To Infinity and Beyond

December 11, 2007 10:43 PM

Visual in jokes from Pixar Animation.
posted by oneirodynia (39 comments total)

I saw this on another site, and it's great! I never realized that the pizza truck is featured in EVERY Pixar film.
posted by amyms at 10:50 PM on December 11, 2007

My girlfriend can't watch the trailer for Wall•E without crying. Here. See for yourself.
posted by Astro Zombie at 11:03 PM on December 11, 2007 [7 favorites]

Tell her I'll go with her. I also fall into the "soft spot for cute robots" demographic.
posted by Salmonberry at 11:08 PM on December 11, 2007

This is great. Thanks!
posted by estherbester at 11:15 PM on December 11, 2007

I love Pixar's little in-jokes and features, but haven't caught some of these.

I wonder where the appearance of Mike Wazowski swimming across the Finding Nemo credits is. Rex also made a cameo in Monsters, Inc. There are some missing, but great link, since some of these are truly 'blink and you'll miss them' moments.
posted by cmgonzalez at 11:27 PM on December 11, 2007

My girlfriend can't watch the trailer for Wall•E without crying.

OMG, I just admitted the same thing to a couple of friends the other day, and they haven't stopped making fun of me since. It's not a full-on cry, but I definitely get teary-eyed. I'm not sure if you're pulling a chain (Hey, I'm sensitive), but tell yr girlfriend she ain't alone.
posted by pfafflin at 11:40 PM on December 11, 2007

Haha, this is awesome. thanks for posting, will be watching the blog.
posted by Phire at 11:44 PM on December 11, 2007

There's more ij-jokes on pixarplanet forums.

My girlfriend can't watch the trailer for Wall•E without crying
I don't cry, I swoon. Who needs a hug? Aw.

I am a huge fan of Pixar Animations, not just for the movies. I'd work for them for free. No, I'd pay them!
posted by carmina at 11:54 PM on December 11, 2007

in-jokes, dammit.
posted by carmina at 11:55 PM on December 11, 2007

For the weepy, sensitive, crying for Wall-E demographic.
posted by The Deej at 12:06 AM on December 12, 2007 [5 favorites]

Le Festin just destroys me every time I hear it. Big tears, regrets, crushing sense that I've lost some sense and love of artfulness. Made for a really perfect montage, though.
posted by maryh at 12:54 AM on December 12, 2007

I've seen all the Pixar films many, many, many times. Like, a hell of a lot. With my daughter. It's crazy how many times I've seen all these films. But they're so damn good, I never tire of them. They really are that good. As for these in jokes, I certainly knew most of them: how could I not? But the pizza truck in every film? Nope, didn't know that! A couple others I'd missed, too. Thanks for the post. My daughter thanks you too!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 3:07 AM on December 12, 2007

I will say I was disappointed to see Pixar rip off Tex Avery and his car cartoon. If anyone remembers it was a father and son team. The style is 100% Tex.
posted by dasheekeejones at 3:49 AM on December 12, 2007

Great link. Like flapjax at midnite, I've seen the Pixar films about a thousand times each, with my children. Each time, it seems like there's one thing I didn't notice. The team over at Pixar really cares about their work. These movies are so much better than the Disney films that I saw as a kid, ie, the Lion King, etc.
posted by mitzyjalapeno at 5:14 AM on December 12, 2007

I can't click links at work, but the pizza truck...I take it we're talking about the "YO"-mobile Toyota pickup that sounds like it needs valve work? Hamm (John Ratzenberger) in Toy Story, reading the truck's owner's manual: "I seriously doubt he's gettin' this kind of mileage."
posted by pax digita at 5:37 AM on December 12, 2007

I've noticed a few, but my first 'hey look' moment wasn't a Pixar film it was Poltergeist, the kid's bedroom is decorated with a Star Wars bedspread and a Darth Vader toy.

Pixar should be careful though. Alfred Hitchcock's cameos became so distracting that he started putting them in the first reel so people could pay more attention to the story instead of trying to find Hitch.
posted by Gungho at 5:44 AM on December 12, 2007

Captions should be below photos not above them. Doing it this way drives me crazy. Well, crazier.
posted by damn dirty ape at 6:46 AM on December 12, 2007

Hamm (John Ratzenberger) in Toy Story, reading the truck's owner's manual: "I seriously doubt he's gettin' this kind of mileage."

Ratzenberger himself is almost a Pixar in-joke, having played a character in every feature film to date. Brad Bird mentions in his commentary for The Incredibles that at first he didn't want to give in to tradition and include Ratzenberger, but was told the fellow is Pixar's "good-luck charm" and if Bird didn't use him the film would tank, so in Ratzenberger went as the Underminer. Of course this is all said rather tongue-in-cheek during the commentary and comes off as a bit of a dry joke, but after reading the OP article and learning a bit more about Bird's feelings of being an outsider (and not really wanting include the Pizza Planet truck in The Incredibles) I can tell that the amusing anecdote has a bit of real-life history to it.

Pixar gave John Ratzenebrger a very cute tribute during the end credits of Cars, where his Mack Truck character watches car versions of his other Pixar characters at a drive-in, and after praising the comic genius of the Abominable Snowmobile, among others, finally realizes "Hey! These are all the same guy! What kind of cheap outfit is this?"
posted by Spatch at 7:01 AM on December 12, 2007

I'd hate to think what happens to you Wall*E-trailer-cryers when "Jurassic Bark" comes down the Futurama syndication pike.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 7:08 AM on December 12, 2007

My personal favorite of their little in-jokes is that the changeover cues ("cigarette burns," if you love Brad Pitt) in the Incredibles were all tiny little Incredibles logos.

Almost-decent scans here and here.
posted by god hates math at 7:18 AM on December 12, 2007 [1 favorite]

Ratzenberger himself is almost a Pixar in-joke, having played a character in every feature film to date.

That is, up until the latest, Ratatouille, if I'm not mistaken. I saw it in the theatre, and don't have the DVD yet, so I'm not 100% sure about that, but I don't recall hearing Ratzenberger's wonderful and very distinctive voice in the latest masterpiece from Brad Bird. That voice would surely stick out like a sore thumb in a movie that's set in Paris, I'd imagine. Or maybe he did a voice but toned down the Ratzenberger a bit?
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:33 AM on December 12, 2007

Wikipedia has Ratzenburger listed as Mustafa the waiter. I don't even remember that character. But then, my kids walked out of that movie, and refused to let me watch it - travesty of travesties.
posted by mitzyjalapeno at 7:44 AM on December 12, 2007

My girlfriend can't watch the trailer for Wall•E without crying. Here. See for yourself.

Ayup. Right there with her. The big eyes... the long pause... and then it comes.

"Wah-AAAAlll-eee!"

Kills me every time.
posted by katillathehun at 7:57 AM on December 12, 2007

I miss the outtakes.
posted by null terminated at 8:15 AM on December 12, 2007

I'd hate to think what happens to you Wall*E-trailer-cryers when "Jurassic Bark" comes down the Futurama syndication pike.

I think it already has (assuming that's the episode I saw the other day). Seriously..... that ending was really, really sad.
posted by inigo2 at 8:18 AM on December 12, 2007

You know, I thought it was great they put so many in-jokes in their movies until I saw this list and I realized it's just sharing 3D models between movies. I mean, it's funny to see the pizza truck in every film, but that french mime bomber guy from The Incredibles? If you wanted a street mime in a future film, why rebuild a model from scratch? Why not just copy the one already built, rendered, and shaded?

So really, i think these are half in-jokes, half saving animator/model-making/rendering time (which is a good idea).
posted by mathowie at 8:27 AM on December 12, 2007 [2 favorites]

I was thinking the same thing matt -- it's a better done version of the copy and paste in say, star wars, to make a parade of identical clones marching down the street.
posted by garlic at 8:44 AM on December 12, 2007

So really, i think these are half in-jokes, half saving animator/model-making/rendering time (which is a good idea).

I can see where that would make sense with the old chess player from Geri's Game and the toy repair export in Toy Story 2. But the French mime is in Ratatouille for what, a couple seconds? Would they really be saving that much time? Why not use him as one of the chefs?
posted by DakotaPaul at 9:15 AM on December 12, 2007

exactly. They even go on to say the Luxo Jr. ball started it, because they needed more color / texture for their next short, so just used the texture map that they created for the ball and put that on the ground.

And they have their own company names and characters created, so why bother creating new ones for each movie?

Also for people who get teared up with the Jurassic Bark episode, watch the new Futurama movie.
posted by mrzarquon at 9:32 AM on December 12, 2007

Ratzenberger plays Mustafa in Ratatouille, which is not his finest Pixar moment I'll grant you (I didn't recognise him either). There is also a very quick glimpse of Linguini's The Incredibles boxer shorts at one point in the film.
posted by jontyjago at 10:07 AM on December 12, 2007

But then, my kids walked out of that movie, and refused to let me watch it

*flabbergasted*

Walked out on Ratatouille? What sort of kids are you raising?
posted by billypilgrim at 10:07 AM on December 12, 2007 [6 favorites]

I don't think it is as simple as recycling. The toy repair expert is a much more complicated animation model than his predecessor in Geri's Game, and most Pixar sexondary characters are created by varying a few preset frame models. I think they mostly just like to throw in as many little jokes as possible, including in-jokes. It's one of the things that make Pixar films fun to watch over and over again.
posted by Astro Zombie at 10:11 AM on December 12, 2007

Yeah, I thought that too, but I'm not sure they're really reaping a huge benefit, in terms of production costs. I think it's in the nature of animation to "borrow" from your previous creations.

There's one definite locals only in-joke in the Incredibles: in scene 2 where Bob is being notified of a high speed pursuit on San Pablo Avenue (which is a real street running from Oakland, through Emeryville and Berkeley), they show a bit of a map of San Pablo and the surrounding Emeryville/Berkeley environs.
posted by oneirodynia at 10:20 AM on December 12, 2007

"thought that too" @ matthowie
posted by oneirodynia at 10:21 AM on December 12, 2007

I'm so glad that Pixar isn't Scientology, because I'd be on that like white on rice.
posted by spec80 at 10:23 AM on December 12, 2007

Walked out on Ratatouille? What sort of kids are you raising?

You know, I tried watching that the other day myself. Beautiful, absolutely beautiful to look at. And I found it completely uninteresting. Got through about 25 minutes and then wandered off. I guess superheroes and talking toys appeal to me. Cooking, not so much.
posted by notmydesk at 10:50 AM on December 12, 2007 [1 favorite]

I've always been a fan of the out-takes at the end of the Pixar films. They provoke that nice feeling of dissonance a couple of milliseconds in when you've not quite remembered that animation means no out-takes, but know it is not quite right. A lovely touch I think.
posted by cluck at 3:48 PM on December 12, 2007

mathowie: "If you wanted a street mime in a future film, why rebuild a model from scratch? Why not just copy the one already built, rendered, and shaded? So really, i think these are half in-jokes, half saving animator/model-making/rendering time."

Modeling: yes. Animating, rendering, shading: no. There is definitely work that goes into developing the original model, but there's still a lot more work to put it in the final cut of the movie. They aren't saving themselves much, but, yeah, why not re-use an existing model for a background character.
posted by team lowkey at 12:40 AM on December 13, 2007

billypilgrim: the sort of kids who surprise me, and who can point out to me that I'm old (at 27) without saying a word. I thought Ratatouille was good, but I like cooking, unlike notmydesk. But I didn't like A Bug's Life, even though it was interesting - bugs squick me out.

Even if the creators/director/producers are being lazy, I still think it's a good idea for them to put these familiar characters and objects from previous movies in cameo roles. My son is just learning to talk and he pointed out that same ball with the star on it in two different Pixar movies. That's a big step for him, just to notice it and associate it with something he saw three or four weeks ago. They're all still intelligent kids' movies that far surpass the quality of most of the movies that are marketed to adults. And the outtakes rock.
posted by mitzyjalapeno at 10:57 AM on December 13, 2007