In the second episode of “Cars on the Road,” Lightning and Mater arrive at a spooky mansion that will remind some of Disney’s Haunted Mansion and one oh-so-legendary haunted hotel. If you guessed the show was taking inspiration from the overlook from “The Shining,” you guessed correctly. Since the duo are traveling east on their cross-country road trip journey, it makes sense that they’d stop off at this haunted homage. If you remember, The Overlook is in Colorado, so it fits well into their travel plans.
There are ghosts that follow Lightning around, the ever-memorable twins that just want to play, and an elevator that gushes, well, something. All of this builds up the tension and fear within Lightning McQueen as he tries to navigate these unholy terrors. This navigation leant itself to humor to lighten the mood for the children who’d be watching. As Purcell shared further with IndieWire, the structure of the hotel ended up being used to poke fun at Lightning’s pain:
“Lightning struggles in the hallway and that actually became a joke when one of our animators pointed out that the hallways were too narrow for him to turn around.”
“Cars on the Road” is full of homages, but this embrace of Stephen King in an animated series geared towards children makes the heart warm and fuzzy. You’ve got to start the kiddos off somewhere, and Purcell and the team are definitely here to guide the way.
