Cars was released in 2006 by Walt Disney Pictures and published by Pixar Animation Studios. This was Pixar’s seventh feature film, and it was their last independently produced film, before being purchased by Disney. 

Cars was directed by John Lasseter and features the voices of Owen Wilson (Lightning McQueen), Paul Newman (Doc Hudson), Bonnie Hunt (Sally), and Larry the Cable Guy (Mater). You can currently find all three Cars films on Disney+.

The movie starts off with Lightning McQueen competing in a Piston Cup race. After he catches up to the two fastest cars, there is a big crash that takes many other cars out of the race. When they are in their last lap, Lightning blows out his tires while in the lead. As he tries to finish first, the other two cars catch up to him, ending the race in a tie. Lightning is very determined to win the race and become the first rookie that wins a Piston Cup title and a sponsorship.

While Lightning is traveling to the next race, his driver Mack gets scared by some cars and opens the back door of his cab. Lightning gets lost and ends up in a town called Radiator Springs. 

After he gets detained by the town, Lightning has to do community service and rebuild the road. He tries escaping and driving away but the other cars outsmart him in different ways. Lightning later finishes fixing the road and makes really good friends with the other cars in the town. 

After leaving the town for the race, Lightning loses motivation until his new friends show up to be his new crew. After getting back that motivation, he starts doing better until the last lap where something tragic happens.

The animation and visuals for this film are really stunning and I recommend watching it, or maybe even rewatching it. It had many unexpected twists and funny moments. 

I really like the character of Mater. He has a big heart and is really funny. He forgets a lot and his accent is funny as well. He is always himself in the films and he likes messing around, like in the scene where they go tractor tipping. He and Lightning McQueen are really best friends, and they are the best duo in the film.

My favorite part of the movie is when Lightning stops right before he gets to the finish line to help King finish his final race. This scene shows good sportsmanship and tells us the moral of the story. I remember that, when I was younger, I would want to own all of the cars from the film.

Overall, this film is really good and I recommend watching the other two films in the series as well. The lesson for this film is that relationships are way better than fame and success. 

And if you enjoy this movie, I recommend watching another Pixar movie called Up.