Tooned

Did You Know?

• Tooned was created by John Allert, the McLaren Group brand and marketing director.
• The show was written, directed and produced by Chris Waitt, Simon Whalley and Henry Trotter at visual effects house Framestore.
• The Tooned logo was added to the back of the McLaren MP4-27 and McLaren MP4-28's rear wings from the 2012 Hungarian Grand Prix to the 2013 Bahrain Grand Prix.

Characters

The series features animated versions of real-life McLaren personnel and drivers. In Season One (2012), Lewis Hamilton appears as a star driver who loves racing, finds engineering boring, and rarely listens to Professor M; he appears in all twelve episodes except episodes 8 and 11, with his final episode being the twelfth before he is stuck in a simulator and reformed into Sergio Pérez. Jenson Button, McLaren's other driver, also loves racing and is amused by Lewis's antics; he appears in episodes 1–10 and 12. Alexander Armstrong voices Professor M, McLaren's head of engineering, who has little patience for the drivers and is oblivious to their boredom with his testing. Armstrong described M as a blend of Steve Jobs and Q but not anyone specific. Professor M appears in every episode and his catchphrase is "Oh, dear. It's happened again." In Season Two (2013), Jenson Button remains as McLaren's star driver after Lewis Hamilton's real-life departure to Mercedes, which is depicted as a simulator glitch. Sergio Pérez joins as a new member, created by a simulator glitch. Brian Cox voices The Mechanic with No Name, a little old Scotsman who appears during McLaren's 50th Anniversary presentation and shares the real story of McLaren, which Professor M disapproves of; he appears in every episode of series 2 and was a mentor to Bruce, McLaren's founder. The Mechanics appear in almost every episode, are kept occupied by Professor M, and never speak; the head mechanic is Charlie McRae. The Tour Guide appears in the first four episodes of season one, showing tour groups around McLaren headquarters and displaying memorabilia. Baron von Richtmacher, Professor M's rival from when M was racing, appears in episode 5; though von Richtmacher was faster, M's intelligence and appreciation for engineering led to his victory.

Episodes

The first season comprises twelve episodes. The second season comprises eight episodes, bringing the total to twenty. Based on McLaren's 50th Anniversary, Season 2 was written by Chris Waitt, Henry Trotter, Ed Dyson and Tim Bain. Season 3 was created under Mobil 1 and featured Professor M with his three lab assistants: Jenson Button, Sergio Pérez, and former NASCAR driver Tony Stewart. Season 4 was also created under Mobil 1 with the same cast minus Sergio Pérez, who was replaced by Kevin Magnussen. A special episode commemorated the 40th anniversary of James Hunt, featuring Jenson Button, Fernando Alonso, and reserve driver Stoffel Vandoorne.

Mobil 1 series

Mobil 1 backed a special run of Tooned featuring Jenson Button, Checo, Professor M, and a new character, Smoke—voiced by NASCAR champion Tony Stewart. Professor M gets hired by Mobil 1 to walk through the story of oil and lubricants, while Jenson, Checo, and Smoke act as test subjects. All six episodes live on YouTube. A follow-up series swapped Checo for Kevin, matching the real-world driver change when Kevin Magnussen took over from Sergio Pérez.