Cars Toons

Cars Toons
Genre	Miniseries
Created by	John Lasseter
Developed by	Disney·Pixar
Directed by	John Lasseter Rob Gibbs Victor Navone
Starring	Larry the Cable Guy Keith Ferguson (2008–2010) George Carlin (archive footage) Tony Shalhoub Guido Quaroni Michael Wallis
Theme music composer	Mark Mothersbaugh
Opening theme	Cars Toon Theme Song
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	10
Production
Executive producer	Lee Unkrich
Producer	Kori Rae
Editor	Roy E. Disney
Running time	2-3 mins (except Tokyo Mater: 7 mins)
Production company	Pixar
Original release
Network	Toon Disney/Disney Channel (US)
Release	October 27, 2008 (2008-10-27) – present

Mater's Tall Tales (A Cars Toon for short) is an American animated short television series by Pixar featuring the characters Mater and Lightning McQueen from the film Cars. The episodes currently air on ABC Kids and Disney Junior and formerly on Toon Disney, Disney Channel, and Disney XD. The series first broadcast was on October 27, 2008. Production began in 2006, after the success of Cars. The last new episode aired November 2, 2010 on Disney Channel.

Not exclusive to television, the episodes have also premiered as theatrical shorts, such as with the 2008 film Bolt. On November 2, 2010, the series was released on DVD and Blu-ray featuring 2 brand new episodes. The episode "Air Mater" will be the first of season 3 and will be release on DVD packaged with Cars 2.

Plot

All of the Cars Toons follow the same tall tale formula: Mater tells a story of something he has done in the past. The action shifts to his story. At some point in certain stories, Mater finds himself in an inescapable predicament. When McQueen questions Mater over whether the events in the story actually occurred, Mater responds, "Don't you remember? You was there too!" (in some episodes, he says something different, but similar to it), and continues the story including McQueen's sudden (and usually unwilling) participation. The cartoons end with Mater leaving the scene, often followed by characters or references to the story that was being told, suggesting the story might be real. Each story includes Mater, Lightning McQueen, Mia and Tia (the two red cars that adore Lightning McQueen, although in this case they are portrayed as adoring Mater), and various pit crew forklifts.

Characters

Main article: List of Cars characters in other media

Production

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. Mike and Sulley from Monsters, Inc. (who are also seen at the end of Cars) make cameo appearances in Tokyo Mater.

Merchandising

It was announced that Cars Toon were to be released as part of the Disney·Pixar Cars Die-Cast Line, in mid-2009. In October 2009, they released several diecasts. They released all of the Rescue Squad Mater and Mater the Greater diecasts, and are currently working on El Materdor diecasts and reverse.

Video game

A video game, Cars Toon: Mater's Tall Tales based on the series was released on 10/19/2010 for the Wii. A PC version was also released outside the United States.

Episodes

Seasons		Episodes	First airdate	Last airdate
	1	3	October 27, 2008	October 29, 2008
	2	6	March 12, 2009	November 2, 2010
	3	TBA	November 1, 2011	TBA

Season 1: 2008

• All episodes premiered on Disney XD
• This season contains 3 episodes

#	Title	Original air date	Production Code
1	"Rescue Squad Mater"	October 27, 2008 (2008-10-27)	101
Mater is working as a fire truck and has to rescue Lightning McQueen from a burning building. After he saves McQueen, he rushes the racecar to the hospital where the tow truck reveals that he is also a doctor (with an MD, PhD, STP and GTO). Pilot Episode Role: Firetruck (and Doctor, briefly)
2	"Mater The Greater"	October 28, 2008 (2008-10-28)	102
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. Note: Larry the Cable Guy's catchphrase, "Git R Done!" was mentioned in this episode. Role: Daredevil
3	"El Materdor"	October 29, 2008 (2008-10-29)	103
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

Season 2: 2009–2011

• All episodes aired on Disney Channel except "Moon Mater" and "Mater Private Eye" (both of them premiered on DVD).

#	Title	Original air date	Production Code
4	"(U.F.M.) Unidentified Flying Mater"	November 20, 2009 (2009-11-20)	201
Mater finds a small UFO called Mator and they have a night out. Later, when Mator is captured by the military forces, Mater sneaks up and saves him with the help of Lightning McQueen and the UFO's mother. This might just be a reference to the film E.T.. Role: No certain role, but he meets a UFO that happens to have the same appearance as Mater (crooked buck teeth & accent)
5	"Tokyo Mater"	March 12, 2010 (2010-03-12)	104
Mater offers to tow home a stranded Japanese car (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 McQueen shows up to help Mater fend off an attack by Kabuto's ninjas and then help Mater catch up with Kabuto. Note: Originally premiered theatrically with Bolt on December 12, 2008 (2008-12-12). Also when Mater drifts the first building, when he exits you can see in the corner the Mike and Sully Cars.this episode was originally called Import Mater. The score was composed by BT Role: Drift King Guest stars: Robert Ito as Ito San, Mach Tony Kobayashi as Kabuto
6	"Monster Truck Mater"	July 30, 2010 (2010-07-30)	202
Mater 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). Note: In this episode when Lightning asks Mater what he did he answered "Don't you remember nothing, we was a tag team" instead of saying "Well don't you remember, you was there too!" Role: Monster Truck Wrestler
7	"Heavy Metal Mater"	October 15, 2010 (2010-10-15)	203
Mater is a rock star in a heavy metal band. He starts out in a garage band and rises to the top with his hit song, "Dad Gum.", 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. Note: This episode premiered on Disney.com outside the U.S. before on Disney Channel and on Disney XD. Also in this episode when Lightning asks Mater "YOU were Heavy Metal Mater?", he answered "No. WE was Heavy Metal Mater!" instead of saying "Well don't you remember, you was there too!" Role: Heavy Metal Rock Star
8	"Moon Mater"	TBA	204
Mater is the first Tow Truck 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. Note: In this episode when Lightning disbelieves Mater's claim that he went 17,000 MPH, the tow truck answered "But that was nothing compared to you!" instead of saying "Well don't you remember, you was there too!". Also it was released on DVD, November 2, 2010. Role: Astronaut
9	"Mater Private Eye"	TBA	205
Mater is a private investigator working on a 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. Note: In this episode when Lightning asks Mater what he did he answered "Like you don't know, Lt. Lightning McQueen!" instead of saying "Well don't you remember, you was there too!". Also it was released on DVD, November 2, 2010. Role: Private Investigator

Season 3: 2011-present

Season 3 will start on November 1, 2011 with the episode "Air Mater" (as a DVD release).

• Larry the Cable Guy will be reprising his role as Mater.
• It is confirmed that Owen Wilson will return to voice Lightning McQueen again in season 3.

#	Title	Original air date	Production Code
10	"Air Mater"	November 1, 2011 (2011-11-01) (DVD) TBA (Television)	301
A tow service leads Mater in the world of planes. Amazed by all these flying machines, Mater gets interested to learn to fly. Role: Unknown

External links

Watch the short films at the official Cars web site:

• "Rescue Squad Mater"
• "Mater the Greater"
• "El Materdor"
• "Tokyo Mater"
• "Unidentified Flying Mater"

IMDb pages:

• "Rescue Squad Mater"
• "Mater the Greater"
• "El Materdor"
• "Tokyo Mater"

BCDB pages:

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• Mater's Tall Tales at the Internet Movie Cars Database