The German dub of the 2011 Pixar film Cars 2 is notable for its localization efforts, featuring a mix of professional voice actors and high-profile cameos from the world of German motorsport. The German Voice Cast
The German version, titled simply Cars 2, saw several cast changes from the first film, most notably for the lead character.
Lightning McQueen: Voiced by Manou Lubowski in Cars 2 and Cars 3, replacing Daniel Brühl who voiced the character in the first film.
Hook (Mater): Voiced by Reinhard Brock, who provided the voice for the lovable tow truck in the first two films before his passing.
Finn McMissile: Voiced by Dietmar Wunder, known as the regular German voice for Daniel Craig (James Bond).
Holley Shiftwell: Voiced by German comedian and actress Martina Hill.
Professor Zündapp: In a rare move, German actor Thomas Kretschmann voiced the character in both the original English version and the German dub. Localization and Cameos
Pixar customized Cars 2 for international audiences by replacing certain characters with local racing stars. Cars 2 (German) - The Dubbing Database
In Germany and Austria, Amazon offers the Cars 2 German dub full version for digital rental or purchase. cars 2 german dub full
| Character | English Voice Actor | German Voice Actor | Notes on Localization | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Lightning McQueen | Owen Wilson | Manouchéhr Tabibi | Retained from the first film; provides a youthful, heroic tone. | | Tow Mater | Larry the Cable Guy | Armin Dillenberger | Critical Change: Uses a broad Bavarian dialect rather than the American "redneck" dialect. | | Finn McMissile | Michael Caine | Joachim Kerzel | Kerzel is a prominent voice actor (often dubbing Anthony Hopkins/Dustin Hoffman); brings a classic, gravitas-filled spy voice. | | Holley Shiftwell | Emily Mortimer | Marie Bierstedt | Retained from film 1 (voicing a different character initially, but established Pixar voice). | | Francesco Bernoulli | John Turturro | Simon Jäger | Jäger is a major voice actor (often dubbing Matt Damon). Emphasis on an arrogant, smooth Italian flair in German. | | Miles Axlerod | Eddie Izzard | Klaus-Dieter Klebsch | Captures the deceptive, polished industrialist tone. |
The technical execution of the dub matches Pixar's high standards. The lip-sync (or "lip-flap") animation was originally created for English phonemes, but the German script was adapted to match the timing and mouth movements of the cars. Because car "mouths" are relatively flexible mechanical flaps, the synchronization is less jarring than human live-action dubs, allowing for a seamless viewing experience.
Another crucial aspect of the German dub is the consistency of the cast—specifically the voice of Lightning McQueen.
In the first Cars film, McQueen was voiced by the iconic TV journalist Günther Jauch. While a marketing coup, Jauch’s voice was distinctively journalistic and lacked the youthful arrogance required for McQueen. For Cars 2, the role was recast with Manfred Lichtenberg.
This change allowed for a more naturalistic performance. Lichtenberg’s voice was better suited for the buddy-cop dynamic required between McQueen and Mater in the sequel. Without the distraction of a celebrity cameo voice, the German dub of Cars 2 feels more cohesive and emotionally grounded than its predecessor.
Q: Is there a "Directors Cut" in German? A: No. The theatrical cut (106 minutes) is the only version dubbed into German. The extended "Mater’s Tall Tales" shorts are available separately in German.
Q: Can I buy the German dub on iTunes? A: Yes, but only on the German iTunes Store. You need a German Apple ID and payment method. Search for "Cars 2 [Deutsche Sprachfassung]".
Q: Is the German dub appropriate for children learning German? A: Absolutely. The vocabulary is B1 level (intermediate). The slow dialog scenes between McQueen and Mater are excellent for language learners. Just be aware of the spy-thriller violence (guns and explosions – but no blood). The German dub of the 2011 Pixar film
Q: What about "Cars 2 German Dub Full" on YouTube? A: Disney aggressively removes these. You will only find short clips (e.g., "Cars 2 Best of German Scenes") uploaded by fans, never the full 106-minute movie.
Unlike fan-made dubs, the official Cars 2 German dub full was produced by FFS Film- & Fernseh-Synchron in Berlin. Disney ensured that the audio mixing matched the original:
In the vast, often-overlooked universe of film localization, the German dub of Pixar’s Cars 2 (titled Cars 2: Voll aufgedreht – literally “Cars 2: Fully Revved Up”) stands as a fascinating artifact. While the original English version is frequently dismissed as Pixar’s rare misstep—a chaotic, James Bond-infused fever dream about tow trucks and environmental hypocrisy—the German dub transforms this critical misfire into something unexpectedly coherent. By examining the linguistic shifts, the recasting of vocal personas, and the cultural re-contextualization of the film’s global spy plot, one discovers that the German version does not merely translate Cars 2; it re-engineers it for a domestic audience, smoothing over tonal inconsistencies and amplifying the film’s underlying celebration of German engineering.
The most immediate change in the German dub is the handling of Mater (German: “Hook”), the tow truck protagonist. In English, Mater’s voice, provided by Larry the Cable Guy, is a thick, drawling Southern American stereotype—a comic figure of rural ignorance who stumbles into international espionage. This performance has been criticized as grating and out of place against the backdrop of Tokyo, Paris, and London. The German dub, however, replaces this with a far less regionally specific characterization. Hook is voiced by comedian Reinhard Brock, who delivers lines with a folksy but universally understandable “country bumpkin” tone, stripped of any direct analogue to a German subculture (such as Bavarian or Saxon dialects). This localization choice has a profound effect: Mater/Hook becomes less of a caricature of American provincialism and more of an everyman simpleton. Consequently, his fish-out-of-water antics in European settings feel less like a clash of American vs. World and more like a clash of rustic common sense versus cosmopolitan pretension—a theme that resonates well with certain strands of German popular sentiment.
Crucially, the German dub benefits from a sharper cultural tailoring of the film’s primary antagonist, Sir Miles Axlerod. In the original, Axlerod is a former oil tycoon turned alternative-energy evangelist, voiced by Eddie Izzard with a posh, slightly effete British accent. The twist—that he orchestrated the entire global conspiracy to discredit alternative fuels—is meant to be a cynical jab at corporate greenwashing. The German dub, however, recasts this role with a distinctly different vocal register, making Axlerod sound more like a scheming industrialist in the tradition of a German Wirtschaftskrimi (economic thriller). Moreover, the film’s centerpiece race in Tokyo and the finale in London are, in the German version, subtly reoriented. The extended sequence featuring the fictional “World Grand Prix” includes a German competitor, a sleek silver racer named “Schmetterling” (Butterfly), who receives enthusiastic commentary from the German broadcasters within the film. This addition of native pride transforms a background gag into a moment of genuine national engagement, allowing young German viewers to see themselves represented in a global race that otherwise sidelines them.
Perhaps the most sophisticated shift occurs in the film’s linguistic handling of automotive and spy jargon. English Cars 2 leans heavily on puns and cultural references that are deeply rooted in Anglo-American spy fiction (e.g., references to “The British Secret Service,” “Q,” and “M”). The German translators faced a choice: literally translate these terms, or find local equivalents. They chose the latter with remarkable success. The organization “C.H.R.O.M.E.” becomes “S.H.I.E.L.D.” (coincidentally mirroring Marvel’s later dominance), but more impressively, the banter between British spies Finn McMissile and Holley Shiftwell is rendered in a crisp, almost Tatort-like procedural dialect. The fast-paced, quippy exchanges that felt forced in English acquire a dry, efficient rhythm in German that aligns perfectly with the nation’s cinematic expectations of technical competence. Mater’s nonsensical spy-code phrases are transformed into puns that actually land in German, turning moments of original cringe into genuine lowbrow comedy.
However, the dub is not without its losses. The original voice of Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) has a laid-back, improvisational charm that is difficult to replicate. His German counterpart, Manou Lubowski, delivers a more clean-cut, heroic performance that loses McQueen’s slight arrogance. Similarly, the film’s emotional core—Mater’s fear of embarrassing his famous friend—is rendered more didactically in German, with less of the original’s melancholic subtext. The famous “lemon” cars (beat-up, unwanted vehicles) become Zitronen literally, but the American cultural metaphor of a defective car as a “lemon” does not carry the same weighted legal and social meaning in Germany, slightly weakening the villain’s motivation.
In conclusion, examining the Cars 2 German dub is an exercise in appreciating localization as creative adaptation rather than simple translation. Where the original English film lurches from spy parody to roadside comedy to environmental sermon, the German Voll aufgedreht smooths these transitions through careful voice casting, nationalized humor, and a subtle shift in thematic emphasis. It does not make Cars 2 a great film—the plot remains overstuffed, and the heart is still second to the hardware. But it does make it a watchable film, and for German audiences, arguably a more coherent one. In the end, the German dub of Cars 2 proves a counterintuitive truth: sometimes, to fix a flawed engine, you don’t rebuild it from scratch; you simply change the soundtrack and let the Autobahn do the rest. SD/HD Options: Available
Cars 2 (German Dub)
"Cars 2" is a 2011 computer-animated action comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and directed by John Lasseter, Brad Bird, and Dan Fogelman. The movie is a sequel to the 2006 film "Cars".
In the German dub of "Cars 2", the voice cast includes:
The German dub of "Cars 2" was released in Germany on July 22, 2011.
Where to Watch
If you're looking to watch "Cars 2" in its German dub, here are a few options:
Reviews and Ratings
On the German review platform, Moviepilot, "Cars 2" has a rating of 7.1/10 based on over 22,000 user reviews.
On IMDB, the movie has a rating of 7.4/10 based on over 220,000 user reviews.