Cars 2 gives world a taste of Perfume

Japan’s lingering global reputation for being the spiritual home of all things tacky, wacky and weird may be largely undeserved, but the Japanese don’t exactly help themselves when they choose the most bizarre things to obsess over and popularise (Pachinko? 1950s-style greaser dance groups? Ganguro girls? Stitch?!). Mediocre 2006 Disney-Pixar effort Cars is one such curiousity (its popularity in Japan strikingly disproportionate to, well, its popularity everywhere else) and, with a sequel set for release this summer, the folks behind the movie (albeit unwittingly) have rewarded the Japanese faithful with a welcome promotional boost for one of the nation’s tastiest pop groups: golden goddesses Perfume.

The story goes that the upcoming Cars 2 will see a World Grand Prix race staged in Japan, and, when director John Lasseter (also of Toy Story and Wall-E fame) found himself in need of the perfect track to accompany the scene’s neon visuals, a Perfume fan on staff suggested the Hiroshima girls’ breakthrough 2007 single “Polyrhythm” for the job. Their first song to be optioned for a major Hollywood motion picture, the infectiously catchy tune will not only feature in all versions of the movie itself but also appear on the official soundtrack, which will be out in June.

Whether you’re excited or not by the prospect of anthropomorphic automobiles lighting up your nearest big screen in the months to come, it’s certainly nice to see the divine A-chan, Kashiyuka and Nocchi (♥Oh, Nocchi!♥) gaining some well-deserved exposure on the world stage, no doubt securing a brand-new legion of slavering, wild-eyed admirers in the process.

It’d be a crime to keep girls this sexy hidden away in one corner of the globe forever, and with a killer back catalogue of cute tunes to boot they really are the complete package. Cars 2 races onto American screens from June 24th, with the Japanese release to follow a month later. In the meantime, for your viewing pleasure…