Mater and the Ghostlight (2006)

Don't listen to the negative reviews

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

It goes without saying how clear the animation is here. The attention to details and a very simple story makes it a wonderful 7 minute short.Derived from the "Cars" universe, it talks about how Mater teases his friends and how they decide to take revenge, all in a funny manner. The imaginative plot also delivers a message to children who will perceive it permanently.The various themes it samples are self-righteousness, sarcasm, dear, hallucination (kind of) and light horror. Music and background score add to the fun. Fantastic direction & very colorful setup. The niceties, of you focus on them, are bound to reveal how the makers are filled with creativity.BOTTOM LINE: A very cool short; definitely one of Pixar's best.

"Mater and the Ghostlight", made by Pixar dinosaur John Lasseter and the rather-new Dan Scanlon, is an okay little short-film with the main protagonists from Cars and can make for a decent watch during Halloween for example. It's the last movie ever with screen legend Paul Newman. The first 90 seconds or so, we just see all the characters, like a fire-fighter car watering a bunch of flowers etc. Then it enters scary territory as one of the cars tells his very own little horror story and we see it brought to life not much later.People often say the Cars films are Pixar's weakest and this one here is probably the equivalent when it comes to their short-films. Of course, it's not totally bad at all. The animation is great as always and I liked the "the scream of what?"-twist towards the end. This was pretty funny. Otherwise, it's not really a must watch unless you're still very young or you really loved the Cars movie.

Mater and the Gaslight is definitely not bad, but other than the animation really there is nothing special I particularly find about it. The animation is indeed gorgeous, like with all of Pixar's other work, not only beautiful in the colours but there is a sense of atmosphere too, the music fits wonderfully, the Ghostlight is creepy and the voice work especially from Paul Newman and Michael Wallis is great. However, it all feels rather routine, apart from the sight of Mater shaking and looking scared, there is never really anything that across as funny or moving, and the rather thin story holds few surprises. I also have an issue with Mater, I find him much better as a supporting character than a lead, by all means his appearance is not as problematic as it was in Cars 2, but he is rather bland here. In conclusion, worth watching for the animation but it is just lacking for me in humour, charm and heart. 6/10 Bethany Cox

I have seen this short twice and both times I was bowled over by the gorgeous computer-generated animation. Clearly, Pixar is THE studio that sets the animation standard. However, I think this film has a strike against it from the outset and that is because the CARS characters aren't as endearing or timeless as many of the other Pixar creations. They lack the "cuddly factor" or depth of some of the other characters and so, at least to me, it doesn't stack well with the MONSTERS, INC., UP!, RATATOUILLE or INCREDIBLES (among others).As for the short, it's about Mater and how cowardly he is. The others make up a ghost story and Mater freaks out. It's all great fun for the kids, but adults probably won't love this film unless they are car aficionados or NASCAR fans. To me, it all seemed pretty routine--aside from the great animation.