All Cars Toons in Mater's Tall Tales follow the same tall tale formula: the episode opens with Mater popping out of his garage and declaring, "If I'm lyin', I'm cryin'!". Mater then proceeds to tell a far-fetched story of something he supposedly did in the past to Lightning McQueen, to which the action shifts to Mater's story. At a midway point, the action briefly shifts back to Mater and McQueen in which Mater proclaims that McQueen was also involved, telling him, "Don't you remember? You was there, too!". The flashback then resumes with McQueen's sudden participation. Once Mater finishes his tall tale, McQueen insinuates or argues to him that Mater's story wasn't true at all. Mater then says, "Well, suit yourself!".. Then, coincidentally, one or more characters or elements involved in the story appear, paradoxically suggesting the story might have been authentic. McQueen then breaks the fourth wall by looking at the camera with shock, for he believed that Mater's tall tale was real. The episode ends with Mater and McQueen posing in their corresponding story's costumes. All episodes feature Mia and Tia and various pit crew forklifts in support roles.
''Tales from Radiator Springs''
All Cars Toons in Tales from Radiator Springs simply follow the comedic antics and adventures of McQueen, Mater and their friends in their hometown Radiator Springs, following the events of Cars 2.
After the success of Cars, production of Cars Toons: Mater's Tall Tales began in 2006. The first nine shorts were produced by Pixar and produced by Walt Disney Television Animation, while all the following shorts were produced by its subsidiary, Pixar Canada. "Tokyo Mater" premiered in theaters in the US with Bolt on December 12, 2008. The short is the first Disney·Pixar production presented in Disney Digital 3-D. Sulley and Mike from the 2001 film Monsters, Inc. make cameo appearances in "Tokyo Mater" as their car forms from the ending of the first film.
Release
Merchandise
It was announced that Cars Toons: Mater's Tall Tales was to be released as part of the Disney·Pixar Cars Die-Cast Line in mid-2009. In October 2009, they released several die-casts. They released all of the "Rescue Squad Mater" and "Mater the Greater" die-casts, and they are working on "El Materdor" die-casts and reverse.
Video game
A video game based on the series also titled Cars Toon: Mater's Tall Tales and developed by Papaya Studio, was released on October 19, 2010 for the Wii. A PC version was also released outside the United States.
Home media
A DVD and Blu-ray compilation of the first nine shorts, titled Cars Toons: Mater's Tall Tales, was released on November 2, 2010. The compilation includes "Mater the Greater", "Rescue Squad Mater", "Monster Truck Mater", "Unidentified Flying Mater", "El Materdor", "Moon Mater", "Heavy Metal Mater", "Mater Private Eye" and "Tokyo Mater", with Moon Mater and Mater Private Eye created exclusively for this set. Choosing the "Play All" option from the menu gives each short unique intros. The remaining two episodes of Mater's Tall Tales, "Air Mater" and "Time Travel Mater" and the three episodes of Tales from Radiator Springs, "Hiccups", "Bugged" and "Spinning" were released on the Cars Toons bonus disc. The remaining episode of Tales from Radiator Springs, "The Radiator Springs 500 ½" was released on The Radiator Springs 500 ½ disc.
Future
In addition to "The Radiator Springs 500 ½," which was released in 2014, director Rob Gibbs revealed at the 2013 DisneyD23 Expo a fifth Cars Toons: Tales from Radiator Springs episode titled "To Protect and Serve." The short was expected to debut in 2014 on Disney Channel, but to date this has not occurred.
Episodes
''Mater's Tall Tales'' (2008–12)
''Tales from Radiator Springs'' (2013–14)
Characters
''Mater's Tall Tales''
''Tales from Radiator Springs''
Note: A grey cell indicates the character was not in the episode.
