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Pixar’s 2006 animated film Cars deserves a place in the canon of great car movies, and not just because it’s literally a movie about talking cars. It’s also an ode to NASCAR history, featuring none other than seven-time champion Richard Petty voicing a character based on his iconic blue Plymouth Superbird, and appropriately named “The King.” One animator is taking that theme and running with it.
Ariya Alexander Berenji, a self-described aspiring filmmaker with a YouTube channel called R-ya Productions, is making a prequel Cars fan film about how The King earned his crown, back when he just plain old Strip Weathers, featuring other bits of NASCAR lore. To start off, there’s a character based on Dale Earnhardt, wearing the iconic number three and black livery, with “Sidewall Shine” replacing the “Goodwrench” sponsorship.
I’m Making a Prequel to CARS About The KING
In the reverse of how things went with the real-life King, the younger version of Weathers that the film’s story will center around wears a blue-and-orange livery inspired by the ones used by Petty later in his career. The solid blue of the 1960s and early 1970s Petty Enterprises cars was already used in the original Pixar movie, when Weathers was already a fully-formed legend, so it makes sense to switch things up to highlight that this is a prequel, while still using colors tied to Petty. And that combination of Petty Blue and STP Orange is still one of the great NASCAR liveries.
The film will also feature a young Chick Hicks, the antagonist from the first Cars movie voiced by Michael Keaton. Hicks trades his green livery for a red-and-gold scheme inspired by Bill Elliott’s Coors-sponsored number nine Ford Thunderbird. There’s also a new character called Toni Jo Torque. Known as “The Queen,” she’s a five-time champion and mentor to Weathers and Hicks. Her design is a mix of stock car and Porsche 935, with a livery taking queues from ones used by Shawna Robinson, Danica Patrick, and Toni Briedinger.
Dale Earnhardt in Cars | KING Fan Film | 3D Model Showcase
Locations include Copper Canyon Speedway from Cars 3, and a bowling alley and ice cream parlor. The latter serves “frozen coolant,” because Cars. The movie is set in the 1980s, so there’s a self-consciously retro look to everything that’s appropriate for a time defined in part by nostalgia for the 1950s.
Follow R-ya Productions on YouTube for more updates on the project. Given that it’s about the early career of a Richard Petty-inspired talking car, I’m hoping there’s room for a David Pearson-based character as well.
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Stephen has always been passionate about cars, and managed to turn that passion into a career as a freelance automotive journalist. When he’s not handling weekend coverage for The Drive, you can find him looking for a new book to read.
