Fillmore is a supporting character in Pixar's Cars franchise. He is a smooth-talking hippie VW mini-bus. Fillmore is also the owner of Fillmore's Taste-In, where he sells organic fuel.
He was voiced by the late George Carlin in the first film and Mater's Tall Tales, who voiced Zugor in Tarzan 2 and the narrator in the US dub of Seasons 1-4 of Thomas & Friends, Lloyd Sherr in the sequels, Tales from Radiator Springs, and Cars on the Road, and Scott Wood in Cars: Mater-National Championship.
Fillmore is a 1960 VW Bus, and naturally, also Radiator Springs' resident Hippie and clean fuel aficionado. He brews his own organic fuel in his tie-dyed, geometric dome, and his unkempt yard tends to bug his veteran army jeep neighbor and best friend, Sarge.
Personality
Fillmore has a calm nature, very laid back, very wise, sporting the mood of peace and love. Fillmore's smooth personality often clashed with Sarge's strict nature, leading the two butt into each other and argue. However, despite the two being polar opposites, Fillmore and Sarge are good friends and find things that they both agree on and enjoy doing together.
Creation and development
Some of the Cars staff members have said that Fillmore was to originally be named Waldmire, after a Route 66 resident that the crew befriended on their road trip to research the film. However, his namesake was a vegan. And since Fillmore toys would be featured in McDonald's happy meals, he didn't want the character to use his name, and the name was soon changed to Fillmore.
Voice
In the first film, Fillmore was voiced by the late George Carlin. Two years after the release of the first film, Carlin died of heart failure on June 22, 2008, after spending a history of heart failure. When the second film was in production, Lloyd Sherr was cast to voice Fillmore and continued to voice the character from then on.
Physical appearance
Fillmore is a 1960 Volkswagen Type 2 Bus, to support the fact that he is an older car. Fillmore is painted light green, with Peace, Groovy, and Love painted on either sides of his doors, as well as various swirl and flower designs. On his front, he has the VW logo, as well as chrome headlights. He has light green rims, surrounded of course by black tire treads. He has a license plate on his front.
His license plate reads 51237, a reference to his first actor, George Carlin's birthday (May 12, 1937).
Powers and abilities
Fillmore has shown to have decent racing abilities, with outstanding boost and stability, though his acceleration is weak, with decent handling as well, as seen in the Cars video games.
History
Cars
Fillmore is seen with Sarge at Flo' V8 Cafe, watching the stoplight's amber light blink as Fillmore says that every blink is getting slower. When racecar Lightning McQueen suddenly crashes into Radiator Springs, Fillmore asks if he's not the only one witnessing this and manages to move out of the way when the former drives out of control through Flo's. Fillmore, Sarge, Ramone, and Flo then watch as McQueen accidentally destroys Radiator Springs' road by dragging the statute of the town's founder, Stanley, along with him. When McQueen causes the statue of Stanley to fly off, Fillmore says, "Fly away, Stanley! Be free!", as Stanley's statue lands back to its proper place.
When McQueen is put on trial the next day, Fillmore goes to court, where he angrily glares at McQueen for causing so much destruction. Fillmore then watches Doc Hudson enter the courtroom where he orders McQueen to leave town. And then, Fillmore greets Sally Carrera when she arrives to court. As Sally makes a speech on the history of Radiator Springs where travelers come and go, Sarge questions what travelers as there haven't been any, but Fillmore exclaims that everybody should ignore him. And then, he supports Sally's decision to have McQueen fix the town's road.
Fillmore, along with Sarge and Sheriff, watches McQueen pull Bessie to fix the road. When two cars arrive in Radiator Springs, Fillmore goes to his shop and tries to the cars some of his organic fuel, only to be told by one of them that it doesn't do well for his tank and Fillmore sadly watches the cars drive off. When McQueen tries to speed up his progress where he makes the road bumpy, Fillmore watches Doc challenge McQueen to a race where he witnesses fall into a cactus pit after failing to make a turn on the dirt track. After that, Fillmore watches McQueen scrap off the bumpy road and offers to give him some organic fuel, only to be told by McQueen that he'll pass on it.
When McQueen finishes half of the road, Fillmore joins his friends in having fun and driving on the road. On the next morning, Fillmore plays Jimi Hendrix's rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" from 1969 Woodstock Festival, disrupting Sarge's salute to the American flag while "Reveille" plays. Sarge yells at Fillmore to turn his music off, calling it "disrespectful junk" where Fillmore counters back by saying "Respect the classics, man! It's Hendrix!" At Flo's, Fillmore gets into another disagreement with Sarge when he suggests that he try some yoga. When McQueen suddenly comes in and asks if anyone knew that Doc was a famous racecar, Fillmore burst into laughter, and he doesn't believe him. Fillmore then watches Sally fill up McQueen's gas tank where McQueen decides to not run off and instead goes with Sally on a drive. Later, Fillmore witnesses Mater arrive with a herd of tractors behind, possibly because he went out tractor tipping. Fillmore is chased by some tractors until Mater is able to round up all of the tractors.
On the next morning, Fillmore interrupts Sarge's "Reveille" salute again by playing Hendrix where they get into a brief argument until they noticed that McQueen had finished fixing the road. Fillmore becomes disappointed when he believes McQueen has left, but becomes happy when he sees McQueen hasn't left and laughs when Mater finally realizes McQueen is still here. Fillmore watches McQueen get new tires at Luigi's Casa Della Tires before Fillmore serves McQueen some of his organic fuel. When McQueen starts wondering why he hasn't heard of this type of fuel before, Fillmore states his belief on a conspiracy happening where the government has its hand on the oil companies before McQueen decides to buy a case of organic fuel, much to Fillmore's satisfaction. Fillmore and the others present McQueen's new look to Sally before the town's fixed neon lights turn on where Fillmore and the others party and have fun. However, the celebration is cut short when the press arrives (due to Doc calling them) and takes McQueen away where Fillmore becomes sad to see him go before woefully heading into his shop and turning off his lights.
Doc, regretting his decision, tells everyone about his past of being a racecar and grabs a handful of Radiator Springs residents, Fillmore included, to the Piston Cup race in California to support McQueen and be his pit crew. Fillmore and the others arrive just in time to cheer for McQueen and give him encouragement where Fillmore gives McQueen some fuel during a brief pit stop before he continues his race. Fillmore watches McQueen catch up to the King and Chick Hicks, only to get a flat tire after Chick pushes into him. And then, Fillmore witnesses Guido change McQueen's tires so quickly, allowing the latter to keep his position in the race. Afterward, Fillmore and the other cars cheer for Guido for making an excellent pit stop. Fillmore continues to watch the race and sees McQueen forfeit his chance to win the Piston Cup by helping an injured King cross the finish line. Fillmore remarks to Sarge that there's a lot of love because McQueen's selflessness, but Sarge tells him not to embarrass him. After the race, Fillmore congratulates McQueen, and he laughs at Dusty and Rusty Rust-eze's jokes.
In the end, McQueen sets his racing headquarters in Radiator Springs, putting the town back on the map thanks to McQueen setting up his racing headquarters there and Fillmore continues to sell his organic fuel while spending time with his friends.
Cars 2
Fillmore reappears in Cars 2, joining McQueen's pit crew as the fuel expert for the World Grand Prix. Fillmore was re-cast, due to George Carlin's death, and he was voiced by Lloyd Sherr.
Fillmore first appears welcoming Lightning McQueen back home. Then he appears at the Wheel Well Motel, where Guido serves him, Sarge, and Luigi some drinks. Then he watches the Mel Dorado show with Sarge on the TV in the place. Then when he finds out that Lightning is going to join the World Grand Prix, he closes up shop and signs on as the fuel expert for Team Lightning McQueen.
Fillmore and the rest of the pit crew got on the plane, and flew to Tokyo. There, they went seeing some of the sights in Tokyo. And then, he was at the party in Tokyo. And when the party was over, Fillmore, along with the rest of the pit crew, wondered what was up with Mater.
The next day, he was in the pits with the rest of the pit crew, helping Lightning to win the race. Then, he and the rest of the pit crew saw Mater's letter, and started to cry.
Later, he and the rest of the pit crew went to Santa Ruotina, where Luigi's Uncle, Uncle Topolino lived. Then, during the race in Porto Corsa, he notices that Lightning McQueen looks sad. He thinks that Lightning is worried that the fuel will blow up his engine, so he says to Lightning that the fuel is safe, only for Lightning to reply that he wishes that Mater was with him.
Later, when they are in London, he was again in Lightning's pit crew, helping him through the race. Then when Mater came, he was surprised to see him. And when he saw Mater using rockets, he was even more surprised. As a bonus, he wasn't seen fighting the Lemons. Probably because he's a pacifist.
Later, when the gang heads back home, everyone wonders why Lightning McQueen didn't get killed by the lemons' camera. Then Fillmore reveals that Sarge switched Lightning's fuel with his organic biofuel, which is what allowed him to survive the Professor Z’s EMP emitter.
Cars 3
Fillmore reappears in Cars 3, once again a member of Lightning's pit crew as his fueler, with Luigi and Guido handling McQueen's tires. Fillmore attends most of the Piston Cup races as a member of Lightning's pit crew. Later, he says goodbye, along with the rest of the Radiator Springs gang, to Lightning McQueen before his trip to the Rust-eze Racing Center. He and Sarge also take turns running Luigi's Casa Della Tires in Luigi and Guido's absences. At the Florida 500, he helps in getting Cruz Ramirez ready to enter the race and attends the race between Lightning and Cruz at Willy's Butte.
Other media
Cars: The Video Game
In Cars: The Videogame, Fillmore continues to brew up batches of special boost juice for Lightning. He also appears as an opponent in the races Boostin' with Fillmore, Sarge's Off-Road Challenge, and Doc's Check-Up. He is only playable in the PSP version of the game.
Mater and the Ghostlight
In Mater and the Ghostlight, Fillmore is at Flo's V8 Cafe with the rest of Radiator Springs, listening as Sheriff tells his story about the Ghostlight.
Cars: Mater-National Championship
In Cars: Mater-National Championship, Fillmore is now a playable character, unlocked from the start of the game. His stats are 5 for boost, 1 for acceleration, 3 for handling, and 5 for stability.
He also makes appearances as an opponent in story mode, in the race Ornament Valley Airport, and the 4th level of Doc and the Law's Race 'n' Chase. He is also part of the player's team in Luigi and Guido's Team Relay 3, along with Lightning and Doc.
Cars 2: The Video Game
In Cars 2: The Video Game, Fillmore makes another appearance as a playable character, unlocked once access to Clearance Level 2 is granted. An alternate skin of him, titled Brand New Fillmore, can be unlocked by earning the Ready, Set, Go! badge. Both versions of him are heavy weights.
Disney Infinity
In Disney Infinity, Fillmore is a cast member in the Cars Play Set. He gives the player the missions, Corny Concoction, Fillmore's Ultimate Fuel, Tractor Rescue, Gourd Gatherer, and Tricky, Tricky. He can be unlocked as a toy box townsperson in the Toy Box by opening a character chest.
Cars: Fast as Lightning
In Cars: Fast as Lightning, Fillmore is an unlockable playable character, unlocked once all of his stickers have been collected by Chick Hicks.
Quotes
“
I'm telling you, man. Every third blink is slower.
„
~ Fillmore to Sarge.
“
Fly away, Stanley. Be free!
„
~ Fillmore watching Stanley's statue flying.
“
It's a conspiracy, man! The oil companies got a grip on the government. They're feedin' us a bunch of lies, man.
„
~ Fillmore to Lightning regarding his organic fuel.
“
If you're implying that I switched that rotgut excuse for alternative fuel with my all-natural sustainable organic biofuel just because I never trusted Axlerod, you're dead wrong, man. It was him.
„
~ Fillmore revealed that he switched Allinol for his organic fuel because Sarge rightfully knows everything about of Axlerod's evil plans.
Trivia
One of Fillmore's bumper stickers reads "Save 2D Animation." Another reads, "I brake for Jackalopes", a reference to Boundin.
Fillmore always uses the word "man" at the end of his sentences.
Ironically, George Carlin was a veteran of the US Air Force.
In Cars 2, Fillmore's current voice actor, Lloyd Sherr, also voiced Tony Trihull.
George Carlin actually based the voice of Fillmore on his stand-up character, Al Sleet the Hippy Dippy Weather Man.
As revealed in the video games, Fillmore is both a pacifist and a Pisces.
Despite being a pacifist, he can be seen with weapons in Cars 2: The Video Game.
Fillmore and Fred are the only two characters in Cars who have front license plates, and Fillmore may be the only character in Cars 2 with a front license plate.
Fillmore's license plate is 51237. This is a reference to George Carlin's birthday (May 12, 1937).
Fillmore is a Volkswagen Type 2 bus. This type of car, often called a "Hippie Bus", was a popular mode of transportation among hippies and people who shared a culture like Fillmore's. In fact, the buses were often painted and decorated to reflect the values of the hippies, similar to the designs painted on Fillmore.
Fillmore is the name of an auditorium in San Francisco, California, in which many popular musicians performed in the counterculture era of the sixties and seventies. Fillmore represents a popular vehicle amongst "hippies", a subculture of the American counterculture.
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