New Cars Toon: 'To Protect and Serve'

Last year it was announced at the D23 Convention that two new Cars Toons were going to be released in 2014. The first one was Radiator Springs 500 1/2, and it premiered on Disney Movies Anywhere last May. The other one is titled To Protect and Serve, which has been pushed back to next year (2015). Here's the logo from the upcoming short film:

This is the synopsis: When Sheriff takes a mandatory vacation, two overzealous rookies from County take over his duties in Radiator Springs. Bent on making a good impression to score commendations, the rookies over-do every aspect of their jobs, finding “crimes” at every turn and turning the quiet little town into a hotbed of taped-off crime scenes. No one is safe and everyone’s a suspect until Sheriff senses an imbalance and returns home to right the “justice” that’s been served.

Mike 07 is in blue and Didi 05 is in white.

The main cars and voice cast from Radiator Springs will return in this short including two new characters: Mike 07 (voiced by Aziz Ansari) and Didi 05 (voiced by Wendi McLendon-Covey). To Protect and Serve is directed by Scott Morse, co-directed by Rob Gibbs, and produced by Mary Alice Drumm and Nicole Paradis Grindle. The date is still undecided, but it will be released sometime next year.

Source: Pixar Post.

'Radiator Springs 500 1/2' is Free to Watch on Disney.com!

Have you seen Pixar's latest Cars Toon, The Radiator Springs 500 1/2 yet? If not, you can now view it for free on Disney.com! In the latest installment of the Tales From Radiator Springs series, a gang of Baja Racers interrupt a celebration of Stanley, the founder of Radiator Springs, to challenge Lightning McQueen to a race. While McQueen and the Baja pros see who’s the fastest, Mater leads the rest of the gang through a leisurely Founders Day tour of Stanley’s original frontier route.

"The Radiator Springs Historical Society is proud to
honor the spirit of Stanley, our town's founder!"

The Radiator Springs 500 1/2  is the last film to be made by Pixar Canada, Pixar's subsidiary studio located in Vancouver, Canada. Sadly, Pixar Canada closed in October 2013 in order "to refocus operations and  resources under the one roof.” (Pixar's main studio in Emeryville, CA) Pixar Canada's other films include Air Mater, Small Fry, Time Travel Mater, Partysaurus Rex, and three Tales from Radiator Springs.

Watch the entirety of Radiator Springs 500 1/2 for free here.

'Radiator Springs 500 1/2' Will Air on the Disney Channel Tonight

In case you missed Pixar's latest Cars Toon when it premiered on Disney Movies Anywhere last May, you can catch Radiator Springs 500 1/2 tonight on the Disney Channel at 7:55 P.M. (Eastern Standard Time). Here's a clip that was just released by Pixar's YouTube channel from the short film.

The official synopsis reads: A 'leisurely drive' planned in honor of Radiator Springs’ town founder, Stanley, turns precarious as Baja pros descend on the town and challenge Lightning McQueen to an off-road race. Meanwhile, the townsfolk, led by a Stanley-costumed Mater, enjoy the planned 'leisurely drive' to retrace Stanley’s original frontier route. Thinking they’re on the same course, a wrong turn sends McQueen and the Baja pros on a treacherously wild bid for survival. The misunderstanding leaves the racing professionals in awe of the 'legend' of Stanley: the Original Off-Road Racer. "RS 500 1/2" is directed by Rob Gibbs, who was a story artist for several other Cars Toons and movies including Toy Story 2 and Monsters Inc.

Watch it tonight on the Disney Channel!

The next Cars Toon from the Tales from Radiator Springs series is called To Protect and Serve (@ThePixarTimes). It will be out sometime later this year.

'The Radiator Springs 500 ½' is Now on 'Disney Movies Anywhere'

Pixar's newest Cars Toon, The Radiator Springs 500 ½, is now available to watch on Disney Movies Anywhere! (It's free to view; all you need is an account). This six-minute short film is part of the Tales from Radiator Springs series. In The Radiator Springs 500 ½, a gang of Baja Racers interrupt a celebration of Stanley, the founder of Radiator Springs, to challenge Lightning McQueen to a race. While McQueen and the Baja pros see who’s the fastest, Mater leads the rest of the gang through a leisurely Founders Day tour of Stanley’s original frontier route.

"By right you mean left?"

"The Enchanted Forrest" scene in the Cars Toon has very close similarities to a deleted scene in the first Cars movie. In the storyboarded clip below, Lightning McQueen attempts to get back to the interstate and discovers a graveyard full of rusted cars.

The Radiator Springs 500 ½ is the last film to be made by Pixar Canada, Pixar's subsidiary studio located in Vancouver, Canada. Sadly, Pixar Canada closed on October 2013 in order "to refocus operations and  resources under the one roof.” (Pixar's main studio in Emeryville, CA) Pixar Canada's other films include Air Mater, Small Fry, Time Travel Mater, Partysaurus Rex, and three Tales from Radiator Springs.

Pixar Canada: 2010 - 2013

The next Cars Toon from the Tales from Radiator Springs series is called To Protect and Serve.(@ThePixarTimes) It will be out sometime later this year.

The Radiator Springs 500 ½

The next Cars Toon will be called 'Radiator Springs 500 ½.' Entertainment Weekly revealed details on the new six-minute short film saying that 'The gang is enjoying a Founders Day celebration to honor Stanley when a gang of Baja racers descend on the town and challenge Lightning to a race. While McQueen and the Baja pros see who’s the fastest, Mater leads the rest of the gang through a leisurely Founders Day tour of Stanley’s original frontier route.'

The director of the film Rob Gibbs said “We kind of played it up like a western. These off-road racers come to town, like gunslingers looking for the hottest gunslinger in Radiator Springs, Lightning McQueen. They challenge him to a race, like someone would challenge someone to a duel.  It’s kind of a contrast between how much fun the tour is and how scary and painful the racers’ journey is, because they take a right where Mater told them to take a left."

Gibbs also talked about the new characters in 'The Radiator Springs 500 ½:'  "There’s four of them: a Baja Bug, a Class-1 dune buggy, a Meyers Manx dune buggy, and a trophy truck. The big money ones, with huge suspension and huge wheels.”

The film will be part of Pixar’s 'Tales from Radiator Springs' series. The next Cars Toon will be 'To Protect and Serve.' (@ThePixarTimes) RS 500 ½ will premiere later this spring on Disney Movies Anywhere.

'Cars RS 500.5' - New Cars Toon?

Last august Michael Wallis (voice of the sheriff in 'Cars') said this in an interview; "Cars 3 we're coming back to the road. And we're coming back to 66 into 99. The 6 is upside down, that's the road the runs right through central California." Did he really mean that there was going to be a Cars 3? Or did Michael Wallis actually mean there was going to be a new Cars Toon?

Mattel's showcase at the New York Toy Fair 2014 had new Disney toys including Frozen dolls, Planes, and Cars. At 4:42 of this video (released by Inside the Magic) the promoter for Mattel mentions that "This fall ... they will release a new short called 'Cars RS 500.5.' She went on to say that there would be 114 die cast vehicles available for purchase in 2014.

Pixar has announced 'Party Central' and 'Toy Story That Time Forgot' for this year but they have not yet confirmed any new 'Cars' shorts for 2014.

UPDATE: @ThePixarTimes tweeted at the D23 expo last year that there would be two new Cars Toons: 'Radiator Springs 500.5' and 'To Protect and Serve,' and that they would debut on the Disney Channel in 2014.