Texas Became the Unsung Hero of Pixar Masterpieces

Disney has made some of the greatest films known to man; and that includes films from Pixar. Movies like Toy Story, Cars, Monsters Inc. & Finding Nemo will live on for decades bringing entertainment to millions of people. And as it turns out, Texas played a huge part in the creation of two beloved Pixar movies.

Shamrock, Texas was a huge inspiration for Cars

Those who remember the movie Cars, will remember the fictional town of Radiator Springs along Route 66. The REAL Radiator Springs is actually in Shamrock, Texas.

• The Famous U-Drop Inn, was a big inspiration for Ramone's House of Body Art
• Tex Dinoco was greatly inspired by The Big Texan,
• The Cadillac Ranch was also featured in the epilogue of the movie,
• Even The Midpoint Café in Adrian, Texas inspired Flo's V-8 Café in Cars

If you want to see around Shamrock, Texas, the Secrets of Texas YouTube channel went to tour around the town so you can see everything for yourself.

But there's another movie that people didn't know that was inspired by Texas

The movie Soul actually was made partly due to San Antonio.

While the movie was heavily inspired & based in New Orleans, in A Texas Public Radio Interview, Pixar Writer Mike Jones, a San Antonio native, said he used a lot of his upbringing in writing the movie Soul. He would find his love of film after attending UTSA & the University of North Texas. He would also work on other Pixar movies such as Toy Story 4, Coco, The Incredibles 2, & Luca.

Mike Jones isn't the only Texan to help elevate a Pixar movie either.

Encanto would not have it's amazing soundtrack if it wasn't for El Paso's Germaine Franco

Germaine Franco would become to first Latina to win a Grammy for Best Score Soundtrack for her work on Encanto. She would also win an Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement for Music in an Animated Feature with Coco.

Considering all these films are regarded as classics, it's clear that Texas, its cities & its natives have had a huge hand in helping create masterpieces. We'll see how much more inspiration Disney & Pixar will get from Texas in the future

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