A spy movie needs that great character who is incredibly resourceful and can get him or herself out of any sticky situation. In Cars 2, Finn McMissile (voiced by Michael Caine) joins the ranks as a master spy with quite a large collection of gadgets. Like a true spy, his design needed to be clever enough so he would not have “Spy” tattooed all over him, meaning he would need to look “normal” at first glance so as to avoid being caught outright by his enemies. The Cars 2 team had their work cut out for them – they would need to make Finn look slick and also have all his gadgets tucked away until he needed them. Read on for a look at the character design of Finn McMissile! [Read more…]
Cars 2 Character Design: Professor Z
Every spy movie needs a great villainous mastermind and in Cars 2, his name is Professor Z. His official description notes that he “is an internationally wanted weapons designer in a small, sophisticated German package. He is a brilliant, but mad monocle-wearing scientist who is 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.” Our favorite part of the character is his combover, which is a creative touch to his character design. Read on for a look at some of the intricacies of his design! [Read more…]
Cars 2 Character Design: Francesco Bernoulli
There are many international racers taking to the track in the World Grand Prix in Cars 2. Director John Lasseter has expressed his love for many of them, but one of his clear favorites is Francesco Bernoulli, a character that Lasseter has described as quite “full of himself.” Voiced by the awesome John Turturro (Monk, Transformers), the Cars 2 creative team had an interesting time finalizing his character’s design, as it was the first car with a long snout-like appearance. Disney/Pixar recently released some images showcasing his design process. Read on and take a ride through the character design of Francesco Bernoulli! [Read more…]
Cars 2 Character Design: Holley Shiftwell
With Cars 2 taking us on a journey around the world, there are hundreds of new characters that are coming into play. One of the new cars set to have a prominent role in the film is Holley Shiftwell (voiced by Emily Mortimer), who can best be described as a character new to the spy game. Disney/Pixar has supplied us with some great images chronicling her design. Check out the hi-res images here! [Read more…]
Cars 2 International Racers Line-up
Disney/Pixar has provided us with another look at the international racers who will be participating in the World Grand Prix in Cars 2. With a total of 11 racers, the 3-part race is likely to be a nail biter from start to finish. We have racers from a variety of countries including Japan, Brazil, England, Italy, and the made up land of New Rearendia. Take a look at these profile images of the characters and choose your favorite to win! [Read more…]
Car-ification of London In Cars 2
With the wedding of a couple of non-famous people coming up in England, we felt it was a good time to share some of the extensive work done by the Cars 2 crew to create a London that felt familiar but also appropriate for the Cars world. The approach that the filmmakers took was to take buildings and other structures and ‘car-ify’ them by making subtle changes to them. Take a look at a few examples of famous landmarks from the city and how they were smartly altered to fit into the animated film. [Read more…]
Step-by-Step Scene Progression In Cars 2
There are many steps that the crew of an animated film must take before they finalize any single frame. Yesterday, Disney/Pixar released an example of scene progression in Cars 2, where the main characters are driving through the streets of Tokyo. It presents a fascinating look at five of the steps that are taken, leading up to a nicely polished image. Each step has a description and a hi-res image of the progression, which you can view here. [Read more…]
