Animators from Pixar's 'Cars' reveal Utah's inspiration for the movie

SALT LAKE CITY — Have you ever been out on the road and had a moment of deja vu? For anyone who's seen the animated movie "Cars" by Disney's Pixar, Utah's roads may have you taking a double take. KSL recently confirmed Utah's roads and breathtaking landscape helped inspire the movie.

Watching Disney Pixar's hit movie "Cars" do you notice anything that looks familiar? The fictional town of Radiator Springs, its desert backdrop, with colorful rock formations, and scenic roads. Compare the animation to real life, driving through southern Utah. If you're thinking the movie is putting off some heavy Utah vibes — you'd be right.

"I'm watching Cars and I'm thinking, that looks a lot like Utah... am I wrong there, Bob? Or is this Utah?" asked reporter Brian Carlson.

"You're not wrong," said Bob Pauley, Pixar production designer.

Prior to the film's 2006 release, Pauley was on the team that took several road trips looking for visual inspiration for the movie, crisscrossing several states, including Utah.

"I think we ended up down in Bryce Canyon," said Pauley.

Pauley specifically recalls the red rock arches driving through Utah's Scenic Byway 12, and had to include them in the film.

"Having those arches were always a key element, because it's just so spectacular, ... it's a good reveal, right? You're actually doing a nice reveal of the world you're going to, so it opens up in front of you," he said.

He says the movie's inverted rock formation called Willy's Butte took partial inspiration from Utah's Mexican Hat Rock. Utah's Monument Valley inspired the name Ornament Valley — home to Radiator Springs. Even the "R.S." on the hill at the end of town bears a striking resemblance to the "K" on the hill in Utah's downtown Kanab.

"When Bill saw the big 'K' on the hill in Kanab, it's like, wow, that's terrific, and also the size of the hills and the mountains and the color and forms, even how close they are in the town, they're terrific backdrops," Pauley said.

Pauley said Utah's colorful rock formations made an easy excuse to sneak in car shapes into the movie.

"Visually, parts of Utah, in the areas we went through were stunning ... the different strata would be different colors. So we could make an argument for the hood ornament. Part of it would be a gray rock and the body would be a warmer color rock. So we just we leaned into all those geological elements," said Pauley.

For Utahns watching the movie for years, wondering if that's really an animated Utah — in Pauley's own words:

"Utah did play a big part," he said.

Inspiration drawn up to blend an animated automotive world with the beauty of Utah.

The timing for this couldn't be better. This year is the 20th anniversary of the movie, and the 100th anniversary of Route 66. So if you want to get in a final summer road trip, driving through Utah to see the inspiration for the film is a good excuse to do it.

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