Disney-Pixar Cars Toons Short to Air March 12

Press Release from Disney-Pixar

A new Disney•Pixar "Cars Toons" short will premiere FRIDAY, MARCH 12 (8:55 p.m. ET/PT) on Disney Channel.  The animated short directed by Academy Award-winner John Lasseter with Rob Gibbs and Victor Navone co-directing, will also be presented on Disney XD on Monday, March 29 (7:23 p.m. ET/PT).

BT ("The Fast and the Furious"), a prominent composer of dance and electronic music, scored the episode.

In the episode entitled "Tokyo Mater," a routine towing assignment lands Mater in Tokyo where he is challenged to a drift-style race against a nefarious gang leader and his posse of ninjas. With the help of his friend, "Dragon" Lightning McQueen, and some special modifications, Mater attempts to drift to victory and become "Tow-ke-O Mater, King of all Drifters."

The popular "Cars Toons" shorts debuted in October 2008 and reached 78.3 million unique total viewers in 2009, including 26.6 million among target age group kids 2-11.

About "Cars"

Directed by Academy Award-winner John Lasseter, "Cars" was the 2007 Golden Globe winner for Best Animated Feature Film and an Academy Award nominee for Best Animated Feature Film and Best Music - Original Song. The film also won the 2007 Grammy Award and was the #1 animated film on DVD for 2006. Its soundtrack was the first Pixar soundtrack to debut in the Billboard Top 10 and to certify gold.

Disney•Pixar's "Cars 2," directed by Brad Lewis, producer of the Oscar-winning film "Ratatouille," will hit the track on June 24, 2011 and will be presented in Disney Digital 3D™ in select theaters. In this thrilling new high-octane installment of the "Cars" saga, all the world's a racetrack as superstar Lightning McQueen zooms back into action, with his best friend Mater in tow, to take on the globe's fastest and finest.  Mater and McQueen will need their passports as they find themselves in a world of intrigue, thrills and fast-paced comedic escapades.

Disney•Pixar's "Cars" is among the fastest growing franchises for Disney Consumer Products and has a presence at Disneyland Resort where a new Cars Land, a 12-acre world of Radiator Springs with three new attractions, will debut at Disney's California Adventure in 2012.

Later this year, Disney Online will launch the World of Cars Online (www.WorldOfCars.com [1]), a virtual world that allows fans to immerse themselves in Radiator Springs and beyond, to interact with other players and to create an online community alongside their favorite characters including Lightning, Mater and Doc.