Lightning McQueen

Montgomery "Monty" / "Lightning" McQueen is a fictional anthropomorphic stock car and the protagonist of the Disney/Pixar Cars franchise. He was developed by John Lasseter and co-director Joe Ranft from a story concept by Jorgen Klubien. Lightning's appearances include the feature films Cars, Cars 2, and Cars 3, as well as the animated series Cars Toons and Cars on the Road. He is also a playable character in each of the Cars video game installments. Primarily voiced by Owen Wilson, Lightning is recognizable by his red body with yellow and orange lightning bolt stickers featuring his racing number on his sides.

In Cars, Lightning begins as a talented but cocky rookie in the Piston Cup racing series who becomes stranded in the small town of Radiator Springs, where he learns about humility and friendship from the locals. Over his professional racing career, he achieves several Piston Cup victories. In Cars 2, he competes in the World Grand Prix, while his friend Tow Mater is unwittingly dragged into a spy mission. In Cars 3, he struggles to come to terms with retirement and assumes the role of Cruz Ramirez's mentor.

Despite receiving a mixed reaction from critics in the first film, Lightning has become a recognizable face and mascot of the Cars franchise. He has been widely merchandised in the form of branded toy cars and other products. He has been mentioned in commentary by NASCAR racing drivers, including Kyle Busch and Chris Buescher, and his achievements have been discussed by sports journalist Stephen A. Smith. Critics have described him as one of the greatest or most iconic cars in film.

The concept for Cars originated in 1998. Danish story development artist Jorgen Klubien had the idea to write an animated feature based on an unpopular three-wheeled electric car in Denmark. The car reminded him of The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen, where a character is not initially accepted but later proves to be a success. He began to write the story concept with the title "The Yellow Car," set in a small town populated by cars rather than people. The story involved the titular yellow car struggling to be accepted by the local residents but eventually earning its place in the community. Pixar Chief Creative Officer John Lasseter liked the concept of a world inhabited by cars presented by Klubien, but felt it would need a stronger character to create conflict in the story. He and co-director Joe Ranft began developing the various car characters, and the Yellow Car was eventually replaced by Lightning.

From the start, Pixar's new film project was referred to as Cars. Lasseter decided the main character should be a racing car because it represents speed, power and individuality. The Pixar team focused their research on racing cars, with Lasseter attending numerous races to ensure the film was "authentic in every single detail." The team visited Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte and met with Richard Petty. Story artist Steve Purcell said that meeting die-hard fans and experiencing the track firsthand was the ideal education needed for the film's development. Lasseter also took driving lessons at the Infineon Raceway from Jim Russell Racing School instructors, which became invaluable for giving direction to Owen Wilson, who voiced Lightning.

Lasseter, who had previously worked on Toy Story, had for many years toyed with the idea of making a film about cars, having a particular love of cars and NASCAR racing. Lasseter said he became hooked on cars at an early age after buying Hot Wheels. He cited childhood vacations with his family on Route 66 and the animated films of Japanese producer Hayao Miyazaki as his inspirations. In the summer of 2000, he and his family went on a two-month road trip where they avoided interstate highways, forcing them to take a slower journey. From this experience, he began to develop the story idea for the film. "I discovered that the journey in life is the reward," he recalled.

In 2001, he and a group of Pixar staff took a trip on Route 66. Over nine days, they toured a number of places along the route, including Route 66 Museum in Clinton, Oklahoma, and studied the landscape. Lasseter researched automotives, befriending design chief J Mays of the Ford Motor Company. During development, Porsche 911 coupes were delivered to Pixar offices for inspection by the animators. Lasseter and the production team met with General Motors designers in the early 2000s to discuss the new Chevrolet Corvette design. Cars also reflects Lasseter's sadness over the decline of small towns on Route 66, which he said "died overnight" following the construction of interstate highways after World War II.

Pixar's animators found it challenging to inject personality into the characters due to their rigid forms. In early animation tests, the cars featured big smiles and had less rigid tops, but Lasseter decided this needed to be changed to reflect the rigidity of real cars. The animators spent much time working on the face to ensure the characters felt like they were alive, and the grill of the car was designed as its mouth. For the eyes, Lasseter took inspiration from the Disney short film Susie the Little Blue Coupe (1952), in which the character's windscreen panes are used for the eyes. This choice brought other challenges with showing expressiveness. In early tests, the team found the eyes to be too far from their mouths, so animators repositioned the eyelids to improve their expressions.