Red (Cars)

Hero Overview

“	What's wrong with Red?	„
	~ Lightning McQueen about Red

Red is a timid shy fire truck and a supporting character in the Cars franchise. He was voiced by the late Pixar story artist Joe Ranft (who died in a wreck before the film's release) and currently Joe's brother Jerome in most other appearances. He is a supporting character in Cars and Cars 3, and a minor character in Cars 2.

Red gets upset easily and he's been known to retreat to his fire station when things get on top of him, which seems to be most of the time. Red might be shy, but he also has a lot of friends around town who feel very protective toward him.

Red's hose is always very useful. Not only does he water all the town's flowers but he has also given Lightning McQueen a good soak from time to time.

Red doesn't speak much (aside from sobbing, gasping, crying and grunting).

Personality[]

Red is a very shy, emotional and friendly fire truck who lives in a firehouse in Radiator Springs, where the statue of Lizzie's late husband Stanley (the town's patriarch) appears. He can sometimes be quite childish despite his size, as he never speaks and tends to burst into tears, even making a tire tower fall a couple of times when this happens.

Voice[]

In Cars, he was voiced by Joe Ranft who passed away in 2005 from a car crash. In consequence, Cars was dedicated in Ranft's memory who had worked with Disney and Pixar for a long period time and voiced some of the characters in the movies he created stories for. Ranft's brother, Jerome would go on to voice Red and other characters that Joe voiced over the years before his death. However, Red still does not talk, only crying or grunting.

Physical appearance[]

Red is a fire truck with a red paint job like Lightning McQueen and Mack hence the color as a name option for the character in the film. He has shiny silvery detail all over him including his fire hose. He also has black water pipes stored on both sides where the water pressure gauges meet. The ladder rests in the back as another unique detail toward the character's craftsmanship.

Powers and abilities[]

Red is very talented at fighting fires due to his high-pressured monitor, able to launch water at high velocities and intensities. Red was also very stealthy as he was able to take McQueen by surprise by spraying him with his hose to clean the bits of cactus off him.

History[]

Cars[]

Red is first seen watering his flowers when Lightning McQueen spun out of control and accidentally destroyed his flowers, much to Red's horror. Red began gasping and ducking at the same time when that happened. At this point, he stayed inside the garage of the firehouse when McQueen was at the scene of destroying a lot of property in Radiator Springs. It was stated by Mater that Red hated Lightning McQueen, because of that incident. It is clear that Red had forgiven Lightning McQueen and warmed up to him, especially when he burst into tears and fled. This was because he thought that Lightning McQueen left without saying goodbye (which he didn't, but was forced to do later).

Cars 2[]

Red reappears in Cars 2 as a non-speaking character. He appears with the other Radiator Springs residents congratulating McQueen on coming back home, as well as when Francesco is insulting Mater and McQueen agrees to compete in the World Grand Prix. He only makes a small appearance at the airport, sobbing as he sees 'Team McQueen' taking off for Tokyo. He comes with most of the rest of the Radiator Springs residents (except Lizzie and Mack) to London after McQueen called them to try to talk to Mater, who was missing at the time. He also appears in the battle against the Lemons, where he arrives just in time to blast some of the Lemons away with his fire hose and is seen briefly when Mater and the others return to their hometown, and when they are watching the Radiator Springs Grand Prix.

Cars Toons[]

Red appears in the Cars Toons: Rescue Squad Mater, Hiccups, Bugged, and Spinning. In Bugged, he plays as the protagonist for the first time, and is voiced by Jerome Ranft, Joe's brother (and Pixar sculptor). However, he does not have any actual dialogue, except grunting and sighing.

Cars 3[]

Red also reappears in Cars 3. Unlike in Cars and like in Cars 2, Red does not speak. However, he still cries during the part where Lightning McQueen leaves Radiator Springs to train in the Rust-eze Racing Center in Florida. He later appeared watching the Florida 500 on the TV along with Lizzie and Sheriff and in the end of the film in Willy's Butte to see McQueen and Cruz Ramirez racing.

Pixar Popcorn[]

in Pixar Popcorn episode, Unparalleled Parking, Red can be seen staring at them while some residents of the town play the parking game.

Cars on the Road[]

Dino Park[]

In Cars on the Road first episode, Dino Park Red makes a mini cameo in Radiator Springs.

Video games[]

Cars: Mater-National Championship[]

In Cars: Mater-National Championship, Red makes two very quick cameos. He is seen providing the waterfall in North Willy's Butte, and roaming around the fields in the background of Tractor Tipping.

The World of Cars Online[]

In The World of Cars Online, Red could often be found at the courthouse in Radiator Springs, next to Stanley. After a few moments there, he goes to Redhood Valley, and then returns to the courthouse.

Kinect Rush: A Disney/Pixar Adventure[]

In Kinect Rush: A Disney/Pixar Adventure, Red makes a cameo at the end of the track in the first level of Cars in the game, as well as in the background of the ending cut-scene.

Disney Parks[]

Red appears primarily at Disney California Adventure in Cars Land in which guests of ALL ages can easily hear his siren, horn and bell go off while watching him move all over Cars Land as a "drive-around" character. He appears as an Audio-Animatronic figure who uses his hose to water his flowers in the dark ride segment of Radiator Springs Racers while smiling and blinking his eyes at the same time. He is presiding over a small show in which he enlists guests to help in his fire-engine duties around town while spraying water at the same time. Guests also can watch Red's ladder go up and down. When Red greets people during meet and greets, his mirrors turn in and out as an effective way of saying "Hi".

Trivia[]

During recording sessions, the late Joe Ranft managed to manipulate Red's emotional sound effects in the same order as he did Heimlich the caterpillar from A Bug's Life. The difference between Heimlich's whimpers and Red's cries were the pitch levels of sound effects that were processed in editing after Joe's recording session. Heimlich's whimpers were high-pitched whereas Red's cries were low-pitched and deeper in the sound mix before the first film was made.
This is the last character who was originally voiced by Joe Ranft before his death in 2005. Jerry Recycled Batteries, on the other hand, is Ranft's last speaking role since Red's dialogues is only restricted to crying. Jerome Ranft is now the current voice actor behind Red in other media.
- A possible toy version of himself was seen in the Butterfly Room in Toy Story 3.
- A firetruck bearing a resemblance to Red is seen in The Incredibles.
- Red is the last character who was originally voiced by Joe Ranft before his death in 2005. Jerry, on the other hand, is Ranft's last speaking role, since Red's voice is only crying and gasps. In other media, Joe's brother, Jerome, is now the voice actor behind Red.
  - As of now, Red doesn't speak at all. Red cries a total of four times in the Cars films: Twice in the first Cars (once when Lightning insults Radiator Springs and other time when he thought McQueen left without a farewell), once in Cars 2 (when Lightning and his team left for Tokyo), and once in Cars 3 (when Lightning, Luigi, and Guido left with Mack to the Rust-Eze Racing Center).
    - The first one is the only time Red cries in something unrelated to McQueen leaving.
    - The crying in Cars 2 is the only one where Red's crying is not audible due to Joe Ranft's passing.
  - Red is a meetable character in Cars Land located in Disney California Adventure.
  - His name has been translated in other languages
    - In Russia, his name is Шланг (Russian for hose).
    - In Polish, his normal name is Edek (shorter version of Edward).

Red is a meetable character in Cars Land located in Disney California Adventure.
During recording sessions, the late Joe Ranft managed to manipulate Red's emotional sound effects in the same order as Heimlich the caterpillar from A Bug's Life. The difference between Heimlich's whimpers and Red's cries were the pitch levels of sound effects that were processed in editing after Joe Ranft's recording session. Heimlich's whimpers were high-pitched in the performance scene of A Bug's Life, whereas Red's cries were low-pitched and deeper in the sound mix before the film was made.

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