Cars was Pixar’s seventh feature film when it premiered in 2006.
Pixar’s first six feature films were Toy Story, A Bug’s Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, and The Incredibles. Cars followed The Incredibles and became the studio’s seventh theatrical animated feature.
The film was directed by John Lasseter, Joe Ranft, and Jorgen Klubien, with Lasseter serving as the principal director. Its world of talking vehicles extended Pixar’s tradition of building stories around nonhuman characters.
Cars also became the final Pixar feature to be co-produced with Disney before Disney completed its acquisition of Pixar in 2006. That business milestone is separate from the film’s release order but often appears in histories of the studio.