Disney/Pixar's summer 2016 theatrical release, Finding Dory, was but the latest in a long line of critical and commercial smash hits for the animated studio. Pixar will have two shots at box office glory in 2017, as it were, with a release slate that includes the original animated feature Coco (from Toy Story 3 director Lee Unkrich) in the fall. Before then, however, Disney/Pixar will release the next installment in the lucrative Cars franchise, under the straight-forward title of Cars 3.

Cars 3 is the feature-length directorial debut for longtime Pixar storyboard artist Brian Fee, who also worked on the previous two Cars films as well as Pixar movies such as Ratatouille and WALL·E. The teaser trailer for Cars 3 will be attached to prints of Disney's animated film Moana when it debuts in theaters over this year's Thanksgiving frame.

You can also now watch the Cars 3 teaser trailer online (see above). For more, check out the film's official synopsis below:

Blindsided by a new generation of blazing-fast racers, the legendary Lightning McQueen (voice of Owen Wilson) is suddenly pushed out of the sport he loves. To get back in the game, he will need the help of an eager young race technician, Cruz Ramirez, with her own plan to win, plus inspiration from the late Fabulous Hudson Hornet and a few unexpected turns. Proving that #95 isn’t through yet will test the heart of a champion on Piston Cup Racing’s biggest stage!

Pixar's Chief Creative Officer John Lasseter has described Cars 3 as having a "very emotional story" and the teaser trailer supports that claim, setting an unexpectedly dramatic tone for this first look at the third Cars installment. The synopsis for the movie suggests that McQueen will look to "the late Fabulous Hudson Hornet" while facing hard times, further supporting something else that Lasseter previously said about the film: that it pays respect to the Doc Hudson character - Lightning's mentor in the first Cars - and the voice actor behind him, in acting legend Paul Newman (who passed away between the release of Cars and Cars 2).

While Cars 2 is generally regarded as being a harmlessly shiny-yet-hollow animated romp aimed squarely at the juice box crowd, it's for related reasons that many view it as being Pixar's worst film to date. Cars 3, by comparison, already sounds like it will have a healthy amount of heart and a storyline that could even be poignant, to go along with the slick and impressively-detailed animation on display in the movie's teaser trailer. Who knows, maybe Cars 3 will even prove good enough to convince those moviegoers who have never been fans of the Cars series to give Lightning McQueen's latest (last?) adventure a look.

NEXT: The Incredibles 2 Moves Up to 2018

Source: Disney/Pixar