Cars 2

[MacGuffin]

Cars 2 Arriving Sooner
2011 release announced for Pixar sequel.

It looks like Cars 2 will be parking at theaters sooner than had previously been reported.

IGN is on hand for today's Walt Disney Studios Showcase, where the studio is presenting first looks at their upcoming slate of films. Among these in-development projects is Cars 2, which Pixar will now rush to complete in time for a 2011 (rather than a previously announced 2012) release date.

We learned at this summer's San Diego Comic-Con that Lightning McQueen and Mater will return for Cars 2. This time they'll need their passports as they find themselves in a new world of intrigue, thrills and fast-paced comedic escapades around the globe.

Cars 2 is being directed by Brad Lewis, producer of Ratatouille.

[modage]

Among these in-development projects is Cars 2, which Pixar will now rush to complete in time for a 2011 (rather than a previously announced 2012) release date.

There are two things I don't like about that sentence.

[MacGuffin]

What will Cars 2 do now that Paul Newman is gone?
Source: SciFi Wire

Cars was a modest hit by Pixar standards, topping out around $200 million instead of the more typical $300 million-plus, and critics and fans were lukewarm about it, but it was John Lasseter's baby, so he's doing another one. But with the recent passing of Paul Newman, the proposed Cars 2 faces a tough choice.

Newman provided the voice of Doc Hudson, the patriarch of all the cars in Radiator Springs. Lasseter is faced with the dilemma of repurposing earlier recordings of Newman to keep him in the sequel or just letting him go out of respect.

"We haven't really [addressed it yet]," Lasseter said in a group interview today in Beverly Hills, Calif., after a press conference for the upcoming animated release Ponyo. "We're still working on that."

Cars centers on hotshot racer Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson), who has detoured to the small town of Radiator Springs. He learns to take his time instead of racing to the finish line. For Cars 2, the whole Radiator Springs gang will hit the open road.

"It's Radiator Springs, and then the characters go to other places as well," Lasseter said.

Pixar rocked Comic-Con last weekend with the announcement that famous male doll Ken would join the cast of Toy Story 3. Lasseter, who directed the first two installments, sung Ken's praises.

"He makes it," Lasseter said. "He's fantastic, and Michael Keaton's doing the voice for him."

By part three of the successful family franchise, one would expect toy manufacturers would be lining up to license their characters for Toy Story adventures. With the promise of many more new characters to be announced, Lassster kept the focus on Ken for now.

"With Ken, we're really excited about that one," he said.

Toy Story 3 opens June 18, 2010. Cars 2 is scheduled for 2011.

[diggler]

can this just not happen please?

[MacGuffin]

Cars 2 Pushed Back to December 2011
Source: ComingSoon

During Walt Disney Company's first quarter 2010 earnings call on Tuesday, company President and CEO Bob Iger mentioned that Disney•Pixar's Cars 2 will be released in theaters in December of 2011.

The film was previously scheduled for a release on June 24, 2011 and this move would leave that release slot empty for now. Warner Bros. Pictures is releasing Green Lantern on June 17, 2011 and Michael Bay's Transformers 3 is targeted for a July 1, 2011 release. We're guessing another movie will quickly jump to June 24 spot, although Paramount moved up Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen to a Tuesday night/Wednesday release in 2009, so that is another possibility for the third film.

In the Brad Lewis-directed Cars 2, all the world's a racetrack as racing superstar Lightning McQueen zooms back into action, with his best friend Mater in tow, to take on the globe's fastest and finest. Mater and McQueen will need their passports as they find themselves in a new world of intrigue, thrills and fast-paced comedic escapades around the globe.

[modage]

Aww I was hoping it would be pushed back to the first of Neveruary.  

(Sorry Pixar.)

[Pubrick]

haha, that's the joke i wanted to make but couldn't think of the right wording. good job mod.

i still havn't seen Cars. but i pretend like i hav when i'm defending pixar, quite regularly, when ppl in real life say "isn't that a cartoon? why do you like children's movies? why did you go see a childrens movie?". i then school them on the difference between Pixar and what is generally considered a children's movie.. always qualifying my statement with "except cars and a bugs life."

[MacGuffin]

Is 'Cars 2' In Trouble? John Lasseter Brought in to Co-Direct
Source: Cinematical

There's been some grumbling from fans and critics that Pixar's upcoming slate is heavy on the sequels, and light on original material. So any rumor of story trouble might be a "told you so" moment, as trying to tack on an unwarranted sequel might be more work than it's worth. And trouble there seems to be. Multiple sources are confirming today that John Lasseter has become the official co-director on Cars 2, indicating there's story trouble he's having to iron out.

As the rumor mill turns, Cars 2 has no set release date, and has bounced around from 2012 to a date of June 24 2011 (which puts it up against The Green Lantern) to a date of December 2011. Disney has denied that their plans for Cars 2 have changed, and that the film will come out in Summer 2011. Then it was rumored by Blue Sky that Lasseter was spending more time at Pixar than his Disney offices, and that the reason was because he was doing major story work on Cars 2. It was believed he would remain uncredited, and allow Brad Lewis to make his directorial debut alone. Now, Jim Hill is reporting that his Disney reps confirmed Lasseter will receive a co-director credit with Lewis, indicating he's done major work on the film.

Lasseter did come up with the original Cars 2 concept, though. While doing press for Cars, he wondered what his small-town characters would make of foreign driving rules, and cooked up a story to put them there. We still don't know what that story is, though rumors say it's a North by Northwest scenario where Mater gets involved in a spy plot, but no one believes him.

As Slashfilm notes, every Pixar film is supposedly a disaster at some point, and the creative team have completely rewritten a number of films halfway through pre-production, with Ratatouille and Toy Story 2 being two of the most legendary. Cars 2 may be a similar stroke of genius. I'd like to think it's Lasseter taking responsibility for a concept he created, and making it work, instead of letting a newcomer Lewis take the fall. Others might see it as proof there never should have been a Cars 2 -- after all, the original didn't work very well, so why make another?

[Fernando]

Teaser

[Stefen]

I doubted Pixar on Toy Story 3, but that ended up turning me into a giant weeping vagina, so should I stop doubting them?

I don't know what it is, but Cars was just completely forgettable. Am I being harsh on it, or was it one of the worst Pixar flicks ever?

[Gold Trumpet]

Cars isn't good. The fact that most people know that is a good sign because when a company is as good as Pixar is, we can fall into the trap of accepting everything they do without question. Cars came at a perfect time to be appreciated and it wasn't. The guy behind the movie promoted the new technology in the movie and it didn't make for a good film. Since Pixar is going to double their output of movies soon, I don't mind them continuing movies like Cars in new installments. They can pay the bills with that series and do more ambitious projects elsewhere.

[socketlevel]

i agree it's their worst. i do like the message of the film, even if it's a pipe dream.

cars is like bad pizza, even when it's bad it's still pretty good.

[Sleepless]

Was at a couple of Pixar panels at AFF yesterday - someone asked how they decide which films to make sequels of. Mary Coleman (development exec at Pixar) told a story of how Disney had wanted to do a sequel to Nemo, but Andrew Stanton refused, whether he be involved or not. "The only reason we are doing Cars 2 is because John wants to." I believe that.

[MacGuffin]

Trailer here.

[72teeth]

stupid.