Cars is a CGI animated film series and Disney media franchise set in a world populated by anthropomorphic vehicles. The franchise began with the 2006 film, Cars, produced by Pixar and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The film was followed by a sequel in 2011. DisneyToon Studios produced a 2013 spin-off film Planes, and a 2014 sequel Planes: Fire & Rescue. The Cars films were directed by John Lasseter, the chief creative officer of Pixar, Walt Disney Animation Studios, and DisneyToon Studios. Lasseter executive produced the Planes films. Together, the two Cars films have accrued over $1 billion in box office revenue worldwide.
Film series[]
Cars (2006)[]
- Main article: Cars
Cars is the seventh of twelve films made by Disney and Pixar. The story is about rookie racecar Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson), who gets lost on the way to a tiebreaker race in the Piston Cup and ends up in a little town calledRadiator Springs on Route 66, that had since been forgotten because the Interstate was built. He accidentally wrecks the road and is sentenced to fix it. During his time, he goes tractor tipping with his new best friend Tow Mater (Larry the Cable Guy) and goes on a drive with his future girlfriend Sally Carrera (Bonnie Hunt). After McQueen fixes the road, Doc Hudson (Paul Newman) no longer wants him in town, so he calls the news crew to take McQueen to Los Angeles, but it doesn't take long for Doc to realize how much he's helped Radiator Springs, so he goes back to being the Hudson Hornet and becomes McQueen's crew chief, while most of the Radiator Springs folks become his pit crew. McQueen is about to win the race, but helps The King (Richard Petty) cross the finish line after Chick Hicks (Michael Keaton) crashes him and wins the Piston Cup after being in third on the last lap, but is booed by everyone as comeuppance. Despite his loss, Lightning is offered to be the new face of Dinoco, but he decides to stay with Rust-eze. He does, however, arrange for Mater to ride in the Dinoco helicopter just like McQueen promised. The film ends with McQueen setting up his racing headquarters in Radiator Springs, thereby putting it back on the map.
Cars 2 (2011)[]
- Main article: Cars 2
Cars 2 is the twelfth film from Disney and Pixar. The story is about Lightning McQueen competing in the first World Grand Prix, a three-part race set in Japan, Italy and England that'll determine the world's fastest racecar. His rival in the race is Italian Formula One car, Francesco Bernoulli (John Turturro). Along the way, Mater is mistaken for a spy by British spy car, Finn McMissile (Michael Caine) and falls in love with McMissile's assistant Holley Shiftwell (Emily Mortimer). The three of them uncover a plot to sabotage the race led by Professor Zündapp (Thomas Kretschmann) and a group of lemon cars, including Grem (Joe Mantegna) and Acer (Peter Jacobson). When the race reaches its conclusion in England, Mater figures out that Miles Axlerod (Eddie Izzard) is the mastermind behind the plot to sabotage the race, since he started it in the first place and had intended for cars everywhere to run on oil as revenge for the lemons' reputation as being "history's biggest loser cars," implying that Axlerod is also a lemon. With the plot foiled and the villains defeated, Mater is knighted by the Queen of England (Vanessa Redgrave) and a new race is held in Radiator Springs. Mater is offered to join McMissile and Shiftwell on another mission, but he chooses to stay. He does, however, get to keep the rocket engines he acquired as the two agents take off in Siddeley (Jason Isaacs), the British spy jet.
Cars 3 (2017)[]
- Main article: Cars 3
- Cars 3 is the third film from Disney and Pixar.
- Michael Wallis, the voice of Sheriff and a Route 66 consultant for the first two films, said in August 2013 in an interview with WGBZ radio that Pixar will make a third film in the series, which will go back to Route 66 and will also include Route 99.
At the Disney shareholders meeting in March of 2014, Disney CEO and chairman Bob Iger confirmed that Pixar is in pre-production on the third Cars film.
Television series[]
- Main article: Cars Toons
Mater's Tall Tales[]
Mater's Tall Tales is a series of short animated films or Cars Toons by Pixar featuring the characters Mater andLightning McQueen from the film Cars. The first short premiered in 2008 on Disney Channel, Toon Disney andABC Family. Not exclusive to television, the episodes have also premiered on DVDs/Blu-rays, or as a theatrical short. A total of 11 episodes have been released, with Time Travel Mater (2012) being the latest.
All shorts in the series follow the same tall tale formula: Mater tells a story of something he has done in the past. When Lightning questions Mater over whether the events in the story actually occurred (or, in some episodes, asks him what he did next), Mater always claimed that Lightning was also involved, and continues the story including McQueen's sudden (and usually unwilling) participation. The shorts end with Mater leaving the scene, often followed by characters or references to the story that was being told, suggesting the story might be real.
Tales from Radiator Springs[]
Tales from Radiator Springs is a series of two-minute short animated films or Cars Toons. The first three episodes - Hiccups, Bugged and Spinning premiered on March 22, 2013 on Disney Channel, and have been available online since March 24, 2013.
Short films[]
Mater and the Ghostlight[]
- Main article: Mater and the Ghostlight
Mater and the Ghostlight is a 2006 Pixar computer-animated short created for the DVD of Cars, which was released on October 25, 2006 in Australia and in the United States on November 7, 2006. The short, set in theCars world, tells a story of Mater being haunted by a mysterious blue light.