Another Corner

In 1998 Pixar story development artist Jorgen Klubien began work on an animated film with automobiles as the main characters. The original script, The Yellow Car, was about an electric car in a world of gas guzzlers. Critics probably would have liked it even less than Wall-E (2008). But in 2000 John Lasseter’s wife Nancy took him and their five sons (the oldest was probably not yet 12) on an RV trip. They went from sea to shining sea, avoiding major freeways. After returning, Lasseter consulted with a Route 66 historian. He then took eleven Pixar animators on two different Route 66 excursions in rented white Cadillacs. Six years later their efforts gave birth to the movie Cars. "I’ve always loved cars.” John Lasseter said, “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.”