Mater and the Ghostlight

[StevePulaski]

Mater and the Ghostlight (2006)
Directed by: John Lasseter and Dan Scanlon

Mater comes into contact with the fabled "Ghostlight" in the first of many shorts based on the smash-hit Cars.

Rating: ★★½
NOTE: I just got Disney+, so expect brief, spontaneous write-ups of Disney shorts from a variety of different eras. These reviews will be short, more informal, and cross-posted to my Letterboxd account!

Mater and the Ghostlight is one of those shorts I began watching and realized I had seen it back when it was new. I remember this being a semi-big deal since it was the first short involving Cars to follow the massive movie, and basically cemented the fact that we'd be seeing more of these characters. There's not much to it in terms of plot, as it's just Lightning McQueen, Doc Hudson, Sally, and the rest of the Radiator Springs locals getting back at Mater, who has been playing pranks on everyone. It's a dose of comeuppance I'm sure even some Cars haters will smirk at, given it's all at the expense of a character who is probably the most disliked protagonist in the history of Pixar.

Voiced by: Larry the Cable Guy, Owen Wilson, Paul Newman, Bonnie Hunt, Cheech Marin, and Michael Wallis. Directed by: John Lasseter and Dan Scanlon.