Cars 2

"Where no car has gone before."

Cars 2 is an upcoming movie from Disney and Pixar Animation Studios that is set to be in theaters in Disney Digital 3-D June 24, 2011.

Plot
Star racecar Lightning McQueen (voice of Owen Wilson) and the incomparable tow truck Mater (voice of Larry the Cable Guy) take their friendship to exciting new places in “Cars 2” when they head overseas to compete in the first-ever World Grand Prix to determine the world’s fastest car. But the road to the championship is filled with plenty of potholes, detours and hilarious surprises when Mater gets caught up in an intriguing adventure of his own: international espionage. Torn between assisting Lightning McQueen in the high-profile race and towing the line in a top-secret spy mission, Mater’s action-packed journey leads him on an explosive chase through the streets of Japan and Europe, trailed by his friends and watched by the whole world. Adding to the fast-paced fun is a colorful new all-car cast that includes secret agents, menacing villains and international racing competitors.

Voice cast
Three voice actors of the original Cars film have also died since the first film had been released. Joe Ranft, who voiced Red and Jerry Recycled Batteries, died in a car accident in 2005 during production of the first film. Although Red appears in the film, no confirmation has been made who the new replacement for Red will be or how big of a part he will have.
 * Owen Wilson: Lightning McQueen
 * Larry the Cable Guy: Mater
 * Michael Caine: Finn McMissile
 * Emily Mortimer: Holley Shiftwell
 * Thomas Kretschmann: Professor Z
 * Joe Mantegna: Grem
 * Peter Jacobson: Acer
 * John Turturro: Francesco Bernoulli
 * Tony Shalhoub: Luigi
 * Guido Quaroni: Guido
 * Paul Dooley: Sarge
 * Lloyd Sherr: Fillmore
 * Jason Isaacs: Siddeley
 * Bruce Campbell: Rod "Torque" Redline
 * Michel Michelis: Tomber
 * Jeff Gordon: Jeff Gorvette (as himself)
 * Lewis Hamilton: Lewis Hamilton (as himself)
 * Eddie Izzard: Miles Axlerod
 * Darrell Waltrip: Darrell Cartrip (as himself)
 * Brent Musburger: Brent Mustangburger (as himself)
 * David Hobbs: David Hobbscap (as himself)
 * Bonnie Hunt: Sally
 * Michael Wallis: Sheriff
 * Cheech Marin: Ramone
 * Jenifer Lewis: Flo
 * Katherine Helmond: Lizzie
 * John Ratzenberger: Mack
 * Franco Nero: Uncle Topolino
 * Vanessa Redgrave: Mama Topolino/The Queen
 * Sig Hansen: Crabby
 * John Lasseter: John Lassetire (as himself)

George Carlin, who voiced Fillmore, died of heart failure in June 2008. Lloyd Sherr will provide the voice of Fillmore in the film.

Paul Newman, who voiced Doc Hudson, died in September 2008 after losing an ongoing cancer battle. Lasseter was at first adamant that Newman would return, even though he had announced his retirement from acting. After Newman's death, Lasseter said that they would see how the story goes with Doc Hudson. According to Shawn Krause, a supervising animator on the film, Doc won't be voiced by another actor in the movie.

Production
Cars 2 was originally scheduled for a 2012 release, but Pixar moved the release up a year.

John Lasseter conceived the sequel's story while traveling around the world promoting the first film. He said, "I kept looking out thinking, 'What would Mater do in this situation,' you know? I could imagine him driving around on the wrong side of the road in the UK, going around in big, giant traveling circles in Paris, on the autobahn in Germany, dealing with the motor scooters in Italy, trying to figure out road signs in Japan."

The spy theme of Cars 2 emerged of a scene developped for Cars, which would have seen Lightning and Sally go to the drive-in movie theater, where they would have seen a spy film. Although the scene didn't make it to the final film, John Lasseter loved so much the idea of spy cars that he kept it in is mind and it became a main element in Cars 2.

In 2009, Disney registered several domain names in relation to the title "World Grand Prix". However, so far only the title "Cars 2" has been released.

It will be released in Disney Digital 3-D, IMAX 3D, RealD 3D and 2-D.

Marketing
The teaser trailer for Cars 2 appeared on the Blu-ray and DVD editions of Toy Story 3 when it was released on November 2, 2010. The full length trailer for Cars 2 was released on Pixar's official YouTube account on November 15, 2010 and later appeared in front of Tangled.

Life-sized remote-controlled models of Lightning McQueen, Mater and Finn McMissile were created for Cars 2 as part of the “Agents on a Mission” tour, presented by State Farm, to promote the film. The cars were exposed in several North American cities, including Detroit, Toronto, Phoenix, Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Washington, DC, and Miami, among others.

Disney has also began a viral marketing campaign with the Twitter account @ChromeLeaks. The first video released, Cars N' Deals of Emeryville Sale-A-Bration!, contains a number of Pixar-related references, plus a hidden message that will bring you to a video with new Cars 2 footage.

Lawsuit
Screenwriter Jake Mandeville-Anthony filed a lawsuit against Disney and Pixar, saying Cars and Cars 2 infringe on his copyright material, and have similarities to characters and a story he developed in 1993. Mandeville-Anthony claims he sent his story to a number of studios, including Pixar, and met with Jim Morris, then at Lucasfilm. He is asking for an injunction to stop the release of Cars 2. The next hearing is scheduled for June 6, 2011.

Attached short film
Hawaiian Vacation, a short film starring Barbie and Ken from Toy Story 3, will be attached to Cars 2.