Which Pixar film was the first Cars movie?

The first Cars movie was Cars.

Cars was released in 2006 as Pixar’s seventh feature film. It follows rookie race car Lightning McQueen, who becomes stranded in Radiator Springs while traveling to California for a tiebreaker Piston Cup race. His forced stay introduces him to the town’s residents and changes his view of competition, friendship, and success.

The film was directed by John Lasseter and co-directed by Joe Ranft. It features the voices of Owen Wilson as Lightning McQueen, Bonnie Hunt as Sally Carrera, Larry the Cable Guy as Mater, and Paul Newman as Doc Hudson. Newman’s performance as Doc was especially notable because he was a major film actor and an accomplished racing enthusiast.

Cars began a franchise that later included Cars 2 in 2011 and Cars 3 in 2017. It also inspired short films, television productions, merchandise, theme-park attractions, and the spin-off film Planes. Planes is set in a related world but was produced by Disneytoon Studios rather than Pixar, so it is not the first Cars movie.