Cars on the Road should have been an easy home run. Mater and Lightning go on a road trip and get into a series of mostly disconnected little adventures. What 4 year old wouldn't love that?
Instead what we get is a series of the most confusing, wrong-headed story choices I've seen in memory. Literally 7 of the 9 episodes have something in there that's giving my 2 year old and 4 year old nightmares. Who the writers thought they were writing for is beyond me. Allow me to do an episode-by-episode breakdown:
Episode 1 - The Dinosaur Park
This episode is more or less alight (despite it making the Cars universe lore even more confusing). There's a perhaps too-frightening scene wherein Lightning is nearly killed by a T-Rex analogue prehistoric vehicle, but I was willing to look past it at the time.
Episode 2 - The Shining
Yes. This episode is an homage to the R-Rated horror classic from 1980. **This episode is straight up scary.** That scene with the twins in the hallway? Yeah that happens. And they start melting and deforming while they chase lightning. Who then runs into the elevator that recreates the torrent of blood scene - except with antifreeze. Finally, it's revealed that the motel actually is haunted by an actual ghost car.
Episode 3 - Mater dies at the Salt Flats
In this episode Mater dies and meets the Cars universe version of the Grim Reaper. Yup. Immediately after the "The Shining" episode we have an episode where that happens. Mater is ultimately saved in a silly way, but it doesn't negate the fact that **Mater dies and meets the Cars Grim Reaper**.
Episode 4 - Monster Hunters
You detecting a theme here?
Lightning and Mater join a society of monster-hunter cars who are chasing what turns out to be a Bigfoot analogue. Again talk of monsters and what they do to you.
Episode 5 - Scary Clowns
**YES LITERALLY ANOTHER EPISODE ABOUT SCARY STUFF.** Lightning turns out to have a fear of clowns. They go to the circus and there are clown cars that are, yeah pretty weird.
Don't worry surely this is the last episode featuring something scary.
Episode 6 - Trucks
This is one of the two episodes I don't have any problems with. There's a song about trucks.
Episode 7 - Zombie Movie
This one Mater and Lightning are cast as extras in a movie featuring zombie cars and a weird spider car. Lots of Zombie talk and cars pretending to be goofy zombies.
Episode 8 - Mad Max Fury Road
Lightning and Mater are captured by a society of Mad Max cars living in the desert and **pitted against each other in a death game wherein only one will survive**. They get deus ex machinaed out of the situation.
Episode 9 - The Wedding
The other episode that's fine.
Instead what we get is a series of the most confusing, wrong-headed story choices I've seen in memory. Literally 7 of the 9 episodes have something in there that's giving my 2 year old and 4 year old nightmares. Who the writers thought they were writing for is beyond me. Allow me to do an episode-by-episode breakdown:
Episode 1 - The Dinosaur Park
This episode is more or less alight (despite it making the Cars universe lore even more confusing). There's a perhaps too-frightening scene wherein Lightning is nearly killed by a T-Rex analogue prehistoric vehicle, but I was willing to look past it at the time.
Episode 2 - The Shining
Yes. This episode is an homage to the R-Rated horror classic from 1980. **This episode is straight up scary.** That scene with the twins in the hallway? Yeah that happens. And they start melting and deforming while they chase lightning. Who then runs into the elevator that recreates the torrent of blood scene - except with antifreeze. Finally, it's revealed that the motel actually is haunted by an actual ghost car.
Episode 3 - Mater dies at the Salt Flats
In this episode Mater dies and meets the Cars universe version of the Grim Reaper. Yup. Immediately after the "The Shining" episode we have an episode where that happens. Mater is ultimately saved in a silly way, but it doesn't negate the fact that **Mater dies and meets the Cars Grim Reaper**.
Episode 4 - Monster Hunters
You detecting a theme here?
Lightning and Mater join a society of monster-hunter cars who are chasing what turns out to be a Bigfoot analogue. Again talk of monsters and what they do to you.
Episode 5 - Scary Clowns
**YES LITERALLY ANOTHER EPISODE ABOUT SCARY STUFF.** Lightning turns out to have a fear of clowns. They go to the circus and there are clown cars that are, yeah pretty weird.
Don't worry surely this is the last episode featuring something scary.
Episode 6 - Trucks
This is one of the two episodes I don't have any problems with. There's a song about trucks.
Episode 7 - Zombie Movie
This one Mater and Lightning are cast as extras in a movie featuring zombie cars and a weird spider car. Lots of Zombie talk and cars pretending to be goofy zombies.
Episode 8 - Mad Max Fury Road
Lightning and Mater are captured by a society of Mad Max cars living in the desert and **pitted against each other in a death game wherein only one will survive**. They get deus ex machinaed out of the situation.
Episode 9 - The Wedding
The other episode that's fine.