The animators at Pixar have set their schedules through 2012, and while the slate includes new films like Up and Newt, it’s also brimming with sequels. Following the third installment of the studio’s Toy Story franchise in 2010, Pixar will release the sequel to our favorite animated homage to automobiles, Cars 2. While we don’t know for sure if Lightning McQueen and Sally Carrera will return, the press release indicates that the film will be filled with old and new characters for kids and kid-like adults to enjoy. Like most of Pixar’s upcoming schedule, Cars 2 will also be presented in 3D, and let me tell you, after watching Beowulf skewer Grendel in the third dimension, we can’t wait for an animated fender to fly out of the screen at us. The date is set for 2012, so there’s a long way to go, and this installment will be directed by Brad Lewis, who produced Ratatouille, rather than the first film’s director, John Lasseter. Lasseter proved himself to be a man steeped in car culture, so Lewis has some mighty big brake shoes to fill.