Time Travel Mater

Ah, time travel.   One of my favorite storytelling methods when used correctly and this  Cars Toon used it well.  This short is what I want from a Mater short and a good story, it's charming and sweet and simple. Now I'll be upfront that this short was used as a promotional tool for Cars Land as it establishes new areas that were created for Cars Land as being canon in the Cars universe. I like this touch as it makes the world of Cars feel bigger.  

The Plot

I'll admit the plot at best is small but that works for this story. It starts in the typical fashion of a Cars Toon of  seeing McQueen and Mater but this McQueen asks Mater how Lizzie and Stanley met and Mater goes to tell him that it happened last week as Mater was putting up on town sign on it with a clock on it and it falls on Mater and sends him back in time and we go through the early days of Radiator Springs from it being founded by Stanley who happens to sell caps and then we see Stanley and Lizzie's  first date and then their wedding.  I have to say that this short was just adorable and as I said up top it was partly a promotional tool for Cars Land but here's the deal, it didn't feel that way because while the new locations were pointed out, there was nothing as blatant as say the Universal Studios ticket gag in The Cat in The Hat and that really wasn't needed seeing as before there was a showing of Cars that in between commercial breaks  hosted by Larry The Cable Guy.  I really liked this short and it was a huge improvement over the last Mater short that I reviewed.   Pixar Canada , this one was good and I have a feeling that this may rank up there with Mater Private Eye as one of my favorites.   I also forgive you for Air Mater.




Plot Device




Clock

Okay, if I do have one little  nitpick with this otherwise good short, it would be that while we do know what Mater uses for time travel, it's that clock.  I couldn't get a clear grasp on how time travel worked in this short.  I'm not saying that it needed to be explained outright but it looked like the clock worked on it's own and that was good but I was left a little puzzled as to how time travel worked in this short.     There was one funny gag, where we two Maters at the same time when Mater from the previous week travels to the present to take McQueen take him back in time as he needed his aid.





Characters




Now I won't be breaking this down any further because there isn't really any need to.




Mater voiced by Larry The Cable Guy

Mater was really fun in this short and it was so fun seeing him travel back in time.  Also I have to say that I love the old time look of the short.    It's really funny how he seemed to suggest everything to Stanley that made Radiator Springs what it was. Sure, that's a bit cliche in time travel stories but for some reason that never bugs me.  




Stanley voiced by John Michael Higgins

It was really cool seeing Stanley actually talk and be a character.  It gave some insight into the creator of Radiator Springs and as seen here, it was shown that he was a salesman but he was an honest one from what I can tell and he was a fun character and I really loved seeing his relationship with Lizzie develop over time.




Lizzie voiced by Katherine Helmond

Lizzie is a character that I normally can't tolerate don't care for but I will say that she was sweet in this short and seeing her actually be more of a well rounded character.  While it was very brief with the romance, it was there and genuine.  I was happy for her as she seemed happy with Stanley and that made me like her in this short.   I also have to say that her introduction to Stanley was cute. I'll get to that when I talk about McQueen.




Lighting McQueen voiced by Keith Ferguson

Now McQueen didn't do much in this short but he did have a important role in that he introduced Stanley and Lizzie.   This is also one of the few shorts where McQueen doesn't get hurt in some way and I like that because not every short needs to be like that.  Now I'll say that while I'm disappointed that Owen Wilson didn't reprise his role,  Ferguson was serviceable and until I looked up the voice cast, I had thought it was Owen Wilson voicing McQueen.  Still, all the same he was fun in this short. Even if he was the least important character in this short.










My Final Thoughts




I enjoyed this short very much. It was a cute little short and I think time travel was used well here and I did like seeing Lizzie and Stanley in the early days of their relationship. This is a short that I suggest as it is a blast to watch.