The signature car of Pixar
Photo: Disney/Pixar
Over the years, Pixar has become famous for the extraordinary number of cameos and secret references it scatters throughout its movies. Sometimes, these cameos can be used to advertise an upcoming film in Pixar’s lineup, such as when a child is seen reading a Mr. Incredible comic during Finding Nemo. In other instances, an image associated with the Pixar brand is hidden in the film, like the brightly colored Luxo Ball from the Luxo, Jr. short.
Perhaps the most famous of these hidden objects is the Pizza Planet truck. Having first appeared in Pixar’s debut feature film Toy Story, this yellow-tinted delivery truck, based on a Toyota Hilux, has made appearances in every Pixar movie since, with the exception of The Incredibles.
Sometimes, the Pizza Planet truck is even a character
Photo: Disney/Pixar
In some movies, this delivery vehicle can be quite easy to spot, especially if it plays an important part in the movie’s plot. During other films, only those with a keen eye can catch sight of it, as the truck may only appear for a few seconds in the background.
Marathoning all of the Pixar movies to spot the Pizza Planet Truck would undoubtedly be a time-consuming endeavor. So, instead, we here at The News Wheel have decided to list the location of the Pizza Planet truck in all of the Pixar movies.
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- Toy Story: Due to the fact that the Pizza Planet truck plays such a vital role in the story the plays out during Toy Story, it is extremely easy to spot. After all, it’s the truck that takes Buzz and Woody from their gas station stop to Pizza Planet itself.
- A Bug’s Life: Throughout the film, several scenes take place outside of a solitary mobile home. Continuously parked next to that mobile home is a Pizza Planet truck, suggesting someone who lives there either works at Pizza Planet or really like to order pizza from the restaurant.
- Toy Story 2: The Pizza Planet truck plays yet another major role in Toy Story 2. Buzz, Hamm, Mr. Potato Head, Rex, and Slinky take control of the vehicle so they can race to the airport in order to save Woody.
- Monsters, Inc.: The motorhome from A Bug’s Life makes another appearance in this Pixar film, with the Pizza Planet truck still parked next to it. Randall ends up in the motorhome itself, where he is attacked by its residents, who believe that the chameleon-like monster is an alligator.
- Finding Nemo: During the montage where Gill is explaining his plan on how to escape the dentist office, a Pizza Planet truck is shown driving by.
- Cars: Fittingly, the Pizza Planet truck is an actual character in the Cars universe. His name is apparently Todd, and he is seen at the stadium during the film’s final race.
- Ratatouille: Paris evidently has Pizza Planet restaurants as well, because a Pizza Planet truck is seen crossing over a bridge during one of the film’s chase sequences.
- WALL-E: While EVE is searching for plant life on the abandoned planet Earth, she scans the engine of a discarded Pizza Planet truck.
- Up: While several Pizza Planet vehicles make quick appearances during this film, the most prominent appearance by the vehicle comes at the end, parked outside of the ice cream shop where Carl takes Russell.
- Toy Story 3: The Pizza Planet truck appears this time during a flashback, as Lost-o-Huggin’ Bear and his companions hitch a ride on the truck after they are abandoned, which ultimately leads them to Sunnyside Daycare.
- Cars 2: Todd the Pizza Planet truck makes yet another appearance in the sequel to Cars, this time appearing during the Radiator Springs Grand Prix.
- Brave: It would be awfully weird to see a Pizza Planet truck show up in the medieval setting of Brave. Yet, the animators at Pixar found a way to sneak the vehicle into the movie, as the wood-carving witch has a miniature wooden version of the truck in her shop.
- Monsters University: Even the Monster world has Pizza Planet, as one of the restaurant’s trucks is seen parked outside a house party.
- Inside Out: One of Riley’s memories must involve Pizza Planet, as the Pizza Planet truck can be seen in one of her memory orbs.
- The Good Dinosaur: Placing a Pizza Planet truck in the prehistoric world of The Good Dinosaur would likely be even more difficult than finding a place for it in Brave. Still, an asteroid in the shape of the vehicle can be seen near the asteroid belt at the beginning of the movie.
- Finding Dory: Near the underwater wreckage featured in the film, a Pizza Planet truck can be seen.
- Cars 3: Todd makes his final appearance in the third entry of the Cars franchise at the ThunderHollow demolition derby.
- Coco: A Pizza Planet truck blaring loud music drives by the Rivera family home, which causes Abuelita to once again reiterate the family’s ban on music.
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If you’re more of a visual learner, the team at Disney has put together a video showcasing all of the Pizza Planet truck’s cameos from Toy Story to Monsters University:
Due to the fact that the Pizza Planet truck did not appear in the original Incredibles movie, it is currently unknown if it will make an appearance during Incredibles 2. Still, sharp-eyed theater patrons should keep an eye out for this iconic delivery vehicle during the movie, which hits theaters this weekend.
Source: Disney
Zachary Berry currently resides in the Dayton, Ohio area. However, he enjoys traveling from place to place, as he was born in Oklahoma City and has also lived in Albuquerque and Orlando (such is the life of a military brat). Zachary graduated from Ohio University with a major in Strategic Communication, which is fancy talk for advertising and public relations. Beginning his career at The News Wheel as a lowly intern, he was able to climb his way to the top, eventually claiming his place within the last cubicle on the left. Other jobs that Zachary has held include driving around a safari truck at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. When he’s not putting his nose to the grindstone, Zachary enjoys watching and critiquing movies and television. See more articles by Zachary.