Well, this is different.

Pixar released the first trailer for it's upcoming "Cars 3" today, and if it weren't for the title graphic it might actually be hard to deduce what the teaser is advertising.

Not much is shown - not even any of the cars' faces. The trailer opens by silently showing the Disney and Pixar logos (silent title cards - the easiest way for a trailer to tell you, "Hey, you're watching a serious, gritty trailer!"). We mostly see flashes of the cars racing and obscured shots of Owen Wilson's hot-headed Lightning McQueen. After spinning out of control and flipping over in slow motion (slow motion coupled with heavy breathing - another item on the gritty trailer checklist) we see the cryptic words: "From this moment, everything will change."

Of course, a teaser isn't enough to base an opinion on, so fans will have to postulate for awhile- "Cars 3" doesn't come out until next summer. It's already apparent that the animation is incredibly impressive- even by Pixar standards. The initial shots of the cars look about as close to actual NASCAR footage as you can get.

Cars has been one of Pixar's most bizarrely prolific franchises. Aside from its own trilogy, it's also spawned "Planes" 1 & 2 (I'll give you one guess to figure out why it's called 'Planes'). You can debate the pros and cons of a potentially 'serious' Cars film, but we can all agree that at least it doesn't appear to be another "Cars 2."

Longtime Disney animator Brian Fee ("Ratatouille", "Wall-E", "Cars 2") will be making his directorial debut with "Cars 3."