When “Cars 2” drives into theaters next summer, you’ll hear all your old favorites from the first installment as well as a few new voices.
Among those new voices will be Michael Caine, Emily Mortimer and Jason Isaacs.
The British actors will also be joined by Joe Mantegna, Peter Jacobson and Thomas Kretschmann in the 3D animated sequel, which sees sports car Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) and truck Mater (Larry the Cable Guy) take part in the World Grand Prix.
“The story of ‘Cars 2’ was sparked by the idea of taking Lightning McQueen and Mater overseas,” said director John 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 UK.
“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,” he added. “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 full-on 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.”
Caine and Mortimer will voice Finn and Holley respectively, while Mantegna is Grem, Jacobson Acer and Kretschmann Professor Z.
“I started movies playing Harry Palmer in ‘The Ipcress File’,” Caine commented. “Now as a grandfather, I have become Finn McMissile in ‘Cars 2’ – another spy in a great series – it’s wonderful for my grandchildren and me.”
Bonnie Hunt, Tony Shalhoub and Cheech Marin will reprise their roles from the original movie.
The trailer for the film debuted this week. You can check it out below:
The original movie was about a character learning to give up selfishness and gain friendship. This sequel seems shallow by comparison.
That is NOT the Cars II trailer, it’s a scene from an episode of “Mater’s Tall Tales” shown on The Disney Channel.
One more thing… Quote: “you’ll hear all your old favorites from the first installment..” Really? So Paul Newman recorded all his dialogue for this movie before he died?
Paul Newman DID record his dialogue before he died. It’s not much, but the overlords at Pixar realized that Paul didn’t have much time left so they had him record a few lines for the sequel.
I’ve learned long ago to stop doubting the writing at Pixar. I remember being very nervous about Cars when it was first announced. Given the success of The Incredibles I truly thought that Cars was going to be a step backwards, but that was dashed after I saw the movie in the theater. To date I’ve seen Cars more times than any other Pixar movie, and there isn’t a Pixar movie I don’t love!
What also builds my confidence in this movie is knowing that both Lassetter and Brad Bird are working on it. I see this as a very good thing and am extremely excited about Cars 2 now!!!
Agreed. And if memory serves, with the exception of “Finding Nemo,” Pixar doesn’t usually reveal the “heart strings” side of their films prior to release. Okay, after finishing that sentence, I remembered “Toy Story 3,” and how Andy going away to college was central in the trailers and what-not. I still stand by my point, though, because when I saw trailers for “Toy Story 3,” I had misgivings. It felt like “Okay, now that we’ve got a reason for the toys to leave Andy’s house, it’s off to the races with the comedy!” Although there were plenty of comedic moments, none of my fears had any validity. I expect the same will prove true with “Cars 2.”