YMMV / Roary the Racing Car

• Adorkable: All 5 of the main cars are cheeky and act like children, yet are all very cute in their own ways.
• Alternative Character Interpretation: Maxi can either be interpreted as a diva who acts the way he does because he thinks he's still the star and wants to beat Roary, his main competitor or as an insecure guy who is under a lot of pressure due to being the favored one and acts the way he does due to anxiety.
• Ensemble Dark Horse: Breeze seems to be this in the Roary community.
• Harsher in Hindsight:
  • The entire episode "Maxi's New Engine" becomes this in "Testing Time for Maxi" when Maxi is called a tractor by PC Pete.
  • Watching the cars drink the unfiltered rainwater in "Out of Juice" is also uncomfortable to watch now that rainwater is proven unsafe to drink in real life, amid forever chemicals in the environment.
• Ho Yay: Several of the scenes featuring Drifter and Tin Top can be considered this.
• Jerkass Woobie: Poor Maxi. His actions clearly show that he has insecurity issues. Being Italian like Mr. Carburettor made him the favored one, which is an awful lot of pressure. He constantly bullies the others so they can get a taste of how he feels.
• Narm: Maxi's crying in "Testing Time for Maxi". It sounds so weird, it's funny.
• Strawman Has a Point: While Maxi does come off as unnecessarily mean towards Roary, there have been times when his arguments had some merit to them. At times, he stated that Roary needed a new engine if he wanted a chance of beating him. Roary is a smaller car than Maxi, and so logically he would have a smaller, less powerful engine.
• They Copied It, So It Sucks!: Several people (mainly in the preschool show hatedom) have ranted on this show, claiming it ripped off Cars.
• The Woobie: Roary himself can be considered this, both in and out of universe. He is constantly being taunted by Maxi, and it often really gets to him. But that is only the beginning. In a meta sense, Roary also lives in the shadow of Thomas & Friends and Bob the Builder, whose fame overshadowed him. Although Roary achieved fame, it fizzled out quickly, and Roary faded into obscurity.

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