10 Pixar Movie Easter Eggs That Might Confirm The Shared Universe Theory

For years now, movie-goers, animation lovers, and pop culture savants have speculated over the existence of the ‘Pixar theory.’ The theory, basically, is that every movie released by Pixar, from Toy Story to Luca, takes place in the one shared universe. Each new Pixar movie seems to make the theory more and more realistic, with all the movies having their fair share of easter eggs from other movies.

Some of these easter eggs are, of course, just little nods and references to the movies of Pixar’s past. However, many seem to be a bit more, they appear to point to each movie taking place in the same timeline and universe.

10 The Mr. Incredible Laden Magazine In Finding Nemo (2003)

Finding Nemo is set only a few decades after The Incredibles in the Pixar theory, meaning superheroes are not something of the distant past, backed up by an easy-to-miss easter egg that sees Mr. Incredible on the cover of a magazine or comic read by a child in the movie.

The Incredibles tells fans superheroes were prominent in their world, celebrities of a sort. Them being in magazines or being in comics is very likely, meaning it is easy to assume that the two movies exist in the same world. Pixar was getting in the groove of plastering their movies with easter eggs at this point, and this is one of the best for Pixar theory enthusiasts.

9 Bomb Voyage In Ratatouille (2007)

Sometimes in Pixar, if two movies are set at the same or a reasonable enough time period, certain characters will appear in both films, creating fun easter eggs for fans. One of the best is when the minor The Incredibles villain Bomb Voyage appears in Ratatouille.

Fully clad in his iconic mime costume, but without the bombs and dialogue, Bomb Voyage can be seen in his day job of miming along the streets of Notre Dame as Colette and Alfredo skate along. Voyage is also referenced in a newspaper that Colette reads to hammer home the existence of the crossover.

8 The Carvings In Brave (2012)

Brave takes place in the 15th-16th century, long before most other Pixar movies. However, the movie still has easter eggs and references that tie it to films like Monsters Inc, which takes place hundreds of years later, adding to the Pixar theory.

As well as a certain pizza delivery truck, the wood carvings of the Witch in Brave include a distinct image of the beloved Sully. Of all the monster designs imaginable, it is hard to justify this being a coincidence that it just happens to look like Sully. The Witch’s ties to the Pixar theory also come from the sentient inanimate objects in her home, similar to the sentient toys of Toy Story.

7 Hank The Octopus In The Good Dinosaur (2015)

At the beginning of the Pixar, theory timeline is The Good Dinosaur, millions of years before Brave and the other movies. But, the movie still manages to squeeze in easter eggs that connect it to the popular Pixar theory, including a character crossover.

While Arlo has a swim in the pool he falls into, an Octopus can be seen by those paying close attention. That Octopus is none other than Hank, the movie’s main character, second to Dory. The seven-legged Octopus, or Sectopus, distinctly present in The Good Dinosaur, points to the two sharing a world.

6 Saint Cecilia In Cars 3 (2017)

In the Pixar theory, Cars is set just after the humans have left Earth, with vehicles presumably either powered by Buy N Large’s AI tech or from the memories of their owners. A Coco easter egg in Cars 3 backs up the idea that all the films are set on the same Earth.

Saint Cecilia is the main setting of Coco and is a small Mexican town that is parallel to the Land of the Dead and can be seen clearly on a TV screen in Cars 3. It may be occupied by cars, but it is still clearly the same place as Coco, a movie that proves the power of memory which some speculate is what keeps the vehicles alive in Cars.

5 The Incredibles Poster In Coco (2017)

Coco’s place in the Pixar theory is a lot to do with the power of memory. However, like all Pixar movies, it still has a fair collection of easter eggs that references both past projects and upcoming projects, such as Incredibles 2.

Coco has piñatas of Buzz Lightyear, Woody, Mike Wazowski, and Sully, as well as sculptures of Remy, Marlin, Nemo, Dory, and it also has a poster of the Parr family in the Plaza de la Cruz. They are in the Land of the Dead and appear as such in the poster, but it is still a strong hint the two share a universe. It is also a great piece of marketing for The Incredibles 2, which came the next year.

4 Duke Caboom In The Incredibles 2 (2018)

The toys of Toy Story find themselves in multiple Pixar movies, such as Rex and Hamm appearing in Wall-E’s collection, Lotso in Up, Jessie in Monsters Inc, Buzz in The Incredibles, and the most recent toy cameo in Pixar comes in The Incredibles 2.

It was an unnoticeable easter egg at the time since it was before Toy Story 4 came out, but in Jack-Jack’s cot is none other than Canada’s favorite stunt-man, Duke Caboom. Duke was a standout side character who debuted Toy Story 4, and that, alongside all the other toy cameos, point to the other Pixar films sharing a world.

3 Dorothea Williams’ Album In Onward

Some easter eggs pointing to the Pixar theory relate to products and various shared aspects of the planet, such as the toys from Toy Story being sold around the world, or an easter egg in Onward that shows movies sharing music.

Beside the table where Charlie and Colt are sitting, there are some records, including one by none other than Dorothea Williams. Dorothea is a likable supporting character in Soul and the leader of The Dorothea Williams Quartet. This record in the Bailey household is unlikely to be one produced by another Dorothea Williams.

2 The Chinese Takeout Box

There are plenty of movie-specific easter eggs that back up the Pixar theory, with cameos and references to the other films from the studio. A couple, though, are found in multiple movies across Pixar’s nearly three-decades of feature films.

One such easter egg is the Chinese takeout box. Thus far, it has appeared in seven feature Pixar films; A Bugs Life, Toy Story 2, Ratatouille, Inside Out, Incredibles 2, Toy Story 4, and Soul, as well as the short film Lamp Life. The restaurant from which this box comes must be very popular as it finds itself in multiple Pixar films and in multiple locations across the Pixar world.

1 The Pizza Planet Truck

Perhaps the biggest piece of evidence of the Pixar theory as far as small easter eggs go is the Pizza Planet truck which debuted in 1995 in Toy Story, and has had all manner of cameos from wood carvings to abandoned on an empty planet since then.

It has found its way into every single Pixar movie except for The Incredibles, which only had a truck resembling the iconic vehicle. It likely always will pop up in Pixar movies in some form or another, adding so much fuel to the Pixar theory fire, with Pizza Planet’s business seemingly booming around the Pixar world.