Tailkinker

Chosen answer: There's no particular reason to suggest that there was any plagiarism or idea-sharing going on. Both films simply take the idea of an underdog coming to the fore in a particular field, doing well and learning some truths about themselves in the process. Very much an archetypal story and one that many, many films share. While a few factors can be considered similar, none of them are unique to these two films and thus the suggestion that ideas were either shared or "stolen" cannot be realistically accepted.

Tailkinker ★

Answer: He voices Fred, the incredibly rusty car that appears at both races, in both cases being very happy that somebody famous knows his name (having in fact read it from his licence plate).

Tailkinker ★

Chosen answer: Nope, nothing official was ever said. There are very few truly original film storylines these days; a close examination of most films would allow one to swiftly note plot similarities to any one of a number of preceding movies. Both Cars and Doc Hollywood fit neatly in a very standard storyline of an outsider coming into an unfamiliar cultural group, which they learn to appreciate and benefit from, while their presence likewise benefits the group they encounter. While the two are unusually similar, no comment on the subject was ever made.

Tailkinker ★

Answer: The situation was that, at the time, the head of Disney was not offering Pixar the sort of deal that enticed them to keep going with their association with Disney. As such, Pixar announced their intention to depart once their contract with Disney was fulfilled. In the interim, Disney's chief executive was ousted and a new one appointed who saw, quite correctly, that their association with Pixar was a highly valuable one and began to take steps to woo them back. Eventually, Disney actually chose to buy Pixar, so all future Pixar films will be released under the Disney banner.

Tailkinker ★