CARS - What did everyone think? (SPOILERS INSIDE!)

Pluto Region1 · Post by **Pluto Region1** » Thu Jun 15, 2006 9:23 pm

Well this is sort of off-topic to what the thread has been as of last but I was checking those box office figures at this website and noticed you can download a 19-page PDF file of the making of Cars. It's a really interesting overview of all the aspects of the film. Go to this Movie Web page and click on production notes: <a href="http://www.movieweb.com/movies/film/52/ ... .php">Cars at Movie Web.</a>. It gives a bio on the voice actors as well.

It has a complete description of all the characters; the whole back story about how John Lasseter went on a family vacation taking back roads and looked at all these towns along the Route 66, and then went again later with the production team when they started the movie. But what is really interesting is the back stories to how they accomplished various aspects of the animation which I think even if you did not like the film, it might give you a newfound appreciation for some of the technical achievements of the movie. For example, how they made the cars have reflections, and the big racing crowd scenes were like 120,000 cars had to be animated:

"Perhaps the biggest challenge for the CARS technical team was creating the metallic and painted surfaces of the car characters, and the reflections that those surfaces generate. An algorithmic rendering technique known as ray tracing” was used for the first time at Pixar to give the filmmakers the look and effect that they wanted. Ostby explains, “Given that the stars of our film are made of metal, John had a real desire to see realistic reflections and more beautiful lighting than we’ve seen in any of our previous films. In the past, we’ve mostly used environment maps and other matte-based technology to cheat reflections, but for CARS we added a raytracing capability to our existing Renderman program to raise the bar for Pixar.....

“Our computers are now a thousand times faster than they were on ‘Toy Story,’” adds Apodaca, “but even though they’re faster, our appetites have gotten bigger and we challenge ourselves more. Because of ray tracing and all the reflections, the average time to render a single frame of film on CARS was seventeen hours. Some frames took as much as a week. On this film, we’ve made larger and more beautiful images with more subtle
lighting and ray tracing.””

kbehm29 · Post by **kbehm29** » Fri Jun 16, 2006 2:12 pm

Saw it for the second time last night! A couple of observations from seeing it the second time:

1. I didn't notice the first time through that Ramon kept changing his paint job - how could I have missed that?!?????

2. I didn't notice the first time that Luigi's posters in his shop were ALL Ferraris! I'm not sure how I missed that one, either. That scene where the real Ferrari comes to get tires is too hilarious.

3. I got a lot more choked up this time during the emotional scenes.

4. I stayed until the VERY end this time, and don't worry if you missed the minivan scene - it only lasted about 5-10 seconds and is not worth going back to see - wait for the DVD, unless you REALLY want to see the movie again like I did!!!

Pluto Region1 · Post by **Pluto Region1** » Fri Jun 16, 2006 9:43 pm

After I read that PDF of the various details of the movie, I can't believe some of the stuff I missed. Maybe I was too busy munching my popcorn and trying to balance my coke on my lap, that I missed a lot of stuff. I didn't realize that Flo and Ramone were in love, and didn't realize that Sarge is cutting his lawn into a crew cut. There were a lot of distractions around me; the lady in front getting up and taking her kid to the potty, the kids next to us, the kid who barfed at the front of the theater, etc. Turn you head for a minute and you've missed something.... I plan to see it again sometime this weekend or next week.

Nala · Post by **Nala** » Sat Jun 17, 2006 12:13 am

rexcrk wrote:I thought Cars was AMAZING! I'd say it was better than Finding Nemo, but not quite as good as The Incredibles or Monster's Inc. Definitely not as good as the Toy Story movies but nothing will be for me anyway.

I saw trailers for Meet the Robinsons and Ratatouille before my showing of Cars (as well as One Man Band, which was awesome)

I'd say that Mack was my favorite character and that bit at the end was brilliant with the previous Pixar movie characters as cars. Although it would've been cool if they did The Incredibles and Finding Nemo as well.

The thing with Joe Ranft at the end was nice too.

Did anyone else remember that Dinoco was the gas station from Toy Story?

There were quite a few trailers when we went and saw the movie. Not all were Disney related. They previewed a movie about Garfield and "How To Eat Worms". I believe that was the title. They also had the short "One Man Band" where we saw it.

dvdjunkie · Post by **dvdjunkie** » Sat Jun 17, 2006 9:42 am

What a surprise last night when we went to see "Cars" at a different Warren Theater (seeing it for the fifth time!!!).........not only did we get the trailers for "Meet The Robinsons", "Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Man's Chest", and "Invincible", we also got the Disney short "Mickey's Trailer", one of my favorite cartoons with Mickey, Donald, and Goofy. What a surprise! Then, of course, we got the "One Man Band" Pixar short and the trailer for the rat movie, and then "Cars".

Seeing this movie for the fifth time, that is one more time than I saw "Finding Nemo" and "Brother Bear", in the theater was a different experience. This time I could pay more attention to the details and I am now in love with this movie even more.

Those of you who haven't seen this film at least twice, need to go back and see it again. You will get so much more out of it when you see for a second and third time. Even those who have criticized it's weaknesses should go back for a second look, and see what you are missing.

Just thought I would let you all know that the Warren Theaters here in Wichita really do rock, and with the addition of the Disney cartoon in front of the feature made the evening's entertainment just that much more enjoyable.

PixarFan · Post by **PixarFan** » Sat Jun 17, 2006 9:51 am

dvdjunkie wrote:What a surprise last night when we went to see "Cars" at a different Warren Theater (seeing it for the fifth time!!!).........not only did we get the trailers for "Meet The Robinsons", "Pirates of the Caribbean Man's Chest", and "Invincible", we also got the Disney short "Mickey's Trailer", one of my favorite cartoons with Mickey, Donald, and Goofy. What a surprise! Then, of course, we got the "One Man Band" Pixar short and the trailer for the rat movie, and then "Cars".

Both times I saw Cars all the previews were for Dreamworks and other studios CGI movies. I would love to see a "Pirates" trailer on the big screen.

Wow...five times. And I thought my three times for The Incredibles was a lot. I would love to go see Cars again in it's theatrical run, but I'm out of town every weekend for the next two months.

They played a Disney short!?!

Now I am jealous!

Nala · Post by **Nala** » Sat Jun 17, 2006 10:58 am

Pluto Region1 wrote:After I read that PDF of the various details of the movie, I can't believe some of the stuff I missed. Maybe I was too busy munching my popcorn and trying to balance my coke on my lap, that I missed a lot of stuff. I didn't realize that Flo and Ramone were in love, and didn't realize that Sarge is cutting his lawn into a crew cut. There were a lot of distractions around me; the lady in front getting up and taking her kid to the potty, the kids next to us, the kid who barfed at the front of the theater, etc. Turn you head for a minute and you've missed something.... I plan to see it again sometime this weekend or next week.

We went to the 12:30 showing and it wasn't as full. Colossus in Langley is very modern. We had drink holders by our seats so we could watch the movie. There's more than 10 theatres there. They're showing it in 4 different theatres at Colossus.

Onto the movie. We really enjoyed it and I loved the tractor tipping scene. My favourite characters were Sally and the tow truck. I also enjoyed the spoofs at the end when they did Toy Story, A Bug's Life and Monsters, Inc. by cars. I also enjoyed "One Man Band".

Tony · Post by **Tony** » Sat Jun 17, 2006 3:43 pm

We LOVED the movie...

I would say it is probably my 3rd favorite Pixar film after 'The Invincibles' and 'Monsters Inc'.... I look forward too seeing it again..

When are we expecting the DVD ?... September ?

Pasta67 · Post by **Pasta67** » Sat Jun 17, 2006 4:03 pm

Tony wrote:I would say it is probably my 3rd favorite Pixar film after 'The Invincibles' and 'Monsters Inc'.

Meh, I wouldn't call them "invincible." They were pretty "incredible", but not "invincible."

Tony wrote:When are we expecting the DVD ?... September ?

The DVD is coming out this Fall. That's the only info released so far.

Jake Lipson · Post by **Jake Lipson** » Sat Jun 17, 2006 5:35 pm

September is much too early; firstly, it would need to be announced like NOW to make that date, and secondly, this is going to be a major fall release for the holiday shopping. I am 99.9% certian that, as in 2003, Cars will land in November, and Pirates of the Caribbean in early December.

magicalwands · Post by **magicalwands** » Sat Jun 17, 2006 6:02 pm

So my friends and I went out to eat and then watch Cars afterwards at 2. We ate till 1:55 and walked over to the theatre. Unfortunately I forgot my camera at the restaurant and had to go back, but it turns out, when I walked to the theatre again, they had it all along (prank joke). Just then an employee sticks a paper up saying the showing of Cars at 2 is sold out. I was amazed and happy for Pixar acheiving 'sold out' on the second weekend (as it is whom I work for;)), but I wanted to see it again! We sneaked in just to see 'One Man Band', it was so depressing for me though to walk out of the theatre when they were playing the Walt Disney logo right after that.

But anyways, we scheduled with each other either Monday or next Saturday to watch Cars and this time we will get tickets.

Timon/Pumbaa fan · Post by **Timon/Pumbaa fan** » Sat Jun 17, 2006 6:21 pm

PixarFan wrote: They played a Disney short!?! Now I am jealous!

This is extremely off-topic, but does anyone think there could be a slight chance "Susie, the Little Blue Coupe" could get on the Cars DVD? I remember watching a short documentary for Cars on Starz(or one of those similar stations you have to pay extra to get like HBO) from my hotel a couple weeks ago, and Lasseter said one of his biggest inspirations for the character designs was that short. And since it was weirdly missing from "Disney Rarities", it would be nice if they put it on the Cars DVD.

memnv · Post by **memnv** » Sat Jun 17, 2006 11:09 pm

Saw Cars for the second time today. It had differnet trailers than the first time I saw it, at the same theater. The first time they had Pirates as a trailer, this time they did not but they had santa clause III

Elladorine · Post by **Elladorine** » Sat Jun 17, 2006 11:36 pm

Timon/Pumbaa fan wrote:This is extremely off-topic, but does anyone think there could be a slight change "Susie, the Little Blue Coupe" could get on the Cars DVD? I remember watching a short documentary for on Starz(or one of those similar stations you have to pay extra to get) from my hotel a couple weeks ago, and Lasseter said one of his biggest inspirations for the character designs was that short. And since it was weirdly missing from "Disney Rarities", it would be nice if they put it on the Cars DVD.

That thought has actually crossed my mind as well, it's a great little cartoon that deserves more attention. I forget which DVD it's on, maybe the adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad. . . but I do remember that it's a pain to get to cuz you have to play a game in order to watch it.

I'm totally not surprised that JL listed it as an inspiration. Tex Avery's "One Cab's Family" also springs to mind but of course we're totally talking about the wrong studio with that one.

dvdjunkie · Post by **dvdjunkie** » Sun Jun 18, 2006 7:43 am

"Susie The Little Blue Coupe" is available on "Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad" DVD, and, if you remember, it was also included as a bonus on the 2-disc version of "The Love Bug".

MadonnasManOne · Post by **MadonnasManOne** » Sun Jun 18, 2006 10:37 am

According to estimates posted at BoxOfficeMojo.com, Cars brought in $31,181,000 during the Friday-Sunday period. This represents a 48.1% drop from the previous weekend. If estimates hold, Cars will have brought in $114,505,000 during it's first 10 days in theaters. Current foreign grosses show Cars has brought in a total of $5,373,000 in international release, where the film has yet to open in several markets.

Not a bad haul, if I do say so, myself! Of course, I think DVDJunkie may have contributed about $15,000,000 of that total, himself.

dvdjunkie · Post by **dvdjunkie** » Sun Jun 18, 2006 11:27 am

Maybe a $100 or so, but not $15,000,000. I have to work for a living!! I will accept that as a compliment that I recognize a pretty good movie when I see it though.

Have plans on seeing it at least once more in the theater before awaiting its release on DVD.

Timon/Pumbaa fan · Post by **Timon/Pumbaa fan** » Sun Jun 18, 2006 12:37 pm

MadonnasManOne wrote:According to estimates posted at BoxOfficeMojo.com, Cars brought in $31,181,000 during the Friday-Sunday period. This represents a 48.1% drop from the previous weekend. If estimates hold, Cars will have brought in $114,505,000 during it's first 10 days in theaters. Current foreign grosses show Cars has brought in a total of $5,373,000 in international release, where the film has yet to open in several markets.

48.1%? That's only 1.9 percent away from 50%! So Luke, it looks like "people fooling" Jim Hill wasn't too far off.

Nala · Post by **Nala** » Sun Jun 18, 2006 4:47 pm

dvdjunkie wrote:"Susie The Little Blue Coupe" is available on "Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad" DVD, and, if you remember, it was also included as a bonus on the 2-disc version of "The Love Bug".

"Susie, The Little Blue Coupe" is also on Walt Disney's It's A Small World Of Fun, Volume 2.

MadonnasManOne · Post by **MadonnasManOne** » Sun Jun 18, 2006 5:20 pm

Timon/Pumbaa fan wrote: 48.1%? That's only 1.9 percent away from 50%! So Luke, it looks like "people fooling" Jim Hill wasn't too far off.

Why must you do this, Timon/Pumbaa fan? Why must you always be negative? Luke was only looking at the facts, as they were. That is, Jim Hill was putting a negative spin on Cars, by making it look like the film was doing much worse than it actually is. As Luke stated, this is a summer film, and it has a longer amount of time to make money over the course of the summer. This has been proven by the fact that Cars brought in a steady stream of money through the weekday's, without having a HUGE drop in totals after the heavy loaded weekend.

I just don't understand what it is that you have against Pixar, and the fact that their films do well. You can deny it all you want, but, I've seen so many posts where you make negative comments about them, and their films. You are just going to have to accept the fact that Pixar is a part of Disney, that they ARE successful, and that people do enjoy their films. At least give them credit where credit is due. Thank you.

I also want to add, that if the estimates for this weekend hold, Cars will remain #1 at the Box Office, for a second weekend, despite four new wide releases! Stick that in your tailpipes and smoke it!

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CARS - What did everyone think? (SPOILERS INSIDE!)