Lightning McQueen and Mater Return
Lightning McQueen and Mater the tow truck are some of the most popular animated movie characters of the 2000s. They have had many good times together in their world, from their first time meeting each other at the Radiator Springs impound lot to their first time tractor tipping to attending all of McQueen’s Piston Cup races. They have been through thick and thin, like solving a worldwide dangerous plot together in Cars 2, and Mater helping McQueen improve his race craft in Cars 3. However, in the new Disney and Pixar series Cars on the Road, they are going to go on their most challenging adventure yet: a long road trip to the wedding of Mater’s sister.
Owen Wilson and Larry the Cable Guy return to voice the duo in this nine-episode original series. When Mater announces that he is going away for a couple of days to go to his sister’s wedding, he starts to feel anxious about it until Lighting McQueen decides to join Mater on the road trip. When McQueen wants to use his hauler Mack to drive them, Mater shuts that idea down and decides that they drive to the wedding themselves, so McQueen begrudgingly agrees.
Throughout the series, McQueen and Mater get into some wacky scenarios on the way which involve a boring museum dream, a haunted hotel, speed records, meeting a new monster truck friend, starring in a movie, and more adventures I don’t want to spoil. I will say though, it was surprising when, in the final episode, Mater’s childhood home is revealed, how his family lived, and who his sister is.
Overall, after going through all nine episodes, this is a very good series. Sure, the series isn’t perfect in some episodes (for example, I believe that the Radiator Springs residents seen in the films should’ve gotten a little more screen time rather than just appearing in the first episode ). However, I actually liked this, and not because I’m a huge fan of the Cars franchise since it was released in 2006, but because it mostly showed how far McQueen and Mater have come as best friends: from McQueen calming Mater’s nerves at the beginning of the series by deciding to go with him, and throughout the series and franchise as a whole, they have always been by each other’s side..
The series shows younger viewers that vacations should not always be from Point A to Point B. There are always cool detours when you’re traveling down the road. I applaud Disney and Pixar for reminding viewers that their characters can be just as human as us and we must cherish every moment we live on Earth. On a scale of 1 to 5 stars, I will rank it as 4.5 out of 5 stars. The series is available for streaming on Disney+.
