Cars

Cars is a 2006 American animated sports comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. Directed by John Lasseter, who co-wrote it with Joe Ranft, Dan Fogelman, Kiel Murray, Phil Lorin and Jorgen Klubien, the film stars Paul Newman and Owen Wilson, with an ensemble voice cast consisting of Bonnie Hunt, Larry the Cable Guy, Tony Shalhoub, Cheech Marin, Michael Wallis, George Carlin, Paul Dooley, Jenifer Lewis, Guido Quaroni, Michael Keaton, Katherine Helmond, John Ratzenberger, and Richard Petty. Set in a world populated entirely by anthropomorphic vehicles, the film follows a young self-obsessed racecar named Lightning McQueen who, on the way to the most important race of his life for the Piston Cup, becomes stranded in a forgotten town along U.S. Route 66 called Radiator Springs, where he learns about friendship and begins to reevaluate his priorities. Development for Cars started in 1998 following discussions between Lasseter and Klubien after production of A Bug's Life had wrapped. Klubien began to develop a new script titled The Yellow Car, which was about an electric car living in a gas-guzzling world. Shortly after, production was resumed with major script changes. The film was inspired by Lasseter's experiences on a cross-country road trip. Randy Newman composed the film's score, while artists Sheryl Crow, Rascal Flatts, John Mayer, and Brad Paisley contributed to the film's soundtrack. Cars ultimately served as the final film independently produced by Pixar after its purchase by Disney in January 2006. Cars premiered on May 26, 2006, at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina and was theatrically released in the United States on June 9 to generally positive reviews and commercial success, grossing $462 million worldwide against a budget of $120 million, becoming the sixth-highest-grossing film of 2006. It received two nominations at the 79th Academy Awards, including Best Animated Feature, but lost to Happy Feet (but won both the Annie Award for Best Animated Feature and the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film). The film was dedicated to Ranft, who died in a car crash during the film's production. The success of Cars launched a multimedia franchise that includes two sequels: Cars 2 (2011) and Cars 3 (2017), as well as two spin-off films produced by Disneytoon Studios: Planes (2013) and Planes: Fire and Rescue (2014).