Pixar has stayed remarkably consistent since releasing the first Cars back in 2006. The animation giant has released a feature film every year since, in fact, making 2014 the first year since then to not have a Pixar movie on the release schedule. But that doesn’t mean Pixar is shortchanging its fans completely.
Yahoo Movies reports that a new six-minute short titled Radiator Springs 500 ½ can be streamed by fans for free starting today using the Disney Movies Anywhere app for the iPhone and iPad. The clip returns us to the world of Cars, where Lightning McQueen (voiced again by Owen Wilson) is challenged by a band of off-road racers. Mater (Larry the Cable Guy) tries to map out a course for this new race. But as is the case with everything that Mater tries, things go awry.
The site shared a brief tease of the Radiator Springs short, which you can check out below:
This is the latest in a long line of "Cars Toons," which tend to focus on Mater and his many adventures. Getting Owen Wilson to return is a coup. Perhaps he was hanging around the Pixar campus running lines for Cars 3, which was confirmed by the studio back in March?
We haven’t heard anything recently about original content being shared through the new Disney Movies Anywhere app, though at the time of the launch, it was reported that the studio would reward users with exclusive clips and footage from some of their top franchises. Cars might not qualify as "massive," but the absence of Pixar fare for this coming year means that there’s an appetite for new Pixar animation, and this short should feed the need… for a while.
In preparation for the new short, WorldOfCarsDriveIn.com posted a few stills from Radiator Springs 500 ½. Check them out, then go stream the free short and get your Pixar fix.
