Cars
Ahhh... it's got that new movie smell.
Cars (2006)
Production
Budget
$120 000 000
Revenue
$471 491 867
Director
Scenario
Composer
Producer
Actors
Owen Wilson
Lightning McQueen (voice)
Paul Newman
Doc Hudson (voice)
Bonnie Hunt
Sally Carrera (voice)
Larry the Cable Guy
Mater (voice)
Cheech Marin
Ramone (voice)
Tony Shalhoub
Luigi (voice)
Guido Quaroni
Guido (voice)
Jenifer Lewis
Flo (voice)
Short description
Cars follows Lightning McQueen, a rookie race car who is on his way to a championship event in California and finds himself stranded in Radiator Springs, a small town along Route 66 that has been bypassed by the interstate. With two experienced rivals waiting for him at the Piston Cup, McQueen is forced to spend time among the town's residents, including a judge who was once a racing champion, a Porsche who runs a motel, and a rusty tow truck. Their world of faded roadside businesses and slow routines gradually alters his single-minded pursuit of the trophy.
The film is directed by John Lasseter, his seventh feature after the Toy Story films and A Bug's Life, and was written by Lasseter, Joe Ranft and Dan Fogelman for Pixar and Walt Disney Pictures. Owen Wilson voices McQueen, with Paul Newman, Bonnie Hunt, Larry the Cable Guy, Cheech Marin and Tony Shalhoub among the cast. Made for a budget of 120 million dollars, it took in about 462 million dollars worldwide.
On IMDb it holds a rating of 7.3 from roughly 530,000 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 7.1 from around 15,500 votes. Its critics' score of 7.1 from 198 reviews places it in line with those audience results. The film was followed by a sequel, Cars 2, released in 2011.
What's left behind the scenes
- In Italian, 'tire' translates to “gomma.” In Italy, there are actually many shops called “Casa della gomma” (House of Tires).
- Doc Hudson is a 1951 Hudson Hornet.
- Luigi – 1959 Fiat 500.
- Lizzy is a 1913 Ford Model T.
- Fillmore, voiced by George Carlin, is an imitation of Al Steele, a hippie weatherman, one of the personas that Carlin used in his sketches in the 1960s-1970s. Fillmore's license plate number is "51237". Carlin was born on May 12, 1937.
- Michael Schumacher voiced one of the roles in the German dub; Giancarlo Fisichella in the Italian dub; and Fernando Alonso in the Spanish dub.
- When Mack is transporting McQueen to Los Angeles, you can spot the birds from the Pixar short film 'For the Birds' (2000) on one of the high-voltage cables.
- Sally is a 2002 Porsche 911 Carrera (Type 996).
- Originally, the plot of the cartoon was supposed to revolve around an electric car living in a world of gasoline cars.
- The name of the Piston Cup racing trophy is a clear parody of Winston Cup, the name held by the main series racing trophy of NASCAR from 1971 to 2003.
- One of the bumper stickers on Fillmore reads "Save 2D Animation".
- Mia and Tia were modeled after the first generation Mazda MX-5 Miata.
- Instead of making the headlights the characters' eyes, as is common in most cartoons about cars, the creators decided to place the heroes' eyes on the windshield, which allowed them to portray the characters as more emotional. This idea was borrowed from the Disney cartoon “Susie the Little Blue Coupe” (1952).
- The original character number for 'Lightning McQueen,' voiced by Owen Wilson, was 57, symbolizing the year of director John Lasseter's birth. Later, it was decided to change the number to '95,' the year of the release of the studio 'Pixar's' first cartoon – 'Toy Story.' The character's name is a tribute to one of the studio's best animators, Glenn McQueen, who passed away in 2002.
- Commentator Darrel Cartrip is a clear reference to Darrell Waltrip, a three-time NASCAR champion who now works as a commentator on Fox.
- The company "Dinoco", sponsor of the "Piston Cup", also owned the gas station where Andy's mother stopped in "Toy Story" (1995).
- Sarge is a 1941 Willys MB.
- The tires of 'Lightning McQueen' are produced by the fictional 'Lightyear' corporation, modeled after the world-famous brand 'Goodyear.'
- Sheriff is a 1949 Mercury Police Cruiser.
- Mater is a 1955-1957 Chevrolet or GMC truck.
- Despite the enormous number of computers working four times faster than those used to create "The Incredibles" (2004), it took an average of 17 hours to process each frame of the animated film.
- Ramone – 1959 Chevrolet Impala.
- The fictional town of Radiator Springs was created based on real locations along Route 66. In 2001, a creative team from 'Pixar' studio, including John Lasseter and Joe Ranft, drove along sections of Route 66 in Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. They were accompanied by Michael Wallis, a Route 66 historian, who voiced the Sheriff in the cartoon.
- Jeremy Clarkson lent his voice to the British version of the film.
- Guido – ISO Isetta.
- Another composition from the same video belongs to the punk rock band Green Day. The song is titled "Westbound Sign" from the 1995 album "Insomniac".
- Mater's license plate is "A113". The train number that almost hit Lightning McQueen is also "A113". This is a reference to the "California Institute of the Arts", where many animators from "Pixar" studio studied.
- The design of "Cozy Cone Motel" is based on two real motels that existed on Route 66.
- When the film was released in Italy, the distribution company employed a small trick. As almost all foreign films are dubbed upon release in Italy, Luigi was given a slight Modenese accent (Modena being the hometown of “Ferrari”); Guido was dubbed with a strong Modenese accent. “Ferrari” at the end of the cartoon, as in the original, was voiced by Michael Schumacher, but of course in Italian with a strong German accent.
- Flo was not modeled after any specific model, but combines elements of the 1951 Buick LeSabre, 1951 Buick XP-300, and 1957 Chrysler Dart.
- Towards the end of the cartoon, you can notice a truck with the "Pizza Planet" logo.
- Initially, the project was named "Route 66". Considering the fact that this name had already been used by filmmakers (in 1960 a series of the same name was released, lasting 4 seasons), the film received its current, concise title.
- The character “Fillmore” was originally supposed to be named “Waldmire” after Bob Waldmire, a well-known hippie who created detailed maps of Route 66. However, Bob is now a vegetarian, and he refused to allow his name to be used for a character who would inevitably become a “Happy Meal” toy at McDonald's.
- During the creation of the cartoon, animators drew 43,000 sketches dedicated to various car design options.
- King, Strip Weathers – 1970 Plymouth Roadrunner Superbird.
- The musical piece at the beginning of the very first promotional video (teaser trailer) for the cartoon is none other than the main theme from another creation of the "Pixar" studio – "A Bug's Life".
- The racing tires have 'Gamma Sector 4' written on them in small print, which is a reference to 'Toy Story 2'.
- Porsche's profession is a lawyer. This is a reference to "Portia", the nickname for female lawyers, named after the character in Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice".
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
