''Cars on the Road'' is an American

computer-animated Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating animations. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both static scenes ( still images) and dynamic images (moving images), while computer animation refe ...

streaming Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

of shorts produced by

Pixar Animation Studios Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californi ...

for the

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...

streaming service and based on the ''Cars'' franchise. The main cast includes

Owen Wilson Owen Cunningham Wilson (born November 18, 1968) is an American actor. He has had a long association with filmmaker Wes Anderson with whom he shared writing and acting credits for '' Bottle Rocket'' (1996), '' Rushmore'' (1998), and '' The Royal ...

Lightning McQueen Montgomery "Lightning" McQueen is a fictional anthropomorphic stock car who is the protagonist of the animated Pixar franchise ''Cars'', primarily voiced by actor Owen Wilson. His appearances include the feature films ''Cars'', ''Cars 2'', and ''C ...

and

Larry the Cable Guy Daniel Lawrence Whitney (born February 17, 1963), known professionally by his persona Larry the Cable Guy, is an American stand-up comedian, actor, producer, country music artist, and former radio personality. He was one of the members of the ...

as Mater. The series is written by

Steve Purcell Steven Ross Purcell (born October 1, 1961) is an American cartoonist, animator, game designer and voice actor. He is the creator of the media franchise ''Sam & Max'', for which Purcell received an Eisner Award in 2007. The series has grown to i ...

and produced by Marc Sondheimer. Set after the events of ''

Cars 3 ''Cars 3'' is a 2017 American computer-animated sports comedy-adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The sequel to ''Cars 2'' (2011) and the third installment of the ''Cars'' film series, the ...

'' (2017), ''Cars on the Road'' follows Lightning (Wilson) and Mater (Cable Guy) as they embark on a road trip to attend the wedding of Mater's sister, visiting various locations and characters along the way. The series was announced in December 2020, during Disney's Investor Day. Sondheimer says the directors worked together to maintain continuity within the series. The title was revealed in November 2021, during Pixar's special for 2021's Disney+ Day. Concepts for the episodes include stories which pay homage to films such as ''

Mad Max ''Mad Max'' is an Australian post-apocalyptic Action film, action film series and media franchise created by George Miller (filmmaker), George Miller and Byron Kennedy. It began in 1979 with ''Mad Max (film), Mad Max'', and was followed by thre ...

'' (1979) and '' The Shining'' (1980). The production designer altered the lighting to further evoke

Ray Harryhausen Raymond Frederick Harryhausen (June 29, 1920 – May 7, 2013) was an American-British animator and special effects creator who created a form of stop motion model animation known as "Dynamation". His works include the animation for '' Might ...

's films. Production for the series took place over 15 months. ''Cars on the Road'' premiered on September 8, 2022, as part of Disney+ Day. The series received positive reviews for its vocal performance, messages, humor, role models and homage to pop culture.

Premise

Sometime after the events of ''

'' (2017),

and his best friend Mater embark on a cross-country road trip around the United States to attend the wedding of Mater's sister, Mato. Along the way, they come across various locations and characters old and new.

Voice cast

as Mater *

Quinta Brunson Quinta Brunson (born December 21, 1989) is an American writer, producer, actress, and comedian best known for creating, executive producing, co-writing, and starring in the ABC comedy series ''Abbott Elementary'' (2021–present). Brunson gained ...

as Ivy *

Cristela Alonzo Cristela Alonzo (born ) is an American comedian, actress, writer and producer, who created and starred in the ABC sitcom ''Cristela.'' This made her the first Latina woman to create, produce, write, and star in her own US primetime comedy. Ear ...

as Cruz Ramirez *Dana Powell as Mato *Oscar Camacho as Mateo *

Bonnie Hunt Bonnie Lynn Hunt (born September 22, 1961) is an American actress, comedian, director, producer, writer and television host. Her film roles include ''Rain Man'', ''Beethoven'', ''Beethoven's 2nd'', ''Jumanji'', ''Jerry Maguire'', '' The Green M ...

Sally Carrera Sally Carrera is a fictional character in Pixar's ''Cars'' franchise. Sally is a 2002 Porsche 911 Carerra, and the character is modeled after Dawn Welch, the proprietor of Rock Cafe in Oklahoma. Sally is the town attorney for Radiator Springs, ...

Jenifer Lewis Jenifer Jeanette Lewis (born January 25, 1957) is an American actress. She began her career appearing in Broadway musicals and worked as a back-up singer for Bette Midler before appearing in films ''Beaches'' (1988) and ''Sister Act'' (1992). Le ...

as Flo *

Cheech Marin :''The surname'' Marin ''is of Spanish language origin. In Spanish, it is spelled'' Marín'', with an acute accent on the'' í. Richard Anthony "Cheech" Marin (born July 13, 1946) is an American actor, musician, comedian, and activist who gained ...

as Ramone *

Lloyd Sherr Lloyd Michael Sherr (born February 28, 1956), also known by his stage name Max Raphael, is an American voice actor. He is best known for his role as Fillmore in the ''Cars'' franchise, taking over the role from George Carlin since his death in ...

as Fillmore *

Tony Shalhoub Anthony Marc Shalhoub ( ; born October 9, 1953), is an American actor. His accolades include five Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, six Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Tony Award, and a Grammy Award nomination. He played Adrian Monk in the USA Net ...

as Luigi *

Guido Quaroni solidThinking is a software company developing Evolve, a 3D modeling and rendering software and Inspire, a concept generation tool. History Brothers Alex Mazzardo and Mario Mazzardo started the solidThinking project in 1991 with Guido Quaroni ...

as Guido *

Tania Gunadi Tania Gunadi (born 29 July 1983) is an Indonesian-American actress and producer. She moved to Los Angeles when she was a teenager. Biography Gunadi was born in Bandung, Bandung, Indonesia. She won a green card lottery when she was a teenager an ...

as Lisa * Ruth Livier as Louise *

as Randy / Wraith Rod *Matt Yang King as Clutch Humboldt / Wraith Rod / Crew Pitty *Kathy Holly as Speed Demon *Masa Kansome as Noriyuki *

Toks Olagundoye Olatokunbo Susan Olasobunmi Abeke "Toks" Olagundoye (born 16 September 1975) is a Nigerian actress.Megan Cavanagh Megan Cavanagh (born November 8, 1960) is an American actress, who is best known for portraying Marla Hooch in ''A League of Their Own'' and the voice of Judy Neutron in '' Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius'' and ''The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Ge ...

as Mae Pillar-Durev / Bella Cadavre *Hayden Bishop as Kay Pillar-Durev / 1st AD *Secunda Wood as Brakelight Pictures Producer *Matt Lowe as Brakelight Pictures Crew Members *

Zeno Robinson Zeno Robinson is an American voice actor. He has done voice acting for both Western animation and English dubs of Japanese anime. Some of his major anime roles include: Hawks in ''My Hero Academia'' (for which he won Best VA Performance (EN) at ...

as Lance the Writer / Jeremy *

Dave Fennoy Dave Fennoy is an American voice actor. His video game roles have included Lee Everett in '' The Walking Dead'', Bluebeard in '' The Wolf Among Us'', Finch in '' Tales from the Borderlands'', Gabriel the Warrior in '' Minecraft: Story Mode'', a ...

as Town Marshall / Justice Stern *Tom Bromhead as Cap'n Long Leggy *Debra Cardona as Squat Red, Mack, Sheriff, Sarge and Lizzie make silent cameos in "Dino Park".

Episodes

Production

Development

On December 10, 2020,

Pixar Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californi ...

announced on Disney Investors Day that an animated series starring Lightning McQueen and Mater traveling the country while meeting friends, new and old, was in development and that it would be released on

in the fall of 2022. It also announced that the series is written by

and produced by Marc Sondheimer, with Purcell, Bobby Podesta and ''

'' director

Brian Fee Brian Stacy Fee (born January 29, 1975) is an American storyboard artist, animator, prop designer, producer, film director and occasional voice actor who works for Pixar. Fee made his directorial debut at the studio with the feature film ''Cars ...

directing episodes for the series. According to Sondheimer, the directors worked together to maintain continuity within the series. On November 12, 2021, it was announced that the series would be titled ''Cars on the Road''. Production for the series took place over 15 months.

Writing

The filmmakers wanted a short-form series because they felt it was the best way to explore the concept of a road trip, while also exploring the relationship between McQueen and Mater, as the producers felt the characters lacked screentime together. Each episode features a different tone and genre. The concept for the series was suggested by Purcell as the producers brainstormed ideas, having been inspired by a childhood road trip he took with his family; he wanted to explore how McQueen and Mater react to finding themselves in different scenarios. According to Purcell, the story for each episode was decided out of a basic scenario, after which the filmmakers pitched concepts that fit within the ''Cars'' world and had not been explored before. Concepts for the episodes include stories inspired by films such as ''

'' and '' The Shining''. For Mater's relationship with his sister, Mato, Podesta drew inspiration from his relationship with his sisters.

Casting

On November 12, 2021, it was announced that Owen Wilson and Larry the Cable Guy would reprise their respective roles as Lightning McQueen and Mater. According to director Brian Fee, Larry and Wilson were allowed to provide suggestions while recording their lines.

Animation

One of the episodes features a flashback sequence to the prehistoric era. For the flashback, animators were inspired by the work of

stop-motion Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...

animator

, whose films Purcell watched in his childhood. For both the dinosaurs' movement and when McQueen and Mater's prehistoric counterparts are picked by the dinosaurs, animators deactivated the

motion blur Motion blur is the apparent streaking of moving objects in a photograph or a sequence of frames, such as a film or animation. It results when the image being recorded changes during the recording of a single exposure, due to rapid movement or lo ...

, which they did use for the rest of the sequence, to reflect the feeling of Harryhausen's films. The production designer also altered the lighting to further evoke his films. Other elements such as frames were also altered.

Music

Following the trailer's release, it was revealed Jake Monaco composed the score for all nine episodes. Monaco also co-wrote the series' title theme song alongside director Bobby Podesta, with Bobby Hamrick performing the song. Each episode features a variation of the theme song to reflecting its style. The soundtrack, featuring Monaco's score and four songs, including two versions of the theme, was released on September 5, 2022.

Release

''Cars on the Road'' premiered on September 8, 2022 on Disney+, part of Disney+ Day and consists of nine episodes.

Marketing

The official trailer was released by Pixar’s

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel on August 1, 2022. To promote the series' release,

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...

launched its promotional campaign by including one of eight toys free with the purchase of a

Happy Meal A Happy Meal is a kids' meal usually sold at the American fast food restaurant chain McDonald's since June 1979. A small toy or book is included with the food, both of which are usually contained in a red cardboard box with a yellow smiley face ...

Reception

Critical reception

On the

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the series holds a 92% approval rating, with an average rating of 7.00/10 based on 11 reviews. Joel Keller of ''

Decider Decider is both a real word and a "Bushism". It may refer to: * ''Decider'' (website), a pop culture website operated by the ''New York Post'' *'' Bill Maher: The Decider'', a stand-up comedy special * Decider (Turing machine), a Turing machine th ...

'' found the series to be a classic buddy road trip, praising the humor and the way the show parodies pop culture, while applauding the performances of the voice actors, citing the dynamic between Owen Wilson and Larry the Cable Guy. Polly Conway of ''

Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.

'' rated the series 4 out of 5 stars, praised the depiction of positive messages and role models, citing friendship and discovery, while finding the series entertaining across its humor and family-friendly. Randy Myers of ''

The Mercury News ''The Mercury News'' (formerly ''San Jose Mercury News'', often locally known as ''The Merc'') is a morning daily newspaper published in San Jose, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is published by the Bay Area News Group, a subsidiar ...

'' gave the series 3 out of 4 stars, called the setup simple yet efficient and found the series joyful and entertaining, stating it succeeds to celebrate friendship across the characters, while acknowledging the references to pop culture.

References

External links

* * {{Disney+ original series 2020s American animated television series 2022 American television series debuts American children's animated comedy television series American children's animated sports television series American computer-animated television series American sequel television series Animated television series about auto racing Television shows set in the United States Animated television shows based on films Cars (franchise) Disney animated television series Disney+ original programming English-language television shows Television series based on Disney films Television series by Pixar