Cars (franchise)/Characters
Cars
Lightning McQueen
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Generic make and model |
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- The Ace
- Awesome McCoolname
- Character Development
- Fish Out of Water: After he first enters Radiator Springs.
- Germans Love David Hasselhoff: In-universe, Lightning seems to be very popular in Japan.
- The Hero: Of the first film.
- Honor Before Reason: At the end.
- Jerkass: Goes from this to...
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold
- Law of Chromatic Superiority: His bright red coloring probably helped him on his rise to fame.
- Meaningful Name
- Supporting Protagonist: In the sequel.
Sir Tow Mater
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1955-57 Chevrolet truck |
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- Actor Allusion: Mater is basically a G-rated Larry the Cable Guy, with his voice pitched up a tiny bit. His lines "Get er done", and "I don't care who you are, that's funny right there", are taken straight from his stand-up routines.
- Break the Cutie: In Cars 2, after discovering that others think that he is just clueless and distracting.
- Breakout Character: He has spun off into his own series of shorts, and even managed to become the main character of the sequel.
- Cloudcuckoolander
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: The sequel definitely elevates him to this.
- The Dark Chick: In the first movie.
- Demoted to Extra: In the video game based on the first movie. He also has a minor role in the third movie.
- Eagle Land: Mater is viewed as a mix of Types 1 and 2 by foreign cars.
- Flying Car: Mater is able to fly by using his rocket boosters together with his parachute.
- Genius Ditz: Despite seeming rather simple minded, he has very broad knowledge of car parts and engines and can identify any engine at a glance.
- Good Is Not Dumb: Being a Genius Ditz, he manages to figure out Axlerod's involvement with the Lemons and his plot to discredit alternative fuel sources.
- Heel Face Turn: He and his fellow residents perform one in the movie.
- The Hero: Of the sequel.
- Knighting: By the Queen of England herself.
- Last-Name Basis
- Mistaken for Spies: By Holley and Finn, partially as a result of his fanciful storytelling.
- The Pollyana
- Southern-Fried Genius: See Genius Ditz above.
- Spotlight-Stealing Squad: In the sequel, where he's crucial to the plot and even gets top billing.
- Unreliable Narrator: Of his own "Tall Tales" series.
- Why Am I Ticking?: The Lemons plant a time bomb in his air filter as a backup plan to kill Lightning.
Doc Hudson/ Fabulous Hudson Hornet
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1951 Hudson Hornet |
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- Big Bad: Of the first movie.
- Blue Eyes: Designed after his actor’s very own eyes.
- The Character Died with Him
- Cool Old Guy
- Hanging Judge: Judging from his introductory speech.
- Heel Face Turn: He and his fellow residents perform one at the end of the movie.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold
- Not So Different: From Lightning.
Sally Carrera
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Porsche 911 Carrera (996) |
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- Affectionate Nickname: "Stickers" for Lightning, originally to tease him about having stickers instead of headlights. In the second film, she still calls him this, even after he gets actual headlights installed.
- The Chick
- Embarrassing Tattoo
- Hello, Attorney!: Lightning is immediately smitten when he sees her.
- Love Redeems
- Official Couple: With Lightning.
Fillmore
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VW Microbus (T1) |
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- Actual Pacifist: Goes with his hippie nature. More specifically, he, along with Sally, were the only ones not to participate in the Radiator Springs vs. Lemon Gangs in London.
- New Age Retro Hippie
- The Other Darrin: In the sequel.
- The Stoner
- Talking to Himself: He shares the same actor as Tony Trihull in the sequel.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: With Sarge.
Sarge
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Willys Jeep MB |
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- Drill Sergeant Nasty
- Properly Paranoid: He greatly distrusts Axlerod and switched out Lightning’s Allinol with Fillmore’s organic fuel. This is what actually saves Lightning from being killed later on.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: With Fillmore.
Luigi and Guido
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Isetta-based forklift and Fiat 500 |
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- Chaste Toons: Luigi's aunt and uncle (see below)
- The Danza: Guido.
- Keet: Guido especially, but both of them count.
- Gratuitous Italian: Both of them, but Guido exclusively speaks in Italian.
- Those Two Guys
Flo
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Generic design |
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- Happily Married: To Ramone.
- Sassy Black Woman
Ramone
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1959 Chevrolet Impala |
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- Happily Married: To Flo.
- Hot Paint Job: He’s fond of giving these, as well as usually sporting one himself.
- Pimped-Out Car: Aside from his numerous paint jobs, he possesses impressive hydraulics as well.
- Unlimited Paint Jobs: Ramone’s got a different paint job in almost every other scene.
Red
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Generic design |
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- Gentle Giant
- The Voiceless: He almost never speaks onscreen to begin with, but after the death of his actor he becomes this in the sequel.
Sheriff
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1949 Mercury |
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Lizzie
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Ford Model T |
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Mack
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Mack Superliner |
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- Actor Allusion: During the credits, Mack is watching car-ified versions of previous Pixar films and points out how |Hamm, P.T. Flea and Yeti all share the same voice actor (John Ratzenberger, who also voices Mack himself).
- Gentle Giant
- Nice Hat: The large sail on his roof resembles a trucker cap.
Strip “The King” Weathers
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1969 Plymouth Superbird |
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- Big Good
- Doomed Moral Victor: Although he doesn’t die, he becomes severely injured by a crash caused by Chick Hicks during the final lap of the tie-breaker race.
- Ink Suit Actor: The King is based on a racecar his actor, Richard Petty's owned; the Plymouth Superbird.
- Reality Subtext: His near-fatal crash, caused by Chick Hicks is a frame-by-frame recreation of a particular crash his actor lived through.
Chick Hicks
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1986 Buick Regal |
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- Arrogant Racer Guy
- Big Bad: Of the video game, in which he gets revenge on McQueen for defeating him.
- Classic Villain
- Disc One Final Boss: He is about to be the Big Bad of the movie, but he becomes the main henchman to Doc. The beginning thinks he is the Big Bad, but Doc takes over this role.
- The Dragon: To Doc Hudson.
- Evil Counterpart: To Lightning McQueen. Chick starts off as a more extreme version of McQueen, but eventually becomes this after Lightning undergoes Character Development.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Chick is deeply envious The King’s status as Dinoco’s golden boy. Plus he’s green to boot.
- Heel Face Turn: He has one at the end of the movie, winning the race.
- Jerkass: Through and through.
- Porn Stache: His grill resembles one.
- Pyrrhic Villainy: He wins the Piston Cup, but only because he caused The King to crash horribly and Lightning went back to help him. Chick doesn’t get his Dinoco sponsor like he dreamed and is booed off the stage at the cup presentation.
- Unnecessary Roughness: He causes a massive thirty-car pileup in the opening to try and shake McQueen, and later causes The King to crash in the tie-breaker match.
Boost, Wingo, DJ, and Snot Rod
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Generic designs |
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- Embarrassing Full Name: DJ's full name is Devon Montegomery Johnston the Third.
- Co-Dragons: To Chick Hicks. He hired them as assassins to banish McQueen to Radiator Springs and never to return to the final race again.
- Rice Burners
- What Happened to the Mouse?: It is unknown what happened to them after they successfully exile McQueen. But Sheriff arrests them for following Chick's orders to banish McQueen. They are the only antagonists in the movie not to do a Heel Face Turn.
Tractors, Frank, and Vroomaroundus Bugus
- All Farm Equipment Are Cattle
- Canis Latinicus
- Everything's Better with Cows
- Furry Confusion
- Stealth Pun
Mia and Tia
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Mazda Miata |
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- I'm Your Biggest Fan: To McQueen. They briefly followed Chick when McQueen disappeared, but switch back by the end.
- Single-Minded Twins
- Theme Twin Naming: They're named after their model, the Mazda Miata.
- Valley Girl: Both of them.
Minny and Van
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Generic designs |
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- Directionless Driver: Van refuses to ask for directions while the two of them are looking for an on-ramp, claiming that he can use the GPS. Unsurprisingly, they end up getting lost in the desert.
- Happily Married
RustEze Pit Crew Members, Sponsors, and Associates
- Actor Allusion: The two hosts of the RustEze sponsor presentation are voiced by the hosts of the radio show Car Talk. They're barely acting!
- And are modeled after cars they each owned.
- I'm Your Biggest Fan: Fred
- My Name Is Not Chuck!
Dinoco Pit Crew Members, Sponsors, and Associates
Hostile Takeover Bank Pit Crew Members
Piston Cup Racecars
- All There in the Script
- Meaningful Name
- Pink Girl, Blue Boy: Inverted
- The Smurfette Principle
- Viewer Gender Confusion
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Piston Cup R Vs, Pit Crews, Facility, and Audience
Car Media Reporters, Anchors, and Celebrities
Cars on the Highway
Stanley
- Happily Married: To Lizzie. Before he died, at least.
- Our Founder
- Posthumous Character
Bessie
Alarm Clock
Cars in Flashback
Trev Diesel and Aircraft
Cars in Epilogue
Pixar Cameos
Cars 2
Finn McMissile
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Voiced by: |
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- Amphibious Automobile: Finn can transform into both a hydrofoil and a submarine.
- Awesome McCoolname
- Badass Mustache
- Faking the Dead: He deploys a set of decoy tires after escaping the Oil Rig to make his enemies think he’s been torpedoed.
- I Am Very British
- Master of Disguise: He has a voice activated holographic disguise.
- Weaponized Car: Finn hides missiles, rockets, Gatling guns and even cables in his body.
Holley Shiftwell
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Voiced by: |
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- Affirmative Action Girl
- Flying Car: They’re standard issue for agents nowadays.
- Shock and Awe: One of her weapons is an electric taser.
- Spy Couple: Falls for Mater by the end.
- Weaponized Car
Siddeley
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Voiced by: |
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- Cool Plane
- Shout-Out: Sid sports the recurring Pixar In-Joke "A113" on his tail fin.
Leland Turbo
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Voiced by: |
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- Awesome McCoolname
- Family-Unfriendly Death: He was put through a freaking trash compactor!
- Killed Off for Real
- Talking to Himself: He shares his voice actor with Siddeley.
- Small Role, Big Impact: His distress call at the start of the film kicks off much of the plot.
Rod "Torque" Redline
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Voiced by: |
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- Cold-Blooded Torture: Torque is brutally tortured to death by Zündapp as part of a demonstration of the effects of an electromagnetic pulse on Allinol.
- Dead Star Walking
- Killed Off for Real
- Master of Disguise: Unlike Finn's holographic disguise, his disguise is a retractable metal shell.
- Sacrificial Lamb
- Weaponised Car
Francesco Bernoulli
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Voiced by: |
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- Achilles' Heel: Dirt tracks.
- Arrogant Racer Guy: Even moreso than Chick Hicks. However, unlike Chick, Francesco plays fairly and doesn't resort to dirty tricks to win.
- Berserk Button: Francesco hates being called "fragile".
- Mr. Fanservice: In-Universe. All the girls are crazy over his open-wheeled tyres.
- Everyone Looks Sexier If Italian
- Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: Francesco honestly admits that when he’s away from home, he misses his mama.
- Fragile Speedster: Just don't say it to his face.
- Gratuitous Italian
- Named After Somebody Famous
Professor Zündapp
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1959 Zündapp Janus |
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- Dragon-in-Chief: Zündapp is the main physical threat, but everything he does is under the orders of his boss, Miles Axlerod.
- Evil Genius
- Herr Doktor
- High-Class Glass: Bizarrely enough for a car.
- One-Letter Name: Other characters usually refer to him as Professor Z.
- Torture Technician
Sir Miles Axlerod
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Voiced by: |
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- Big Bad
- Evil Brit
- The Man Behind the Man: Axlerod is the mysterious leader of the Lemons and had engineered the sabotage of his own Grand Prix in order to discredit Allinol and alternative fuel in general.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: His globe-trekking exploits bring Richard Branson to mind.
- Non-Action Big Bad
- What Could Have Been: He was originally going to be portrayed as an old Russian racecar that performed very poorly.
Grem and Acer
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AMC Gremlin and AMC Pacer |
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- Bar Brawl: How the two actually both meet their end.
- Co-Dragons: To Zündapp.
- Meaningful Name: Gremlin and (P)Acer.
- Those Two Bad Guys
The Lemon Family Heads
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Voiced by: |
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- The Alleged Car: All are modeled after some of the most notorious Alleged Cars of all time; besides Gremlin, Pacer and Yugo the Trunkovs are based on ZAZ Zaporozhets, the smallest and cheapest Soviet car.
- Creator Cameo: Tubbs is voiced by Brad Lewis, one of the film's co-directors.
- The Don: The four heads of the lemon families: J. Curby Gremlin, Vladimir Trunkov , Victor Hugo and Tubbs Pacer
- Husky Russkie: Vladimir.
- The Mafia: The Hugo family especially, but all four count.
- Motor City: J. Curby and his family come from here.
- Name's the Same: Victor Hugo shares his name with a famous French writer.
- Talking to Himself: Vladimir, Victor and Ivan all share the same voice actor.
Alexander Hugo
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Yugo Koral/GV/45 |
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- Bland-Name Product: Besides the similar name, the Hugos have quad headlights but are based on a model that only ever had single headlights.
- Elite Mook
- I Have Many Names: He’s been known to go by the aliases of "Chop Shop Alex", "Alexander the "Not So" Great" and "Alexander Hu "Don’t" Go".
- The Mafia
Ivan
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1955-57 Chevrolet truck |
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- Costume Copycat: Mater disguises himself as Ivan to infiltrate the Lemons' meeting in Porto Corsa.
- Evil Counterpart: Can be seen as this to Mater.
- Husky Russkie
- Lzherusskie : Ivan is meant to be Russian, but plot necessity forced him to have the same Chevrolet-based cab design as Mater.
Tony Trihull
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Voiced by: |
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- Animal Motifs: He's apparently part shark as well.
- The Brute
- Cool Boat
- Oh Crap: Tony utters a small "uh-oh" just before being blown up.
- Killed Off for Real: He gets blown up by Finn's bombs, which were attracted to his magnet arm.
- Talking to Himself: He shares the same actor as Fillmore.
Lemon Mooks
Other Lemon Vehicles
Jeff Gorvette
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Chevrolet Corvette |
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- Ink Suit Actor
- Those Two Guys: With Lewis.
Lewis Hamilton
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Voiced by: |
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- Ink Suit Actor
- Those Two Guys: With Jeff.
Raoul Ça Roule
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Voiced by: |
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- I Am Not Left-Handed: Shares Lighting McQueen's Game Breaker offroad racing skill.
Nigel Gearsley
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Aston Martin |
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Max Schnell
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Mercedes C-Class DTM racer |
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- Dub Name Change: The German dub renames him "Sebastian Schnell", after his German actor, Sebastian Vettel.
- Germanic Efficiency
Miguel Camino
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Voiced by: |
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Carla Veloso
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Voiced by: |
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- The Smurfette Principle: Carla is the only female competitor in the World Grand Prix.
- Spicy Latina
Shu Todoroki
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Voiced by: |
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- Fake Nationality: Shu's voice actor is American.
- Instant Awesome, Just Add Dragons: His design sports the legendary Ka-Ryu dragon.
Rip Clutchgoneski
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Voiced by: |
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- Advertised Extra: Barely even that. Clutchgoneski doesn’t have any toys of him and didn’t even appear in the video game.
- Ruritania: His homeland is the “Republic of New Rearendia”.
- The Voiceless
World Grand Prix Pit Crew and Audience
Cars in Radiator Springs
Cars in Tokyo
- Acrofatic: Kingpin Nobunaga, Pinion Tanaka, and Kimura Kaizo the sumo vans.
- The Cameo: Many of the characters from Tokyo Mater return.
- Geisha: Okuni and Shigeko from the Kabuki theatre. The two of them plus another, named Tamiko, appear at the party as well.
- Idol Singer: News reporter Chuki moonlights as the lead vocalist of the popular band "Grid Lock".
- Nice Hat: The Zen Master wears a coolie hat on his roof.
- Old Master: The Zen Master.
Crabby
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Voiced by: |
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Cars in Paris
Tomber
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Reliant Regal |
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- Friend in the Black Market
- Meaningful Name: His name in French means "to tumble".
Stephenson
Cars in Porto Corsa
Mama and Uncle Topolino
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Voiced by: |
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- Chaste Toons: To Luigi.
- Cool Old Guy: Uncle Topolino.
- Happily Married
- Real Life Relative: Their actors are married in real life.
- Talking to Himself: Mama Topolino shares her actress with the Queen.
Cars in London
The Queen and Prince Wheeliam
Frosty
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Voiced by: |
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Fernando Alonso
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Voiced by: |
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Vitaly Petrov
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Voiced by: |
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Flash
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Voiced by: |
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Memo Rojas Jr
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Voiced by: |
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Long Ge
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Voiced by: |
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Mater's Tall Tales
Characters in Rescue Squad Mater
- Five-Man Band: The Rescue Squad.
- The Hero: Fire Truck Mater.
- The Lancer / The Big Guy: Rescue Squad Trooper.
- The Medic: Rescue Squad Ambulance. Dr. Mater as well.
- The Smart Guy: Rescue Squad Chopper #1.
- The Chick: Rescue Squad Chopper #2.
- Hospital Hottie: Mia, Tia, and Kori Turbowitz, but Mater’s GTO stands out the most.
Characters in Mater the Greater
Characters in El Materdor
Characters in Tokyo Mater
Kabuto
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Voiced by: |
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- Arrogant Drift Racer Guy
- The Cameo: He appears briefly at the pre-race party in Cars 2.
- Defeat by Modesty
- Series Continuity Error: His appearance in Cars 2.
- Meaningful Name: A kabuto is a type of helmet, in which the spoilers on his body resemble.
Characters in UFM: Unidentified Flying Mater
- Cool Plane: Captain Munier the attack helicopter.
- Herr Doktor: The scientist pitties at Parking Area 51. Mater himself disguises himself as “Dr. Abschlepp Wagen”.
- Flying Saucer: Mator.
- Tank Goodness: Although he is not a tank, Corporal Kim, who runs Parking Area 51, is a large, menacing military van.
Characters in Heavy Metal Mater
- A Good Name for a Rock Band: Mater’s band was originally called “Mater and the Gas Caps”, but later chose the name “Heavy Metal Mater” when a pitty carrying a 1-ton weight came in after the recording session and asked “Where do you want this heavy metal, Mater?”
- Audience Participation Song: “Dad-Gum”
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Mater: Let me hear you! Dad-Gum! |
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- Hell-Bent for Leather: The entire band becomes this as “Heavy Metal Mater”.
- I'm Your Biggest Fan: Rodney the rocker
- No Name Given: The drummer pitty in the band never had a toy released of him, so his name is unknown.
- Rockers Smash Guitars: Mater kicks the microphone with his back tyre after the recording session.
- Shout-Out: Rocky’s heavy metal outfit resembles Slash.
- Title-Only Chorus: Heavy Metal Mater’s first and most popular song is “Dad-Gum”, of which the lyrics consist of only the title phrase.
Characters in Monster Truck Mater
- And I Must Scream: Paddy O'Concrete's fate.
- Bad Humor Truck: I-Screamer.
- Deadly Doctor: Dr. Feel Bad.
- Destination Defenestration: The above's fate.
- Dreadlock Rasta: The Rastacarian, who has black wiring with hooks as dreads.
- Drill Sergeant Nasty: Captain Collision.
- Frankenstein's Monster: Dr. Frankenwagon’s monster, which appears to me made out of construction vehicles.
- I'm Your Biggest Fan: There is a blue SUV who is constantly rooting for Mater in every wrestling match. He is first seen rooting for Ice Screamer, but eventually decides to root for Mater instead because of how successful he is.
- Mad Scientist: Dr. Frankenwagon.
- Oireland: Paddy O’Concrete
Characters in Moon Mater
- Cool Boat: The aircraft carrier near the end of the short.
- Cool Starship: Roger the Space Shuttle.
- Punny Name: Impala XIII the autonaut.
- You All Look Familiar: The ground control pitties use the same models as the scientists from Unidentified Flying Mater.
Characters in Mater, Private Eye
Characters in Air Mater
Planes
Dusty Crophopper
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Voiced by: |
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Possibly a Cessna 188
Skipper
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Voiced by: |
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Vought F4U Corsair
Sparky
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Voiced by: |
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Judge Davis
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Voiced by: |
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He looks to be either an early North American P-51 Mustang, a Curtiss P-40, or a combination of the two.
Chug
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Voiced by: |
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El Chupacabra
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Voiced by: |
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Ripslinger
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Voiced by: |
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