At this morning's Disney presentation in London's Leicester Square, John Lasseter gave us some fresh new details about the plot of the upcoming Cars 2, due in summer 2011, including the news that a large section of the plot will focus on Larry the Cable Guy's Mater.
The story sees Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson), his pit team and new pit boss Mater head around the world for the Race of Champions, to take place in five different countries and involve the champions of different disciplines like Formula One and rally driving. First up is a race in Tokyo, starting at Mount Fuji and heading downtown; then there's a German race through the Black Forest; then "Porto Corsa" in Italy, which is based partly on the Monte Carlo Grand Prix; then a 24-hour race around Paris (so somewhat like Le Mans then) and finally a thrilling climax in London, approaching Buckingham Palace (where the guards appear to be Land Rovers).
But all this racing is not the only focus. Mater, who we know from the series of cartoon shorts Mater's Tall Tales (more on that in our blog in a minute) is prone to exaggeration, gets involved in a "Hitchcockian" case of mistaken identity, saves the life of a British secret agent called Finn McMissile (who looks a heck of a lot like an Aston Martin) and becomes embroiled in a huge spy thriller. Only no-one believes him. That too comes to a head at Buckingham Palace.
Along the way there are towtruck-abroad pictures to be taken at the Oktoberfest in Germany (where Mater wears "Materhosen") and harassing the aforementioned Palace Guards.
Cars 2 is being directed by Ratatouille producer Brad Lewis in his Pixar-directing debut. We're told that all the familiar voices will be returning, but we weren't told who would be voicing Finn McMissile. Still, if the studio aren't in talks with one of the former Bonds, we'd be amazed.
Check out more from Lasseter in our blog of today's announcements here.