Cars (2005 Film) (It's A Brighter Millennium Dawn)

The storyboard of Cars (2005) would be from 1999 to 2002 and the CGI would be from 2003 to 2004. Cars is a 2005 computer-animated film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures directed by John Lasseter and co-directed by Joe Ranft. It was the seventh Disney/Pixar feature film, and the continues to movie produced by Pixar in January 2005. The soundtrack of the film features music by Sheryl Crow, Rascal Flatts, James Taylor, Brad Paisley, Chuck Berry, and John Mayer, as well as an original soundtrack by Randy Newman. Set in a world populated entirely by anthropomorphic cars and other vehicles, it features the voices of Owen Wilson, Paul Newman (in his last film role), Bonnie Hunt, Larry the Cable Guy, Tony Shalhoub, John Ratzenberger, George Carlin, Jenifer Lewis, Cheech Marin, Richard Petty, and Michael Keaton as well as cameos by several celebrities, such as Jeremy Clarkson.

## **Plot**

In a world populated by anthropomorphic vehicles during the last race of the 2005 Piston Cup Season and championship at the Motor Speedway of the South, a skilled but arrogant rookie racecar, Lightning McQueen, has overtaken his opponents, avoided a huge wreck, and built up a huge lead over the cup's defending reigning (but soon retiring) seven-time reigning champion, Strip "The King" Weathers, and perennial runner-up Chick Hicks. However, because of his refusal to make regular pit stops and get new tires, his rear worn tires blow out on the final lap, forcing him to skid and ultimately crawl to the finish line, barely managing to tie the King and Chick in a photo finish by sticking his tongue out at the finish line. Race officials announced that because the three racers are also tied in overall season points they will compete in one final tiebreaker race to be held at the Los Angeles International Speedway in one week to determine the champion.

While traveling down Interstate 40 to California, Lightning becomes separated from Mack, his transport truck, and while trying to catch up becomes lost on U.S. Route 66, catching the attention of the local Radiator Springs Sheriff in the process. A chase ensues, during which Lightning crashes and gets tangled in wires, damaging part of the town's main street in the process.

Lightning is taken to traffic court, where the town's attorney, Sally Carrera, pleads and defends against Lightning. He is sentenced to repave the road using "Bessie", an asphalt-laying machine. Only interested in leaving and extremely furious, he makes an escape attempt before being hooked up, only to discover that his gas was siphoned. Lightning rushes through his first day of paving after hearing that Chick Hicks arrived first to practice for the tiebreaker, and the new road surface is so bumpy, unusable, uneven, and poorly splattered that he is instructed to scrape it off and start over again.

When Doc Hudson offers Lightning a deal ― beat Doc in a race around Willy's Butte and he is free to go ― Lightning eagerly accepts. He leaves Doc in the dust at the starting line, but loses control on the loose dirt turn and crashes into a cactus patch. While the town's tow truck, Mater, hauls Lightning out of the cactus patch in which he landed, Doc effortlessly cruises to the finish line after taunting Lightning by saying that he races like he fixes roads, in a lousy way. Lightning is forced to scrape off the botched pavement and start over again.

As the ensuing days pass, Lightning is disturbed by visions of Chick Hicks winning the Piston Cup and landing Dinoco. He starts to befriend the town's residents and learn more about the town’s history in the process: how Radiator Springs was once a thriving town until completion of the nearby interstate bypassed the little town, depriving it of its business traffic and visitors (and ironically, depriving those passing visitors of the natural beauty found in the scenery along the old highway); how Sally left behind her wealthy yet unhappy life as an urban lawyer; what "tractor tipping" (a parody of cow tipping) is; and how Doc Hudson was once a famous racecar himself (the "Hudson Hornet") ― and 3-time Piston Cup champion ― until a horrible crash in 1954 ended his racing career.

Doc bitterly refuses to reveal much more about his past (despite Lightning witnessing him expertly drifting through the loose dirt of Willy's Butte where Lightning crashed), labeling his old trophies as "a bunch of empty cups".

By the time Lightning finishes repaving Radiator Springs's main road, he has formed a bond with the town and its residents. Rather than immediately leaving for California (as he had initially been eager to do), he spends the day touring the town's businesses, receiving a fresh coat of paint and new tires in the process, making him feel like a new customer and resident, and participates in a cruise party that night. But he is suddenly found by the press, then whisked away in his truck, Mack, without even a chance to bid farewell to Radiator Springs. The town's residents are sad to see him leave, and Sally is angry to learn that it was Doc who ultimately informed the media of Lightning's whereabouts and calls him out for his selfishness.

The final race among Lightning, The King, and Chick opens with what the race's commentators call the "biggest race in history." Lightning is distracted by his memories of Radiator Springs, losing time to The King and Chick Hicks, and begins to fear he will simply lose. But to his surprise, Doc Hudson has arrived at the race, with Mater and a few others from Radiator Springs to support and serve him as his pit crew; Doc, once again wearing his original "Hudson Hornet" racing stripes, takes over as McQueen's crew chief. With Doc's coaching, a record-fast pit stop for new tires, and a few tricks learned from the small town's inhabitants, Lightning is not only able to overtake his opponents but has built a considerable lead by the last lap.

As Lightning approaches the finish line, Chick sideswipes The King in a desperate attempt to avoid finishing behind him yet again, sending The King into a dangerous rollover crash. Lightning, fearing that The King's racing career will end in the same way the Hudson Hornet's did, comes to a full stop right before the finish line. After Chick gleefully crosses the finish line, Lightning then backtracks to push the veteran racer across the finish line ahead of him, saying that "I think The King should finish his last race". Although Chick Hicks has officially won the Piston Cup, he begins to learn that it is a hollow victory as he is jeered and despised for taking out The King with his harsh actions, while Lightning is hailed a hero for his good sportsmanship. Tex from Dinoco, The King's sponsor company, offers to support Lightning as his new sponsor; but Lightning, now having a change of heart, respectfully declines, saying that his current sponsor Rust-eze gave him his "big break," and he wanted to continue with them.

Two days after the race, Lightning returns to Radiator Springs, announcing that he will establish his permanent racing headquarters there. This helps revitalize the town and draw back visitors and tourists, with the once-abandoned Route 66 being reclassified as "Historic Route 66."

In a post-credits scene, a minivan couple named Van and Minny, who earlier asked the people in Radiator Springs for directions to the interstate despite Van constantly declining, are shown still wandering in the desert all tired, dirty, and weary with Minny desperately complaining Van to ask for directions, and in his insanity, he still declines and thinks an off-road ramp is close by to them.

## **Trivia**

* Even with a farm of computers that ran four times faster than the ones used for The Incredibles (2004), and 1,000 times faster than the ones used for Toy Story (1995), each frame of this movie took an average of 17 processor hours to render.
* This was Paul Newman's last feature film before his death of lung cancer in 2008. It turned out to be the highest-grossing movie of his career. George Carlin died of heart failure three months earlier. This was the highest-grossing film of his career as well.
* The Doc Hudson character is based on real-life NASCAR pioneer Herb Thomas, who drove Hudson Hornets to Grand National championships in 1951 and 1953. He was beaten out for the title in 1954 by Lee Petty, father of Richard Petty ("The King"). Crashes in 1955 and 1956 effectively ended Thomas' career.
* The last Pixar film to be released on VHS, and the first to be released on Blu-ray.
* Paul Newman considered his performance as Doc to be the best he'd done since The Verdict (1982). Newman was known as a skilled racecar driver, owner, and enthusiast.
* The production wanted to use a little-known version of the song "Route 66" by Chuck Berry, which had appeared on the B-side of one of his singles. They approached Berry's record company, who didn't know anything about such a version. After they trawled through their record vaults, they realized that Pixar was right.
* Luigi's license plate reads 445-108, which is the latitude and longitude for the main Ferrari factory in Modena, Italy.
* When the film was released on DVD, five million copies sold in two days.
* The Michael Schumacher Ferrari, voiced by Michael Schumacher, speaks Italian to Guido, saying, "Spero che il tuo amico si riprenda. Mi dicono che siete fantastici." This translates to "I hope your friend recovers. I was told that you are fantastic."
* Instead of making the cars' headlights the eyes, as is done in most cartoons, the Pixar animators decided to put the eyes up on the windshield, because that made the characters more expressive. This idea was largely influenced by the Disney cartoon Susie the Little Blue Coupe (1952), one of writer and director John Lasseter's favorites.
* The continues to movie produced by Pixar in January 2005.
* Lightning McQueen, being a first-year "Piston Cup" racer, displays the traditional yellow "rookie stripe" on his rear bumper.
* The Rust-eze brothers are played by real-life brothers Tom Magliozzi and Ray Magliozzi. They were the hosts of Car Talk, a Radio Hall of Fame show, and used the catchphrase "Don't drive like my brother!" to close the show.
* The continues to Pixar film worked on by Joe Ranft, he is never died in a car crash is never occured in 2005. The film is continues to work in the animation business, as are Tim Burton's Corpse Bride (2005) and Sony Animation's first film Open Season (2006), he designed characters on that film.