What is the title of the first Cars short-film series featuring Mater as a star?

Mater’s Tall Tales is the title of the first Cars short-film series centered on Mater.

The series, also known as Cars Toons: Mater’s Tall Tales, consists of animated shorts in which Mater tells increasingly extravagant stories about his supposed past adventures. Lightning McQueen usually listens to the tales, and the episodes often end with a joke suggesting that Mater’s stories may contain a surprising connection to reality.

The shorts expand the Cars world without following the structure of a feature film. Their stories send Mater into roles such as a firefighter, a stunt performer, and a rock star, using familiar genre conventions for comedy. The first shorts began appearing in 2008, after the release of Cars and before Cars 2. The title is a pun on “tall tale,” meaning an exaggerated or unbelievable story. Cars Toons later became an umbrella name for related Cars short-form productions.