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It was way back in 2006 (16 years ago!) that Pixar premiered the first Cars movie, a critically and popularly acclaimed animated feature the down-home wisdom of which soon made it a movie classic. Since then, there have been two sequels named, creatively, Cars 2 and Cars 3, plus a number of animated shorts that take place in the Cars universe and feature the same cast of colorful characters. Not to mention billions of dollars in merchandise.
Come Sept. 8, look for a new chapter in the Cars world when Cars on the Road debuts on the streaming channel Disney+. In the new series, McQueen and Mater embark on a cross-country road trip, ostensibly to attend the wedding of Mater’s sister (“Wait a minute, you have a sister?” McQueen asks). But as anybody who has ever taken a road trip knows, it’s not the destination, it’s the journey.
The intrepid pair encounter, in no particular order: monster trucks, big rigs, a Joie Chitwood-style stunt car circus, and a Mad Max gathering of post-apocalyptic battle cars (what?). And it looks from the trailer like there is a jet-powered land speed attempt by Mater at Bonneville and an appearance by that giant car-chomping dinosaur thing that was auctioned at Barrett-Jackson a few years ago. Oh, and a car theme park with a haunted mansion (garage?) just like the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland.
Did they leave anything out? There was a lot of time to fill over the course of the series’ nine episodes. Once again McQueen is voiced by actor Owen Wilson and Mater by comedian and cultural icon Larry the Cable Guy. It’s not clear yet who voices the other residents of Radiator Springs.
Disney is optimistic about the new show.
"The series is a romp across the country with Lightning McQueen and Mater," said director Steve Purcell. "Like any real road trip, every day is a new mini-adventure with unexpected twists and turns."
If you’re really into the Cars things, and if you happen to be anywhere near the Anaheim Convention Center across the street from Disneyland in Anaheim, California, on the day of the debut (Sept. 8), you can check out Disney+ Day. That’s a sort of birthday celebration for the streaming channel that includes promotions, events, and content premieres for subscribers of Disney+. Then, Disney+ Day leads into the D23 Expo, which itself is billed as “The Ultimate Disney Fan Event presented by Visa in Anaheim, CA. In celebration, the streaming service will host special experiences for fans and subscribers and will premiere new content from its marquee brands—Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic.” Among the premieres available will be the Tom Hanks live action movie Pinocchio, which will also debut on Disney+ on Sept. 8.
In case you are the last person on Earth who is not already a Disney+ subscriber, sign up here. It’s only $7.99 a month and you can watch Cars on the Road over and over again, just like you have watched Cars (the first one) 400 times and counting.
