Cars (franchise)

Cars is a computer animated comedy film series and media franchise produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. after Toy Story. It features Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson), a speed-obsessed rookie race car who gets lost on his way to the track. He lands in Radiator Springs, a downtrodden town off fabled Route 66 that has been bypassed by the interstate. There, he learns about what really matters from the cars of the 1950s and ’60s.

The franchise began with the 2006 film Cars and its 2011 and 2017 sequels Cars 2, and Cars 3. It also includes a simulator ride attraction, Radiator Springs Racers, at Disney California Adventure, and a television series for the Disney Channel network titled Cars Toons, which premiered in the fall of 2008.

The first two Cars films were directed by John Lasseter, the then-chief creative officer of Pixar, Walt Disney Animation Studios, and Disneytoon Studios, while Cars 3 was directed by Brian Fee, a storyboard artist on the previous installments. Lasseter served as executive producer of Cars 3 and the Planes films. Together, the first three Cars films have accrued over $1.4 billion in box office revenue worldwide while the franchise has amassed over $10 billion in merchandising sales within its first 5 years.