Disney Pixar Cars - Second and Third Level Characters are Key to Cars Success

Imagine if you could only collect the original twelve Cars characters and that was it. You would have completed your collection two years ago and would have gone on to something else. But here we are into the third year since Cars was released and collectors are hungrier than ever for the next NEW character!

What has made this line so successful is that John Lasseter wants us to have the entire cast of characters. How great is it that you can get characters such as Van, Yeti, and even Marco the Jet! To the reader who asked me if Mrs. Van (a.k.a Mini) would be available...I was told absolutely yes! Martin called her Mrs. Van, but what the hell does he know! I was told when all is said and done, that over 400 Cars characters will have been done in the 1:55th die cast "Mainline!" That is incredible and wonderful.

With all this happy stuff, I want to point out some things that make collecting a drag. It is when a company releases too many of the "Main" characters. Haven't we all said, "Not another McQueen!" I know I just can't take it when Disney runs a popular character into the ground. This is very evident with Disney pin trading. They'd release Tinker Bell angry, sitting, pouting, looking pretty, over the shoulder, blah, blah, blah...until you got so sick of Tinker Bell you wanted to vomit pixie dust! Let's hope Mattel doesn't make us want to puke up pistons and distributor caps.

Tell me you can't wait for Elvis?!! How about Sven the Governator?!! Who'd like a die cast Frank?!! Gimme a T! Gimme an O! Gimme a D! Gimme another D! Who does it Speeeeeell?! TODD, TODD, TODD! Who isn't waiting for Mr. Pizza Planet himself? I know a guy in Emeryville who probably has a few prototypes sitting in his office!

Man! Jay Limo is coming! Can't wait for Big Al! You are even gonna get the Spark Plug Aliens!!! Yessirree! This is the reason Cars is going to be hot for another five or six years! Great art, turned into great toys, done in high quality die cast. Martin, you and your team better take your vitamins and do your exercise in that Mattel gym. You got a lot of work to do my friend.

Coming Tomorrow: Photos of more New stuff!

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Disney Pixar's UP Preview Picture & Synopsis

Synopsis from Official Site: From Disney•Pixar comes Up, a comedy adventure about 78-year-old balloon salesman Carl Fredricksen, who finally fulfills his lifelong dream of a great adventure when he ties thousands of balloons to his house and flies away to the wilds of South America. But he discovers all too late that his biggest nightmare has stowed away on the trip: an overly optimistic 8-year-old Wilderness Explorer named Russell. From the Academy Award®-nominated director Pete Docter (Monsters, Inc.), Disney•Pixar’s Up invites you on a hilarious journey into a lost world, with the least likely duo on Earth. Up will be presented in Disney Digital 3-D in select theaters. UP opens on May 29, 2009.

I write about Up because as I've mentioned in a previous article, Todd the Pizza Planet Truck will once again be making his usual cameo. I asked all of you where you think we'll see him. Now, I know this is kind of a kooky question when we hardly know anything about the film, but we can assume that most of the film will be set up in the air. Sooooo, I'm guessing Todd will appear in the beginning of the film as Carl's house floats off over the city. I don't think Todd will be in the wilds of South America. Where do you think Todd will show up?

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Disney Pixar Cars - Frank The Combine Cruising From The Orient

I talked to one of my contacts from Mattel today and brought up my latest poll about Frank, Elvis and Todd. I've long known that Elvis is coming out as an Oversized, and Todd is coming out as a 1:55th die cast. I told him that now they just needed to get Frank done and everyone would be happy. I was told Frank is already in production as part of the Oversized line. More importantly, I was told he was probably on a ship heading to the United States as we spoke! No pictures yet, but as soon as I get any I'll post them for you to see.

When can we expect to see Frank hit the stores? Well, that's like having a Carny guess your weight! I may be close, or I may be way off in making a prediction. So, I'd conservatively say we may see Frank by the middle of February. The great thing is we will finally get Frank! I'm off to do some Tractor Tipping.

Coming Next...A Piece of Pixar History (Ok, Manana)!

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Disney Pixar Cars - The Big Three Cars Characters

I can confidently say that there are three big Cars characters that are supremely wanted by collectors...Frank the Combine, Elvis the RV and Todd the Pizza Planet Truck! The question I'll pose to you is this...You can own ONLY ONE! Which would you choose for your collection? I can give you my answer, but I'll wait until I see what you answer and what my next poll yields! Let's take a quick look at the three heavyweights...

Frank has long been wanted by Collectors!


Elvis has been a Hunka, Hunka, Shakin' Metal!


Todd has had a long and illustrious film career!

Now, an in depth look at the contenders!

The common thread these three contenders have is they are only in the
film for a moment. Frank has the most screen time as he gets to act with
stars Lightning McQueen and Mater during the tractor tipping scene.



Elvis was hired to shake his fenders to the musical opening by
Sheryl Crow as he hits her accent "Uhhh!" during "Real Gone!"



Finally, Todd the Pizza Planet Truck has just a small cameo, but
wanted us to see his whole reel of cameos! You'll also see some
other hidden Pixar Easter Eggs of Wall•E and other surprises!

So, it comes down to the big muscle of Frank, the graceful Graceland god Elvis, or the reliable ole Japanese native Todd! Which of these Contenders gets your Vote, if you can ONLY OWN ONE?!

Coming Next...A Piece of Pixar History (When I dig it out & photograph it)!

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Disney Pixar Cars - Todd The Pizza Planet Truck In Ratatouille & Wall•E

When I wrote my initial article about Todd the Pizza Planet Truck, I only covered his appearances up through Cars. I figured it was time to update our cameo driven star's last two films...Ratatouille and Wall•E! It is interesting how the directors chose to put him in each film. Brad Bird made him tough to find by having him drive over a bridge in the distance while we focused on Skinner chasing Remy on a scooter. Andrew Stanton put Todd square in our face as Eve scanned the Earth for plant life!

Todd drives over a French bridge in the background in Ratatouille


Todd looks a bit "Trashed" as Eve scans Earth for plant life in Wall•E

It is cool how Todd has been, and will be, in every Pixar feature. Where will he appear in "Up?" You can count on me to let you know! I wonder if we'll see the die cast version of Todd by the time "Up" comes out on May 29th next year. Will Pete Doctor make him easy to find? I'm guessing we may see him from above as Carl Fredrickson's (Ed Asner as Carl) house floats over the city. Can't wait to see it and look for Todd!

Coming Next...A Piece of Pixar History (When I dig it out & photograph it)!

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Disney Pixar Cars - Which Car Would You Like To Get From Santa

News has been slower than a drippin' radiator! I was thinking about which ONE Car I would love to get from Santa, and there's quite a few of them. I figure a lot of you wouldn't mind seeing a number of the Cars I'll throw at you in your stocking as well!

I think I'd love to see Elvis the RV striking a pose under the tree this year! He's the one Car that is going to be hot beyond belief! I know many people who don't collect Cars who are already salivating at the thought of getting that little hunk a, hunk a, shakin' metal!!

I would certainly love to see Todd the Pizza Planet Truck peering out from the top of my stocking! This is another Car that will be very sought after. Todd has been in every Pixar film and his appearance as a die cast has been eagerly anticipated by John Lasseter! I bet John has long had a Todd prototype sitting in his office!

The one Car I've long wanted is that chubby cheeked Jay Limo! I've seen Jay's Tonight Show live many times, he's a Bostonian like moi, and he loves cars in general! His cameo was super fun and I would love to see him in some wrapping paper.

I would also really love to see the face of the white Walmart hauler pop out of a box this Merry Ex-mas! I've owned Walmart stock, spend mucho dinero there, and have to have the company hauler in my collection!

So, Which Car would you love to get from Santa? Everybody has their own favorite. We can wish can't we?!

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Pixar Cars Todd, the Pizza Planet Truck

Picking up where I last left off...New Character releases! I left you discussing Todd, the Pizza Planet Truck. This Cars character is one I personally tie closely to John Lasseter because it has been in all the Pixar films from Toy Story up and through Cars. I heard John was very excited about the die-cast toy being produced as well. You were probably not aware it was in the films, or even saw it, but it was there. Want to see the screen captures? Sure you do!

We first saw the Pizza Planet truck in Toy Story back in 1995

Here's Todd's appearance in A Bug's Life

Toy Story 2 Had Todd Coming Back for the Sequel

Monsters Inc. had Todd in the Shadows of the Bayou!

Then He showed Up Keeping Dry in Nemo

Todd was a Blur and Hardly Recogonized in The Incredibles

Finally, We see Todd's Face in Cars!

He's sure to be another very popular character that will be hard to track down. I don't have any info on when he'll be released. If I get any, I won't tell you until I get mine, then I'll let you know! ;-)

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Disney Pixar Cars New Releases Part Two

When the blimp Al-Oft came out, collectors were annoyed by the scale and size of him. When Barney Stormin' was released collectors were upset he wasn't made of die-cast metal. Well, your complaints were heard and resolved in a way you all should be happy.

Take a look at the New design of Al-Oft. He is about twice the size of the original! Whether the new one will have "Over Sized" on the packaging, or that is just the working verbiage at Mattel doesn't really matter. What matters is you got what you wanted, a larger and more accurate scaled version of Al-Oft. I've been told he's being tooled and will be one of the first released.

Did you ever get a Barney Stormin', or have you still been trying to get a hold of one? The great thing is that he has been redesigned and will be re-released in die-cast metal! Take a look at the New Barney Stormin' on top of a bluff near Radiator Springs! He will be the same size as the plastic version, but will be considered part of the "Over Sized" line. He will also be one of the first to be released.

We can be happy about these changes because I've been told John Lasseter himself wants the line to be of the highest quality and detail! John carries his belief that quality matters in the tradition of the great Walt Disney.

Now, for the pièce de résistance! What character has been one of the most eagerly anticipated? One who rocks with Sheryl Crowe! One who is a hunk a hunk of burnin' love?! I present to you...ELVIS!!!!!! Elvis is going to be part of the "Over Sized" line. The quality and detail is super as always. When can you get Elvis? At this point, I don't know. I've been told he won't be out until Spring of 2009.


There are a few other characters who'll be in the "Over Sized" line. One is in front of Elvis, Marco the Jet and he will be die-cast as well! There are plans to make the other two Jet as well (there were three Jets in the movie). I've also been told the Security Vans from the race track will be in the "Over Sized" line as well. That does it for the "Over Sized" characters I have confirmed as certain.

I'm sure you recognized another long anticipated character in the photos with Elvis. I'll pickup my next entry by discussing some of the highly sought after characters such as Todd the Pizza Planet Truck! Don't forget to subscribe to this blog and get some of the most accurate info on Disney Pixar's Cars to come!

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