Cars (2006)

A hot-shot race-car named Lightning McQueen gets waylaid in Radiator Springs, where he finds the true meaning of friendship and family.

Directors:

John Lasseter, Joe Ranft (co-director)

Writers:

John Lasseter (original story by), Joe Ranft (original story by)

Stars:

Owen Wilson, Bonnie Hunt, Paul Newman

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 28 wins & 32 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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)

Storyline

While traveling to California for the dispute of the final race of the Piston Cup against The King and Chick Hicks, the famous Lightning McQueen accidentally damages the road of the small town Radiator Springs and is sentenced to repair it. Lightning McQueen has to work hard and finds friendship and love in the simple locals, changing its values during his stay in the small town and becoming a true winner.

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Plot Keywords:

car | car movie | route 66 | truck | tow truck | 

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Taglines:

The All-New 2006

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Genres:

Animation | Family

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Certificate:

G

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Pixar

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian Japanese Yiddish

Release Date:

9 June 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Route 66

Filming Locations:

Pixar Animation Studios - 1200 Park Avenue, Emeryville, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$120,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$60,119,509, 11 June 2006, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$244,082,982

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$461,981,126

Company Credits

Production Co:

Pixar Animation Studios, Walt Disney Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS DTS (Digital DTS Sound) Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The code title for this film, used during production, was "Surgery".

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Goofs

It is announced at the beginning of the Dinoco 400 that Chick Hicks has never managed to beat the King, even though he ties in points with him and McQueen in the season. Apparently, the announcers meant that Chick never won the Cup (which is true), and not that he never won an individual race. In fact, the announcers' exact words were: "And as always in the second place spot we find Chick Hicks." This can be interpreted either way.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Lightning McQueen: Okay, here we go. Focus. Speed. I am speed. One winner, forty-two losers. I eat losers for breakfast. Breakfast? Maybe I should have had breakfast? Brekkie could be good for me. No, no, no, focus. Speed. Faster than fast, quicker than quick. I am Lightning.

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Crazy Credits

The credits contain a dedication and retrospective of characters voiced by Joe Ranft, a Pixar writer who died in 2005.

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Alternate Versions

Since the movie has lines in Italian, the Italian release (where foreign movies are mostly dubbed) was handled with a twist. Luigi was dubbed with a slight Modena accent (the home town of Ferrari) and Guido was dubbed with a thick Modenese dialect. The Ferrari in the end of the movie has been dubbed by Michael Schumacher as in the original version (but of course in Italian, with some German accent). Giancarlo Fisichella makes a cameo. A nice coincidence: Marco Della Noce, who dubs Luigi, is an Italian comedian whose trademark act (several years before the release of Cars) was playing of the head mechanic of Ferrari, and includes some of the lines from this routine in the dubbing.

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Connections

Referenced in Mike & Mike: Episode dated 5 September 2016 (2016)

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Soundtracks

Sh-Boom
Written by James Edwards (as William Edwards), Carl Feaster, Claude Feaster, James Keyes, and Floyd McRae
Performed by The Chords
Courtesy of Atlantic Recording Corp.
By Arrangement with Warner Music Group Film & TV Licensing

User Reviews

Pixar has done it again.

I had my doubts. I knew that Pixar would fail this time around. No way were they going to pull this off for a seventh time.

I was very, very wrong.

I went to see a special screening of "Cars" a few weeks ago, and this movie blew me away. The animation is gorgeous, the story brings a smile to your face, and you can't help falling in love with all of the colorful characters. It definitely has that genuine Pixar "heart" that you rarely see in any other CGI film. At first I thought the movie would be centered around a lot of NASCAR-like racing, but it really wasn't, much to my surprise (and pleasure). This movie is definite Pixar gold. I absolutely loved it.

Although I don't want to give any spoilers away, I will say that my favorite scene would have to be when Mater drags McQueen out to do a bit of "Tractor Tipping". The whole theater was filled with laughter. Heck, it even got some laughs out of me, which is rare when it comes to a kid's movie.

Be there on opening night. This is movie is worth all of your time and money.