Reinventing the World of 'Cars'

iStock/Thinkstock

“Wherever you can go in our world, we can go in the world of ‘Cars.’” ~ Director John Lasseter

... it was during the international publicity tour for “Cars” that the director first imagined his car-cast in a global setting. Lasseter says he took in the mayhem of international locales like Tokyo and Paris laughed to himself thinking, “what would Mater do?” “The story of ‘Cars 2′ was sparked by the idea of taking Lightning McQueen and Mater overseas,” says Lasseter. “Lighting McQueen is invited to compete in the World Grand Prix to race against the fastest cars in the world in three fantastic locations: Japan (shown above), Italy and the U.K. Of course Mater, who has never left Radiator Springs, is completely out of place in these distinctive cultures, which leads to hilarious comedic moments.”

Read the entire spread (it's phenomenal in terms of the color graphics and the historical aspect of taking 'Cars' global):  Pixar's 25th Anniversary/CARS 2:  Going Global