Cars Franchise

**Cars** is a Disney media franchise created by John Lasseter which began in 2006.

## History

The Cars franchise began with the original 2006 film. The film was Pixar's least well received by reviewers with a 75% on Rotten Tomatoes, until the sequel was released and received a 40%. Cars 3 received a 69%.

The short Mater and the Ghostlight was released as an extra on the Cars DVD on November 7, 2006. A series of shorts called Cars Toons were produced and aired on the Disney Channel to keep interest up. The brand had sold nearly $10 billion in merchandise by the time of its Cars 2's release in 2011.

In 2007, Cars Four Wheels Rally ride opened in Disneyland Paris.

In the summer of 2012, the 12-acre Cars Land theme area opened at Disney California Adventure in Anaheim as the main component of $1-billion park renovation.

On October 8, 2015, Disney and Pixar announced that Cars 3 would be released on June 16, 2017.

## Films

 Cars 2 | June 24, 2011
 Cars 3 | June 16, 2017

### Possible Sequel

Regarding a possible Cars 4, Cars 3 producers Kevin Reher and Andrea Warren told Cinema Blend that "If there's a good story to tell I mean our heads kinda break after having gotten this one done, like oh my God, what could you do the further adventures of? But like any sequel, from Toy Story to Incredibles, as long as there's a good story to tell, it's worth investing; we do love these characters, we love them as much as the public does." Regarding which character would be the main protagonist in the film, Reher and Warren stated that "if Cruz is a breakout character, kind of like Mater was", "she [would] be involved in a 4". Owen Wilson stated at a Cars 3 press event that possible stories have been discussed for a Cars 4, though he would personally like for a fourth Cars film to delve into aspects of the thriller genre, akin to Cars 2. In an interview with Screen Rant, Lea Delaria expressed interest in reprising her role as Miss Fritter while promoting the release of the short film Miss Fritter's Racing Skoool with the Cars 3 DVD and Blu-ray release.

On December 10, 2020, Pixar announced a new animated series based on Cars would be released on Disney+ in Fall 2022. The show will see Lightning McQueen and Mater traveling together on a road trip.

## Short Films

### 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 the United States on November 7, 2006. The short, set in the Cars world, tells a story of Mater being haunted by a mysterious blue light.

### Miss Fritter's Racing Skoool

Miss Fritter's Racing Skoool is a 2017 Pixar computer-animated short created for the Blu-ray, 4K Ultra HD and DVD of Cars 3, which was released in the United States on November 7, 2017. The short, set in the Cars world, follows the "blindsided testimonials from the Crazy 8's, touting the transformative impact Miss Fritter's Racing School has had in reshaping the direction of their lives".

### Unparalleled Parking

In December 2020, a short film titled Unparalleled Parking was announced to be airing on January 22, 2021, as part of Disney+'s Pixar Popcorn series. None of the characters speak in the show.

### Dancing with the Cars

In December 2020, a short film titled Dancing with the Cars was announced to be airing on January 22, 2021, as part of Disney+'s Pixar Popcorn series. No characters speak.

## Television Series

### Cars Toons

#### Cars Toons: Mater's Tall Tales

Mater's Tall Tales is a series of short animated films or Cars Toons featuring the characters Mater and Lightning McQueen from the Cars franchise. The first three shorts premiered in 2008 on Toon Disney, Disney Channel, and ABC Family. Not exclusive to television, the episodes have also been released on DVDs/Blu-rays or as a theatrical short. A total of eleven episodes have been released with "Time Travel Mater" (2012) being the most recent.

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 Lightning's sudden participation. The shorts end with Mater leaving the scene, often followed by characters or references to the story that was being told, suggesting that story might be real.

#### Cars Toons: Tales from Radiator Springs

Tales from Radiator Springs is a series of short animated films or Cars Toons. The first three two-minute episodes - "Hiccups", "Bugged", and "Spinning" - premiered on March 22, 2013, on Disney Channel, and have been available online since March 24, 2013. A fourth short in the series, titled "The Radiator Springs 500 ½", was released in spring 2014 on the digital movie service Disney Movies Anywhere. It premiered August 1, 2014, on Disney Channel. The short has a running time of 6 minutes rather than the usual two-minute running time.

### Cars on the Road

On December 10, 2020, Pixar announced on Disney Investors Day that an animated series starring Lightning McQueen and Mater traveling the country while meeting friends, new and old, was in development. It will be released on Disney+ in Fall 2022. On June 2, 2021, it was reported that 'Planes' characters would appear in the series. On November 12, 2021, it was announced that the show would be titled Cars on the Road, and that Owen Wilson and Larry the Cable Guy would reprise their respective roles as Lightning McQueen and Mater.

## Music

 Lightning McQueen's Fast Tracks | * Released: June 6, 2006
 Cars 2 | * Released: June 14, 2011
 The Music of Cars Land | * Released: July 9, 2012
 Cars 3 | * Released: June 16, 2017
* Label: Walt Disney Records

## Spin-offs

 Planes: Fire & Rescue | July 18, 2014
 Vitaminamulch: Air Spectacular | November 4, 2014

### Cancelled Projects

In July 2017 at the D23 Expo, John Lasseter announced that a third film in the Planes series would explore the future of aviation in outer space. The film had a release date of April 12, 2019. On March 1, 2018, it was removed from the release schedule. On June 28, 2018, Disneytoon Studios was shut down, ending development on the film.

In addition to a spin-off film in the Planes series about the future of aviation in outer space, the studio was also planning several more spin-off films featuring boats, trains and other vehicles, but those plans were never materialized due to the closure of Disneytoon Studios on June 28, 2018.

## Merchandise

The Mattel-produced 1/55 scale Toy Cars were some of the most popular toys of the 2006 Summer Season. Dozens of characters are represented, with some having multiple versions available. Several stores had trouble keeping the toys in stock, and some models are still difficult to find because of being shipped in lower numbers than other characters.

Some online Disney enthusiasts are comparing it to the same shortage that Mattel faced with its Toy Story line in 1995. On August 14, 2007, the die-cast Sarge car, made between May and July 2007, was recalled due to "impermissible levels of lead" used in the paint. Another Cars product which followed the Disney-Pixar Cars Die-Cast Line were miniature versions of the characters which were painted in different colours to represent different events called Mini Adventures. Also, Lego has sets for the sequels.

On June 22, 2006, Disney Consumer Products announced that Cars merchandise broke records for retail sales based on a Disney-Pixar product, recording 10-to-1 more volume than Finding Nemo. DCP reports that product expansion will take place in the fall alongside the DVD release of the film. Mattel has announced that Cars toys will continue through 2008 with the release of at least 80 new vehicles.

A 36 car pack called "Motor Speedway of the South" will feature most of the race cars seen during the opening race sequence of the film. (This is also the name for the track race in the film) Estimates from the New York Daily News indicate that sales of Cars merchandise two weeks out from the release of the film amounted to US$600 million. Estimates put out in November by the Walt Disney Company peg total sales for the brand at around $1 billion.

Kelley Blue Book, a resource for appraising values of vehicles, has humorously "appraised" four of the cars, Lightning McQueen, Mater, Sally Carrera, and Doc Hudson according to their make/model and personalities. The United States Department of Transportation has used scenes from the film in a commercial regarding the Click It or Ticket campaign.

In conjunction with the film's release, a chocolate ice cream on a stick resembling a car tire was released in Australia. These ice creams were called "Burnouts". The naming of the particular product sparked controversy as the name "Burnouts" was believed to have encouraged street racing and committing burnouts. These acts are illegal and heavy fines and convictions are issued to those committing these acts in Australia. It is unknown as to whether the products have been discontinued. In Norway, the candy company Nidar produced candy with the characters on the outer packaging and pictures of the characters on the packaging of the assorted candy on the inside. These bags also came with Cars themed tattoos.

In the U.S., an animated Walmart truck can be seen on a Walmart advertisements for Cars. In the Walmart TV commercial Mater was talking to the Walmart truck. In South Africa, Italy, and several other countries where Opel is present (or with Opel models under Chevrolet and Vauxhall brand), GM has a campaign featuring a General Motors Astra, an Opel Meriva, and a General Motors Zafira as characters in the world of Cars, including TV ads made by Pixar, with the Opel models interacting with Lightning McQueen, Mater and Ramone.

The first ad involved the Opels coming to Radiator Springs as tourists. The second involved their failed attempts at auditioning for Mater. In the end the Opels lost the part to the real Mater. In July 2006, greeting card giant Hallmark Cards unveiled its line of 2006 Keepsake Christmas ornaments. Among the collection was an ornament featuring Lightning McQueen and Mater. There is also a Cars children's clothing line, which produces various T-shirts and shorts.

In Japan, Disney Japan and Toyota backed racing team Cars Racing replaced its racing car "Toy Story apr MR-S" and introduced the "Lightning McQueen apr MR-S" for the 2008 Super GT season. The car was based on the Toyota MR-S and the externals of the car were modeled on its of McQueen as much as possible. This include their number change from their original No.101 to McQueen's #95. They won in Race 3 that season.

As of 2011, the Cars franchise has grossed over $10 billion in merchandise sales revenue.

### Video Games

In May 2007, the Cars video game was announced to be a "Platinum Hit" on the Xbox, "Greatest Hit" on the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable, and Player's Choice on the GameCube. Two sequels were released, Cars Mater-National Championship and Cars Race-O-Rama. A video game based on Cars 2 was developed by Avalanche Software and published by Disney Interactive Studios for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, PC, and Nintendo DS on June 21, 2011. The PlayStation 3 version of the game was reported to be compatible with stereoscopic 3D gameplay. In October 2014, Gameloft released Cars: Fast as Lightning, a customizable, city-building racing game for smartphone platforms.

## Reception

### Box Office

Earning over $1.7 billion, Cars, including its Planes spin-off films, is the tenth-highest grossing animated franchise.

In its opening weekend, the original Cars earned $60,119,509 in 3,985 theatres in the United States, ranking number one at the box office. In the United States, the film held onto the number one spot for two weeks before being surpassed by Click, and then by Superman Returns the following weekend. It went on to gross $461,983,149 worldwide (ranking number six in 2006 films) and $244,082,982 in the United States (the third-highest-grossing film of 2006 in the country, behind Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and Night at the Museum). It was the highest grossing animated film of 2006 in the United States, but lost to Ice Age: The Meltdown in worldwide totals.

Cars 2 has earned $191,452,396 in the United States and Canada, and $368,400,000 in other territories, for a worldwide total of $559,852,396. Worldwide on its opening weekend, it made $109.0 million, marking the largest opening weekend for a 2011 animated title.

## Awards and Nominations

See Also: List of Awards and Nominations Received by Cars

Cars had a highly successful run during the 2006 awards season. Many film critic associations such as the Broadcast Film Critics Association and the National Board of Review named it the best Animated Feature Film of 2006. Cars also received the title of Best Reviewed Animated Feature of 2006 from Rotten Tomatoes. Randy Newman and James Taylor received a Grammy Award for the song "Our Town", which later went on to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song (an award it lost to "I Need to Wake Up" from An Inconvenient Truth). The film also earned an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature, but it lost to Happy Feet. Cars was also selected as the Favorite Family Movie at the 33rd People's Choice Awards. Perhaps the most prestigious award that Cars received was the inaugural Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film. Cars also won the highest award for animation in 2006, the Best Animated Feature Annie Award. The film was also nominated for AFI's 10 Top 10 in the "Animation" genre.

**Films:** Cars | Cars 2 | Cars 3
**Short Films:** Mater and the Ghostlight | Miss Fritter's Racing Skoool | Unparalleled Parking | Dancing with the Cars
**Television:** Cars Toons | Cars on the Road
**Books:** Disney's Wonderful World of Reading
**Locations:** Radiator Springs