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Cars (2006)

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Cars 2006 poster 13

Cars is a 2006 American computer-animated sports comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The film was directed by John Lasseter from a screenplay by Dan Fogelman, Lasseter, Joe Ranft, Kiel Murray, Phil Lorin, and Jorgen Klubien and a story by Lasseter, Ranft, and Klubien, and was the final film independently produced by Pixar after its purchase by Disney in January 2006. Set in a world populated entirely by anthropomorphic talking cars and other vehicles, it follows on a hotshot rookie race car who, on the way to the biggest race of his life, gets stranded in a run down town and learns a thing or two about friendship, family, and the things in life that are truly worth waiting for.

The film stars the voices of Owen Wilson, Paul Newman (in his final voice acting theatrical film role), Bonnie Hunt, Larry the Cable Guy, Tony Shalhoub, Cheech Marin, Michael Wallis, George Carlin, Paul Dooley, Jenifer Lewis, Guido Quaroni, Michael Keaton, Katherine Helmond, John Ratzenberger and Richard Petty, while race car drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr. (as "Junior"), Mario Andretti, Michael Schumacher and car enthusiast Jay Leno (as "Jay Limo") voice themselves.

Development for Cars started in 1998, after finishing the production of A Bug's Life, with a new script titled The Yellow Car, which was about an electric car living in a gas-guzzling world with Jorgen Klubien began writing. It was announced that the producers agreed that it could be the next Pixar film after A Bug's Life, which scheduled for early 1999, particularly around June 4; the idea was later scrapped in favor of Toy Story 2. Shortly after, the production was resumed with major script changes. The film was inspired by Lasseter's experiences cross-country road trip. Randy Newman compose the film's score with artists such as Sheryl Crow, Rascal Flatts and Brad Paisley contributing tracks for the film.

Cars premiered on June 23, 2006, at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina and was theatrically released in the United States on June 23, 2006, to generally positive reviews and also received commercial success, grossing $462 million worldwide against a budget of $120 million. It was nominated for two Academy Awards including Best Animated Feature, but lost to Happy Feet (but won both the Annie Award for Best Animated Feature and the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film). The film was released on DVD on November 7, 2006, and on Blu-ray in 2007. The film was accompanied by the short One Man Band for its theatrical and home media releases. The film was dedicated to Joe Ranft, the film's co-director and co-writer, who died in a car crash during the film's production.

The success of Cars launched a multimedia franchise and a series of two sequels produced by Pixar and two spin-offs produced by Disneytoon Studios, starting with Cars 2 (2011).

Storyline[]

Plot[]

In a world where the towns are peopled with cars, and even the bugs are mini motors, a young ambitious racing car called Lightning McQueen is a star. On his way to an important event he has to stop in the little town of Radiator Springs after he accidentally damages the road and is forced to repair it. He finds living in a community oddly endearing, making true friends and beginning to realise there's more in life than winning. A Pixar animation.

Genres[]

  • Children's film
  • Comedy
  • Adventure
  • Sports
  • Road
  • Animation

Motion Picture Rating[]

  • Atp (Argentina)
  • G (Australia)
  • Livre (Brazil)
  • A (Bulgaria)
  • G (Canada) (all jurisdictions)
  • TE (Chile)
  • A (Denmark)
  • 7 (Denmark) (original rating)
  • G (Egypt) (self-applied)
  • K-7 (Finland)
  • Tous publics (France)
  • 6 (Germany)
  • K (Greece)
  • I (Hong Kong)
  • L (Iceland)
  • U (India)
  • PG (Indonesia) (self-applied)
  • G (Ireland)
  • T (Italy)
  • G (Japan)
  • V (Lithuania)
  • U (Malaysia)
  • U (Malta)
  • AA (Mexico)
  • 6 (Netherlands)
  • G (New Zealand)
  • G (Nigeria)
  • 7 (Norway) (2006, cinema rating)
  • Apt (Peru)
  • G (Philippines)
  • b.o. (Poland)
  • M/6 (Portugal)
  • 0+ (Russia)
  • G (Saudi Arabia)
  • G (Singapore)
  • G (South Africa)
  • All (South Korea)
  • 7 (South Korea) (DVD rating)
  • A (Spain)
  • Btl (Sweden)
  • 7 (Switzerland) (canton of Geneva)
  • 7 (Switzerland) (canton of Vaud)
  • GP (Taiwan)
  • G (Thailand)
  • G (Turkey)
  • U (UK)
  • G (USA)
  • G (United Arab Emirates) (self-applied)
  • P (Vietnam)

Images[]

Cast and Crew[]

Directors[]

  • John Lasseter
  • Joe Ranft (co-director)

Writing Credits[]

  • John Lasseter (original story by) &
  • Joe Ranft (original story by) &
  • Jorgen Klubien (original story by)
  • Dan Fogelman (screenplay by) and
  • John Lasseter (screenplay by) and
  • Joe Ranft (screenplay by) and
  • Kiel Murray (screenplay by) &
  • Phil Lorin (screenplay by) and
  • Jorgen Klubien (screenplay by)

Cast[]

  • 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)
  • Paul Dooley - Sarge (voice)
  • Michael Wallis - Sheriff (voice)
  • George Carlin - Fillmore (voice)
  • Katherine Helmond - Lizzie (voice)
  • John Ratzenberger - Mack / Hamm Truck / Abominable Snow Plow / P.T. Flea Car (voice)
  • Joe Ranft - Red / Jerry Recycled Batteries / Peterbilt (voice)
  • Michael Keaton - Chick Hicks (voice)
  • Richard Petty - The King (voice)
  • Jeremy Piven - Harv (voice)
  • Bob Costas - Bob Cutlass (voice)
  • Darrell Waltrip - Darrell Cartrip (voice)
  • Richard Kind - Van (voice)
  • Edie McClurg - Minny (voice)
  • Humpy Wheeler - Tex (voice)
  • Tom Magliozzi - Rusty Rust-eze (voice)
  • Ray Magliozzi - Dusty Rust-eze (voice)
  • Lynda Petty - Mrs. The King (voice)
  • Andrew Stanton - Fred (voice)
  • Dale Earnhardt Jr. - Junior (voice)
  • Michael Schumacher - Michael Schumacher Ferrari (voice)
  • Jay Leno - Jay Limo (voice)
  • Mario Andretti - Mario Andretti (voice)
  • Sarah Clark - Kori Turbowitz (voice)
  • Mike Nelson - Not Chuck (voice) (as Mike 'No Name' Nelson)
  • Jonas Rivera - Boost (voice)
  • Lou Romano - Snotrod (voice)
  • Adrian Ochoa - Wingo (voice)
  • E.J. Holowicki - DJ (voice)
  • Elissa Knight - Tia (voice)
  • Lindsey Collins - Mia (voice)
  • Larry Benton - Motorhome Race Fan #1 (voice)
  • Douglas Keever - Motorhome Race Fan #2 (voice) (as Douglas 'Mater' Keener)
  • Tom Hanks - Woody Car (voice)
  • Tim Allen - Buzz Lightyear Car (voice)
  • Billy Crystal - Mike Car (voice)
  • John Goodman - Sullivan Truck (voice)
  • David Foley - Flik Car (voice)
  • Jack Angel - Additional Voices (voice)
  • Michael Bell - Additional Voices (voice)
  • Bob Bergen - Additional Voices (voice)
  • Susan Blu - Additional Voices (voice)
  • Andrea Boerries - Andrea (voice)
  • Marco Boerries - Marco Axelbender (voice)
  • Rodger Bumpass - Additional Voices (voice)
  • Torbin Xan Bullock - Additional Voices (voice)
  • Richard Cawood - Richard Clayton Kensington (voice)
  • Scott Clark - Sven (voice)
  • Kathy Coates - Kathy Copter (voice)
  • John Cygan - Additional Voices (voice)
  • Jennifer Darling - Additional Voices (voice)
  • Paul Eiding - Additional Voices (voice)
  • Bill Farmer - Additional Voices (voice)
  • Brian Fee - Al Oft (voice)
  • Teresa Ganzel - Additional Voices (voice)
  • Craig Good - Additional Voices (voice)
  • Jess Harnell - Additional Voices (voice)
  • Artie Kempner - Artie (voice)
  • Hooman Khalili - Hooman (voice)
  • Sonoko Konishi - Chuki (voice)
  • Erik Langley - Additional Voices (voice)
  • Sherry Lynn - Additional Voices (voice)
  • Danny Mann - Additional Voices (voice)
  • Mickie McGowan - Additional Voices (voice) (as Mickie T. McGowan)
  • Laraine Newman - Additional Voices (voice)
  • Teddy Newton - Additional Voices (voice)
  • Colleen O'Shaughnessey - Additional Voices (voice)
  • Bob Peterson - Wide Chick Pitty (voice)
  • Steve Purcell - Tractors / Frank (voice)
  • Jan Rabson - Additional Voices (voice)
  • A.J. Riebli III - Albert Hinkey (voice)
  • Dan Scanlon - Dan Sclarkenberg (voice)
  • Stephen Schaffer - Additional Voices (voice)
  • Ken Schretzmann - Additional Voices (voice)
  • Bob Scott - Additional Voices (voice)
  • Matt Staudt - Matti (voice)
  • Jay Ward - Additional Voices (voice)
  • Jim Ward - Additional Voices (voice)
  • Colette Whitaker - Coriander Widetrack (voice)

Producers[]

  • Darla K. Anderson (producer)
  • Thomas Porter (associate producer)

Details[]

Country[]

  • USA
  • Australia

Language[]

  • English

Release Dates[]

  • June 23, 2006 (Canada)
  • June 23, 2006 (USA)
  • June 23, 2006 (Cameroon)
  • June 23, 2006 (Iceland)
  • June 23, 2006 (Poland)
  • June 29, 2006 (Argentina)
  • June 29, 2006 (Portugal)
  • June 30, 2006 (Brazil)
  • June 30, 2006 (Mexico)
  • June 30, 2006 (Panama)
  • June 30, 2006 (Venezuela)
  • July 1, 2006 (Chile)
  • July 1, 2006 (Japan)
  • July 5, 2006 (Belgium)
  • July 6, 2006 (Czechia)
  • July 6, 2006 (Spain)
  • July 13, 2006 (Hong Kong)
  • July 13, 2006 (Peru)
  • July 14, 2006 (South Africa)
  • July 20, 2006 (South Korea)
  • July 22, 2006 (Italy) (Giffoni Film Festival) (premiere)
  • July 28, 2006 (UK)
  • July 28, 2006 (Ireland)
  • August 4, 2006 (Bulgaria)
  • August 4, 2006 (India)
  • August 4, 2006 (Latvia)
  • August 11, 2006 (Estonia)
  • August 16, 2006 (Kuwait)
  • August 17, 2006 (Croatia)
  • August 18, 2006 (Lithuania)
  • August 18, 2006 (Vietnam)
  • August 22, 2006 (China)
  • August 23, 2006 (Finland) (Espoo Film Festival)
  • August 23, 2006 (Italy)
  • August 24, 2006 (Slovenia)
  • August 25, 2006 (Switzerland) (Italian speaking region)
  • August 25, 2006 (Finland)
  • August 25, 2006 (Norway)
  • August 31, 2006 (Slovakia)
  • September 1, 2006 (Denmark)
  • September 1, 2006 (Sweden)
  • September 5, 2006 (United Arab Emirates) (DVD premiere)
  • September 6, 2006 (Egypt)
  • September 7, 2006 (Austria)
  • September 7, 2006 (Germany)
  • September 7, 2006 (Lebanon)
  • September 14, 2006 (Switzerland) (German speaking region)
  • September 14, 2006 (Greece)
  • September 15, 2006 (Romania)
  • September 15, 2006 (Turkey)
  • October 5, 2006 (Thailand)
  • November 22, 2006 (Madagascar)
  • December 10, 2006 (Togo)
  • January 3, 2007 (Tunisia)
  • March 3, 2007 (Iran)
  • March 9, 2007 (Iraq)
  • March 21, 2007 (Bhutan)
  • May 1, 2007 (Guyana)
  • May 24, 2012 (Greece) (3-D version)
  • May 24, 2012 (Greece) (re-release)
  • March 14, 2015 (Australia) (Pixar Film Festival)
  • September 12, 2015 (New Zealand) (Pixar Film Festival)
  • September 5, 2020 (Indonesia) (internet)

Reception[]

Box office[]

In its opening weekend, Cars earned $60 million in 3,985 theaters in the United States, ranking number one at the box office. For three years, it would hold the record for having the highest opening weekend for any car-oriented film until it was surpassed by Fast & Furious in 2009. In the United States, the film held onto the number one spot for two weeks before being surpassed by Click and then by Superman Returns the following weekend. The film then earned $33.7 million during its second weekend while competing against The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift and Nacho Libre. Later on, Cars would team up with another Disney film, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, which was released a month later. Around this time, it had approached the $200 million mark, becoming the third film of the year to do so, following X-Men: The Last Stand and The Da Vinci Code. It went on to gross $462 million worldwide and $244 million in the United States. Cars was the second-highest-grossing animated film of 2006, behind Ice Age: The Meltdown.

Critical response[]

This film has a 7.2 rating on IMDb and a 74% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Company Credits[]

Production Companies[]

Distributors[]

Technical Specs[]

Runtime[]

  • 117 mins

Color[]

  • Color

Aspect Ratio[]

  • 2.39:1 (theatrical version)
  • 1.78:1 (open matte)
  • 1.37:1 (pan-and-scan)

Trivia[]

  • The fourth computer-animated film to be rated G by the MPAA, after The Polar Express (2004).

Cameos[]

  • During "Life is a Highway," the birds from For the Birds can be seen sitting on a telephone wire.
  • Dinoco is also the Gas station Buzz Lightyear and Woody get stranded at in Toy Story.
  • The snowman from Knick Knack is seen in the snow globe in Lizzie's Curios Shop.
  • Cars is the first Pixar film since A Bug's Life which doesn't feature any human.
  • A camper van (named Syd VanDerkamper) who is watching the final race, is surrounded by flamingos, palm trees, & a pool which is a reference to Knick Knack.
  • The Pizza Planet delivery truck, which has shown up in every Pixar film appears before the final race, next to the Elvis camper in the left background behind Bob Cutlass.
    • He also appears during the Life is a Highway sequence, at a Dinoco station, thus echoing how the truck appeared in Toy Story, at a Dinoco gas station.
  • Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Hamm, Mike Wazowski, Sulley, The Yeti, Flik, and P.T. Flea make cameos at the end of this movie in vehicle form. Additionally, they were also voiced by their original actors, John Goodman, Billy Crystal, Tom Hanks, John Ratzenberger, Tim Allen, and Dave Foley.
  • During the end credits, car-stylised versions of Toy Story, A Bug's Life, and Monsters, Inc. are seen playing at the Radiator Springs Drive-In Theatre.
    • Mack even references the fact that John Ratzenberger, his, Hamm, the Abominable Snowman, and P.T. Flea's actor is in every single Pixar movie.
    • The line when Woody said, "Oh, yeah? Well, good riddance, you looney!" is stock audio from Toy Story.
  • During the end credits, a small, tearful montage dedicated to the memory of the great and talented, Joe Ranft, who played the voices for Wheezy (singing his karaoke song in Toy Story 2), Heimlich saying, "Just go tell them the truth.", in A Bug's Life and Lenny saying, "Right here, Woody." in Toy Story, (who passed away not too long before the movie was finished production) appears.
    • It's even got a song to go with it in respect for the late actor.
  • A113 appears on Mater's number plate.

Other Trivia[]

  • The film was originally going to be released on October 6, 2005 but on November 28, 2004, Pixar changed the release date to June 23, 2006.
  • In the Hebrew dub of the film, Lightning McQueen's name is changed to Speedy McQueen. In the opening act when McQueen makes the joke about "Thunder comes after Lightning", it is changed to "Gonzales comes after Speedy", referencing the Looney Tunes character Speedy Gonzales.
  • Any other studio given a "car theme" for an animated feature might have created a cartoon. Not Pixar. To the animators and to the very young fans, the Cars stars aren't cartoon characters. "John Lasseter wanted a story in which the cars are in fact humans," says Scott Clark, supervising animator. "The doors don't open; you don't look inside their heads. They become humans; a human drama unfolds in front of you." Then the whole car's body becomes a 3,000-pound metal head on wheels. At the same time, Lasseter had another requirement, one born of the 3D medium in which they'd be working. "John's edict was 'truth to material'", Clark says. "So, on the one side is realism—we knew we could animate a car that looked believable. But, the car had to emote." So, the Cars characters couldn't be as caricatured as, say, Disney's short animation "Susie the Little Blue Coupe," but they had to come alive. "We do exaggerate," Clark says. "But because the medium has such dimensionality, a car doesn't get on its back tires and gesture with its front tires."
  • This is Pixar's final film to be an independently produced motion picture (to use the old animation like Toy Story) before Pixar was bought by Disney. Starting from Ratatouille, the Pixar films were made with newer animation and animation used on Disney films.
  • The tires of Lightning McQueen and other race cars are Lightyear tires, which alludes both to the tire manufacturer Goodyear and to Buzz Lightyear.
  • Chick Hicks's number (86) is a reference to the year Pixar was founded. Lightning McQueen's number (95) is a reference to the year Toy Story was released in the theaters.
  • Lightning McQueen's number was originally going to be 57, as a reference to the year John Lasseter was born, but was later changed to 95, as a reference to the year Toy Story came out.
  • During the introductory race, there is a white car with the Apple, Inc. logo.
  • Cars is the second Pixar film to have a post-credits sequence. The first is Finding Nemo.
  • At the tie-breaking race at the Los Angeles International Speedway, while three fighter jets pass over the stadium, Pixar Animation Studios can be seen among the nearby buildings, although the real studio is located at Emeryville, near San Francisco, and not at Los Angeles.
  • Ornament Valley, near Radiator Springs, is shaped like car hoods. The mountain range surrounding Radiator Springs is called Cadillac Range. The mountains are shaped like quarter panels of 50's Cadillacs, in reference to Cadillac Ranch.
  • The neon lights on top of the canopy at Flo's V8 Café fire in the same pattern as a 1932 Ford V8 Flathead.
  • On average, it took 17 hours to render each frame of the film. In addition, it was the first Pixar film to use ray-tracing to accurately create the reflections on the cars.
  • Cars was originally going to be called Route 66, which would make a lot of sense because of the location that the movie takes place in. The release title was chosen to avoid confusion with the 1960s TV series of the same name as the working title.
  • This is the first Pixar movie that used the word "hell". The second time was Ratatouille.
  • Lightning McQueen's initial frustrations with being in Radiator Springs, and then gradually warming up to the town as he learns about it later on, is strongly reminiscent of Dr. Joel Fleishman and his experiences in Cicely, Alaska, from the TV series Northern Exposure.
  • This is the only Cars film not to have either the opening or closing logo cuts in from black.
  • One of the cars in the first race is sponsored by 'Leak Less'. A bottle of 'Leak Less' fuel is seen in WALL•E.
  • Cars is the seventh Disney·Pixar feature film, and the final film by Pixar before it was bought by Disney. Starting from Ratatouille, the animation looked a little newer.
  • The film is also the second Pixar film to have an entirely non-human cast after A Bug's Life.
  • The plot of Cars bears a striking resemblance to that of Doc Hollywood.
  • Cars received a 74% "Certified Fresh" rating on the movie review website, Rotten Tomatoes. This is the third lowest rating ever given to a Pixar film, after its sequels Cars 2 and Cars 3, which got even lower ratings, 39% and 69% respectively.
  • Many famous people, particularly from the automobile racing world make a cameo appearance in Cars which include Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Mario Andretti, Michael Schumacher, Bob Costas, Darrell Waltrip, and Jay Leno; references to Arnold Schwarzenegger and Elvis Presley also appear, but not voiced by themselves. In fact, the latter certainly isn't as he died in 1977, long before Pixar was founded, while Arnold Schwarzenegger was still Governor during the year Cars was released and was about to run for re-election, which he eventually won.
  • This inspired Vídeo Brinquedo to make The Little Cars in the Great Race, a rip-off of this film, followed by more straight-to-DVD ripoffs like A Car's Life: Sparky's Big Adventure by Spark Plug Entertainment, The Autobots from China, CarGo by The Asylum, and Wheely: Fast and Hilarious by KRU Studios.
  • In the scene where the race announcers are talking about the popularity of the race, it says that the whole town of Emeryville is closed for the race. Emeryville is the location of the Pixar Studios.
  • In Lightning's dream about Lightning Storm, a car gets zapped and emits the Wilhelm scream. The Wilhelm scream is a sound effect used in many movies, including the original Star Wars film.
  • In the teaser trailer, there is a car sponsored by "Jumbo Pretzels". This is presumably the same company that was seen in A Bug's Life under the name "Jackson's Jumbo Pretzels."
  • All of the vehicles in the series appear to have their windows completely opaque and blanked out, and no convertibles nor any vehicles without roofs actually appear (the vehicles that do resemble convertibles always have their roofs up), and it's heavily implied that they all may not be hollow.
  • This is the last Pixar film to have a full screen format for its US home release. All Pixar films starting with Ratatouille to have a full screen format for its 4:3 prints.
  • This was the last Disney and Pixar movie, as well as the only Cars film, to be released on VHS, but it was a Disney Movie Club exclusive.
  • This film and Ratatouille were the first two Pixar films to be released on Blu-Ray and they got both released on the same day.
  • This was Joe Ranft's final film, since he died in a car accident the year before its release, while the film was still in production.
  • This is also the first Pixar movie to be released in June, as well as the first one to be released in summer.
  • Two other racing movies were released the same year Cars came out. The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift was released in June 23, 2006 which was 7 days after Cars was released. The movie focused on a teenager named Sean Boswell who goes to Tokyo to live with his father to avoid a jail sentence, and learns a new style of racing called drifting, which is in fact the move McQueen learns from Doc Hudson. Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby would later be released in August 4, 2006 which is two months after the release of Cars. The film also involves stock car racing and talks about a NASCAR driver who must get help from his father after being involved in a huge crash when a French F1 driver beats him.
    • In fact, the Cars Toons short Tokyo Mater would eventually be a spoof to The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.
  • 'Harry Potter' author J.K. Rowling mentions in the documentary J.K. Rowling: A Year in the Life that the movie Cars is amongst her daughter's favorite films.
  • This was the longest Pixar film in history with a runtime of 117 minutes (1 hour and 57 minutes) until 2018 with the release of Incredibles 2 which has a total runtime of 118 minutes (1 hour and 58 minutes).
  • This is the second Pixar film to use a cartoon sound effect after Finding Nemo; a metal hit sound effect (recycled from various animated TV shows containing Hanna-Barbera sound effects) is heard at the beginning of the film.
  • The opening race at Motor Speedway contains 60,000 cars seated in the audience while an additional 700 are in the infields and aisles. In comparison, the final race at Los Angeles International Speedway has 100,000 cars seated and 1,500 in the infields, plus an additional 13,000 entering the stadium to find seats.
  • This is the only Cars film not to have the main character appearing in a disguise for a moment of the film.
  • Lightning McQueen has fourteen different paint variants in the film, including his alternate paint jobs and different amounts of dirt.
  • For the scene when Mack is leaving Motor Speedway on the way to California, a total of 21,566 lights are used in four different shots.

Connections[]

Followed by[]

References[]

Spoofs[]

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