Tales from Radiator Springs
Series, 2013, The films and shorts, Set in Life in town
Tales from Radiator Springs is #5 of 10 in release order and #5 of 10 in chronological order in the Cars.
The story
All Cars Toons in Tales from Radiator Springs follow the daily lives of McQueen, Mater and their friends in their hometown Radiator Springs, following the events of Cars 2.
Tales from Radiator Springs recap
Tales from Radiator Springs (2013) is a set of four short episodes about everyday life in the town from Cars, released on Disney Channel from 2013 to 2014. Three premiered together on March 22, 2013. In "Hiccups", Lightning McQueen gets the hiccups, Sally cures them with a kiss, and Mater chases Sheriff to try the same cure on him. "Bugged" follows Red the fire truck as a bug ruins his morning, the only episode without Lightning or Mater. In "Spinning", Luigi has Guido spin a sign to bring in customers, and Guido turns out to be a gifted sign spinner who draws a crowd. The episodes are short comedies of a few minutes each with no running story, built around the residents Lightning (Owen Wilson) and Mater (Larry the Cable Guy) live among: Sally, Sheriff, Red, Luigi and Guido. The fourth episode arrived a year later, first on Disney Movies Anywhere in May 2014 and then on Disney Channel that August.
Tales from Radiator Springs ending explained
Tales from Radiator Springs ends with "The Radiator Springs 500 1/2" (2014), in which the town holds a Founders Day celebration in honour of its founder, Stanley, and a gang of off-road racers turns up and challenges Lightning to a race through the desert. A fifth short, "To Protect and Serve", was announced at the 2013 D23 Expo for 2015 but never released. Cars 3 and its tie-in short came next in 2017.
Ratings
IMDb 6.5/10
Where it fits
What to watch before Tales from Radiator Springs
In release order, the essentials before Tales from Radiator Springs (2013) are Cars (2006) and Cars 2 (2011). Tales from Radiator Springs itself is optional in the Cars order.
Created by John Lasseter.