The truck played a major role in the first three Toy Story films compared to its appearance in the other Pixar films, serving as a means of transportation for the toys.
In the first film, Woody and Buzz use it to get to Pizza Planet. Woody pretends that its a spaceship that can get Buzz home, so he agrees to get on it. Woody suggests riding in the trunk where they can't be seen by the driver, but Buzz refuses, as he believes it is too dangerous to go in the back and that the cockpit is safer. Buzz sneaks into the back seat and buckles up while Woody, upon seeing the truck about to leave, is forced to forget about Buzz and get in the truck through the back window, which slams shut against Woody's backside as he attempts to climb in. Buzz's theory is by coincidence proven to be correct as the Woody is tossed around violently (due to the driver making rough turns) and then gets crushed by a toolbox as the truck goes up a hill. After the truck arrives at Pizza Planet, Buzz removes his seat belt and goes to find Woody, who is now dazed from the ride. The two then exit the truck and sneak into the arcade.
In the second film, Buzz, Rex, Slinky, Mr. Potato Head, and Hamm find the truck in the parking lot near Al's apartment, with the keys left inside it and its driver's side door left partly open (it seems that the absent driver was away for a while for some reason). They quickly get on it as Rex asks if anyone knows how to drive it. After Buzz closes the door, he moves a pizza box onto the driver's seat to help him reach the steering wheel. He instructs Slinky to operate the pedals, Rex to serve as the navigator (because Buzz cannot see out the front window), and Hamm and Mr. Potato Head to work the levers and knobs. They start up the truck; its engine startles Slinky. Rex and Buzz discover three Aliens hanging from the mirror, who say the same thing that the ones from the first film said when they met him. This makes a disappointed Buzz remember them from the claw game he and Woody climbed into. Rex sees Al stopping at a red light and, having a chance to catch him, Buzz orders Slinky to floor it. Slinky pushes the gas pedal, but the truck does not move. Even worse, the light has changed to green. Buzz wonders why the truck won't move and the Aliens advise the toys to use the truck's gear lever, which they refer to as the "wand of power". After Mr. Potato Head pulls the lever, the truck finally moves, running over a sidewalk as the toys pursue Al. The truck knocks over some traffic cones (presumably the same ones that the toys used to cross the street earlier), causing its compartment to fall open and its contents to fall on Hamm. Rex struggles to get Buzz to align the truck after making him swerve left and right, all while staying behind Al's car. Al makes a left turn and Buzz climbs on the left side of the steering wheel to make the truck turn left. The sharp turn causes the Aliens to fall out of the open passenger side window, but Mr. Potato Head saves them. Hamm is then seen reading the truck's manual and makes a sarcastic comment. After Al and the toys make a right turn, Mr. Potato Head and the Aliens fall back inside, causing one of Mr. Potato Head's ears to fall off. The Aliens express gratitude to him for saving them while handing his ear back, but he quickly shrugs it off while putting his ear back on. The toys arrive at the airport, stopping the truck on top of a crosswalk in the white zone, with its right side wheels over the sidewalk. As the toys peek out from the passenger side window, Rex warns them that they are not allowed to park in the white zone (which they ignore) while the Aliens thank Mr. Potato Head again. Buzz then spots Al and the toys exit the truck and sneak in using a pet carrier.
In the third film, Lotso, Big Baby, and Chuckles hitch a ride on the truck's rear bumper during a rainy night until they are eventually knocked off it and land near the entrance of Sunnyside. This was the only time the truck wasn't driven so recklessly.
The truck has a yellow coat of paint that is usually quite faded and peeling. The camper shell on top is white, and the rear bumper is a dark gray. The interior seats are a light brownish color. As of Toy Story 2, it is shown to have some notable damage at the front; it has a broken left headlight and a dented bumper and hood on the former's side.
Its license plate number in all three Toy Story films is RES1536. (The original Toy Story's resolution was rendered at 1536 x 922, using a "render farm" of 117 Sun Microsystems. RES is the abbreviation of resolution.)
Most Pizza Planet Trucks use a manual (or stick-shift) transmission.
There is a bumper sticker on the rear bumper that reads: "How's my driving? Ha ha ha ha ha!" From a distance, this message appears to be a "How's my driving? Call this number to report me!" type of sticker.
In Loki, Mobius rides to Sylvie Laufeydottir's rescue in a pruned pizza truck. Though not exactly the same, the design is a close echo of the famous Pizza Planet Truck that has become a recurring Pixar Easter egg ever since. The slice on the roof replaces the rocket, and the vehicle's shape isn't completely unlike Pixar's well-worn delivery van.
On the camper shell's glass is a small sticker which reads: "KRAT FM". This is a reference to a Pixar employee named Tia Kratter.
Additionally, the camper shell's glass also has an even smaller circular sticker which has a "55" crossed out by a red "no" symbol.
The back of the truck reads "YO", which, in combination with its overall appearance, strongly suggests that it is based on a Toyota HiLux pickup truck.
In Toy Story 2, the Toyota issue is averted by the truck's owner's manual, which states that it is actually a 1978 "Gyoza" model.
It is noticeable that the alignment of the letters on the tailgate (in both the original Toy Story and Toy Story 2) would seem to indicate that the vehicle was actually a Toyota, as the letters are centered, and as such, "Gyoza" would be off-center.
The truck's fictional branding was likely done to avoid copyright issues, given that the actual Toyota HiLux truck was actually still in production at the time.
The gas cap is on the truck's left side, the exhaust pipe is on the truck's right side, and the radio antenna is on the right side, at the front.
There is a red and white plastic "Pizza Planet" rocket on the top of the truck. This is what Woody uses to convince Buzz that he has found a spaceship.
The camper shell has six windows: two rounded ovular ones toward the front, two rounded rectangular ones toward the back, one skylight towards the front, and one opening window on the back (which Woody climbs through).
Heavy metal/hard rock music is playing on the radio the majority of the time.
Judging from the interior (as well as the exterior), it is possible that it's a regular cab truck/pick up truck.
In Incredibles 2, the truck can be seen near the Pizza Delivery guy's apartment. It appears to be re-modeled to something similar to a 1955Chevrolet 3100 truck.
WALL-E is the only film in which the truck's engine can be seen.
Brave is the first Pixar movie where the truck does not appear as an actual vehicle, though it appears as a wood carving to fit the film's time period.
The LEGO Group made a LEGO version of the truck as part of their Toy Story line called 7598 Pizza Planet Truck Rescue.
When Hamm is reading the truck's owner's manual in Toy Story 2, he remarks, "I seriously doubt he's getting this kind of mileage." It is unclear whether he is referring to the way he thinks that particular truck's owner drives, or the way that Buzz, Slinky, Mr. Potato Head, and Rex are currently navigating/driving the truck.
He might also be commenting on the vehicle's printed MPG figures, insinuating that they are a rosy overestimation by the manufacturer and therefore suspect.
Further clarification of the above statement is the fact that the truck is overall uncared for and in decrepit condition. With age and poor maintenance, the engine's performance dwindles, thus making the MPG figures (listed in the manual from when the truck was new) obsolete.
Inside Out has the most Pizza Planet Truck appearances, with a total of three.
As part of the 20th Anniversary of Toy Story, a real Pizza Planet truck could be seen at D23 Expo2015.[4] Modeled after a Toyota pickup, the inside of the truck appears as it did in the film: Buzz Lightyear sitting in the front seat buckled up and Woody trapped in the toolbox that crushed him. It was also part of D23 Expo 2022.
Another truck in Toy Story 2
In Toy Story 2, a truck of the same make and model (minus the Pizza Planet rocket on the roof, the company name mounted to the doors, and camper shell with decals) makes an appearance in an earlier scene in which the toys are crossing the road using orange traffic cones, albeit colored white instead of yellow and in much cleaner condition.
Additionally, one can see that the other reused truck models from this one also used its damaged front state, such as the mangled bumper, very strangely and coincidentally enough.
Toy Story 4 is the only Toy Story movie where the toys don't use the truck as transportation.
It is also the only Toy Story movie to not feature an actual truck; instead, it appears as a tattoo on Axel the Carnie's leg.
In Luca, since there are no four-wheeled vehicles in Portorosso, the Pizza Planet truck appears as a small three-wheeled pickup instead.
The Cars on the Road episode "B-Movie" is the only piece of Cars media that does not depict the Pizza Planet Truck as sentient like the other vehicles.
Some of the Pizza Planet Truck Popcorn Buckets hidden around the parks were modified to resemble characters from Pixar and non-Pixar films, as well as some to blend in with the attraction they reside in or near.
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