Cars Toons

Cars Toons is a television series of American computer-animated short films produced by Pixar. It features the main characters Lightning McQueen and Mater from Pixar's Cars franchise non-canonically on the original plot. The amazing automobiles from Disney/Pixar's Cars franchise are featured in these special short adventures. Larry the Cable Guy reprises his role as Mater while Keith Ferguson replaces Owen Wilson as the voice of Lightning McQueen (until The Radiator Springs 500 ½, when Wilson reprises his role).

Not to be confused with Cartoon.
Cars Toons
GenreComedy
Created byJohn Lasseter
Developed by
Directed by
  • John Lasseter
  • Rob Gibbs
  • Jeremy Lasky
Starring
Opening themeCars Toons Theme Song
Composers
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes
  • Mater's Tall Tales: 11
  • Tales from Radiator Springs: 4
  • Total: 15
(list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
ProducerKimberly Adams
Running time1–7 minutes
Production companies
DistributorDisney–ABC Domestic Television
Release
Original networkDisney Channel
Picture format
Audio formatDolby Digital 5.1
First shown inUnited States
Original releaseOctober 27, 2008 (2008-10-27) –
May 20, 2014 (2014-05-20)
External links
Website

The series premiered on October 27, 2008 on both Disney Channel, Toon Disney and ABC Family. Not exclusive to television, the shorts were also released on home media and/or as theatrical shorts. The series ended its run on May 20, 2014 with The Radiator Springs 500 ½ being the final short to be made.

Premise

Mater's Tall Tales

All Cars Toons in Mater's Tall Tales follow the same tall tale formula: the episode opens with Mater popping out of his garage and declaring, "If I'm lyin', I'm cryin'!" (or a variation thereof as seen on the home media and television releases).

Mater then proceeds to tell a far-fetched story of something he supposedly did in the past to Lightning McQueen, to which the action shifts to Mater's story. At a midway point, the action briefly shifts back to Mater and McQueen in which Mater proclaims that McQueen was also involved, telling him, "Don't you remember? You was there, too!" (or also some other variation thereof). The flashback then resumes with McQueen's sudden (and usually unwilling) participation. Once Mater finishes his tall tale, (with the exception of Tokyo Mater) McQueen insinuates or argues to him that Mater's story wasn't true at all. Mater then says, "Well, suit yourself!". (or also some variation thereof). Then, coincidentally, one or more characters or elements involved in the story appear, paradoxically suggesting the story might have been authentic. McQueen then breaks the fourth wall by looking at the camera with shock, (or also other variation thereof) for he believed that Mater's tall tale was real.

The episode ends with Mater and McQueen posing in their corresponding story's costumes (excluding Tokyo Mater). All episodes feature Mia and Tia and various pit crew forklifts in support roles (except for Time Travel Mater).

Tales from Radiator Springs

All Cars Toons in Tales from Radiator Springs simply follow the comedic antics and adventures of McQueen, Mater and their friends in their hometown Radiator Springs, following the events of Cars 2.

Cast
Main article: List of Cars characters

Production

After the success of Cars, production of Cars Toons: Mater's Tall Tales began in 2006. The first nine shorts were produced by Pixar and Walt Disney Television Animation, while all the following shorts were produced by Pixar's subsidiary, Pixar Canada.[1]

"Tokyo Mater" premiered in theaters in the US with Bolt on December 12, 2008. The short is the first Disney·Pixar production presented in Disney Digital 3-D.[2] Sulley and Mike from the 2001 film Monsters, Inc. (also made by Pixar) make cameo appearances in "Tokyo Mater" as their car forms from the ending of the first film.

Release

Merchandise

It was announced that Cars Toons: Mater's Tall Tales was to be released as part of the Disney·Pixar Cars Die-Cast Line in mid-2009. In October 2009, they released several die-casts. They released all of the "Rescue Squad Mater" and "Mater the Greater" die-casts, and they are working on "El Materdor" die-casts and reverse.

Video game

A video game based on the series also titled Cars Toon: Mater's Tall Tales and developed by Papaya Studio, was released on October 19, 2010 for the Wii.[3][4] A PC version was also released outside the United States.[5]

Home media

A DVD and Blu-ray compilation of the first nine shorts, titled Cars Toons: Mater's Tall Tales, was released on November 2, 2010. The compilation includes "Mater the Greater", "Rescue Squad Mater", "Monster Truck Mater", "Unidentified Flying Mater", "El Materdor", "Moon Mater", "Heavy Metal Mater", "Mater Private Eye" and "Tokyo Mater",[6] with Moon Mater and Mater Private Eye created exclusively for this set.[7] Choosing the "Play All" option from the menu gives each short (except for Mater the Greater which plays first) unique intros.

The remaining two episodes of Mater's Tall Tales, "Air Mater" and "Time Travel Mater" and the three episodes of Tales from Radiator Springs, "Hiccups", "Bugged" and "Spinning" were released on the Cars Toons bonus disc. The remaining episode of Tales from Radiator Springs, "The Radiator Springs 500 ½" was released on The Radiator Springs 500 ½ disc.

Future

In addition to "The Radiator Springs 500 ½," which was released in 2014, director Rob Gibbs revealed at the 2013 Disney D23 Expo a fifth Cars Toons: Tales from Radiator Springs episode titled "To Protect and Serve." The short was expected to debut in 2014 on Disney Channel,[8] but to date this has not occurred.[9]

Episodes
SeriesEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
Mater's Tall Tales11October 27, 2008 (2008-10-27)June 5, 2012 (2012-06-05)
Tales from Radiator Springs4March 22, 2013 (2013-03-22)May 20, 2014 (2014-05-20)

Mater's Tall Tales (2008–12)
No.TitleDirected byOriginal air dateOriginal release
1"Rescue Squad Mater"[10]John LasseterOctober 27, 2008 (2008-10-27)Toon Disney

Mater is working as a fire truck and has to rescue Lightning McQueen from a burning building. After he saves McQueen, the ambulance rushes McQueen to the hospital where Mater reveals that he is also a doctor (with an MD, PhD, STP and GTO).

Role: Firetruck (and briefly Doctor)

Guest stars: Mickie McGowan as Ambulance, Laraine Newman as Nurse GTO
2"Mater the Greater"[10]John LasseterOctober 28, 2008 (2008-10-28)Toon Disney

Mater is a daredevil and dresses in a style resembling that of Evel Knievel. In a stadium, Mater attempts to jump a long line of cars, but instead merely tiptoes over them. He performs other stunts, and later claims Lightning McQueen failed to jump over Carburetor Canyon while strapped to a rocket.

Role: Daredevil
3"El Materdor"[10]John LasseterOctober 29, 2008 (2008-10-29)Toon Disney

Mater is a matador fighting a herd of bulldozers in Spain. When Lightning McQueen enters the story, the bulldozers chase after him due to his red paint job.

Role: Matador

Guest stars: Peter Sohn as Padre
4"Tokyo Mater"[11]John LasseterDecember 12, 2008 (2008-12-12)Disney Channel

Mater offers to tow home a stranded Japanese car inspired by the Toyota Century (named Ito-San), but ends up in Tokyo, Japan after hauling him all the way across the Pacific Ocean. He is subsequently challenged to a race by the Drift King Kabuto (a car resembling Boost, the leader of The Delinquent Road Hazards) with the winner being crowned "King of All Drifters" and the loser being stripped of all custom modifications to become a "stock" car. "Lightning Dragon McQueen" shows up to help Mater fend off an attack from Kabuto's ninjas and then helps Mater catch up with Kabuto and win the race.

Role: Drift King

Guest stars: Robert Ito as Ito San, Mach Tony Kobayashi as Kabuto
5"(U.F.M.) Unidentified Flying Mater"[12]John LasseterNovember 20, 2009 (2009-11-20)Disney Channel

Mater befriends a small UFO called Mator and they have a night out. When Mator is captured by the military forces, Mater sneaks up and saves him with the help of Lightning McQueen and Mator's literal mothership.

Role: UFO
6"Monster Truck Mater"[13]John LasseterJuly 30, 2010 (2010-07-30)Disney Channel

Mater, alias "The Tormentor", is a professional (Monster Truck) Wrestler who works his way up the ranks from amateur to World Champion Monster Truck Wrestler, wrestling all kinds of characters along the way. These trucks include the I-Screamer, Captain Collision, The Rasta Carian, Dr. Feel Bad, and Paddy O'Concrete. When faced with his biggest opponent yet, the Monster of Dr. Frankenwagon, Mater tags in his "tag team partner", Frightening McMean (Lightning McQueen).

Role: Monster Truck Wrestler

Guest stars: Steve Purcell as I-Screamer, Jack Angel as Captain Collision, Jan Rabson as Dr. Feel Bad/Paddy O'Concrete
7"Heavy Metal Mater"[14]John LasseterOctober 8, 2010 (2010-10-08)Disney Channel

Mater is a rock star in a heavy metal band. He starts out in a garage band called "Mater & The Gas Caps" and rises to the top with his hit song, "Dadgum" (which bears a heavy-metal style by accident when the drummer goes crazy trying to kill a fly on the drum while recording an album), a song based on the line Mater is famous for. Lightning McQueen joins him on stage in the middle of a huge concert and they rock into history.

Role: Heavy Metal Rock Star

Guest stars: Paul Eiding as Dex Dinoco
8"Moon Mater"[7][15]Rob GibbsNovember 2, 2010 (2010-11-02)Mater's Tall Tales DVD/Blu-ray

Mater is the first tow truck to land on the moon. His mission: Rescue the Impala XIII by giving him a tow and bringing him back to Earth. Lightning McQueen joins Mater and they are met with a hero's welcome.

Role: Astronaut

Guest stars: Teddy Newton as Impala XIII, Josh Cooley as Roger
9"Mater Private Eye"[7][15]Rob GibbsNovember 2, 2010 (2010-11-02)Mater's Tall Tales DVD/Blu-ray

Mater is a private investigator working on an open-and-shut case of counterfeit tires when Tia rolls back into his life. She hires Mater to find her sister, Mia, who's been car-napped. Mater searches for clues and closes in on a major crime scene. Lieutenant Lightning McQueen arrives just in time to help bring the criminals to justice.

Role: Private Investigator

Guest stars: Carol Bach-y-Rita as Carmen, Torbin Xan Bullock as Big D, Danny Mann as Clyde, Jess Harnell as Claude, John Cygan as Stinky
10"Air Mater"[16][17]Rob GibbsNovember 1, 2011 (2011-11-01)Cars 2 DVD/Blu-ray

A tow service leads Mater to Propwash Junction, a town populated by planes. Amazed by all these flying machines, Mater gets interested in learning how to fly when he sees Skipper's Flight School, which has a sign that says they could teach anyone. After learning how to fly, he learns himself to fly backwards and amazes a group of stunt planes known as the Falcon Hawks. Since one of them has sprained their wing during practice for a stunt show, they ask Mater to take place of the injured plane. He accepts and becomes the stunt planes' new member. Lightning McQueen, also a stunt plane, helps Mater at one point when he is in trouble.

Role: Stunt Airplane

Guest stars: Stacy Keach as Skipper, Danny Mann as Sparky, Jonathan Adams as Judge Davis, Lori Alan as Blue Hawk, John Cygan as Green Hawk, Paul Eiding as Red Hawk, Bob Bergen as Black Hawk
11"Time Travel Mater"[18][19]Rob GibbsJune 5, 2012 (2012-06-05)Disney Channel

Accidentally gaining the ability to travel in time, Mater travels back to 1909 in the middle of a desert where he meets Stanley, the founder of Radiator Springs, who works as a travelling radiator caps salesman. With the realization, that if Stanley goes away there would be no Radiator Springs, Mater brings McQueen from the future to which Stanley sells him a radiator cap. Mater then suggests Stanley to settle there and build a town where he could serve broken cars, and Stanley accepts. Jumping a few years forward, Stanley shows Mater and McQueen the expanding town when Mater takes a note of a broken Ford Model T, which turns out to be Lizzie. Lizzie's seemingly falling in love with McQueen makes Mater panic again about Radiator Springs' future, but it turns out that Lizzie had her eye on Stanley. After Stanley and Lizzie were introduced to each other by McQueen, he and Mater make another time jump, where they attend Stanley and Lizzie's wedding before returning to the present. There, Lizzie thanks McQueen for introducing her and Stanley.

Role: Time Traveler

Guest star: John Michael Higgins as Stanley

Tales from Radiator Springs (2013–14)
No.TitleDirected byOriginal air dateOriginal release
1"Hiccups"[20]Jeremy LaskyMarch 22, 2013 (2013-03-22)Disney Channel
Lightning McQueen gets hiccups while drinking his breakfast of champions: oil. Many of the Radiator Springs residents give him advice on how to cure the hiccups, but none of the ideas work—until Sally kisses him on the cheek and his hiccups disappear. Just then, Sheriff starts getting hiccups, which then leads to Mater (mistakenly thinking that kissing will help all hiccups due to Sally) attempting to kiss Sheriff to cure his hiccups. This startles Sheriff, which then leads to a chase between Sheriff and Mater, ending the episode.
2"Bugged"[20]Jeremy LaskyMarch 22, 2013 (2013-03-22)Disney Channel

Red's peaceful morning routine is interrupted by a pesky visitor.

Note: This is the only Cars Toon episode not to feature Lightning McQueen or Mater.
3"Spinning"[20]Jeremy LaskyMarch 22, 2013 (2013-03-22)Disney Channel

Guido discovers he has a hidden talent as a street corner sign spinner.

Note: This is the last Cars Toon episode to feature Keith Ferguson as the voice of Lightning McQueen.
4"The Radiator Springs 500 ½"[9][21]Rob Gibbs and Scott MorseMay 20, 2014 (2014-05-20)
August 1, 2014[22]		Disney Movies Anywhere,
Disney Channel

Radiator Springs celebrates a Founders Day honoring the late Stanley when a gang of Baja racers descend on the town and challenge Lightning McQueen to a race. Guest stars: John Cygan as Idle Threat, Jess Harnell as Blue Grit, Danny Mann as Shifty Sidewinder, and Steve Purcell as Sandy Dunes.

Note: This is the first and only Cars Toon episode to feature Owen Wilson as the voice of Lightning McQueen.

Characters

Mater's Tall Tales
Characters Rescue Squad Mater Mater The Greater El Materdor Tokyo Mater Unidentified Flying Mater Monster Truck Mater Heavy Metal Mater Moon Mater Mater Private Eye Air Mater Time Travel Mater
Mater Larry the Cable Guy
Lightning McQueen Keith Ferguson
Guido Silent Cameo Guido Quaroni Guido Quaroni Silent Cameo
Fillmore Silent Cameo Silent Cameo George Carlin
(archive recordings)		 Silent Cameo
Sheriff Michael Wallis
Lizzie Katherine Helmond
Stanley John Michael Higgins
DJ E.J. Holowicki
Wingo Adrian Ochoa
Boost Jonas Rivera
Kabuto Mach Tony Kobayashi
Ito-San Robert Ito
Tia Elissa Knight
Mia Lindsey Collins Elissa Knight Lindsey Collins

Tales from Radiator Springs
Character Hiccups Bugged Spinning The Radiator Springs 500 ½
Lightning McQueen Keith Ferguson Keith Ferguson Owen Wilson[9]
Mater Larry the Cable Guy Silent Cameo Larry the Cable Guy
Sally Bonnie Hunt Bonnie Hunt
Luigi Tony Shalhoub Tony Shalhoub
Guido Guido Quaroni Guido Quaroni
Flo Jenifer Lewis Jenifer Lewis
Sarge Paul Dooley Paul Dooley
Fillmore Lloyd Sherr Lloyd Sherr
Sheriff Michael Wallis Michael Wallis
Red Jerome Ranft Silent Cameo
Ramone Cheech Marin
Lizzie Katherine Helmond
  • Note: A grey cell indicates the character was not in the episode.

References
  1. "All Films". Pixar Canada. Archived from the original on August 26, 2013. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
  2. "Disney-Pixar to Premiere Its First Disney Digital 3-D(TM) Short Film Oscar(R)-Winner John Lasseter Directs Animated Short Based on "Cars" Character" (Press release). Pixar. 2008-12-09. Archived from the original on 2010-12-30. Retrieved 2011-02-17.
  3. "Cars Toon: Mater's Tall Tales". GameFAQs. Retrieved 2011-02-17.
  4. "Cars Toon: Mater's Tall Tales". IGN. Archived from the original on 2010-09-12. Retrieved 2011-02-17.
  5. "Cars Toon : Mater's Tall Tales (Game, PC)". Flipkart.com. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
  6. "Cars Toon: Mater's Tall Tales Blu-ray". Pixar Talk. Retrieved August 2, 2012.
  7. Bastoli, Mike (August 13, 2010). "Report: Cars Toons BD/DVD on Nov. 2; no 'Nemo' Blu-ray (2 UPDATES)". Big Screen Animation. Archived from the original on January 18, 2013. Retrieved August 2, 2012.
  8. Bryko (August 11, 2013). "D23 Expo Round-Up: 'Toy Story of Terror', New Cars Toons on the Way". Upcoming Pixar. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
  9. Labrecque, Jeff (March 13, 2014). "Lightning McQueen revs his engine off-road in Pixar's new Radiator Springs short – EXCLUSIVE". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 13, 2014.
  10. Zahed, Ramin (September 26, 2008). "Mater Stars in Own Mini-Show on Disney". Animation Magazine. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
  11. Lesnick, Silas (December 9, 2008). "Exclusive: First Look at Pixar's Tokyo Mater!". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
  12. Sciretta, Peter (November 23, 2009). "New Pixar Cars Short: Unidentified Flying Mater". /Film. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
  13. Sciretta, Peter (July 14, 2010). "New Pixar Cars Toon "Monster Truck Mater" Premieres July 30th". /Film. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
  14. Gallagher, Brian (October 6, 2010). "Cars Toons Short Heavy Metal Mater Debuts on the Disney Channel". MovieWeb.com. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
  15. "Interview: Pixar's Rob Gibbs talks about Cars 2 Air Mater short". Live For Films. November 14, 2011. Archived from the original on 2015-06-26. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
  16. Weiner, David (August 17, 2011). "ET Exclusive: 'Air Mater' Takes Flight". ET Online. Retrieved October 29, 2011.
  17. Desowitz, Bill (November 4, 2011). "Pixar Canada Launches with Air Mater". Animation World Network. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
  18. "Mater's Tall Tales : Time Travel Mater". Zap2It. Archived from the original on June 27, 2012. Retrieved June 2, 2012.
  19. "'Time Travel Mater' to Air on Disney Channel This Week Ahead of Disneyland 'Premiere'". Stitch Kingdom. June 6, 2012. Archived from the original on June 15, 2012. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
  20. Rizvi, Samad (March 22, 2013). "Three 'Cars' Shorty Shorts Debut Tonight On Disney Channel". The Pixar Times. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
  21. McDaniel, Matt (May 19, 2014). "Disney/Pixar's 'Cars' Roar Back in a New Short". Yahoo!. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  22. "Get Your Motor Running: A New Pixar Cars Toon Is Coming to Disney Channel". Disney Insider. August 1, 2014. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
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