Official DisneyPixars Cars 2 thread: BluRay/DVD Out 11/1 (Updated 10/26 Post #141)

Mouse Skywalker · May 4, 2011

Mouse Skywalker · May 4, 2011

Mouse Skywalker · May 4, 2011

Mouse Skywalker · May 5, 2011

The Queen (voice of Vanessa Redgrave)

Mouse Skywalker · May 11, 2011

“CARS 2” LOCKS STAR MUSICIANS FROM U.S., U.K., FRANCE AND JAPAN

Michael Giacchino is photographed on April 6, 2011 in Burbank, Calif. Ph: Deborah Coleman ©Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

Composer Michael Giacchino, Performers Weezer, Brad Paisley and Robbie Williams, French Sensation Bénabar and Japanese Girl Band Perfume

Help Bring Global Adventure to Life

From Walt Disney Studios:

BURBANK, Calif. (May 10, 2011) – Fully loaded with global locales, fast-paced racing, international espionage and a touching tale of friendship, “Cars 2” also features an amped up score by Oscar® and GRAMMY®-winning composer Michael Giacchino, plus music from alternative rock legends Weezer, country music hitmaker Brad Paisley, bestselling British singer/songwriter Robbie Williams, French superstar Bénabar and the power pop Japanese girl band Perfume. The international lineup puts the tune in tune-up as the “Cars” characters hit the road on a worldwide tour full of epic adventure.

The Cars 2 scoring session with Michael Giacchino, seen here Director John Lasseter talking to musicians, at Warner Bros Studios on April 6, 2011 in Burbank, Calif. Ph: Deborah Coleman ©Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

“Cars 2” is the fourth Pixar feature score for Giacchino, who has previously composed the music for “The Incredibles,” “Ratatouille,” and “Up,” along with half a dozen short films from the Studio. “Michael is doing such a cool score for the film,” says director John Lasseter. “We did not want to do a typical spy movie score. We wanted it to be something very different–a whole new approach.”

“John [Lasseter] knows the story,” says Giacchino. “He knows what his characters need and what they want. That’s how to discuss music—in emotions. If Mater is feeling left out, I can translate that into music. I love working with the people at Pixar because they all talk in terms of story and that’s how I love to work.”

Giacchino also wrote a French song called “Mon coeur fait vroum,” (“My Heart Goes Vroom”) which is sung for the film by the popular and admired French singer/songwriter Bénabar, providing a musical introduction to Paris. The lyrics for the song are by Giacchino and Scott Langteau with French adaptation by Boualem Lamhene. Bénabar’s self-titled album, released in 2001, launched a phenomenally successful singing career. In 2006, his album, “Reprise de Negociations,” was a top seller in Europe, and led to several major music industry awards the following year.

Providing their own unique take on the 1984 pop hit, “You Might Think” (written by Ric Ocasek and originally performed by The Cars) is the chart-topping, multi-platinum-selling American alternative rock band Weezer. Weezer burst on the scene in 1992, and has produced nine albums to date. “The song is going to play in the scene where Lightning McQueen and Mater go to Japan,” says Weezer’s Brian Bell, “which is great for us because it sort of mirrors our experiences in Japan—there was a little bit of culture shock.”

Bell says the band was surprised at the complexity of the song. “When we really dug deep into the song, we saw the genius of the arrangement and how all these relatively simplistic parts worked together to create this amazing fabric of sound.”

Multiple GRAMMY®-winning country superstar and Country Music Association Entertainer of the Year Brad Paisley, who was a major contributor to the first “Cars” soundtrack with the songs “Behind the Clouds” (written with Frank Rogers) and “Find Yourself,” returns with two new songs for “Cars 2.” Says Lasseter, “Brad and I became close friends during the making of ‘Cars.’ For ‘Cars 2,’ he and Robbie [Williams] have teamed up to do this really cool rock ‘n roll song. It’s something very different from what Brad normally does, but he and Robbie have created a fantastic song that captures the friendship of McQueen and Mater over the end credits.” Adds Paisley, “The song is a rock vocal event with one of the most talented people I’ve ever met, Robbie Williams. It was John’s idea to bring these two worlds together – combining the English and American takes on music. We’re both out of our comfort zone, seeing what happens when you’re forced into going new places, which is really what ‘Cars 2’ is about. It’s totally parallel to the story.”

The song, “Collision of Worlds,” is written and performed as a duet with Paisley and Williams, the talented, award-winning singer/songwriter who has achieved incredible fame as a solo performer and as a member of the group Take That. Williams has sold more than 57 million albums worldwide, and is one of Britain’s all-time top selling recording artists. “It’s an international kind of song that’s inspired very much by the film–it wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the story,” says Williams. “Brad turned up with his guitar and a basic understanding of what he wanted the song to sound like. He played me a few chords and we noodled and twiddled our way into forming this song. It’s back and forth colloquialisms between two different countries speaking the same language and not understanding each other—until now.”

A second song, “Nobody’s Fool,” is written and performed by Paisley. “It’s inspired by the most heartbreaking scene in the movie,” says Paisley. “Mater realizes that everybody thinks he’s playing the fool and he becomes sort of enlightened and realizes that he’s not playing the fool—he is one. But Mater realizes he is who he is and that was inspiring to me.”

Japanese girl band Perfume’s hit single “Polyrhythm” will also be featured in the film when Lightning and Mater attend the World Grand Prix opening night gala in Tokyo.

“Cars 2”—the music and the movie—races into theaters on June 24, 2011. The soundtrack from Walt Disney Records will be available June 14.

Mouse Skywalker · May 12, 2011

New Cars 2 trailer has been released, and can be found via the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lg5hj2c5Nkk&feature=youtu.be

Mouse Skywalker · May 12, 2011

Follow the link below to watch a clip of Mater struggling with the intricacies of the Japanese bathroom...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVo5SkO99LE&feature=player_profilepage

Mouse Skywalker · May 12, 2011

Crabby (voice by Sig Hansen)

Mouse Skywalker · May 13, 2011

Walt Disney Studios provided us with the following:

AN INTERVIEW WITH…

John Lasseter Ph: Deborah Coleman ©Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

JOHN LASSETER (Director) is a two-time Academy Award®-winning director and creatively oversees all films and associated projects from Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios. Lasseter wrote, directed and animated Pixar’s first short films, including “Luxo Jr.,” “Red’s Dream,” “Tin Toy” and “Knick Knack.” He executive-produced all of the studio’s subsequent shorts, including “Boundin’,” “One Man Band,” “Lifted,” “Presto,” “Partly Cloudy,” “Day & Night,” and the Academy Award-winning “Geri’s Game” (1997) and “For the Birds” (2000).

Lasseter made his feature directorial debut in 1995 with “Toy Story,” for which he received a Special Achievement Oscar®. He went on to direct “A Bug’s Life,” “Toy Story 2” and “Cars.” His executive-producing credits for Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios include “Monsters, Inc.,” “Finding Nemo,” “The Incredibles,” “Ratatouille,” “WALL•E,” “Bolt,” “Up,” “The Princess and the Frog” and “Tangled,” as well as Pixar’s most recent Academy Award® winner for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song, “Toy Story 3.” He is also executive producer of this summer’s “Winnie the Pooh” from Walt Disney Animation Studios.

“Cars 2” marks his highly anticipated return to the director’s chair.

In 2009, Lasseter was honored at the 66th Venice International Film Festival with the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement. In 2010, he became the first producer of animated films to receive the Producers Guild of America’s David O. Selznick Achievement Award in Motion Pictures. Lasseter’s other recognitions include the 2004 Outstanding Contribution to Cinematic Imagery award from the Art Directors Guild, an honorary degree from the American Film Institute, the 2008 Winsor McCay Award from ASIFA-Hollywood for career achievement and contribution to the art of animation, and $15 from the Model Grocery Market in Whittier, Calif., in 1961 for a drawing of the Headless Horseman.

Lasseter was part of the inaugural class of the Character Animation program at California Institute of the Arts and received his B.F.A. in film in 1979.

©Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

THE WORLD OF “CARS 2”

How did it feel revisiting the world of “Cars”?

JL: Making “Cars 2” has been a blast. “Cars” and “Cars 2” are extremely personal for me. My father was a parts manager at a Chevrolet dealership. I’m a car guy.

You know, I read every car magazine every month. I love that. I loved the characters and the world that we created in “Cars.” They are near and dear to my heart. I always say that I have the greatest job in the world, and directing “Cars 2” made it even more fun. I didn’t think my job could get more fun, but it did. Pixar is a filmmaker-led studio and all the films and story ideas come from each director and each group of filmmakers and they’re very personal in the way that it comes from your own life. We make the kind of movies we like to watch. And I’m a big kid. I wear Hawaiian shirts all the time and I’ve discovered I don’t have to grow up. I like to put that in the movies, too. We’ve had so much fun making this film.

What prompted you to make a sequel?

JL: At Pixar, we will only do a sequel if we have a great story idea and we always strive to be different than the original. If you look at all three “Toy Story” movies, they’re completely different in theme from one another, but they all take place in Andy’s room and around the world of the toys. What’s so different about this movie is that the world of “Cars 2” is as big as the world that you and I live in.

This movie is vastly different than “Cars” in nearly every way, yet it’s still a part of the world of “Cars.” That’s what made it so much fun. The settings all over the world, the glitz, the glamour, the cool hipness of the European cities and Japan, the whole spy genre, the type of racing that they do, the type of race cars that are there. Everything about it was cool.

©Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

Continued in next post...

Mouse Skywalker · May 13, 2011

TELLING THE STORY

©Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

How did you come up with the story of “Cars 2”?

Taking Mater Overseas

JL: The story of “Cars 2” was sparked by the idea of taking Lightning McQueen and Mater overseas. As I was traveling around the world doing publicity for “Cars,” I had cars as characters on the brain. I was constantly laughing to myself when I was in all these different countries, imagining what Mater would do in these different and foreign situations. When I was in Paris, I’d imagine, how would Mater maneuver around the giant roundabouts around the Arc de Triomphe? No signals and no lane lines. How would Mater handle driving on the wrong side of the road in London? What would Mater do being lost in the maze of streets in Tokyo, with no street signs in English? How would Mater handle Italy, where the traffic signals there are just a mere suggestion? I just kept thinking about all these things and kept laughing to myself. It was fun imagining these characters in these new situations.

This experience served as one of the inspirations for “Cars 2.” Lighting McQueen is invited to compete in the World Grand Prix to race against the fastest cars in the world in three fantastic locations: Japan, Italy and the U.K. Of course Mater, who has never left Radiator Springs, is completely out of place in these iconic international cultures, which leads to hilarious comedic moments.

But the World Grand Prix is just the setting for our real story: Mater is unknowingly embroiled in a case of international espionage! “Cars 2” is also a real spy movie with state-of-the-art gadgets, thrilling action and a cast of new and exciting characters like British agents Finn McMissile and Holley Shiftwell, and great car villains. It's totally different and so much fun.

©Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

Finn McMissile: Secret Agent

JL: During “Cars,” we were developing a sequence in which Lightning McQueen was going to take Sally, the Porsche, on a first date. And it was going to be at a drive-in movie, because that’s very car oriented. Then we thought, ‘what movie is playing?’ I love spy movies and I thought it would be so much fun to see what a spy movie would be in the car world. We came up with this character named Finn McMissile who was going to be starring in this little movie-within-a-movie. And so even though the sequence changed and Lightning and Sally went cruising on their first date instead, I never forgot the idea of Finn McMissile and the spy movie. I thought, ‘There’s a lot of potential there.’

This is not a parody of a spy movie. This is a spy movie, but with cars as characters. It’s a different genre that gives us an opportunity to play with so many gadgets. The little boy in me came out in this movie more than any other movie. Let’s have fun with this world. Let’s have fun with these gadgets.

continued in next post...

Mouse Skywalker · May 13, 2011

©Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

How does the friendship between Lightning McQueen and Mater evolve in “Cars 2”?

JL: Lightning McQueen and Mater have this deep friendship and it’s the emotional core of this movie. This special friendship gets tested in a very different and interesting way. It’s about how the strength of a friendship can be tested. What may be solid in one place can appear much different in another. Put a friendship to the test under a different set of circumstances and in a different setting—how true and deep is this friendship, really?

Mater is such a special character; he’s honest and completely straightforward and tells it exactly like it is. He’s just fun and loveable. When a character as innocent as that discovers that people are not laughing with him, like he’s always thought his entire life, but laughing at him, it’s absolutely heartbreaking to see him become immediately and more realistically aware, and learn the truth about himself—or what he thinks is the truth about himself. It’s very touching because through his own journey, his friendship with Lightning McQueen is eventually made even stronger. They both realize that, you know what? Mater is who he is, and it’s not Mater who has to change, it’s the world that should change.

©Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

How does 3D elevate “Cars 2”?

JL: I love 3D probably more than any other director. I took my wedding pictures in 3D! Our short film “Knick Knack” that we made in 1989 was made in 3D before there were any 3D theaters out there. And I always felt our medium of computer animation is perfectly matched to it.

“Cars 2,” it’s really made with 3D in mind. And 3D for a Pixar film is not about all the coming-at-you stuff, it’s just about making the world that much more believable and immersive, like a window into that world. You get invested in it. And I think that when you see “Cars 2” in 3D, there is so much thought put into the elements – things are very reflective, to make it very glitzy and glamorous and sexy and cool. But it’s also thought out, because the lighting adds a tremendous amount of depth in 3D. Wet streets, shiny cars, shiny buildings. It’s like, wow!

continued in next post...

Mouse Skywalker · May 13, 2011

STAR CARS

John Lasseter Ph: Deborah Coleman ©Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

How do you relate to the “Cars 2” characters?

JL: There’s a little bit of me in the “Cars” characters like Lightning McQueen—the first story was really about me discovering that the journey in life is the reward. Working, working, working, working and meanwhile, I have five sons—so I learned to slow down and enjoy living every day to its fullest.

On this movie, I relate to Mater. During our first research trip for “Cars 2,” Brad Lewis and I went over to the Italian Grand Prix in Milan. The Red Bull Formula 1 racing team was so generous and showed us everything. We were invited to the Red Bull party at the Milan Museum of Modern Art. I thought, ‘this will be fun.’ So I got dressed up like I normally do [in a Hawaiian shirt], and I walk in and it’s Milan. It’s the home of Armani. It’s like modern art and I walked in and I felt like Mater. Both of my parents are from Arkansas and my dad still speaks with a pretty thick accent—so I could kind of relate.

©Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

Who is Finn McMissile’s counterpart?

JL: Finn has a new partner—an analyst on her first field assignment, secret agent car Holley Shiftwell, and she is voiced by the amazing Emily Mortimer. Holley is one of the most beautiful cars you've ever seen. She, where Finn is old school, is very high-tech, sleek, sophisticated and state-of-the-art.

©Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

Who is Francesco Bernoulli?

JL: He’s not just any formula car. He’s the star from Italy, Francesco Bernoulli. He is so full of himself—he’s an open-wheel car and in the car world, an open-wheel car is like those guys who barely button their shirts. He talks about himself in the third person. Voicing Francesco Bernoulli is John Turturro and he hit it out of the park. It’s one of the most entertaining characters we’ve ever created.

interview concludes in next post...

Mouse Skywalker · May 13, 2011

PERSONAL PASSION

What are your car credentials?

JL: My father, Paul Lasseter, was a parts manager at a Chevrolet dealership all of my life. When I was a little kid, I would go help them count parts for inventory. In high school, I would work summers and weekendsI became a parts delivery boy. That was the muscle-car era and I was a fanatic for them during the early 70s.

©Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

My dad got a 69 Chevelle station wagon with the towing package. You could tow a trailer, but you could also burn rubbereven with an automatic transmissiondown an entire block with this thing. My parents had no idea that they had just handed the keys to one of the hottest cars in Whittier, California, to their boy. Whittier Boulevard was one of the cruising capitals of Southern California with a great Bobs Big Boywith the roller-skating waitresses and all that stuff. My very first ticket was actually in the Bobs Big Boy parking lot for unnecessary use of the horn. Hand to God, thats what the ticket was for, cause my girlfriend was honking to our friends in the car next to us. I cherish those memories.

©Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

Whats your favorite car of all time?

JL: Well, I was born in 1957 and we were a Chevy family, so I would say my favorite carI dont have one yet; Im hoping one day to get oneis a 1957 Corvette. I think its great. I do own, I think, the most beautiful car ever designed, which is a 1952 Jaguar XK120, which is gorgeous.

PIXARS 25TH ANNIVERSARY

How do you feel about Pixars 25-year milestone this year?

JL: Well, I just cant believe its been 25 years and weve completed our 12th movie. Its kind of neatCars came out on the 20th anniversary, and Cars 2 is coming out on the 25th. But Im very, very proud of Pixarvery proud of all our films and all the characters. What means the most to me are the peopleall the families, all the moviegoers that weve entertained. That is why we do what we do, pure and simple. Its about making the highest-quality films. Not just animated films, but films that truly, deeply entertain audiences of all ages, of all genders, of all nationalities. Thats what we set out to do. We just make movies, the kind of movies we like to watch.

Mouse Skywalker · May 24, 2011

A new Cars 2 video "featurette" has been released by Disney/Pixar called "Back into Cars."

©Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

Follow the link below to watch the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVDzxuLKdbA&feature=youtu.be

Mouse Skywalker · May 28, 2011

Walt Disney Studios provided us with this "global snapshot" for Cars 2

DISNEY•PIXAR’S “CARS 2” GOES GLOBAL

The Gang from Radiator Springs
Embarks on a Worldwide Adventure to Japan, Italy, France and the U.K.

When “Cars” drove into theaters in 2006, moviegoers fell in love with Radiator Springs—its charm, simplicity and small-town magic that seemed to capture all who encountered it. It is, after all, the cutest little town in Carburetor County. That’s according to the town’s chief tow truck—and Mater knows these kinds of things.

But when it came time to revisit the gang from Radiator Springs, filmmakers wondered how this charismatic bunch would do outside the security of home. But where?

Why the whole world, of course.

“Wherever you can go in our world,” says director John Lasseter, “we can go in the world of ‘Cars.’”

And that’s pretty cool, says Lasseter. “If you look at all three ‘Toy Story’ movies, they’re so different in theme from one another, but they all take place in Andy’s room and around that world of the toys. What’s so different about this movie is that the world of ‘Cars 2’ is truly is as big as the world we live in.”

In fact, it was during the international publicity tour for “Cars” that the director first imagined his car-cast in a global setting. Lasseter says he took in the mayhem of international locales like Tokyo and Paris laughed to himself thinking, “what would Mater do?” “The story of ‘Cars 2' was sparked by the idea of taking Lightning McQueen and Mater overseas,” says Lasseter. “Lighting McQueen is invited to compete in the World Grand Prix to race against the fastest cars in the world in three fantastic locations: Japan, Italy and the U.K. Of course Mater, who has never left Radiator Springs, is completely out of place in these distinctive cultures, which leads to hilarious comedic moments.”

HITTING THE ROAD
A global adventure like “Cars 2” comes with its share of challenges. According to producer Denise Ream, as a sequel, the film had a bit of a head start since many of the core characters and the world they live in were established in “Cars.” “Coming into ‘Cars 2,’ says Ream, ‘it was really helpful knowing that there was a template. However, we expanded the world to feature all of these international places, so the look may have been established, but there was an enormous scope added. That’s been the biggest challenge, incorporating all of these dynamic locations—nearly double the number of locations than any other Pixar film has had.”

“You have to reinvent worlds,” adds co-director Brad Lewis. “You have to ‘car-ify’ every background building, prop and character to bring them into the ‘Cars’ world. And it’s all part of an episodic film with comedy and emotion. I remember when we were giving the initial pitches to the team that would be responsible for a lot of the design and scope of the movie—they would get this look on their faces like ‘You have got to be kidding me!’”

But the artists and storytellers at Pixar Animation Studios were up to the task. The first step was research and this team is passionate about research—especially when it means traveling to exotic international locales and soaking up as much of the local culture as possible. They explored cities in Europe and Japan to cement plot details and ensure authenticity in the look and feel of the worldwide settings.

Cars 2 Goes Global Continues in the next post...

Mouse Skywalker · May 28, 2011

“CARS 2” GOES GLOBAL -- Star racecar Lightning McQueen and his best friend Mater make a pit stop in London, but there’s no time for tea when an international spy plot entangles Mater, and McQueen must race before royalty. ©Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

LONDON

Several members of the “Cars 2” production team went on a whirlwind tour to Europe in May 2009, visiting as many cities as possible, including a two-day visit to London.

Filmmakers took note of the color palette in each country, says production designer Harley Jessup. “We’re actually using the gray skies and stonework of London as a counterpoint to the brilliant colors of the cars and the red double-decker busses and phone booths. There are a lot of red and blue accents in London.”

The visit included stops at Scotland Yard, the House of Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and London Eye, but Jay Shuster, character art director, spent much of his time on street corners. “There was a point at which I was standing on a curbside in London during the morning commute, recording every car that I saw, including trucks and busses—just trying to get the flavor of that environment.”

Shuster’s observations allowed the team to populate the global locations with precisely the types of vehicles one would find there. “Native species,” as he calls them.

3_cars-2-TE_ParliamentDES_2010_06_18-special16_rgb-1.jpg

Artists had fun “car-ifying” some of the monumental features in each of the cities the film explores. Says Jessup, “We used car models and motifs from the late 1800s and early 1900s and used their features and details to decorate the oldest monuments and icons in each city.”

For example, in the London of “Cars 2,” the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral is shaped like a car’s differential gear casing. One of the team’s favorite transformations is Big Ben—aptly called Big Bentley in “Cars 2.” “That’s probably the best example of a monument fitting perfectly into our world,” says Jessup, who was able to take a rare tour of the inside of Big Ben. “Big Bentley plays a pivotal part in the story. In order to make it fit into the ‘Cars’ world, we scaled it up about 250 percent—even the clockworks, which would actually fit in a conference room—were scaled up by at least 50 times their normal size.” The “car-ified” landmark also sports Bentley grilles and hood ornaments.

According to Lewis, there was another London locale that was on the must-have list. “We knew we were going to feature Buckingham Palace,” says the co-director. “We always thought that would be a beautiful place to stage a straightaway in the race and if you could have the race finish near the entrance to Buckingham Palace, it couldn’t get any more majestic than that. John and I found the thought of Mater trying to make the Beefeater guards laugh so funny that we had to do our own version for the film.”

Cars 2 Goes Global Continues in the next post...

Mouse Skywalker · May 28, 2011

“CARS 2” PASSPORT TO PARIS – There’s no place in the world like Radiator Springs, but Paris comes close! Mater takes the scenic route and manages to see the Parisian sights—including the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe and the famous car-goyles of Notre Dame. ©Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

PARIS

Lasseter’s imagination long ago placed Mater in Paris. “How would Mater maneuver through the giant roundabouts around the Arc de Triomphe?” he asks. “No signals and no lane lines.”

The film features a montage of Paris that includes a shot of the famous monument with Mater trying to merge into traffic. As in London, the production team “car-ified” the Arc de Triomphe by designing the top to be in the shape of an engine block and using headlights in the front features. The montage also includes a kissing car-couple on a romantic bridge reminiscent of the Pont des Arts—a location frequented by Lasseter and his wife Nancy whenever they visit the City of Love. Lasseter even ensured that the “girl car” was designed in his wife’s favorite color, lavender.

And of course the Pont des Arts in “Cars 2” was “car-ified,” along with the city’s other iconic monuments—constructed with automobile leaf springs, a type of spring used in car suspensions. The top of the Eiffel Tower in “Cars 2” is the shape of a 1930s European spark plug and its base contains the features of a French wire wheel. Paris’ iconic Notre Dame Cathedral in the film is adorned with 24 "car-goyle" statues and flying buttresses in the shape of exhaust pipes.

2_cars_Abaltazar_EiffelTowerModelPacket_200920special162023_820120FINAL.jpg

During production, the “Cars 2” team was also able to explore the car showrooms on the Avenue des Champs-Elysées and visit the Grand Palais Museum and the Louvre. They saw the Bastille Opera and the Musée d’Orsay, and were excited to incorporate Les Halles into the film. While the old food market was torn down in the ‘70s, it was resurrected for “Cars 2,” transformed into a marketplace of spare auto parts. “It ended up being this really evocative space,” says Jessup, “a vast, cast-iron structure, big enough for the cars to chase through and there’s this whole gypsy marketplace happening inside that is texturally really remarkable.

“It was really fun for me to get to work in Paris again,” continues Jessup. “We studied it so much for ‘Ratatouille,’ so it was a treat to be back there. Paris is really beautiful.”

Cars 2 Goes Global Continues in the next post...

Mouse Skywalker · May 28, 2011

"CARS 2” TO THE BIG SCREEN—AND BEYOND – It’s an international feast of epic proportions when star racecar Lightning McQueen and lovable tow truck Mater travel to Porto Corsa, Italy, for the first-ever World Grand Prix. The pair will have to bypass the Italian Riviera’s specialties—boating, beaches and pasta al pesto—as Mater is detoured on a top-secret spy mission and McQueen must race to win against the world’s best! ©Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

ITALY

“When we decided that we were going to create a fictional Italian town,” says Lewis, “we wanted it to be our love letter to Italian racing. Racing in Italy is such a passion—we wanted to capture the heart and soul of it, from the beautiful coastline to the crazy crown jewel of racing—the Formula 1 race in Monaco—and, of course, Monte Carlo, which has the great casino.”

To develop the fictional seaside city of Porto Corsa, Italy, the “Cars 2” production team from Pixar visited locations on the coast of both Italy and France—taking scenic drives from Portofino, Italy, to Nice, France, and checking out the racing action in Monaco.

Portofino provided a lot of inspiration for Porto Corsa. “The Italian Riviera is all terracotta roofs, brightly painted buildings and beautiful cobblestone with Mediterranean vegetation and beautiful turquoise water,” says Jessup. The team sought a very upscale look and feel for their town of Porto Corsa, and so incorporated French-Riviera-style architecture into the Portofino-type setting.

Appropriately “car-ified” with features of classic Italian cars, the Porto Corsa Marina is shaped like an automobile wheel, the casino is built on a rocky outcropping shaped like a 1948 Fiat 500 Topolino, and the craps table in the casino features fuzzy dice—like something one might find dangling from a rearview mirror.

“The ‘car-ification’ of these exotic locales is like a character unto itself,” says Lasseter. “It adds a level of humor and entertainment to the movie that the settings of a Pixar film have never done before.”

Cars 2 Goes Global Concludes in the next post...

Mouse Skywalker · May 28, 2011

CARS 2 JETS TO JAPAN Tokyo, Japanwhere ancient tradition meets modern technology. But like a modern-day Samurai, Mater must play the part of a top-secret spy when hes unknowingly embroiled in a case of international espionage. ©Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

TOKYO

The overseas adventure in Cars 2 kicks off in Japan and filmmakers were excited to showcase the vibrant color that illuminates Tokyo at night. The Ginza signs and super-rich colors there were extraordinary, says Jessup.

Having visited Japan many times, both Lasseter and Lewis were excited about bringing the cars to Tokyo. [We thought] if the racers went to Tokyo, they would be exposed to a very different culture, says Lewis. Lightning McQueen and Mater would be thrown into these great dramatic situations in which Lightning might be comfortable with the lights and the international attention, but it would be brand new to Mater. He might stick out a little.

Adds Lasseter, Anybody whos been to Japan and has walked into a Japanese bathroom knows that the toilets tend to do a lot more than what Americans are used to. We kept thinking, How would Mater react? and What would a bathroom be like for a car? Lets just say we had a little fun with that.

A small production team took a trip to Tokyo in October 2009 that ultimately inspired the setting for one of the early scenes. Among the researchers was Sharon Calahan, director of photographylighting. Tokyo had changed a bit since the last time Id been there, says Calahan, but it was really nice to get into some areas of town that I hadnt seen beforeplaces off the beaten path. It provided an intriguing contrast with the bigger, brasher, bolder neon section. We were able to explore freely to really get inspired. The [World Grand Prix] opening party sequence was set in a museum and the National Art Center in Tokyo was just below our hotel. We hadnt planned on using it for inspiration, but we saw it and thought, Wow, look at this beautiful building.

It lent itself to fairly quick car-ification, says Lewis. It was beautiful and modern and it felt like the right place for us to have this kickoff party for the World Grand Prix.

While in Tokyo, the production team was able to actually follow the films street race course. Inspired by the Formula 1 nighttime race that takes place on the streets of Singapore, Lasseter and Lewis watched race footage for reference. During the race, you see this brilliant halogen white light throughout the tracks, says Lewis. Its really gorgeous. John and I thought if we could get the Tokyo neon and make it a night race with that brilliant halogen white light it would be a great kick-off for the movie. Its such a juxtaposition to Radiator Springs, the ultimate Americana, to have this high-tech neon bright light center is the perfect cultural contrast.

This movie is vastly different than Cars in nearly every way, says Lasseter, yet its still a part of the world of Cars. Thats what made it so much fun. The settings all around the world, the glitz, the glamour, the cool hipness of the European settings and Japan, the whole spy genre, the form of racing that they do, the type of race cars that are there. Everything about it was cool, and it was so much fun to do.

Directed by John Lasseter, DisneyPixars Cars 2 hits the track on June 24, 2011 (U.S.), and will be presented in Disney Digital 3D and IMAX® 3D in select theaters.

ashvig · May 30, 2011

Cars 2 "Teaser" Poster

You have not share any source where i can watch cars 2 trailer.Can you please share it.

Official DisneyPixars Cars 2 thread: BluRay/DVD Out 11/1 (Updated 10/26 Post #141)

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Earning My Ears

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Official DisneyPixars Cars 2 thread: BluRay/DVD Out 11/1 (Updated 10/26 Post #141)