Directed by Pixar co-founder and Disney Animation creative kingpin John Lasseter, "Tokyo Mater" is the fourth in a series of Cars shorts. Mater tells a story of something he has done in the past. In the story, Mater finds himself in an inescapable predicament. When McQueen questions Mater over whether the events in the story actually occurred, Mater responds, "Don't you remember? You was there too!", and continues the story including McQueen's participation. The cartoons end with Mater leaving the scene, often followed by characters or references to the story that was being told. Each story includes Mater, Lightning McQueen, Mia and Tia (the two red cars that adore Lightning McQueen), and various pit crew cars.