Mater and the Ghostlight (2006) (V)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

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:

When the Sheriff mentions "the hot breath of Zozobra" he is talking about Zozobra ("Old Man Gloom") the giant marionette effigy that is burned every autumn during Fiestas de Santa Fe in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Quotes:

Lightning McQueen: Gosh it sure is a nice night.
Sally Carrera: It sure is a nice night.
Lightning McQueen: I sure hope Mater isn't waiting around anywhere to scare me, because I'll freak out.
[Mater jumps down and scares McQueen]
Lightning McQueen: AHHHH!

Movie Connections:

Spin off from Cars (2006)

Soundtrack:

Behind the Clouds

Fun for young kids but too basic for a bigger audience

Following on from the action in Cars, the town is all being subject to practical jokes from Mater the tow truck. When Lightening learns of the legend of the ghostlight and the fear in puts into everyone (not least Mater), he decides to get a little payback on his friend.

Every Pixar DVD contains an extra short film and, in addition to the one often screened before the film proper, it is a nice touch that I genuinely do appreciate – I would like more films to include a short as part of some of their screenings just as a way of improving experience (rather than, say, 30 minutes of trying to sell me things). Generally the quality is high which will come as no surprise to anyone who understands how high the Pixar bar is set. However nobody can hit every time and for me Cars was OK but certainly nothing all that special in terms of the material. This short continues that trend and also focuses on one of the weaker characters in Mater.

The material is straightforward and pretty much comes down to a series of comic over-reactions from Mater to a light. And that's about it. For younger viewers it has enough energy and timing to provide plenty of amusement but those looking for the edge of adult wit and comedy beloved of Pixar will find themselves wanting. Overall then what we have is a colourful and amusing DVD extra that will be good enough for children but sadly offer nothing to the wider audience that I'm used to Pixar expertly catering for.