "The movie is great to look at and a lot of fun, but somehow lacks the extra push of the other Pixar films."[Cars review] by Roger Ebert at rogerebert.com Stephen Hunter of the Washington Post called the film "great fun" and gave it four stars (out of a possible four).["Young and Fuelish"] by Stephen Hunter, Washington Post, June 9, 2006 (free registration required) However, Manohla Dargis of The New York Times reviewed the film unfavorably, criticizing its emphasis on mechanical characters and landscape and lack of living creatures.["'Cars' Is a Drive Down a Lonely Highway"] by Manohla Dargis, The New York Times June 9, 2006 (free registration required) In her review, Christy Lemire of the Associated Press remarked extensively on the plot's striking similarity to 1991's Doc Hollywood.["Pixar's automotive tale drives a lot like 'Doc Hollywood'"] by Christy Lemire, Associated Press, June 9, 2006 Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly also commented on this similarity in her review, however she was more positive and gave the film an A-.[Cars review] by Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly, June 7, 2006 Although the film acquired the lowest percentage thus far for a Pixar animated feature, it still boasts a "certified fresh" 76% rating at RottenTomatoes (as of June 15, 2006), with a 78% rating from the "Cream of the Crop" reviewers.[RottenTomatoes Cars rating] Cars was recognized by the Heartland Film Festival with the Truly Moving Picture award. ["Truly Moving Picture"] award page for Cars, created June 8, 2006 Director John Lasseter won the 2006 Will Rogers Award["Cars" director John Lasseter wins Will Rogers Award], June 24, 2006 for the positive influence the film has had on Route 66.Box office performance
Information obtained through the Box Office Mojo.[Boxoffice Mojo Profile for Cars][Boxoffice Mojo Weekend Earnings for Cars]Domestic (US + Canada) Box Office:
| Weekend | Gross | Rank | % Drop | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ,119,509 | 1 | N/A | ,119,509 |
| 2 | ,731,634 | 1 | 43.9% | 7,055,283 |
| 3 | ,285,367 | 2 | 31% | 6,664,916 |
| 4 | ,569,356 | 4 | 37.4% | 2,591,139 |
| 5 | ,734,082 | 5 | 26.3% | 5,908,484 |
| 6 | ,840,985 | 6 | 27% | 0,001,446 |
Total Box Office:
| Source | Gross | % Total |
|---|---|---|
| Domestic | 0,001,446 | 73.0% |
| Foreign | ,450,000 | 27.0% |
| Worldwide | 1,451,446 | 100.0% |
The movie opened up strongly, continuing Pixar's streak of #1 debuts for each of the company's feature films. It earned as much in its first weekend as the total domestic gross of Disney's earlier NASCAR movie . However, the film's performance was less than the previous two Pixar movies, The Incredibles and Finding Nemo which both managed to make over $70 million each their opening weekends, and this caused Disney's stock price to drop slightly.
Cars would face competition from several heavy-hitting movies released in the 2006 summer season, including Nacho Libre, Click, Superman Returns and . Despite this, Cars managed to perform well, achieving domestic blockbuster status after crossing $200M domestic on July 8th, 2006.
Cars spent 13 days (non-consecutive) as the #1 movie in the domestic box office and lasted five weeks in the top five.
Vehicles and voice cast
The vehicle characters seen throughout the movie and the actors that were used for their voices are:
| Character | Vehicle Likeness | Actor |
|---|---|---|
| Lightning McQueen | Pixar: "A hybrid between a stock car and a more curvaceous LeMans endurance racer (like Lolas and the Ford GT40)."["Car Dreams"] by Dan Neil, Morning Call Online, June 8, 2006 | Owen Wilson |
| Mater | 1955 Chevrolet One-Ton Wrecker Tow Truck | Larry the Cable Guy |
| Sally Carrera | 2002 Porsche 911 Carrera (Type 996) | Bonnie Hunt |
| Doc Hudson | 1951 Hudson Hornet | Paul Newman |
| Ramone | 1959 Chevy Impala lowrider | Cheech Marin |
| "The King" Strip Weathers | Richard Petty's 1970 Plymouth Superbird, #43 | Richard Petty |
| Fillmore | 1960 VW Bus | George Carlin |
| Sarge | 1942 Willys MB WWII Army Jeep | Paul Dooley |
| Luigi | 1959 Fiat 500 | Tony Shalhoub |
| Guido | Pixar custom forklift, resembles an Isetta model. | Guido Quaroni |
| Chick Hicks | Pixar: "a generic 1980's stock car.""New movie rekindles love affair with cars" by Ann Job, The Star-Ledger, May 7, 2006, [reprinted for MSN Autos] Albeit one that resembles a mid-1980s Buick Regal stock car. | Michael Keaton |
| Sheriff | 1949 Mercury Cruiser | Michael Wallis |
| Mack | 1985 Mack Superliner | John Ratzenberger |
| Lizzie | 1913 Ford Model T | Katherine Helmond |
| Flo | 1957 Motorama show car | Jenifer Lewis |
| Red | 1960s style fire truck (resembles American LaFrance models) | Joe Ranft |
| Peterbilt | Peterbilt 362 | Joe Ranft |
| Harv | Not seen | Jeremy Piven / Jeremy Clarkson (UK) |
| Darrell Cartrip | 1976 Chevrolet Monte Carlo | Darrell Waltrip |
| Bob Cutlass | 1999 Oldsmobile Aurora | Bob Costas |
| Mrs. The King Weathers | 1973 Chrysler Town and Country w/solid nose | Lynda Petty |
| Rusty Rust-Eze | 1964 Dodge A100 van | Tom "Car Talk" Magliozzi |
| Dusty Rust-Eze | 1963 Dodge Dart V1.0 | Ray "Car Talk" Magliozzi |
| Tex | 1975 Cadillac Coupe de Ville | H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler |
| Jay Limo | Generic Limousine; resembles a late-1990s Lincoln Town Car | Jay Leno |
| Fred the Rusty Car | 1962 Rambler Ambassador | Andrew Stanton |
| Junior | 2002 NASCAR standard body stocker | Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
| Mario Andretti | 1967 Ford Fairlane Daytona 500 winner | Mario Andretti |
| Michael Schumacher | 2005 Ferrari F430 | Michael Schumacher |
| McQueen's Biggest Fan | Large Motor home | Doug "Mater" Keever |
| Motor Home Race Fan | 1978 Class A Motor home | Larry Benton |
| Wingo | 2000 Nissan Silvia | Adrian Ochoa |
| Boost | 1994 Mitsubishi Eclipse | Jonas Rivera |
| Snot Rod | 1970 Plymouth AAR Barracuda | Lou Romano |
| DJ | 2004 Scion xB | E.J. Holowicki |
| Tia | 1990 Mazda Miata | Elissa Knight |
| Mia | 1990 Mazda Miata | Lindsey Collins |
| Not Chuck | forklift | Mike Nelson |
| Minny | Generic minivan | Edie McClurg |
| Van | Generic minivan [img] | Richard Kind |
| The Governator | Hummer H1 | uncredited Arnold Schwarzenegger mimic |
| Woody | Ford Woody wagon | Tom Hanks |
| Buzz Lightyear | Toy Spaceship Car | Tim Allen |
| Flik | 1966 Volkswagen "Bug" | Dave Foley |
| Mike Wazowski | Isetta | Billy Crystal |
| Sulley | Monster Truck | John Goodman |
| Poser "never been off road" SUV | Hummer H1 wagon with spinner mags | uncredited |
| Dinoco helicopter | upsized Bell 222 | uncredited |
| Kori Turbowitz | Ford Taurus | Sarah Clark |
| Frank the bull | "Kubota orange" combine harvester | Tom Myers |
| Marco | 2002 Ford Expedition Security SUV | uncredited |
| Cows | American 1950s chewall tractors | Tom Myers |
| Lightyear Blimp | Goodyear blimp | uncredited |
| Bessie | asphalt machine | none |
| Chuck Manifold | Plymouth Reliant | uncredited |
| Chibi Japanese news woman | Mazda AZ-1 | uncredited |
| Stanley | Identified as a 1909 Ford Model T by Pixar "Boundin'" commentary by Bud Luckey, The Incredibles DVD [link] but has a Stanley "coffin nose". | none |
| A113 Train | EMD F7A and B diesel locomotive | none |
| Mario Andretti's Wife | 2003 Maserati Quattroporte | none |
| Other Race Cars | NASCAR Stockcar | None |
| Pit Crew Chiefs | Ford F550 | Uncredited |
| Checkered Flag Truck | Ford F-150 | none |
| U.S. Marine Corps fighters | Modified AV-8 Harrier II with missiles hardpoints on the wingtips and two vertical stabilizers, as in the F/A-18 Hornet | none |
Video game adaptation / follow-up
The Cars video game features a story written by Pixar (with the late Joe Ranft as the Script/Story Lead) and the return of the majority of the voice cast. The game was developed by Rainbow Studios, THQ and Buena Vista Games with heavy involvement by Pixar, as it continues the story set forth in the movie through Lightning McQueen's second Piston Cup season. Despite heavy interference from Chick Hicks, McQueen wins the Piston Cup at the end of his second season after a grand prix is held in Radiator Springs. He leaves Radiator Springs on a celebratory cross-country trip with Sally and Mater, leaving his Piston Cup trophy alongside Doc Hudson's three trophies.
In addition to the above-mentioned console and PC versions, a mobile game was developed by mDisney and Capybara Games. This game takes place after the movie, as Lightning McQueen prepares for the next season.
Merchandising
Several companies released promotional products related to the movie. Kellogg's released a Cars-themed cereal, as well as promotional fruit snacks.Fisher-Price released Shake 'n Go Racers that were meant to be characters from the movie. Lightning, The King, Mater, and Doc are available.
Furthermore, in the weeks before the movie's opening, there were also promotional tie-ins with AT&T [formerly SBC Communications] (using four cars to promote the diversity of its AT&T services), State Farm Insurance, The Hertz Corporation, and McDonald's.
The Mattel-produced die-cast cars are some of the most popular toys of the summer. Several stores are having trouble keeping the toys in stock, and some characters, such as Lizzie and Sarge, are difficult to find due to being shipped in lower numbers than other, more prominent characters. Some online Disney enthusiasts are comparing it to the same shortage that Mattel faced with its Toy Story line in 1995. Because of these shortages, some of the die-cast cars are only readily available on Ebay.
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[" Disney Shows Muscle with Boys Properties"] press release at Disney Consumer Products, June 22, 2006. DCP reports that product expansion will take place in the fall alongside the DVD release 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 amassed to $600 million USD.
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. []
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.
DVD
The DVD release is planned for November 2006. According to interviews with John Lasseter and Larry the Cable Guy, it will contain a short film (5 min) called Mater and the Ghostlight.["Pixar Mastermind John Lasseter"] by Edward Douglas, June 3, 2006["Exclusive: Larry the Cable Guy "] by Edward Douglas, June 5, 2006Individual characters
The name of the main character, Lightning McQueen, is a tribute to Glenn McQueen, a Pixar animator who died in 2002. The name refers also to actor Steve McQueen who was famous for some of the greatest car and racing movies, including Bullitt and Le Mans, and topic of a [Sheryl Crow hit song]. Lightning McQueen's number is 95, the year Toy Story was released. His original number was 57, the same year director John Lasseter was born (this can be seen in several of the teaser trailers), but was changed before the movie came out.Lightning McQueen is no car in particular, but has elements of many sports cars. His headlights are stickers, like in NASCAR, and he also has many sponsor decals on his sides, once again similar to NASCAR. Pixar was shown a Corvette by GM, which is what influenced his design. His overall profile was inspired, says Pixar, by the Ford GT40. His tail looks like a Viper, while the tail lenses and roof are consistent with a Ford Mustang. The full size tour car is based on a Firebird. His custom two-tone paint and tires are from a 50s Corvette. Overall, his appearance can be considered as something between a stock car and various other sports cars, but titled slightly towards the stock car style.
McQueen's wheels are the same color as his body, which resembles several NASCAR racecars of the past.
Many cars only call Lighting by his last name, McQueen, although Sally calls him "Stickers" on account of his having no headlights, but stickers in their place.
Sally, the romantic interest is a stock Porsche Carrera. A Carrera's tail will pop up at highway speeds, but it can also be raised by the driver manually, and it was raised when she showed the custom pin striping. Pixar originally wanted a classic model, but Porsche persuaded them to use a 2002 model. A Carrera would be a typical car for a high profile Los Angeles lawyer.
The King, voiced by Richard Petty, is Petty's 1970 Plymouth Superbird, in "Petty Blue" with his number 43. The Superbird was a stock Plymouth Roadrunner with added aerodynamic features designed by Chrysler engineers from NASA projects (American Muscle Car TV series). The goalpost wing and shark nose were so fast that they were effectively banned in 1971, starting a trend of slowing cars down to speeds below 200 MPH. The King's crash in the film is a recreation of either Petty's crash in the 1988 Daytona 500 or Rusty Wallace's 1993 flip at Talladega Superspeedway. Petty was known as the King on the NASCAR Winston Cup Circuit. When John Lasseter asked Petty if he wanted to be in a movie he initially refused saying "I want to drive a race car." He said yes when told it was an animated film.[link]
Villain Chick Hicks is 86, a reference to Luxo Jr., released in 1986, and possibly also to the slang for killing or getting rid of someone, as parodied in the code "number" for Maxwell Smart, Agent 86 on Mel Brooks's comedy television series Get Smart. Chick's body closely resembles the Quaker State Buick Regal that Ricky Rudd drove in the 1980s, though Pixar animators have said the character is a generic 1980's stock car. Michael Keaton was also in Herbie Fully Loaded, another NASCAR-themed Disney movie.
Rusty & Dusty Rust-eze (the cars seen in front of McQueen's trailer after the race) are direct parodies of Click & Clack, The Tappet Brothers from the radio show Car Talk. They even say their trademark phrase used to end their show, "Don't drive like my brother!" as Mack is leaving the track. They are also voiced by the Tappet Brothers themselves: Ray & Tom Magliozzi. The characters were also originally named Clink and Clunk. Dusty, the character voiced by Ray Magliozzi, is a 1963 Dodge Dart, a car Ray often reminisces about semi-fondly on Car Talk.
Former champion Doc Hudson's plate is "51HHMD," which stands for "1951 Hudson Hornet, M.D." His record of 27 wins in a single season is the same as that of the 1952 Fabulous Hudson Hornet racing team,["Hudson Hornet"] by Jack Nerad, Driving Today, June 5, 2000 and his championships are the same years as the Hudson team.["NASCAR champ Hudson Hornet now star of film"] by Dan Jedlicka, Chicago Sun-Times, June 12, 2006
The sheriff is voiced by Michael Wallis, renowned author of The Mother Road series of books about historic Route 66. Sheriff has curb feelers on both sides which were used in older cars to detect proximity to a curb.
Fillmore, the VW Bus voiced by George Carlin, has license plate "51237" representing Carlin's birth date: May 12, 1937. His license plate dangles below his front bumper, forming a goatee typical of the 1960s hippies which the car represents. He lives in a geodesic dome with blacklight paint. [Asian Week] noted that Fillmore's character is actually an impression of half-Chinese Tommy Chong's hippie of the Cheech and Chong comedy record duo. The name Fillmore is a reference to Fillmore East and West - the concert hall where many artists during the 1960's and 1970's performed. The Fillmore is located in San Francisco which was considered a hippy haven in the 60's. Pixar missed an opportunity to get Cheech and Chong together, but Cheech in a recent review said he didn't want to do that team again.
Darrell Cartrip is played by Darrell Waltrip, a retired race car driver who does race commentary for the FOX network. He raced a 1976 Chevy Monte Carlo with stacked headlights. He often raced with the number 17. Darrell is fond of colorful flame paint schemes. "Boogity boogity boogity!" is what Waltrip utters at the start of every NASCAR race and during some restarts.
The #58 "Octane Gain" racecar in the film's first race (look for it during the big wreck) appears to be a Toyota Camry, which NASCAR will start using in 2007.
The character Sarge is a possible reference to Sarge, the commander of the army men in Toy Story, or simply a generic veteran. He lives in a Quonset hut.
A van with a black and pink camper-trailer resembling Elvis Presley appears twice in the movie, in the RV park at the beginning, and behind the announcers at the Piston Cup Finale. On its side is "Elvis RV Cab". Next to the van at the Piston Cup is the Pizza Planet delivery truck, which is a reference to Toy story.
Flo could be a possible reference to the fish Deb sees in the reflection in Finding Nemo or Al McWhiggin's Car in Toy Story 2.
Red could be a reference to the Pixar short film Red's Dream.
Minny and Van are, of course, a pun on the word minivan. Minny could also be a reference to Minnie Mouse.
Cultural diversity
Some cars are cast by their owners, others by their nation of manufacture.The character Mater at different points in the movie says "Git R Done" and "I don't care who you are, that's funny right there," both catchphrases of Larry the Cable Guy, who voices the character in the stereotypical drawl of an American Hillbilly. Mater is named after Douglas "Mater" Keever, whom John Lasseter met at Lowe's Motor Speedway.["Speedway guy gains fame at Pixar"] by Joe Marusak, The Charlotte Observer, March 9, 2006 His character is comparable to Gilligan—not bright enough to pass any government-administered proficiency test, but possesses a heart of gold.
Den mother Flo appears to be inspired by three early- to mid-fifties show cars: the 1951 Buick LeSabre (front-end lines, the basic hood shape, lights mounted near the corners, and front-quarter trim), the 1951 Buick XP-300 (side trim), and the 1956 Dodge Dart (cockpit, deck lid, and tailfins). Flo is subtly played by Jenifer Lewis who is often cast as an African American mother figure.
Ramone is voiced by Cheech Marin. He is a lowrider; a creation popular among Latinos. He is Pixar's first Latino character.
Luigi is a Fiat 500 with an Italian accent provided by Tony Shalhoub. Shalhoub uses the same accent he used for the lead character, Primo, in the 1996 film Big Night. By coincidence, the Fiat 500 is the same kind of car used by Lupin III, the protagonist of the Lupin III series and movies. Hayao Miyazaki, a good friend of John Lasseter, worked on two of the Lupin TV series and directed the Lupin III movie The Castle of Cagliostro. Lasseter said in an interview he did not intend for the reference to be there, although Cagliostro is still one of his favorite films. ["Red Carpet interview with John Lasseter"] by Michael Howe, Jim Hill Media, May 29, 2006
Mario Andretti voices a 1967 Ford Fairlane 500 stock car, painted blue and gold with the number #11. Mario Andretti won the 1967 Daytona 500 with a car of the same appearance prepared by Holman-Moody.
Three of the Import scene cars are Japanese and the groupie twins are Miatas. Orange is the color of Japanese tractor maker Kubota. While there is a Japanese woman on the world news, [Asian Week("Steamed at Cars")] notes that there are no Asian American cast voices, prominent or otherwise.
NASCAR Differences
The rules in the Piston Cup shown in the movie that differs with NASCAR include:- In the movie, the point lead tie is settled by an extra race. In NASCAR, the situation is settled by whoever has more wins. If the drivers have the same number of wins, it'll be decided by 2nd-place finishes and so on.
- In the movie, Lightning McQueen appears to speed out of pit road to beat the pace car, and stay on the lead lap. In NASCAR, a driver would be penalized a lap for doing that.
- In the movie, when Chick Hicks crashed "The King" Strip Weathers, he still won the race, and the championship. In NASCAR (unless there is not enough proof that a driver intentionally tried to do something), a driver would almost certainly be denied the checkered flag, and the finishing position that the driver finished in.
- In the movie, Lightning McQueen pushes the wrecked Weathers across the finish line. In NASCAR, both drivers would be penalized for doing so in that situation (as in NASCAR, the race would be finished under the yellow flag, and under NASCAR rules, no driver can push a car in the last lap of the race if the yellow flag is out).
- Some cars in the film's first race have 3-digit numbers, while in NASCAR, 3 digit numbers may be registered for cars, but cars must sport a 1 or 2 digit number on their car. In the pre-modern era (pre-1972), it was somewhat common for some drivers to sport 3 digit numbers on their cars.
- In the first race, when McQueen blew his tires, the race still continued. However, in NASCAR, the race would be finished under the yellow flag, and McQueen would stay in the lead and win the Piston Cup (unless, he would've made a pit stop, or would've been too slow for the field)
- Modern NASCAR bodies must all have nearly the same shape, differentiated mainly by the painting of headlights and grille. The Piston Cup features cars based on various NASCAR racers since the 1970s.
Setting
The landscape in the distance 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."The Flo's V8 Cafe logo is similar to that used by the '32 Ford V8, the first V8 for mass marketed cars. This retro logo also appears on late model Ford Explorers (and other Ford trucks whose owners get the part and put it on their vehicles). Flathead also refers to this Ford V8, and was popular with hot rods. The neon spark plugs on the canopy flash in the right firing order.
The name of the Piston Cup racing series is a spoof of the Winston Cup, the premiere series in NASCAR (now known as the Nextel Cup).
The track that the opening race (Motor Speedway of the South) takes place on is actually based on and an enlarged version of the real life Bristol Motor Speedway. The track used for the Piston Cup Championship race is a clever knock-off of the Pasadena Rose Bowl as well as the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and (possibly) the Daytona International Speedway, the track that hosts season-opening races in several racing series. The dome on top of the entrance to the track appears to be a replica of Renaissance architect Filippo Brunelleschi's famous dome atop the cathedral Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, Italy.
The film features mostly American cars from the 1950s and 1960s, but also some Japanese tuner and American muscle cars from the 1970s, K's from the 1980s, and minivans and Miatas from the 90s.
At one point in the movie, when many places are shutting down in anticipation of a big race, a sign can be read for a brief moment that reads: "City of Emeryville - Closed." This is a reference to Emeryville, California, where the Pixar studio is located.
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." [Pixar’s Route 66 inspirations] from Route 66 News
References to previous Pixar movies
Many of the sponsors on the sides of the cars are references to past Pixar films or as puns on real-life automotive-related companies. Here's a brief list of them:
- The number "2319" visible on a car is a reference to "23-19," the code used by the Child Detection Agency in Monsters, Inc. when a sock was found clinging to a monster's fur.
- Lightning McQueen is equipped with Lightyear Buzzard tires, a parody of Goodyear Eagle Tires and a reference to Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story and Toy Story 2
- The King's sponsor is Dinoco, the gas station from Toy Story, which itself is a pun on Sunoco, though the logo is closer to petroleum company Sinclair which features a dinosaur on its logo.
- Some of the racing cars in the teaser trailer have Toy Story 2 and A Bug's Life logos on the side as well as "JLP" for John Lasseter, the director, and CDA (Child Detection Agency from Monsters, Inc.).
- The birds from the Pixar short For the Birds can briefly be seen and heard on a telephone wire in the "Life is a Highway" sequence. (It's difficult to see since the screen passes them quickly.)
- The jackalope from Boundin' is depicted on the back of a motor home. Also, one of Fillmore's bumper stickers reads "I Brake for Jackalopes".
- Radiator Spring's founder Stanley is actually the same truck that's seen in the Pixar short Boundin'.
- The Pizza Planet truck from Toy Story with a rocket on the roof can be seen at the entrance to the stadium in the final race sequence.
- When Mack is driving by the truck stop, one of the trucks' logos is "i, Inc." This is a reference to The Incredibles (the "i" is Mr. Incredible's monogram).
- There is a motor home in the second Piston Cup race at the end and he is surrounded by flamingos and a pool in reference to the short Knick Knack.
- The railway train's number which almost crashed into Lightning McQueen when he was on his way to Radiator Springs is A113, a recurring inside joke in several animated shows and films, referring to the classroom number used by animation students at CalArts. Mater's license plate has the same number.
- During the end credits, scenes from previous Pixar films are re-enacted with cars. There is a scene from Toy Car Story featuring Tom Hanks (as a Ford Woodie) and Tim Allen. Also, John John Ratzenberger comes up on the window sill as Hamm. There is one from Monster Trucks, Inc. featuring John Goodman and Billy Crystal, also John Ratzenberger comes up as the Abominable Snowman. Finally, there is one from A Bug's Life featuring Dave Foley, also John Ratzenberger comes up as P.T. flea. John Ratzenberger is featured in all three scenes, and his Cars character Mack (John Ratzenberger again) comments on the recurrence, from supportive at first to disgust and says "They're just using the same actor over and over again! What kind of cut-rate production is this?". The only Pixar films who were never given parodies to themselves during the credits of the film were Finding Nemo and The Incredibles.
- The opening music in the original teaser trailer is from A Bug's Life.
- A highway sign in the interstate sequence reads "Andy's House", a reference to the child from Toy Story.
- Previous Pixar movies are on some sponsor stickers.
References to other movies
- In the teaser trailer to Cars, a little bee is seen flying around, a possible reference to Wally B. (Note that the presence of organic insects renders this teaser noncanonical. In the movie itself, there are no organic insects or animals of any kind; all insects are tiny cars with wings.)
- The flashback narrative of the final race scene along with the fact McQueen stops just before the finish line is a reference to the 1962 Tony Richardson movie The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner.
- The action film that Lightning envisions himself starring in is similar to War of the Worlds.
- The scene where Lightning almost gets hit by a train is a reference to The Fast And The Furious, also the scene with the three Import Scene cars surrounding Mack.
- The scene where Lightning leaves Radiator Springs in Mack and all press go with him, leaving Sally alone, is a reference to Notting Hill.
- The scene where Lightning brakes and causes Chick to brush the wall is a reference to , where Maggie Peyton did the same thing to Trip Murphy (only it turned into a bigger wreck).
Attached short films
One Man Band
Main article: One Man Band
The theatrical and video/DVD releases of this film include the academy award nominated One Man Band, a Pixar short made in 2005, a year before this film was released.
Mater and the Ghostlight
Main article: Mater and the Ghostlight
The video/DVD release of this film will also include an additional short called Mater and the Ghostlight, starring one of the film's characters, Mater, with Larry The Cable Guy reprising his role.
References
External links
- [Cars Forum and Review]
- [Official Cars website]
- [Official Pixar webpage for Cars]
- [Official Disney webpage for Cars]
- [Slant Magazine: Cars Review]
- [Cars review on Xdafied.com.au]
- [Cars Trailer] at [Funny Clip]
- [}}}] at Rotten Tomatoes
- [Cars Fan Forum]
- [Cars Fanclub on Sheezyart]
- [Official Cars Merchandise Catalog]
- [Decal Classics - Unofficial Cars Fan Forum]
- [Asian Week: Steamed at Cars casting and the Wikipedia]
- [Cars Production Information] (pdf format)
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Main article: Cars Characters: Lightning McQueen | Mater | Sally Carrera Doc Hudson | The King | Chick Hicks Setting: Radiator Springs Video Game: Cars Soundtrack: Cars Original Soundtrack |
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