Sources: Wikidata · OpenAlex. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
Cars 2 arrived from Pixar and Walt Disney Pictures in 2011, a sequel that pushed the franchise into globe-trotting spy territory. Directed by John Lasseter, it paired the Radiator Springs cast with a new espionage plot, sending Mater into the middle of international intrigue alongside British agents Finn McMissile and Holley Shiftwell. The film split critics but remains a fixture of Pixar's catalog and a favorite among younger audiences and merchandise collectors alike, expanding the Cars universe well beyond its original small-town roots.
This cell brings together the three characters most central to that spy-thriller turn: Mater, the tow truck mistaken for a master agent, and Finn McMissile and Holley Shiftwell, the operatives who pull him into their world. Their shared presence marks one of the film's defining alliances, the unlikely trio whose mismatched skills drive the plot forward. For collectors, a frame uniting all three is a compact record of that partnership, a single physical artifact preserving the moment the everyday and the covert worlds collide on screen.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Cars 2 (2011).
Gauge
35mm, 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 visible tearing.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible along one edge, with what appears to be a Dolby Digital data block strip and a DTS timecode line also present in the soundtrack area, consistent with a multi-format optical release print.
Edge print
Not clearly legible in this capture; no key numbers or manufacturer text can be read with confidence.
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight cyan-blue tint typical of modern safety stock; dye image appears neutral with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
No splices or cue marks are visible; minor surface marks consistent with a projected print are present but not prominent.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot and the animated content is consistent with Cars 2 (2011).
Era check
The multi-format soundtrack configuration, cyan-tinted polyester base, and positive colour print are all consistent with a 2011 theatrical release print.
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 000063504
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
