The Movies

Life is a Highway: The Enduring Appeal of Cars

When Cars was released in 2006, it marked Pixar's seventh feature film and a personal passion project for director John Lasseter. Set in a world populated entirely by anthropomorphic vehicles, the film was a departure from the toys, bugs, and monsters that had defined the studio. At its core, it’s a heartfelt story of redemption, a nostalgic ode to America's "Mother Road," Route 66, and a lesson that the journey is more important than the destination. While sometimes overshadowed by its critically lauded siblings like Toy Story or Up, Cars became a global phenomenon, launching one of the most successful merchandise franchises in history.

The Plot: A Detour to Redemption

The story follows Lightning McQueen, a hotshot, self-centered rookie race car. His entire world revolves around one thing: winning the coveted Piston Cup. After a spectacular race ends in a three-way tie between himself, the retiring champion Strip "The King" Weathers, and the conniving Chick Hicks, a tie-breaker race is scheduled in California. In his desperate rush to get there, McQueen pushes his long-suffering transporter, Mack, to drive through the night. A mishap on the interstate separates them, and a panicked McQueen gets lost, eventually ending up in the forgotten, dilapidated desert town of Radiator Springs on historic Route 66. After accidentally destroying the town's main road, he is sentenced by the town's stern judge, Doc Hudson, to repave it. McQueen's initial goal is to finish the job and leave as fast as possible. However, he slowly begins to form bonds with the town's quirky residents. He develops a deep friendship with the rusty, lovable tow truck Mater and falls for Sally Carrera, a Porsche who gave up her fast-paced life for the small-town community. His most significant relationship is with Doc Hudson, who he discovers is secretly the "Fabulous Hudson Hornet," a legendary three-time Piston Cup champion whose career was cut short by a crash. Doc sees his own arrogant past in McQueen and, at first, resents him for it. But as McQueen's character evolves—as he helps rebuild the town and learns to care for others—he earns Doc's respect. By the time the final race arrives, McQueen is a changed car. His friends from Radiator Springs come to act as his pit crew. In the final lap, Chick Hicks, in a desperate move, causes "The King" to crash violently. Poised to win, McQueen sees the wrecked champion and remembers Doc's story. In a stunning act of sportsmanship, he stops just short of the finish line and pushes The King across, allowing him to finish his last race. McQueen loses the cup, but he wins the respect of the entire racing world and, more importantly, finds a new family and home in Radiator Springs.

The Voices Behind the Vehicles

A key part of the film's charm comes from its perfectly-cast ensemble of voice actors:

• Paul Newman as Doc Hudson: In his final feature film role, the legendary actor gives a gravelly, wise, and deeply moving performance that anchors the film's emotional weight.
• Larry the Cable Guy as Mater: The comedian's iconic "git-r-done" persona made the simple, good-hearted tow truck an instant fan favorite.
• Bonnie Hunt as Sally Carrera: A Pixar regular, Hunt provides the intelligent, warm, and persuasive voice of the town's attorney.
• Michael Keaton as Chick Hicks: Keaton perfectly voices the bitter, mustached rival who will do anything to win.
• George Carlin as Fillmore: The legendary comedian voices the town's resident hippie, a VW bus who brews his own organic fuel.
• Cheech Marin as Ramone: The hydraulic-loving, custom-paint-job artist of the town.
• Richard Petty as Strip "The King" Weathers: The real-life NASCAR legend fittingly plays the sport's most respected champion.

The film also features cameos from other racing stars like Mario Andretti, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Michael Schumacher, as well as the hosts of NPR's Car Talk, Tom and Ray Magliozzi, as McQueen's sponsors, the Rust-eze brothers.

Fun Facts and Production Magic

• A Personal Journey: The film was inspired by a cross-country road trip John Lasseter took with his family in 2000. He was struck by the history and forgotten towns of Route 66, which became the heart of the film.
• In Memory of Joe: The film is dedicated to Joe Ranft, a beloved Pixar writer, story artist, and co-director on Cars, who tragically died in a car accident during production.
• Technological Leaps: Cars was the first Pixar film to use "ray tracing." This animation technique allowed the animators to create truly realistic reflections on the cars' metallic surfaces, a crucial detail that makes the world feel tangible. The process was so intensive that rendering a single frame of the film took an average of 17 hours.

Easter Eggs Galore:

• Lightning's racing number is 95, a nod to 1995, the year Toy Story was released.
• Mater's license plate is A113, the famous inside joke referring to the CalArts classroom where many Pixar animators studied.
• The tires on the race cars are "Lightyear," a double reference to Goodyear and Buzz Lightyear.

Box Office and Legacy: The film was a massive commercial success, earning over $461 million worldwide. But its true legacy is in its merchandise, which has generated billions of dollars, and its cultural impact, which sparked a renewed public interest in the real-life history of Route 66.

Cars 2 (2011)

A High-Octane Detour: The Global Espionage of Cars 2

Released in 2011, Cars 2 was a seismic shift from its predecessor. If the first Cars was a quiet, nostalgic ode to small-town America, Cars 2 was a loud, high-speed, globe-trotting spy thriller. Director John Lasseter returned, taking the characters he loved on a wild adventure inspired by classic espionage films. The film was a bold departure, moving the spotlight from Lightning McQueen to his lovable, rusty sidekick, Mater. While it became a box office titan and a merchandising juggernaut, it also earned a unique and controversial distinction: it was the first Pixar film to receive "rotten" reviews from critics, breaking the studio's legendary streak of universal acclaim. Despite the critical divide, the film is a visually spectacular, action-packed adventure that massively expanded the Cars universe.

The Plot:

The story begins not with racing, but with espionage. British super-spy Finn McMissile infiltrates a secret oil rig belonging to a cabal of "lemon" cars (like Gremlins and Pacers) led by the German-accented Professor Zündapp. They are in possession of a mysterious weapon, and McMissile is forced to fake his own death to escape. Meanwhile, a now four-time Piston Cup champion Lightning McQueen returns to Radiator Springs. His break is cut short when an arrogant Italian Formula 1 car, Francesco Bernoulli, goads him into competing in the first-ever World Grand Prix. This new, three-race event is hosted by former oil baron Sir Miles Axlerod, who is promoting his new, seemingly clean biofuel, "Allinol." McQueen agrees and brings his best friend Mater along as his new pit crew chief. They travel to their first race in Tokyo. At a pre-race party, Mater’s folksy antics inadvertently cause a scene, leading to a public falling-out with Lightning. While in a state of embarrassment, Mater is mistaken for a brilliant American spy by Finn McMissile and his tech-savvy, rookie field-agent partner, Holley Shiftwell. They are investigating a plot to sabotage the World Grand Prix, and they believe Mater is their only contact. Mater is suddenly, and confusingly, swept into a world of high-tech gadgets, secret meetings, and dangerous chases. As the Grand Prix moves from Tokyo to Italy and finally to London, the "lemon" cars use their weapon—an electromagnetic pulse ray disguised as a TV camera—to ignite the Allinol fuel in several racers' engines, making the new fuel look dangerously unstable. The climax occurs in London, where Finn and Holley realize the true villain isn't Professor Z, but the race's creator, Sir Miles Axlerod. He is the secret leader of the lemons and owns the world's largest untapped oil reserve. He created Allinol to fail spectacularly, aiming to scare the world away from alternative energy and back to his own oil. With a bomb strapped to him, Mater confronts Axlerod in front of the Queen, forcing him to confess and deactivate the bomb, saving Lightning and clearing Allinol's name. Mater is knighted for his bravery, and the spies and racers return to Radiator Springs for a final, friendly race.

New and Returning Voices

While much of the Radiator Springs cast returned, the film was defined by its new, star-studded additions:

• Larry the Cable Guy as Mater: No longer a sidekick, Mater is the film's main protagonist, driving the entire spy plot.
• Owen Wilson as Lightning McQueen: Wilson returns, but takes a supporting role in his own franchise, focusing on the racing plot and learning to appreciate his friend.
• Sir Michael Caine as Finn McMissile: The legendary actor lends his iconic, cool-as-ice voice to the suave, Aston Martin-inspired master spy.
• Emily Mortimer as Holley Shiftwell: She plays the brilliant, purple Jaguar sports car who serves as the "brains" of the spy operation and, improbably, Mater's love interest.
• John Turturro as Francesco Bernoulli: Perfectly cast as the arrogant, open-wheeled Italian rival to Lightning McQueen.
• Eddie Izzard as Sir Miles Axlerod: The British comedian voices the film's secretly villainous Land Rover.

The film also poignantly handled the 2008 passing of Paul Newman. Rather than recast the role of Doc Hudson, Pixar paid tribute to the actor by having the character pass away in the film's universe. The Piston Cup is renamed "The Hudson Hornet Piston Cup" in his honor. Similarly, following George Carlin's death, the role of Fillmore was respectfully recast, voiced by Lloyd Sherr.

Fun Facts and a Franchise Shift

• Critical Controversy: Cars 2 holds a 39% on Rotten Tomatoes, the first-ever "Rotten" score for a Pixar film. Critics felt the plot was convoluted and that the focus on Mater lost the emotional heart of the original. Audiences, however, were more favorable, giving it an "A-" CinemaScore.
• Box Office Success: Critiques had no effect on the bottom line. Cars 2 was a massive financial hit, grossing over $559 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing film in the Cars trilogy.
• "Car-ifying" the World: The animation team had a field day redesigning global landmarks. Highlights include London's "Big Bentley" (made of Bentley grilles), Paris's Eiffel Tower (based on a spark plug), and the "Pont des Arts" bridge (made of car leaf springs).
• Spy-Genre Inspiration: The film is a love letter to 1960s spy movies. Finn McMissile is a clear homage to James Bond's Aston Martin DB5, complete with gadgets, missiles, and even a submarine mode.

Easter Eggs:

• "Gastow's": A restaurant in the Paris scene is named "Gastow's," a car-themed version of "Gusteau's" from Ratatouille.
• The Incredimobiles: In the Radiator Springs drive-in, the movie marquee shows "The Incredimobiles," a nod to The Incredibles.

Cars 3 (2017)

A New Generation is Coming

After the globe-trotting spy caper of Cars 2, Pixar's 2017 entry, Cars 3, was a deliberate and celebrated return to the franchise's roots. This film is a more mature, reflective, and emotional story that closes the loop on its main character, mirroring the themes of the first film from a new perspective. If Cars (2006) was about a rookie learning humility, Cars 3 is about a veteran learning how to accept his own mortality and find a new purpose. It’s a story about mentorship, legacy, and the inevitable passage of time, serving as a poignant and fitting conclusion to Lightning McQueen’s racing arc.

The Story: Facing the Finish Line

The film finds Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) as the established elder statesman of racing. He and his fellow veterans are comfortable in their careers until a new rookie, Jackson Storm (Armie Hammer), shatters the status quo. Storm is a "next-gen" racer: sleek, arrogant, and trained on high-tech simulators. He isn't just faster; he represents an entirely new, data-driven era of the sport. As Storm and his next-gen peers begin to effortlessly dominate, McQueen's friends are forced into retirement, one by one. In a desperate attempt to keep up, McQueen pushes himself too hard and suffers a catastrophic, career-threatening crash—a scene that shocked audiences in the film's first teaser. Four months later, a recovering McQueen is isolated in Radiator Springs, afraid his career is over. His sponsor, Rust-eze, is bought by a new, tech-savvy owner, Sterling (Nathan Fillion), who wants to turn McQueen into a retired brand ambassador. McQueen, not ready to quit, makes a deal: if he can't win the first race of the new season, the Florida 500, he will retire. Sterling assigns him a high-energy trainer named Cruz Ramirez (Cristela Alonzo), who runs a state-of-the-art training facility. McQueen bristles at the simulators and Cruz's peppy-but-patronizing attitude. He fails to adapt, accidentally smashing the expensive simulator. Feeling lost, McQueen realizes he needs to get "his tires dirty" and find a new way to win. He and Cruz embark on a journey to find Doc Hudson's old crew chief, Smokey (Chris Cooper). They find him in Doc's hometown, along with other "living legends" who raced with the Fabulous Hudson Hornet. There, McQueen doesn't learn how to be faster than Storm—he learns that he can't be. Instead, he learns to be smarter, and he begins to mentor Cruz, who reveals she always had dreams of being a racer but was too intimidated to try. During the climactic Florida 500, McQueen starts the race. But after a mid-race pile-up, he looks at Cruz on the pit wall and realizes his purpose has changed. In a brilliant twist, he pulls into the pits, has his crew put his #95 on Cruz, and sends her in to finish the race for him. He becomes her crew chief, guiding her from the pits just as Doc guided him. Cruz, using McQueen's old-school tricks, battles Jackson Storm and wins the race. Because they both raced under the same number, Lightning is credited with the win, but he has found something more valuable. The film ends with McQueen, now painted in Doc's old "Fabulous" colors, joyfully training his new protégé, Cruz, bringing his story full circle.

The Garage: New and Returning Cast

Cars 3 succeeds by introducing a small, focused group of new characters while respectfully handling its returning cast.

The New Generation:

• Cristela Alonzo as Cruz Ramirez: The film's breakout star. Alonzo brings incredible energy, humor, and vulnerability to Cruz. The character's story was famously inspired by Alonzo's own journey as a comedian struggling to break into a male-dominated field.
• Armie Hammer as Jackson Storm: The perfect antagonist. Hammer voices Storm with a cold, dismissive, and tech-bro arrogance that makes him easy to despise.
• Chris Cooper as Smokey: The new "mentor" figure. Cooper provides the perfect blend of gravelly wisdom and tough love as the truck who trained a legend.
• Nathan Fillion and Kerry Washington also join as Sterling and statistics analyst Natalie Certain, respectively.

The Old Guard:

• Owen Wilson as Lightning McQueen: Wilson delivers his most nuanced performance as McQueen, capturing the frustration, fear, and ultimate grace of an aging athlete.
• Larry the Cable Guy as Mater: In a direct response to Cars 2 criticism, Mater is returned to his original role: a lovable, one-scene-at-a-time comic relief and loyal best friend, rather than the main protagonist.
• Bonnie Hunt (Sally), Tony Shalhoub (Luigi), and the rest of the Radiator Springs gang return in supportive roles.

Under the Hood: Production and Trivia

• A Poignant Tribute to Paul Newman: The film's emotional core is its connection to Doc Hudson. Paul Newman passed away in 2008, and director Brian Fee was adamant about not recasting the role. Instead, the team went through 28 hours of unused audio recordings of Newman from the Cars 1 sessions. They built the flashback scenes entirely around these salvaged lines, giving Doc's presence in the film an authentic and powerful sense of history.
• Critical Course-Correction: Cars 3 was a critical comeback. After Cars 2 became the first "Rotten" film in Pixar's history, Cars 3 was praised as a return to form, with critics lauding its emotional weight, mature themes, and stunning visuals.
• Mud, Glorious Mud: One of the film's biggest technical challenges was the "Crazy 8" demolition derby scene. Animators had to develop entirely new physics systems to realistically render the thick, splattering, and dynamic mud.