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Have you picked up on Pixar's in-jokes yet?
February 10, 2010

By Lina Das

Pixar's Up, which is about to come out on DVD, is up for five Oscars and made a staggering $750-million (R5,8bn) at the box office since its cinema release. To celebrate, the makers reveal 15 clever clues and in-jokes to look out for...

1. In every Pixar film, spot the Pizza Planet Truck. In Up, you can see it when Carl's house flies above his neighbourhood. Though originally a fictional restaurant, since its appearance in the Pixar movies there are now Pizza Planets at Disneyland Paris and Disney's Hollywood Studios.

2. John Ratzenberger, best known as Cliff in Cheers, has a cameo as the voice of Tom, a construction worker who asks the main character Carl (voiced by Ed Asner) if he's ready to sell his home. Ratzenberger is the only actor to voice a role in all Pixar's 10 films.

3. A113 - the classroom number at the California college which Up co-director Pete Docter attended, crops up in every Pixar film. In Up it's the courtroom number where Carl makes an appearance.

4. Dug the Dog made his debut in 2007's Ratatouille - as a shadow on a wall that barks at Remy, the film's star rat.

5. The Luxo Ball - a yellow ball with a blue stripe and red star - also crops up in several Pixar films and can be seen on the floor of the little girl's bedroom as Carl's house flies past her window.

6. The Buy n Large logo - from the 2008 hit WALL-E - features on the construction site equipment surrounding Carl's house.

7. In the scene where Carl meets his hero, explorer Charles Muntz, he is served a scallop dish for dinner which is the same one served up in Ratatouille.


8. Carl is the most complex human character ever created by Pixar. His design is symbolically and literally square.

9. Russell, a boy scout trying to earn his last merit badge, has more layers of clothing than any other Pixar character

10. Bob Petersen, the film's co-director and the voice of Dug The Dog, says of all the voices he has provided for Pixar movies, Dug is the most fun. "Dug is a labrador because they're extremely cuddly and friendly".

11. Technical director Steve May and his team created a canopy of 10 297 balloons to float Carl's house.

12. Pixar brought a live ostrich to the studio to help inspire the legs of Kevin the bird. Kevin was also based on a cassowary for feathers, a pheasant for iridescence, a heron for behaviour and a toucan, quail and peacock for beak and wattles.

13. Paradise Falls is based on the famous Angel Falls in Venezuela. Up's version is almost three times higher than the real Angel Falls.

14. Muntz's jacket is made of fur, the first time in Pixar history that a piece of clothing is made from an animal.

15. Watch closely and you'll see a pink teddy bear on the floor of the girl's bedroom when Carl's house floats by. Its name is Lotso and it is said to a new character in Pixar's Toy Story 3, due soon. - Daily Mail


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