Randy Newman to Score CARS 3 and TOY STORY 4

Pixar's trusted, longtime composer, Randy Newman, is returning to score the next installments of two of his previous franchises with Cars 3 in June 2017 and Toy Story 4 in June 2018. Newman is known for his work on Pixar classics including Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc., Cars, and Toy Story 3. Read a segment from the interview with Newman by The Advertiser regarding the news development after the break!

The Advertiser Interview with Randy Newman:

TDA: I read in The Atlantic you're working on an album now.

RN: “I think I’ll play two or three songs from it. There are a couple of love songs on it; there’s a song about Putin. I’ve got a song about Sonny Boy Williamson, a blues guy. But I’ll do some, definitely."

TDA: What’s the ETA on that one?

RN: “I don’t know. Probably I’ll be done by the middle of this year with it. I’m just doing arrangements. I’ve recorded the songs, but I just have arrangements to do, which I find difficult, always. I would think next year. Since I’m doing a few movies and so I can’t go on that much. I’m doing ‘Cars III,’ another movie, and then ‘Toy Story IV.’ But the album’s my main interest.”

TDA: The movies and TV shows — have you been offered or asked to write a soundtrack to a movie that you’ll say "I don’t want to be a part of that"?

RN: “I’ve turned things down, not for any reason; either I didn’t think music was particularly important, or didn’t know whether I could get along with the guys making the movie for whatever reason. But, yeah, I have. Or I didn’t think the picture would be any good, and I’ve been wrong about that. I can’t particularly judge — you can tell when something’s really going to be particularly bad, I think, from a script. But I’m not so sure. I can’t really judge what a picture’s going to be like from just reading a script. I’ve been wrong a number of times.
You sorta get typecast. I haven’t been getting a lot of offers for dramatic pictures since I’ve done all those animated pictures (“Toy Story (1-4),” “A Bug’s Life,” “Monsters Inc.,” “Cars,” “Monster University,” “The Princess and the Frog” and “James and the Giant Peach), that’s what I’ve been doing. You get typecast doing one thing. But I’m going to be doing a live action picture coming up.”

The news of Randy Newman returning to score Cars 3 and Toy Story 4 is extremely welcome; one of the characteristics of Pixar features that continuously stands out is the music and score. Having Newman return is a reaffirmation that Cars 3 and Toy Story 4 will feel very familiar in tone. It will be interesting to see if Newman will write a lyrical song for Toy Story 4 as he has done for all of the previous Toy Story features, being nominated for Best Original Song at the Academy Awards for Toy Story, Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3, and winning the Oscar in 2011 for Toy Story 3's "We Belong Together." Nevertheless, Newman's contribution to Toy Story 4 is very exciting.

As reported, Randy Newman looks to bring his scoring sensibilities back to Pixar next year with Cars 3. Following his work on The Incredibles, Ratatouille, and Up, Newman's Cars successor Michael Giacchino contributed a uniquely thrilling score inspired by surfer-rock for Cars 2. Several years ago, Michael Wallis, the voice of the Sheriff in the Cars franchise, reported that Cars 3 will be returning to the Southwestern US, spending significant time on California's historic Route 99. With the new development that Randy Newman is set to return for Cars 3, the reports of the film's Route 99 location and contribution of Newman's score seem to line up quite well. And while Cars 3 continues to be overshadowed by more exciting upcoming Pixar features, especially considering that we still have no final word on who is directing the June 16th, 2017 feature, Newman's word carries weight in the Pixar community.