At which major award ceremony did Pixar's Cars win the first Best Animated Feature award?

Pixar's Cars won the first Best Animated Feature award presented at the Golden Globe Awards.

At the 64th Golden Globe Awards, Cars won Best Animated Feature Film. This was the first year the Golden Globes presented an award specifically for animated features, making Cars the category's inaugural winner. The film competed against other animated releases from 2006.

The Golden Globe recognition is distinct from the Academy Awards. Cars received an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature at the 79th Academy Awards, but it did not win there; Happy Feet took that award. This distinction is a common source of confusion when listing the film's honors.

Cars also received major recognition from animation organizations and critics. Its Golden Globe win reflected the film's broad appeal, combining Pixar's computer animation with a road-movie story inspired by American automotive culture and Route 66.