Trailers

What Would Mater Do?

Cars 2 continues the unlikely best-friendship of Lightning McQueen and Mater, and also required the tow truck to drive the film’s action-adventure plotline. “What would Mater do?” became the mantra for Pixar’s creative team as the story entered each new locale. The character of Finn McMissile was revived from a discarded scene in Cars, in which the ultracool spy car starred in the drive-in movie Sally and McQueen were attending.

Mater

In the now-popular tourist destination of Radiator Springs, the rusty old tow truck Mater has a number of roles, including proprietor of Tow Mater Towing and Salvage, grand storyteller, and the heart and soul of the town. But Mater’s favorite title is best friend to Lightning McQueen. Mater values each and every dent he’s earned on his escapades with Lightning over the years, and anxiously awaits further fun with his friend when Lightning returns with his latest Piston Cup.

Lightning McQueen

Number 95 Lightning McQueen is still a hotshot race car, but his rookie days are past him. Now a permanent resident of Radiator Springs, Lightning has become a bona fide worldwide celebrity as winner of four Piston Cups.

After his latest win, Lightning returns home to enjoy life in the slow lane for a while with sweetheart Sally, best friend Mater and the rest of his Radiator Springs family. His off-season is unexpectedly cut short when Mater inadvertently prompts Lightning to enter the World Grand Prix, a high profile, three-part exhibition race that will take him around the globe.

Francesco Bernoulli 

Francesco Bernoulli grew up in the shadow of the famous Monza racecourse in Italy, where he and his friends would sneak onto the track and race the famous Pista di Alta Velocita bank turn. He was an instant winner on the amateur circuit and soon became an international Formula Racer champion. The ladies love Francesco’s open wheels, youngsters look up to his winning spirit, and fellow racers envy his speed.

Finn McMissile

Finn McMissile is a master British spy. Though charming and eloquent, it’s his stealth maneuvering, intelligence, and years in the field that enable him to thwart unexpected attacks from bad guys and make quick daredevil escapes.

Holley Shiftwell 

Holley Shiftwell is a beautiful young British desk agent turned rookie field spy stationed in Tokyo. Well educated and sharp, she knows every trick in the book—or rather, she relies on every trick in the spy manual. She’s armed with the latest state-of-the-art spy equipment imaginable, from hidden cameras and concealed weapons to a telescoping utility arm and a holographic
pop-up display. 

Professor Z

Professor Z, aka The Professor, is an internationally wanted weapons designer in a small, sophisticated German package. He's a brilliant—but mad—monocle-wearing scientist who's plotting to sabotage the World Grand Prix. Though his true motive is unclear, Professor Z is willing to do whatever it takes to eliminate all obstacles and keep the “project” on schedule.

Miles Axlerod

Sir Miles Axlerod is a former oil baron who has sold off his fortune, converted himself into an electric vehicle, and devoted his life to finding the renewable, clean-burning energy source of the future—ultimately discovering what he believes is the fuel everyone should be using. Axlerod is also the creator of the World Grand Prix, a three-country race that attracts the world’s top athletes. But the race is really an excuse to show off his new wonder-fuel, Allinol.

Acer

Acer has always felt like an outcast in the car world. The beat-up green AMC Pacer joined forces with fellow “lemon” cars as henchmen for the devious Professor Z, whose clandestine mission is to wreak havoc at the highly visible World Grand Prix. Acer must hunt down the American and British secret agents who’ve stolen crucial information about Professor Z’s underhanded plot—his primary target just happens to be Mater, who’s been mistaken for a spy. Acer tries very hard to be a tough guy, but he’s overeager compared to his no-nonsense accomplice Grem.

Grem

Grem is a dented, rusty orange AMC Gremlin. After years of being dismissed for his design, even being called a “lemon,” Grem has a big chip on his fender that has led him to the underworld of international espionage. As a henchman for a villainous boss, Professor Z, Grem and his partner-in-crime Acer are trying to sabotage the World Grand Prix and the famous race cars competing in it.

Racers

Known as the “World’s Greatest Rally Car,” #6 Raoul ÇaRoule was born in Alsace, France. A restless soul, Raoul joined the famous Cirque des Voitures French circus where he learned Gymkhana—a graceful, drift-filled motorsport that taught him pinpoint timing and an unparalleled ability to navigate tricky courses with ease. He’s the first car to ever win nine consecutive rallies. Raoul is confident he can use his rally experience to pull ahead of his fellow World Grand Prix racers during the touchy dirt sections of the three courses, especially with his fans in the stands waving banners that read “ÇaRoule Ca-Rules!”

Siddeley

Siddeley is a state-of-the-art British twin-engine spy jet. Measuring 176 feet from nose to tail with an impressive 157-foot wingspan, the super sleek, silver-bodied Siddeley streaks through international skies at Mach 1 speeds. Outfitted with all the latest in high-tech spy equipment including cloaking technology, defensive weaponry, and afterburners, Siddeley is Finn McMissile’s steadfast partner in fighting crime around the globe.

The International World of Cars 2

The safety and simplicity of Radiator Springs quickly gave way to the glamorous hotspots of international racing. The challenge was finding a way to caricature and "car-ify" each country. “By caricaturing I think of it as celebrating,” said Production Designer Harley Jessup. “Our approach is to show those locations in the most beautiful way we can."

(Not) Lost In Translation

With over 45 translations, the creators of Cars 2 were faced with the monumental challenge of interpreting the films original language (English) to a host of divergent cultures. This task required that the filmmakers use a "idiomatic adaptation," which would allow for the original English's subtleties, gags and plot twists to resonate for each unique language.

Oil Rig

“I really wanted to start off with something that was the complete opposite of what the audience would expect from the sequel to Cars,” said Director John Lasseter. “People are expecting to see Lightning McQueen, Mater, stock car racing, Radiator Springs, Route 66, the Southwest…but instead, the first thing you see is ocean. And then there’s a boat. And out in the middle of the ocean, there’s a little car riding on this boat and he’s looking for another car. You’re thinking, ‘Wait a minute—what’s
going on here?!'”

Tokyo

Setting the tone for the film’s fictional World Grand Prix, the opening race in Tokyo took inspiration from Singapore’s Formula One night race. “Having the Tokyo race take place at night let us showcase a really rich and beautiful range of light sources, from glowing lanterns to the amazing neon signs downtown to the chaos of light reflecting on the cars themselves,” said Director of Photography for Lighting,
Sharon Calahan.

Italy

After adapting the Grand Prix races to the real cities of Tokyo and London, the filmmakers decided to create the Italian Riviera town of Porto Corsa from whole cloth. Though fictional, Porto Corsa proudly displays the influences of Vernazza, Genoa, Positano, Monte Carlo, and Portofino. “We wanted it to be our love letter to European racing and to Italy,” explained Co-Director Brad Lewis.

Paris

After jettisoning plans for a 24-hour endurance race through Paris, the filmmakers gave the City of Light a more mysterious role.  Inspired by classic action-thriller films, they used Paris for a chase veering away from the postcard imagery of the usual lush travelogue backdrop. The Pixar team found inspiration in vintage photos of Paris’s old central market, Les Halles, to create an unexpected setting for the black
market storyline.

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London

London provided the Cars 2 art team’s biggest challenge, requiring over 50 miles of city streets and thousands of uniquely "car-ified" buildings exhibiting a wide variety of architectural styles. Along with celebrated landmarks like Big Ben and Buckingham Palace, the filmmakers got to make distinctively British characters out of such revered vehicles as Range Rovers, Jaguars, Minis, and the London double-decker bus.

Colorscript

A colorscript is a sequence of small pastel drawings or paintings used to emphasize color in each scene and establish a film's
visual language.

Given the film’s multiple real-world locations, the Cars 2  team fashioned separate palettes to capture the iconic atmosphere of each city along with the changing mood of the story, from the dazzling contrasts of Tokyo at night to the sun-drenched warmth of the Italian Riviera.

DIRECTED BY
John Lasseter

CO-DIRECTED BY
Brad Lewis

PRODUCED BY
Denise Ream

ASSOCIATE PRODUCER
Mark Nielsen

ORIGINAL STORY BY
John Lasseter, Brad Lewis, Dan Fogelman

SCREENPLAY BY
Ben QUEEN

ORIGINAL SCORE COMPOSED BY
Michael Giacchino

STORY SUPERVISOR
Nathan Stanton

FILM EDITOR
Stephen Schaffer, A.C.E.

PRODUCTION DESIGNER
Harley Jessup

SUPERVISING TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
Apurva Shah

PRODUCTION MANAGER
Jake Martin

SUPERVISING ANIMATORS
Shawn Krause, Dave Mullins

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY - LIGHTING
Sharon Calahan

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY - CAMERA
Jeremy Lasky

SETS SUPERVISOR
John Halstead

CHARACTER SUPERVISORS
Sajan Skaria, Robert Moyer

EFFECTS SUPERVISOR
Gary Bruins

MOTION GRAPHIC EFFECTS SUPERVISOR
Michael Fu

CHARACTER ART DIRECTION 
Jay Shuster

SETS ART DIRECTION
Nat McLaughlin

SHADING ART DIRECTION
Bert Berry

CROWDS ANIMATION SUPERVISOR
Arik Ehle
CROWDS TECHNICAL SUPERVISOR
Michael Lorenzen
GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY SUPERVISOR 
Bena Currin

RENDERING SUPERVISOR
Alexander Kolliopoulos

SOUND DESIGNER
Tom Myers

CASTING BY 
Kevin Reher, C.S.A.
Natalie Lyon, C.S.A.
 

CAST
 

Mater
Larry the Cable Guy

Lightning McQueen
Owen Wilson

Finn McMissile 
Michael Caine

Holley Shiftwell
Emily Mortimer

Miles Axlerod
Eddie Izzard

Francesco Bernoulli
John Turturro

Brent Mustangburger 
Brent Musburger

Grem
Joe Mantegna

Professor Z
Thomas Kretschmann

Acer 
Peter Jacobson

Sally
Bonnie Hunt

Darrell Cartrip
Darrell Waltrip

Uncle Topolino
Franco Nero

David Hobbscap 
David Hobbs

Mel Dorado
Patrick Walker

Luigi
Tony Shalhoub

Otis 
Jeff Garlin

Tomber
Michel Michelis

Siddeley & Leland Turbo
Jason Isaacs

Fillmore & Combat Ship 
Lloyd Sherr

Rod “Torque” Redline 
Bruce Campbell

Mater’s Computer
Teresa Gallagher

Flo
Jenifer Lewis

Victor Hugo
Stanley Townsend

Vladimir Trunkov
Stanley Townsend

Alexander Hugo
Velibor Topic

Crabby
Sig Hansen

Guido
Guido Quaroni

The Queen & Mama Topolino 
Vanessa Redgrave

Ivan the Tow Truck
Stanley Townsend

J. Curby Gremlin
John Mainieri

Tubbs Pacer 
Brad Lewis

Ramone 
Cheech Marin

Jeff Gorvette 
Jeff Gordon

Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton

Sarge
Paul Dooley

Minny 
Edie McClurg

Van
Richard Kind

Lizzie
Katherine Helmond

Mack 
John Ratzenberger

Sheriff 
Michael Wallis