Mater
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Mater | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Model | Unspecified[1] but inspired by a 1951 International Harvester tow truck[2] [3] |
| Gender | Male |
| Eye Color | Hazel |
| Color | Rust (formerly Baby blue), later light orange |
| Voice Actor | Larry the Cable Guy |
| License Plate Number | A113 |
Mater is a fictional, anthropomorphic tow truck from the Disney/Pixar animated film Cars. He lives in Radiator Springs, New Mexico. Mater runs Tow Mater Towing and Salvage, one of the town's few businesses. He is voiced by Larry the Cable Guy.
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[edit] Personality and physical characteristics
Mater is not very intelligent, but shows great loyalty to his friends. He speaks with a thick Southern accent with a bit of hillbilly twang. He may be illiterate, as he often misspells words or uses incorrect syntax.
His color was originally baby blue, but over the years, he has rusted into a light brown/orange color, with some of the blue still showing through. He is missing his hood and has only a single headlight (his right). His license plate number is A113.
Mater is also the self-proclaimed world champion backwards driver. He attributes his skill to his rear-view mirrors and his philosophy is "you don't need to see where you're going, only know where you've been." His hobbies include tractor tipping (similar to the real-life practice of cow tipping) and searching for the ghostlight. In the short Mater and the Ghostlight, it is shown that Mater is fond of playing practical jokes. In the tractor-tipping scene, Mater utters the phrase " I don't care who you are, that's funny right there." which is a popular phrase of Larry the Cable Guy.
[edit] Mater and the Ghostlight
Mater is the central character in the short film Mater and the Ghostlight, available on the Cars DVD. In the film, he is made to believe that he is being attacked by the mysterious "ghostlight" after being told a particularly spooky story by the Sheriff.
[edit] Cars video game
In Story Mode, Mater serves as the announcer for the "Radiator Springs Grand Prix", both in Lightning McQueen's dream and, later, for the real race. He also gives Lightning backwards driving lessons and is playable during the "Rustbucket Race-o-Rama" (where he introduces his long-lost cousin Tommy Joe, a demolition derby car) and "Tractor Tipping" minigames as well as Arcade Mode and VS. Mode.
After Lightning wins the 2006 Piston Cup at the end of the game, Mater accompanies him and Sally on their cross country trip.
[edit] Development
Mater is based on a 1951 International Harvester (IHC) Pickup truck, converted into a tow truck[2] [3], but looks more like a mid-'50s Chevrolet[1]. 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's backwards driving, on the other hand, was inspired by the Sheriff's voice actor, Michael Wallis' ability to turn his feet completely around backwards.
[edit] International versions
Mater was given different names for the various international releases of Cars.
| Language | Name | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Bulgarian | Матю (Matthew) | the Bulgarian-discovered derivative of "Mater" |
| Danish | Bumle | Danish for "bumble" |
| Dutch | Takel | from "Takelwagen", Dutch for "tow truck" |
| Finnish | Martti | unknown ("Kuin "startti", mutta "m":llä!" ("Like "Start", but with an "M"!")) |
| French | Martin (Called Depanneur in french Canada) | French name, chosen for his close pronunciation (in french, "Depanneur" means "tow truck") |
| German | Hook | named after his main tool |
| Greek | Μπάρμπας (Barbas) | Meaning Unca which stands for uncle. |
| Italian | Carl Attrezzi | from "carro attrezzi", Italian for "tow truck" |
| Norwegian | Bill | A wordplay. The Norwegian word for car is "Bil". |
| Polish | Złomek | from "złom", which means "scrap metal" |
| Russian | Мэтер | Sounds like Mater, accordant to word "метр" (metre). Mater says "Как километр, только короче" (like kilometre but shorter) introducing to McQueen. |
| Spanish | Molcador (Called "Mate" in Latin America) | from "remolcador", Spanish for "tow truck". His Latin American name does not mean nothing |
| Swedish | Bärgarn | from "bärgningsbil", Swedish for"tow truck" ("Som "Wallen-bergarn", men utan "wallen"!"("Like "Wallen-bergarn", but without the "wallen"!")) |
| Ukrainian | Сирник | A part of a word "буксирник" (which is dummy for "tow truck"). When Mater first introduces to McQueen he says "Сирник. Як "буксирник", тільки без "бук"." ("Ruck. Like "tow truck", but without "tow t".") |
[edit] Toys
Mater was one of the most heavily licenced characters fron Cars. The die cast Cars toy line featured three versions of the character: Mater, Blue Bowlin' Mater (in blue with no hood) and Flashback Mater (in blue, with hood and old-style logo).
| Cars | |
|---|---|
| Main characters | Lightning McQueen | Mater | Sally | Doc Hudson | The King | Chick Hicks | Ramone | Flo | Luigi | Guido | Mack Red | Sheriff | Fillmore | Sarge | Lizzie | Mia and Tia | List of Cars characters |
| Production studio | Pixar | John Lasseter |
| Related articles | Dinoco | Rust-eze | Soundtrack | Cars The Official Video Game | Radiator Springs | Radiator Springs Adventures | Cars Diecast Line |
[edit] References
- ^ a b "New movie rekindles love affair with cars" by Ann Job, The Star-Ledger, May 7, 2006, reprinted for MSN Autos
- ^ a b Route 66 Online News
- ^ a b Route 66 News
