Sources: Wikidata · OpenAlex. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
Cars 2 arrived in 2011 as Pixar's tenth feature, a follow-up that pivoted from the small-town nostalgia of the original into globe-spanning espionage. Disney and Pixar leaned hard into the spy-film pastiche, sending the Radiator Springs crew abroad and pairing them with a new cast of international operatives. It was a divisive entry critically, yet commercially strong, and it expanded the franchise's toy and merchandise footprint significantly, giving the property a second life beyond its quieter predecessor.
This cell brings together Tow Mater, credited here in his fuller "Finn and Holley" pairing, alongside the British secret agent Finn McMissile and his partner-in-training Holley Shiftwell, with Mater appearing again as the story's constant. Mater's accidental recruitment into international intrigue is the engine of the sequel's plot, and collectors prize frames that place him alongside the spy characters who define the film's new direction. A grouping like this represents the heart of the movie's premise, three principal characters sharing space in a single strip of 35mm history.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Cars 2 (2011).
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced; punched edges appear clean with no torn or deformed holes visible.
Soundtrack
A blue optical soundtrack stripe is visible along the lower edge, consistent with a variable-area optical track; Dolby Digital pixel blocks between perforations are not clearly resolvable at this size.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture.
Base & colour
Base appears with a light blue-tinted safety stock; dye image reads as warm and saturated with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
No splices, cue marks, or prominent scratches are visible in this capture.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot, consistent with Cars 2 (2011).
Era check
The blue-base safety stock, optical soundtrack stripe, and positive colour dye image are all consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print from the 2011 era.
Read from the original intake capture shown below. Observations only — film is authenticated, not graded.
This original motion picture film element has been examined and authenticated by Crown Grading in partnership with National Film Vault, and encapsulated for archival preservation.
Why so little survivesRelease prints were leased to theaters, not sold. When the run ended they went back to the distributor to be destroyed, and most were. What collectors hold today came from the prints that escaped that order, and no new 35mm prints of these films are being struck.
CROWN SERIAL 000063502
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
