I received an all expense paid trip from Disney to attend the #Cars3Event. The opinions expressed here are my own and I received no monetary compensation. #PuppyDogPalsEvent #ABCTVEvent #TheToyBox #BornInChina
Story is KING at Pixar and the entire animation process revolves around that mantra. In between riding in a race car and learning how to be part of a pit crew at the Cars 3 press junket, we had the honor of hearing from the writers who worked on Cars 3. Talk about being starstruck with story supervisor Scott Morse (Cars 2, Cars 3, Brave, Ratouille-E, Wall-E) and screenwriters Mike Rich (The Rookie, Secretariat), Bob Peterson (Monsters Inc, Finding Nemo, Up) and Kiel Murray (Cars, Cars 3) all in the same room! You might also recognize Peterson as the voice of Doug from Up, Roz from Monsters Inc and Mr. Ray from Finding Nemo. Talk about major cool mom points when my son learned that I met Mr. Ray!
Writer Bob Peterson/Photo by Deborah Coleman
As we quickly learned at Pixar, they do a lot of research to formulate the story. Months and months of research. The writers took a trip to the racetracks of the South and spoke with many individuals involved in the history of racing. Peterson also mentioned that his father and grandfather were old Ford mechanics and he was able to pull from that experience. Morse mentioned that they made a point to sit in the grandstands at the Daytona 500, hundreds of bleachers up, in order to immerse themselves with what was equivalent to Lightening McQueen’s fans. While at the Daytona 500, they found a library with old yellowed newspapers and photographs that they dove into. Rich said that these trips and brainstorming sessions were like puzzle pieces to the Cars 3 story.
Story Supervisor Scott Morse/Photo by Deborah Coleman
Once the puzzle pieces were there, the writers pitched the story to John Lasseter, chief creative officer at Pixar. Can you imagine being a fly on that wall?! Rich said, “I was telling the story and I got to the third page and all of a sudden I looked up and a tear, a single tear rolled down John Lasseter’s face. I thought afterward, that’s the closest I’ll ever get reading a script to Walt Disney”. I can imagine that Cars is Lasseter’s baby, having directed and co-written the first movie. Lasseter once said, “I have always loved cars. In one vein, I have Disney blood, and in the other, there’s motor oil. The notion of combining these two great passions in my life—cars and animation—was irresistible”.
Writer Kiel Murray/Photo by Deborah Coleman
Having screened a large part of Cars 3, I can say that the writers hit the nail on the head with this one. It is reminiscent of the first film and tugs at your heartstrings with McQueen in his third act of life. I can’t wait to take my own kids and even my parents, this is a multigenerational film that everyone will love!
Cars 3 races into theaters on June 16th, mark those calendars!
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