“Every Randy Newman score is unlike the one before it,” observes Lasseter. “He can write the most heartfelt emotional songs, and he can write some of most humorous songs you’ve ever heard. He’s incredibly funny and smart. Randy’s score for CARS reflects the two distinct worlds—the modern world where it’s all about being fast; and Radiator Springs, where the one commodity they have is time. Everything is slower there, and Randy uses a combination of bluegrass, jazz, and pure Americana to capture that. The racing world has a heavy dose of rock ’n’ roll. His score for this film is one of the absolute best he’s ever done.”
Darla K. Anderson adds, “Working with Randy feels like working with family. He is family. He and John have such a mutual trust. John talks to Randy, tells him what he’s looking for, and he leaves Randy alone. He always comes back with music that blows us away. Randy’s music for the parts of the movie that take place in Radiator Springs has almost a kind of Copeland-like quality to it. He worked with a 110-piece orchestra to get this amazing score. And then he did a lot of side sessions that had a bluegrass quality with mandolin, guitar and a harmonica.” Among the four new songs written for the film is a Randy Newman composition called “Our Town.” Sung by Grammy®-winning recording legend James Taylor, the lyrics powerfully tell the tale of a once thriving town that no one seems to need anymore and of a place where “Main Street isn’t Main Street anymore.”
Grammy® Award-winning superstar Sheryl Crow captures the excitement of the film’s opening race with “Real Gone,” a new song that she wrote with producer John Shanks. Lyrically and emotionally, it reflects the thrill of the competition and the crowd’s anticipation. Country music favorite Brad Paisley contributes two new songs to the film—“Find Yourself ” and “Behind the Clouds.” The latter was co-written with his longtime producer and collaborator, Frank Rogers (who also produced both tracks).
In addition to the songs written expressly for the film, there are also new recordings of two favorites. Popular country recording group Rascal Flatts provides a new version of the Tom Cochrane song “Life is a Highway.” Multiple Grammy® Award-winning singer/guitarist John Mayer offers some new kicks with his lively and distinctive rendition of the classic 1946 Bobby Troup standard, “Route 66.” The film’s impressive soundtrack also includes recordings by Hank Williams, Chuck Berry (“Route 66”), and The Chords (“Sh-Boom”).
CARS is dedicated to the storytelling legacy of the late Joe Ranft, and the end credits for the film feature a fitting tribute to his enormous talent and contributions.
A storyman extraordinaire who lent his genius for story and character to some of the most memorable animated features of the past 25 years, Ranft was one of the greatest collaborators of all time in the ultimate form of collaborative filmmaking. From his days at Disney, where he helped to shape the stories for “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” “The Lion King,” and “James and the Giant Peach,” to his decade of achievements at Pixar, where he was head of story on “Toy Story” (for which he shared an Oscar® nomination for Best Original Screenplay), “A Bug’s Life,” and “Toy Story 2,” he established a reputation for being tops in his field. As story supervisor (and co-director) on CARS, he brought heart, soul, and humor to the film and left a personal imprint on the character of Mater. Tragically, Ranft passed away in August 2005 after completing his work on the film. “Joe was the best story guy I’ve ever known,” observes Lasseter. “He worked with me on every project I ever made. The thing I loved about his humor was that it wasn’t just funny lines.
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