Pixar recently released four videos on YouTube that take a behind-the-scenes look at the Route 66 research the animation studio undertook for its 2006 film, “Cars.”
Animators took several trips on Route 66 starting in 2001 to see the places and people of the Mother Road. Not only do the videos include several key characters or inspirations for “Cars,” but also Pixar animators who helped guide the film.
Pixar produced the videos across five states on Route 66. Each video is about 12 minutes.
The first video includes interviews with Rock Cafe owner Dawn Welch and Michael Wallis, author of “Route 66: The Mother Road” and the Sheriff of Radiator Springs in the film.
The second video concentrates on Jenifer Lewis, the voice of Flo in the film, at the Midpoint Cafe in Adrian, Texas.
The third video takes place at the Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari, New Mexico, with Tony Shalhoub, the voice of Luigi in the film.
The final video includes clips of interviews with Larry the Cable Guy and Bonnie Hunt, who lent their voices to the film.
Kudos to host Jo Franco, who asks a lot of good questions throughout the series.
A 20th-anniversary re-release of “Cars” is in theaters now.
During the original “Cars” release in 2006, Route 66 News published a guide to the real-life people and places on Route 66 that inspired the film. It remains the most popular post in the website’s history.
(Screen-capture image from video of Jo Franco interviewing Michael Wallis at Cars on the Route in Galena, Kansas)