One Man Band was the Pixar short film shown before Cars in its original theatrical release.
The short follows two street musicians competing for a young girl's coin. Their musical duel escalates into increasingly elaborate performances, while the child ultimately outsmarts both performers. It is a dialogue-free visual comedy built around timing, music, and expressive character animation.
One Man Band was directed by Mark Andrews and Andrew Jimenez and released in 2005. Its theatrical placement alongside Cars helped introduce audiences to a short that emphasized Pixar's continuing interest in compact, nonverbal storytelling.
Several other Pixar shorts are commonly associated with feature films from the same period. Boundin' preceded The Incredibles, Lifted preceded Ratatouille, and Presto preceded WALL-E. Those pairings make the title easy to mix up, but One Man Band is the specific short attached to Cars.