Mater, the rusty tow truck which befriended Lightning McQueen in the 2005 Pixar feature Cars, will be starring in his own animated three-part short series. Pixar’s Cars Toons will premiere on Disney Channel, Toon Disney and ABC Family beginning Monday, Oct. 27. This news follows yesterday’s announcement that director Brad Lewis’ Cars 2 sequel will now be released in the summer of 2011.
These short animated vignettes are directed by John Lasseter and co-directed by Victor Navone (animator on Cars, The Incredibles, Finding Nemo) and Rob Gibbs (story artist on Cars, Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc.) Kori Rae (associate producer on The Incredibles, Monsters Inc.) is the producer. Mater is voiced by Larry the Cable Guy.
Here is a complete list of the shorts premieres on Toon Disney (all times ET/PT) and their official synopsis:
Monday, Oct. 27 (6:56 p.m.)
Rescue Squad Mater. Mater is a fire truck that rescues Lightning McQueen from a burning building. When McQueen is rushed to the hospital, he discovers that Mater is a doctor, too.
Tuesday, Oct. 28 (6:57 p.m.)
Mater the Greater. Mater is a famous daredevil who does all kinds of stunts. And Lightning McQueen becomes an unwilling participant in Mater’s greatest stunt ever.
Wednesday, Oct. 29 (6:57 p.m.)
El Materdor. Mater is a famous bulldozer fighter in Spain. He’s so good, he’s able to fend off multiple bulldozers at once. Lightning McQueen joins Mater in this tall tale just as things are at their worst.
Disney Channel will present all three shorts throughout the day on Saturday, Nov. 1. ABC Family will present the shorts beginning Tuesday, December 23 during the network’s annual “25 Days of Christmas” programming.
Disney has also announced the debut of a new Cars Land inspired by the movie at Disney’s California Adventure park in 2012. The new area will increase capacity to the park with two additional immersive family rides, featuring Luigi and Mater from the movie. Disney Interactive Media Group’s (DIMG) Disney Online unit will also launch the World of Cars Online (www.WorldOfCars.com) virtual world, which will allow fans of the motion picture to immerse themselves in the online world of Radiator Springs and beyond. In preparation for that 2009 launch, Disney Online will launch a Test Track preview site at WorldofCars.com next month where fans can create their own personalized car and put the pedal to the metal in a single-player racing preview. Vroom, Vroom, indeed.
