Cars on the Road
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Cars on the Road is an American computer-animated adventure comedy series of shorts produced by Pixar for the Disney+ streaming service and based on the Cars franchise. The main cast includes Owen Wilson as Lightning McQueen and Larry the Cable Guy as Mater. It premiered on September 8, 2022, as part of Disney+ Day. The series is written by Steve Purcell and produced by Marc Sondheimer.
Plot
Set after Cars 3, the new series follows Lightning McQueen and his best friend Mater on a cross-country road trip across the United States as they journey eastward to attend a wedding for Mater’s sister. The episodes depict the characters in various scenarios, for example, them being chased by dinosaur-like cars. It is set in new locations with a multitude of new characters, including their new friend Ivy, a monster truck who travels with them, as well as featuring the return of already established characters from the franchise.
Why It's Going on the Road Now
- It is a somewhat a huge improvement and step up right over Cars 3, and overall ignores all the events of that film.
- Great CGI animation, which is a true step-up from Cars 3 as well too, especially for Disney/Pixar standards.
- Seeing Mater's sister and the wedding was very interesting.
- Great voice acting, especially from Owen Wilson and Larry the Cable Guy.
- There's a funny moment found in the ninth episode where when Mater and his sister, Mato, stare at each other closely and hard enough, there is a lightning bug which touches Mater right at his eye.
- It's also funny when Mater says McQueen's famous line "I'm faster than fast and quicker than quick. I am speed!" when he gets his rockets on at the episode "Salt Fever".
- The sixth episode "Trucks" with all the trucks singing and dancing was actually pretty exciting, considering that it was all about trucks (like semis, pickups, tow, flatbeds, etc.; only except for McQueen) still being in it.
The Only Bad Quality
- None of the characters introduced in the second film still don't appear in here.
Reception
Critical reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds a 93% approval rating, with an average rating of 6.90/10 based on 14 reviews.
Joel Keller of Decider 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 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 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.
Trivia
- Unlike previous shows, such as Mater's Tall Tales (2008) and Tales from Radiator Springs (2013) (excluding Tales from Radiator Springs: Bugged (2013) and Tales from Radiator Springs: The Radiator Springs 500½ (2014), this series marks the first time Owen Wilson voiced Lightning McQueen outside of the movies since basically the theme park Lightning McQueen's Racing Academy (2019).
- The second Disney Plus original series based off a Pixar film, after Monsters at Work (2021).