Mater the Greater

Not to be confused with the video game event or the paint job.

Template:Infobox Episode Mater the Greater is the second Cars Toons episode. It originally aired on Disney Channel on October 28, 2008, and was released on DVD and Blu-Ray on November 2, 2010.

Story

At Flo's V8 Café, Lightning McQueen, Flo, and the other townsfolk from Radiator Springs are settling down to a sip of oil when Mater does a jump and hits some cans. Mater tells Lightning how he used to be a daredevil, akin to Evel Knievel.

The film then goes to a dirt stadium, which is set up complete with the Lightyear Blimp hovering over the stadium. Mater the Greater enters the stadium and gets ready for his first stunt, jumping a long line of cars. Mia and Tia are also there and look a lot like Mater complete with fake buckteeth. Buck the Tooth Vendor (made to look like Brian) sells two buckteeth for 1 buck. Mater then gets ready to jump. He backs up so much, he hits the wall behind him. Then, he zooms toward the ramp. But just before he's about to jump, he lands on the first car and drives across them and at the end, jumps over the other ramp. Mater does a whole bunch of stunts: is shot from a cannon through a ring of fire (his hook catches on the ring and burns him), flies on a biplane (Props McGee) that spins around (his hook catches on the plane so he doesn't fall off), and jumps from a high height into a pool of water. But the biggest stunt Mater ever does is jumping Carburetor Canyon.

At Radiator Springs, Mater reminded Lightning that "you was there, too".

Back at the jump, Mater and Lightning got ready to jump. Mater asks the scared Lightning if he is ready and Lightning makes the jump.

Back in Radiator Springs, McQueen asks what happened. Mater told Lightning that he didn't make it and drives away with Mater the Greater's pitties, Lug and Nutty, following him.

Characters

• Lightning McQueen
• Mater
• Luigi
• Guido
• Ramone
• Flo
• Fillmore
• Sarge
• Mia and Tia
• Al Oft
• Lug and Nutty
• Buck the Tooth Vendor
• Big Fan
• Bucky Brakedust
• Jay W.
• Christina Wheeland
• Ricky
• Props McGee

Gallery

For this subject's image gallery, see Mater the Greater/Gallery

References to other media

• Cars: At the Motor Speedway of the South, there is a shot that is almost identical to that of one found in Cars; when Mia and Tia and other fans that appeared in the same positions are cheering for Mater, the camera cuts over to Buck the Tooth Vendor, a parody of Brian.

References in later media

• Cars 2: The Video Game: Mater and Lightning's costumes from this short appear as downloadable characters.
• Cars: Fast as Lightning: Mater's costume from this short appears as one of Mater's unlockable paint jobs.

Reception

As with many of the other Cars Toons episodes, Mater the Greater received generally postive reviews from critics, with its main praises often centering around expanding the characters of Lightning and Mater, providing fans with details about the characters' history. One main point of criticism is the quick pacing, in comparison to Cars, Cars 2, and Mater and the Ghostlight.

Trivia

• In this episode, Mater's character is based on Evel Knievel.
• In the stadium where Mater performs his stunts, stands for brands that sponsored Piston Cup race cars are visible. These include Vitoline, Trunk Fresh, No Stall and Easy Idle.
• Mater's license plate reads "M8R GR8R", instead of his usual one, A113.

External Links

• Mater the Greater on Disney.com