Mater and the Ghostlight (2006)
Article 6066 from Dave Sindelar
Date: 10-5-2022
Directed by John Lasseter and Dan Scanlon
Featuring the voices of Larry the Cable Guy, Owen Wilson, Michael Wallis
Country: USA
What it is: DVD extra feature

Mater the tow truck has a bad habit of playing scary gags on his friends. But when he hears the terrifying story of the Ghostlight, he becomes terrified. Will Mater get his comeuppance?

Yes, I’m an admitted Pixar fan, but the “Cars” franchise is one area where we part company; in fact, this short is the only thing I’ve seen connected to the series. And, despite the fact that he’s a fellow Nebraskan, I’m not particularly partial to the comedy stylings of Larry the Cable Guy, who provides Mater’s voice. That being said, this short (obviously intended as an extra on the CARS dvd) is an acceptably well done variation of a pretty standard story. For my money, the best moment is the final post-credits reversal-of-expectation gag. On a sadder note, according to IMDB, this short marked Paul Newman’s final performance before his death.