Mater (Cars)

Colour	#4B89E6
Name	Mater
First	Cars (2006)
Creator	John Lasseter
Lbl1	Voiced by
Data1	Larry the Cable Guy
Noinfo	yes

Mater is a fictional character and the main deuteragonist in the 2006 animated Pixar film Cars and the main protaginist in its upcoming sequel. He is voiced by Larry the Cable Guy, and was inspired by a 1951 International Harvester tow truck but bears more of a resemblance to a 1955–57 Chevrolet or GMC; the actual inspiration may be the 1955–56 version since the hood which Mater recovers at the end of the film after a twenty-year absence lacks the "gunsights" of the 1957 model. Originally portrayed as a sidekick and friend to the film's main protagonist, Lightning McQueen, the popularity of the character eventually made him the central character in Cars spin-off media like the Cars Toons series, the Mater and the Ghostlight short and the Cars Mater-National video game, as well as the upcoming film Cars 2. He also appears as the main deuteragonist in other media related to Cars.

Development

The original vehicle on which Mater's appearance was based currently sits at the "Four Women on the Route" diner and souvenir store in Galena, KS.

Characterization

Mater's color was originally baby blue, as shown in a flashback; however, over the years, he has rusted into a patchwork light brown/orange color, with some of the blue still showing through. He is missing his hood and his left headlight (in the short Mater and the Ghostlight, he trembles so much, his right headlight comes loose). In the credits he managed to fish his hood (which has more of its original color on it than the rest of Mater does) from a cliff up in Tailfin Pass, but then sneezed, causing it to fall back down the cliff. His license plate number is A113; the passenger locomotive which nearly crashes into McQueen before his initial entry into Radiator Springs bears the same number on its identification plates. His final personality was based on his voice actor, Larry the Cable Guy, and he uses many of Larry's catchphrases, including "Git-R-Done" during the final race sequence and "I don't care who you are; that's funny right there" during the tractor tipping scene, among others.

Mater speaks with a thick Southern redneck accent with a dash of hillbilly twang and frequently uses incorrect syntax. Mater is also capable of racing, as well as being the (self-proclaimed) world's best backwards driver. He attributes his skill to his rear-view mirrors and his own philosophy: "Don't need to know where I'm going, just need to know where I've been."

Appearances

Cars

Mater runs "Tow Mater Towing and Salvage." Mater is one of the first to befriend and support Lightning throughout his adventure in Radiator Springs. During the film, Mater shows Lightning how to do "Tractor-Tippin'" and how to drive backwards without crashing by using rearview mirrors, which Lightning uses to counter Chick Hick's dirty racing in the Piston Cup race. In the end, McQueen gives Mater an opportunity to fly in a Dinoco helicopter like he always wanted, saying to Sally that Mater is his new best friend.

Cars 2

Mater returns as the protagonist. In the now popular tourist destination of Radiator Springs, the rusty old tow truck Mater has a number of roles, including proprietor of Tow Mater Towing and Salvage, grand storyteller and the heart and soul of the town. But Mater’s favorite title is best friend to Lightning McQueen. Mater values each and every dent he’s earned on his escapades with Lightning over the years, and anxiously awaits further fun with his friend when Lightning returns with his latest Piston Cup.

Cheerful, honest and loyal to a fault, Mater rushes to his best friend’s defense, which ultimately lands the off-duty Lightning in an international racing exhibition: the World Grand Prix. When Lightning invites Mater to come along as a member of his pit crew, Mater leaves Carburetor County for the first time ever. Not long after their arrival in Tokyo, Mater learns that the world outside of Radiator Springs is decidedly different and its newfangled ways may take some getting used to. But when he’s mistaken for an American secret agent, he falls into an intriguing adventure of his own. Caught between supporting his best friend on a globe-trotting racing competition and his new role in international espionage, Mater ends up in an explosive chase through the streets of Tokyo and Europe alongside a team of British spies and international bad guys. Holley Shiftwell plays Mator's love interest; Mator is mezmerized by her beauty and falls for her immediately.

Mater and the Ghostlight

The short film follows Mater's day-to-day activities after things have returned to normal in Radiator Springs. Mater likes to play scary pranks on other characters until a blue light begins haunting him. His final prank is his most successful: McQueen sees a tow hook hanging from behind a stack of cans and, assuming that Mater is hiding behind it, approaches to foil the prank. Mater then jumps off of the roof of Flo's café, screaming behind McQueen, who then is startled and knocks over the pile of cans, revealing that the hook was actually from the sign of Mater's place of business, thus a decoy. Everyone starts to laugh at McQueen for falling such a trick, and Mater teases, "You look like you seen the Ghostlight!"

Sheriff admonishes him for "mocking the Ghostlight," a character of urban legend amongst the cars. The Ghostlight is described as a "glowing orb of blue, translucent light" that haunts Radiator Springs, and hates nothing more than the sound of clanking metal – a sound frequently made by Mater's rickety shell. Sheriff continues to tell the story of a young couple lost in the area, whose only remains were "two out-of-state license plates." He then concludes with an overly cheerful "Well, g'night." The population of Radiator Springs then leaves within seconds, leaving a very nervous Mater by himself.

As he reaches his garage he is first frightened by a "lightning bug" (a tiny flying Volkswagen Beetle with bright headlights). As he relaxes, a bright blue glow suddenly appears behind him and he goes into a blind panic, driving around in a frenzy, first going along the main road, then going through the tractor field, past Frank, then around Willy's Butte, and doing a lock-strafe move after that, until he is exhausted. The Ghostlight however was revealed to be a glowing blue lantern to Mater's towing cable hung up by McQueen and Guido.

The short ends with Mater finally collapsing on the road with the rest of the folks surrounding him, revealing the joke to him as retribution for the pranks he did to them. The credits roll and after them there is a closing shot where the frightened Mater finds he has a huge construction vehicle behind him, snarling and carrying the license plate "Banshee." Mater does not realize who it is though and warns it of the Screaming Banshee before driving off, bidding the Banshee good night.

Cars Toons: Mater's Tall Tales

Mater is the main character in the animated short series, A Cars Toons: Mater's Tall Tales. Each tale begins with Mater telling a story of something he has done in the past. In the story, Mater finds himself in an inescapable predicament. When McQueen questions Mater over whether the events in the story actually occurred, Mater responds, "Don't you remember? You was there too!", and continues the story including McQueen's sudden participation. The cartoons end with Mater leaving the scene, often followed by characters or references to the story that was being told, putting up a possibility that the story might be real.

Video games

Mater appears in all Cars video games to date. In the sequel video game Cars, Mater is a playable character in both the Arcade Mode and in the "Tractor Tipping" and the "Rustbucket Race-O-Rama" levels, does commentary for the race in "Radiator Springs Grand Prix" and "Radiator Springs GP", and teaches McQueen how to drive backwards in "Mater's Backwards Lesson". Mater is also a playable character in both the Story and Arcade Modes of Cars Mater-National. The Cars Race-O-Rama video game introduces new rivals to Mater: Bubba, Tater and Tater Jr., all of them tow trucks. However, Tater and Tater Jr. later befriend Mater.

In popular culture

Real life replicas of Mater and Lightning are shown at Disney's California Adventure at Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, CA and Disney's Hollywood Studios of Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, FL. In addition, unofficial replicas have been created by fans of the movie.

References

External links

IMCDb page of Chevrolet 3800s, which include Mater's appearances.

Category:Fictional characters introduced in 2006 Category:Cars (film) characters Category:Film sidekicks