20 Declassified Facts About The Mission: Impossible Series

16. In M:I4, Brad Bird Almost Blows Up Pixar

D'ONK Mission Impossible
Paramount

In the scene where a ballistic missile heads for San Francisco, almost precipitating a nuclear war, we see it heading for the Emeryville area before it's disarmed. Emeryville is a small city on the edge of the San Francisco Bay, population around 11,000, notable above all else as the home of Pixar Animation Studios. Brad Bird, who directed Ghost Protocol, also directed Ratatouille and The Incredibles for Pixar.

Pixar films all include the code "A113" somewhere, a reference to a classroom at the California Institute of the Arts. Ghost Protocol features it on a weaponized "class ring," a license plate and an extraction code. And when Ethan deactivates that missile, it has 1.13 seconds before exploding.

Contributor
Contributor

T Campbell has written quite a few online comics series and selected work for Marvel, Archie and Tokyopop. His longest-running works are Fans, Penny and Aggie-- and his current project with co-writer Phil Kahn, Guilded Age.