Cars was Pixar’s first feature film about talking cars.
Released in 2006, Cars follows rookie racer Lightning McQueen after he becomes stranded in Radiator Springs while traveling to the Piston Cup finale. The film combines a racing story with a character-focused journey about friendship, humility, and the communities left behind by changing roads.
Cars was Pixar’s seventh feature film. It was directed by John Lasseter, who also helped direct Toy Story and A Bug’s Life. The film introduced the world of Radiator Springs and characters who later returned in Cars 2 and Cars 3.
Cars 2, released in 2011, shifted toward international racing and espionage, while Cars 3, released in 2017, returned to McQueen’s struggle with a new generation of racers. Planes is a related spin-off produced by Disneytoon Studios, not Pixar’s first Cars feature.