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.”
Characters shading supervisor Thomas Jordan explains, “Chrome and car paint were our two main challenges on this film. We started out by learning as much as we could. At the local body shop, we watched them paint a car, and we saw the way they mixed the paint and applied the various coats.
“We tried to dissect what goes into the real paint and re-created it in the computer,” he continues. “We figured out that we needed a base paint, which is where the color comes from, and the clear coat, which provides the reflection. We were then able to add in things like metallic flake to give it a glittery sparkle, a pearlescent quality the might change color depending on the angle, and even a layer of pin-striping for characters like Ramone.”
Shading art director Tia Krater adds, “While we were at Manuel’s one day we found this old beat-up chrome bumper and we asked if we could have it. He started to clean it up, and we said ‘No! No! Don’t clean it!’ It was exactly what we were looking for. We loved how dirty it was and the patina. It had a little bit of everything we were looking for—pitting, scratches, milky blurriness, rust, and blistering. All in one bumper! One of our technical guys, who ended up shading Mater, took it out in the sun and spent a lot of time staring at it and taking lots of pictures to analyze the textures and surfaces.”
A film that celebrates our universal love affair with cars, and the joys of taking the road less traveled, called for the world’s best road-trip soundtrack, and Lasseter enlisted his longtime collaborator Randy Newman (a 2002 Oscar®-winner for his song, “If I Didn’t Have You” from “Monsters, Inc.”) and a host of top recording artists to add to the fun and excitement. Taking Pixar in a whole new musical direction, the songs integrate with Newman’s score (and great new song performed by James Taylor) and showcase a variety of styles and performances. The combination of Newman’s musical genius with the contributions of these other great artists makes for a rousing musical experience and represents a first for Pixar.
Lasseter got a friend and a longtime collaborator in Randy Newman when he began working with the acclaimed composer/songwriter back on the original “Toy Story.” The two have been making beautiful music ever since with their subsequent collaborations on “A Bug’s Life” and “Toy Story 2.” Newman received Oscar® nominations for his scores for “Toy Story” and “A Bug’s Life,” plus nominations for the songs, “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” (“Toy Story”) and “When She Loved Me” (from “Toy Story 2,” sung in the film by Sarah McLachlan).
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