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, released by Walt Disney Pictures and Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It marked a shift in tone for the franchise, trading small town racing nostalgia for globe spanning espionage, and it remains notable as the studio's first sequel built around a genre pivot, pairing the Radiator Springs cast with a spy thriller framework inspired by films like the Bond series.
This cell brings together Finn McMissile and Mater, the pairing that carries the picture's central plot. Finn, the suave British secret agent, represents Pixar's new spy aesthetic, while Mater, mistaken for a fellow operative, supplies the emotional throughline as an unlikely hero. Collectors seek this cell for that unlikely partnership itself, a defining relationship of the film's second act, where an ordinary tow truck is swept into international intrigue alongside a polished professional. As a 35mm frame, it preserves a physical fragment of that reel.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm Dolby Digital 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 visible tearing or distortion.
Soundtrack
A Dolby Digital data block pattern is visible in the inter-perforation gaps on one edge, consistent with a Dolby Digital optical release print; a variable-area optical track is also visible alongside the picture area.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to quote text accurately.
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight cyan-teal tint consistent with modern safety stock; dye image reads as neutral with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
No splices, cue marks, or significant scratches are visible; the print shows no overt evidence of heavy projection use.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot, consistent with a release print of Cars 2 (2011).
Era check
The combination of Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks, variable-area optical track, and cyan-tinted safety base is 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 000063513
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
