Mater and the Ghostlight (2006) (V)

Directors:

John Lasseter
Dan Scanlon (co-director)

Writers:

Joe Ranft (original story) &
John Lasseter (original story) ...

Release Date:

25 October 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Short | Family

Plot:

In this short featuring the characters of the movie Cars, Mater is told the story of a Ghostlight, which causes him to be scared. |

Plot Keywords:

Folk Tale | Campfire Story | Route 66 | Surrealism | Practical Joke

Cast

Larry The Cable Guy	...	Tow Mater (voice)
Owen Wilson	...	Lightning McQueen (voice)
Michael Wallis	...	Sheriff (voice)
Bonnie Hunt	...	Sally Carrera (voice)
Paul Newman	...	Doc Hudson (voice)
Cheech Marin	...	Ramone (voice)
Paul Dooley	...	Sarge (voice)

Runtime:

7 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Australia:G

Company:

Pixar Animation Studios

Trivia:

The final film (voice) project for Paul Newman.

Quotes:

Tow Mater: [laughing] Oh, buddy! You look like you've just seen... the Ghostlight!
Sheriff: Mater! Don't mock the Ghostlight!
Lightning McQueen: What is the Ghostlight?
[silence for 10 seconds]
Sheriff: The Ghostlight is a glowing orb of blue translucent light that haunts these very parts.
Tow Mater: Nah, don't be too scared, buddy, it ain't real.
Sheriff: It is real! It all started on a night like tonight. The song dogs were wailin' at the moon of Cadillac Range while the summer wind blew hot like the breath of Zozobra. A young couple was heading down this very stretch of the mother road when they spotted an unnatural blue glow, and all that was left were two out-of-state license plates. So remember: The one thing that angers the Ghostlight more than anything else is the sound of clanking metal.
[Mater's metal body clanks and tries to keeps it from shaking]
Sheriff: As you head home tonight, keep an eye out. The Ghostlight could be anywhere. Well, good night!
Sally Carrera: Whew, I'm bushed. Good night!
[...]

Movie Connections:

Spin off from Cars (2006)

Soundtrack:

Behind the Clouds

Turning The Tables On The Tow Truck

This cartoon features "Mater," the most lovable character in the great animated movie "Cars." This seven-minute comes as a feature in the "Cars" DVD. Actually, all of the characters are in here, but Mater has more "screen time."

The story is a simple one of the other cars trying to teach Mater a lesson. In brief, they give him a taste of what he's been dishing out. The buck-toothed tow-truck has been going around scaring everyone with surprise attacks and they are tired of it.

So, one night they all gather in a circle and they tell him a story about the dreaded "Gas Light" ghost. After everyone goes home, they sit back as the tow truck gets scared out of his gas line later that night by the "Ghost Light," which is rigged up by the others to scare him.

And, if he still didn't get the message, they set him up for another mind game and the cartoon ends with that thought in mind.

Overall, it's not really all that funny (except with Mater is shaking in fright) but it's well- crafted and beautiful to watch, like the feature film. It could easily have been a small segment inserted in the film.