Cars on the Road
Lightning McQueen and Mater hit the road.
Pixar's Cars on the Road is a miniseries for Disney+ that follows Lightning McQueen and Mater on a trip to Mater's sister's wedding after the events of Cars 3. Premiering on September 8, 2022, for Disney+ Day, the show was produced by Marc Sondheimer and written by Steve Purcell.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Comedy; Adventure
- Based on
- Cars
- John Lasseter
- Joe Ranft
- Jorgen Klubien
- Developer
- Steve Purcell
- Voices
- Owen Wilson, Larry the Cable Guy
- Composer
- Jake Monaco
- Opening theme
- "Cars on the Road" by Bobby Hamrick
- Theme music
- Bobby Podesta; Jake Monaco
- Cinematography
- Robert Anderson; Laura Grieve
Facts from the source article.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cars on the Road (Main Title) | Bobby Podesta | 0:20 |
| 2 | Doo Wop in the Bucket | 1:54 | |
| 3 | Dino Park | 1:32 | |
| 4 | Matersaur | 1:45 | |
| 5 | Cars in the Carboniferous | 0:48 | |
| 6 | Lights Out | 1:57 | |
| 7 | Wraith Wrock | 1:15 | |
| 8 | Cars Haunt the Road | 0:49 | |
| 9 | Salt Fever | 1:43 | |
| 10 | Speed Daemon | 1:18 | |
| 11 | Cars on the Flats | 0:46 | |
| 12 | Wayne County Cryptid Busters | 1:20 | |
| 13 | The Legend | 2:04 | |
| 14 | A Reeeeal Scary Story | 1:45 | |
| 15 | Cars on the Fringe(s of Our Perception) | 1:24 | |
| 16 | Whale Washing | 0:58 | |
| 17 | Show Time | 2:07 | |
| 18 | Circus Velocitas | 1:27 | |
| 19 | Tip Tap Boom | 1:04 | |
| 20 | New Beginnings | 1:19 | |
| 21 | Cars in the Show | 0:48 | |
| 22 | Truckey's | 1:08 | |
| 23 | TRUCKS | Jake Monaco, Podesta, Steve Purcell | 3:00 |
| 24 | Trucks on the Road | 0:37 | |
| 25 | B-Movie | 1:55 | |
| 26 | Brain on Wheels | Monaco, Purcell | 1:04 |
| 27 | Cars on the Backlot | 0:46 | |
| 28 | Road Rumblers | 0:58 | |
| 29 | Oil Cans Harry | 3:40 | |
| 30 | Brave Cars | 1:00 | |
| 31 | Charge on the Road | 0:39 | |
| 32 | Gettin' Hitched | 1:43 | |
| 33 | Pomp & Odd Circumstances | 1:10 | |
| 34 | Tow-Mater, Tow-Mato | 1:51 | |
| 35 | Mater's Speech | 1:17 | |
| 36 | Road Back Home | 1:29 | |
| 37 | Cars on the Road | Podesta, Monaco | 2:54 |
| Total length | 53:52 | ||
Track listing from the source article.
Voice cast
Owen Wilson voices Lightning McQueen and Larry the Cable Guy voices Mater. Other cast members include Quinta Brunson as Ivy, Bonnie Hunt as Sally Carrera, Jenifer Lewis as Flo, Cheech Marin as Ramone, Lloyd Sherr as Fillmore, Tony Shalhoub as Luigi, Guido Quaroni as Guido, Tania Gunadi as Lisa, Ruth Livier as Louise, Steve Purcell as Randy and Wraith Rod, Matthew Yang King as Clutch Humboldt, Wraith Rod, and Crew Pitty, Kathy Holly as Speed Demon, Masa Kanome as Noriyuki, Toks Olagundoye as Margaret Motorray and Chiefess, Gabby Sanalitro as Griswold, Megan Cavanagh as Mae Pillar-Durev and Bella Cadavre, Hayden Bishop as Kay Pillar-Durev and 1st AD, Secunda Wood as a Brakelight Pictures producer, Matt Lowe as Brakelight Pictures crew members, Zeno Robinson as Lance the Writer and Jeremy, Dave Fennoy as Town Marshall and Justice Stern, Tom Bromhead as Cap'n Long Leggy, Debra Cardona as Squat, Cristela Alonzo as Cruz Ramirez, Dana Powell as Mato, and Oscar Camacho as Mateo. Red, Mack, Sheriff, Sarge, and Lizzie make silent cameos in "Dino Park." The episode "Trucks" features Kara Lee Britz, Jessica Childress, John Edwards, Eden Espinosa, Crystal Monee Hall, James Harper, Jeff Lewis, Kyle Taylor Parker, Joe Santoni, Elizabeth Stanley, Ryan Vasquez, Brooke Villanyi, and Windy Wagner as the voices of the trucks.
Production
The series was announced on December 10, 2020, during Disney Investors Day, with a planned fall 2022 release on Disney+. Steve Purcell wrote the series, Marc Sondheimer produced it, and Purcell, Bobby Podesta, and Brian Fee directed episodes. The directors worked together to maintain continuity. The title Cars on the Road was revealed on November 12, 2021. Production took 15 months. Purcell had unused episode concepts he hoped to use in a potential second season. The filmmakers chose a short-form series to best explore a road trip and the relationship between Lightning and Mater, feeling the characters lacked screen time together. Each episode has a different tone and genre. Purcell suggested the concept, inspired by a childhood road trip, wanting to show how the characters react to different scenarios. He sought a "totally new sensibility" for each episode. Stories were decided from basic scenarios, with filmmakers pitching concepts not yet explored in the Cars world. Concepts include stories inspired by Mad Max and The Shining. Podesta drew on his relationship with his sisters for Mater's relationship with Mato. The writers deliberately kept Mato's personality vague until the final episode to build audience expectation. Owen Wilson and Larry the Cable Guy reprised their roles; director Brian Fee said they were allowed to suggest lines while recording.
Release
Cars on the Road first became available on September 8, 2022, as part of Disney+ Day, with a total of nine episodes. A year later, from September 5, 2023, to December 24, 2023, every episode was posted on the Disney Junior YouTube channel, and a full compilation followed on January 7, 2024. International YouTube channels for Disney Jr. in Latin America, Spain, and Germany began releasing the episodes in fall 2023. The series also aired on the German Disney Channel starting November 19, 2023. After gaining popularity from the YouTube releases, the episode "Gettin' Hitched" debuted on Disney Jr. television on June 7, 2025. The show then ran on Disney Channel from June 8 to June 29, 2025, and also appeared on Disney XD. Pixar’s YouTube channel shared the official trailer on August 1, 2022. To promote the series, McDonald’s offered one of eight different toys with every Happy Meal purchase.
Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds a 93% approval rating with an average rating of 7.00/10 based on 14 reviews. Joel Keller of Decider called it a classic buddy road trip, praising the humor, pop culture parodies, and voice actor performances, especially the dynamic between Owen Wilson and Larry the Cable Guy. Polly Conway of Common Sense Media rated it 4 out of 5 stars, praising positive messages and role models like friendship and discovery, and finding it entertaining with humor and family-friendly content. Randy Myers of The Mercury News gave it 3 out of 4 stars, calling the setup simple yet efficient and the series joyful and entertaining, celebrating friendship and pop culture references. According to Flix Patrol, it was the 7th most watched streaming series on Disney+ in its release week, and 3rd and 9th in its second and third weeks. Internationally, Disney Jr. Latinoamérica has 35 million views, Disney Junior España about 20.6 million on episodes and 20 million on the compilation, and Disney Junior Deutschland about 18.4 million. The official music video for "Trucks" has over 94 million views on YouTube. The short "Road Rumblers" was nominated for Outstanding Achievement for Animated Effects in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production at the 50th Annie Awards. The series is nominated for Outstanding Editing for an Animated Program at the 2nd Children's and Family Emmy Awards and for Short Form Series at the 39th Artios Awards.
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