1 CARS PRODUCTION INFORMATION After taking ... - Disney

to hear these great stories first-hand from a person whose family had been there
for generations.”
Associate producer Tom Porter recalls, “When John and his team came
back from their Route 66 trip, there was a lot of talk about wanting to capture
the patina of the Southwest. They wanted everything in the film to be shaded so
that it had the authenticity of that old 40s, 50s, 60s stuff that was faded and
weathered after fifty years. John wanted the full complexity of a Southwestern
town looking authentic, and then a similar set of challenges in the racing world.”
Bill Cone, the production designer who was responsible for creating the
look of the film’s environments and building a five-mile stretch of road that leads
in and out of the town of Radiator Springs, recalls, “I think of the style for this
film as cartoon realism. You have talking cars, so you’ve already taken a step
away from reality in that regard. The forms are a little whimsical. You’ll see
these car shapes on the cliffs, and the clouds are stylized. I reached the
conclusion that humans in a human universe would see their own forms in
nature, which they often do. They name things like Indian Head Rock. So, in a
car universe, they would have car-based metaphors for forms. Suddenly, you
could see these cliffs that looked very much like the hoods of cars, or an
ornament. Great American artists like Maynard Dixon also had a big influence
on us with their landscapes of the Southwest and the clouds that they painted.”
Sophie Vincelette, sets supervisor for the film, was responsible for
creating the film’s mountain range that pays homage to the famous Cadillacs
planted in the ground along Route 66. Other mountains are shaped like
wheelwells, and bumpers.
In every aspect, “CARS” represents a new level of attention to detail for
Pixar. With its crumbly bits of concrete, accumulated dust, and layers of faded
advertisements painted on brick walls, Radiator Springs feels like a real place
audiences could visit.
According to Vincelette, “Our challenge was to give the buildings in town
the appearance of having a sense of history. We worked closely with the
shading and modeling teams to give them a weathered look, and to make sure
that things were not always straight. There are weeds growing out of cracks in
the cement on the sidewalk.”
Adding to the authenticity of the desert location, modelers in the Sets
department were able to dot the landscape with thousands of pieces of
vegetation, including cactus, sagebrush (in brown, green, yellow and tan
varieties), and grass. Rocks of varying formations also added interest to the
scenery.
To ensure authenticity in their car designs, the production design team
conducted research at auto shows, spent time in Detroit with auto designers and
manufacturers, went to car races, and made extensive studies of car materials.
“Research is a big thing for John,” says Pauley. “It’s also the most fun
part of the job because we got to go to car shows and races, and other neat stuff.
One of the things we did was to visit Manuel’s Body Shop right near the Studio.
He gave us a lot of detail and helped us understand how they apply layers and
coats of paint on a car.”
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