Cars

*Cars* is a 2006 American computer-animated comedy-adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Directed and co-written by John Lasseter from a screenplay by Dan Fogelman, it is Pixar's final independently-produced film before its purchase by Disney in May 2006

## Plot

In a world populated by anthropomorphic talking vehicles, the last race of the Piston Cup championship ends in a three-way tie between retiring veteran Strip "The King" Weathers, infamous runner-up Chick Hicks and rookie Lightning McQueen. The tiebreaker race is scheduled for one week later at the Los Angeles International Speedway in California. McQueen is desperate to win the race, since it would not only make him the first rookie to win a championship, but also allow him to leave the unglamorous sponsorship of Rust-Eze, a bumper ointment company, and allow him to take The King's place as the sponsored car of the lucrative Dinoco team. Eager to start practice in California as soon as possible, he pushes his big rig, Mack to travel all night long. While McQueen is sleeping, Mack drifts off, and is startled by a gang of four reckless street racers, causing McQueen to fall out the back of the trailer and onto the road. McQueen wakes in the middle of traffic and speeds off the highway to find Mack, but instead ends up lost in the run-down desert town of Radiator Springs, where he inadvertently ruins the pavement of its main road.

After being arrested, impounded overnight and guarded by a rusty yet friendly tow truck named Mater, McQueen is ordered by the town judge Doc Hudson to leave town immediately. However, the local lawyer Sally Carrera, requests that McQueen should instead be given community service to repave the road to which Doc reluctantly agrees. McQueen tries to repave the road in a single day but it turns out shoddy, forcing him to repave the road again. During this time, he befriends several of the cars and learns that Radiator Springs used to be a popular stopover along the old U.S. Route 66 but with the construction of Interstate 40 bypassing it, the town literally vanished from the map. McQueen also discovers that Doc is the "Fabulous Hudson Hornet", a three-time Piston Cup winner whose racing career ended after an accident in 1954 after which he was quickly forgotten by the sport. McQueen finishes repaving the road which has invigorated the cars to improve their town and spends an extra day in Radiator Springs with his new friends, before Mack and the media descend on the town led by a tip to McQueen's location. McQueen reluctantly leaves with the media to get to California in time for the race while Sally chastises Doc upon discovering that he had tipped off the media to McQueen's whereabouts, not wanting to be discovered by them instead.

At the Los Angeles International Speedway, McQueen's mind is not fully set on the race due to him missing Sally and his other new friends and he soon falls into last place. He is surprised to discover that Doc, who is decked out in his old racing colors, has taken over as his crew chief along with several other cars from Radiator Springs to help in the pit. Inspired and recalling tricks he learned from Doc and his friends, McQueen quickly emerges to lead the race into the final laps. But at the last minute Hicks (refusing to come behind Weathers again) side swipes Weathers and sends him into a dangerous spin, causing him to crash. Seeing this and recalling Doc's fate, McQueen stops just short of the finish line which allows Hicks to win and drives back to push Weathers over the finish line. The crowd and media condemn Hicks' victory but are nonetheless impressed with McQueen's good sportsmanship. Though offered the Dinoco sponsorship deal, McQueen declines by insisting on staying with Rust-eze as an appreciation of their past support. Back at Radiator Springs, McQueen returns to reunite with Sally and announces that he will be setting up his racing headquarters, thereby putting Radiator Springs back on the map.

## Cast

* Owen Wilson as Lightning McQueen, described by John Lasseter in the *Los Angeles Times* as "A hybrid between a stock car and a more curvaceous Le Mans endurance racer."[8]
* Paul Newman as Doc Hudson, a 1951 Hudson Hornet who is later revealed to be the Fabulous Hudson Hornet and is Newman's last non-documentary role before retirement in 2007 and death in 2008.
* Bonnie Hunt as Sally Carrera, a 2002 996-series Porsche 911 Carrera.
* Larry the Cable Guy as Mater, a 1951 International Harvester L-170 "boom" truck[9][10] with elements of a mid-1950s Chevrolet.[11] One-Ton Wrecker Tow Truck.
* Tony Shalhoub as Luigi, a 1959 Fiat 500.
* Cheech Marin as Ramone, a 1959 Chevrolet Impala Lowrider.
* Michael Wallis as Sheriff, a 1949 Mercury Club Coupe (police package).
* George Carlin as Fillmore, a 1960 VW Bus.
* Paul Dooley as Sarge, a 1941 Willys model jeep, in the style used by the US Military.
* Jenifer Lewis as Flo, a 1957 Motorama show car.
* Guido Quaroni as Guido, a custom forklift, resembling an Isetta at the front.
* Richard Petty as Strip "The King" Weathers, a 1970 Plymouth Superbird.
* Michael Keaton as Chick Hicks, described by Pixar as a generic 1980s stock car[11] resembling a 1978–88 General Motors G-Body such as a Buick Regal or a Chevrolet Monte Carlo.
* Katherine Helmond as Lizzie, a 1923 Ford Model T.
* John Ratzenberger as Mack, a 1985 Mack Super-Liner.
* Joe Ranft as Red, a 1960s style fire engine (most closely resembles a mid-1960s) and Jerry Recycled Batteries, the mean Peterbilt truck who Lightning McQueen mistakes for Mack while lost. These were Ranft's last two voice roles before his death in August 2005.
* Jeremy Piven (US) / Clarkson (UK) as Harv, Lightning McQueen's agent, never seen on-screen.
* Bob Costas as Bob Cutlass, a 1999 Oldsmobile Aurora, announcer for the Piston Cup races and friend of Darrell Cartrip.
* Darrell Waltrip as Darrell Cartrip, a 1977 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, Piston Cup announcer and friend of Bob Cutlass.
* Humpy Wheeler as Tex Dinoco, a 1975 Cadillac Coupe de Ville and owner of Dinoco.
* Lynda Petty as Lynda Weathers, Strip Weathers's wife.
* Dale Earnhardt Jr. as "Junior" #8.
* Michael Schumacher as Michael Schumacher Ferrari.
* Tom and Ray Magliozzi as Rusty and Dusty Rust-eze, a 1963 Dodge Dart and a 1967 Dodge A100 and the owners of Rust-eze.
* Richard Kind and Edie McClurg as Van and Minny, a 2003 Ford Windstar and a 1996 Dodge Caravan.
* Lindsey Collins and Elissa Knight as Mia and Tia, the identical twin 1992 Mazda MX-5 ("Miata") sisters.
* Mario Andretti as Mario Andretti #11.
* Sarah Clark as Kori Turbowitz.

## Critical Reception

*Cars* was met with positive reviews. Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 74% approval rating with an average rating of 6.9/10 based on 198 reviews. The site's consensus reads "*Cars* offers visual treats that more than compensate for its somewhat thinly written story, adding up to a satisfying diversion for younger viewers."[44] Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 top reviews from mainstream critics, calculated a score of 73 out of 100 based on 39 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews."[45] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.

## Sequels

Cars spawned two sequels: Cars 2 (2011) and Cars 3 (2017)