Synopsis

Hotshot rookie race car Lightning McQueen is determined to win the Piston Cup, but a wrong turn leaves him stranded in the fading Route 66 town of Radiator Springs. Ordered to repair the road he damaged, Lightning gradually forms unexpected friendships with the town's residents and learns that success is not measured only by trophies, speed, or fame.

Factoids & Trivia

• Development began in the late 1990s, following Pixar's work on "A Bug's Life." An early version of the project was titled "The Yellow Car."

• Pixar artists researched the film through trips along Route 66 and visits to Charlotte Motor Speedway. The production team gathered thousands of still photographs and hours of car footage to build the film's visual detail.

• Doc Hudson was inspired in part by Herb Thomas, a NASCAR pioneer who won championships driving Hudson Hornets in 1951 and 1953.

• Luigi's license plate, 445-108, refers to the latitude and longitude of Ferrari's factory in Modena, Italy.

• The film's detailed computer animation was exceptionally demanding for its time. Each frame reportedly required an average of 17 processor hours to render.

• The production was dedicated to story artist Joe Ranft, who died in a 2005 automobile accident while the film was being made.

• "Cars" was Pixar's final feature produced before Disney completed its acquisition of the company in January 2006.

• The film launched a major multimedia franchise, including two theatrical sequels, the "Cars Toons" shorts, and the "Planes" spin-off films.

• The closing credits feature automotive parodies of earlier Pixar films, including "Toy Car Story," "Monster Trucks, Inc.," and "A Bug's Life"-inspired imagery.