Animators love to slip their own little jokes into the backgrounds of their movies.
But the folks at Pixar have taken things to a new level, adding tons of hidden references
to their own past and future films into each of their movies.
Here's a look at the best of the best.
Toy Story Stories
Woody makes a rousing speech in front of a bookshelf in Toy Story.
If you examine the titles of the books on the shelf very closely, you'll spot a few
familiar titles: The Adventures of Andre and Wally B., Tin Toy, and Knick Knack are all
the titles of short films that Pixar produced prior to Toy Story.
Don't Overlook That Carpet
There's a tense scene in Toy Story where Buzz tries desperately to find an escape route
out of Sid's house, lest he join Sid’s collection of misfit toys.
But what makes it extra terrifying to those with an eagle eye is the fact that Sid's carpet
is the same design as what's in the Overlook Hotel from the 1980 thriller The Shining.
The Lion King Is Everywhere
You'll have to squint to see it, but in A Bug's Life, if you look very closely during
the scene of Flik soaking in the ambiance of Bug City, you'll see just how far the phenomenon
of The Lion King's Broadway adaptation has traveled.
Mrs. Potato Head's Reading Material
When Mr. Potato Head makes his appearance in Toy Story 2, he pretty much steals the
show.
And Mrs. Potato Head agrees.
When she realizes that he's found her missing earring, she immediately throws down the book
she's been reading: a storybook of A Bug's Life.
A Nemo Preview
There are Easter eggs, and then there are next-level Easter eggs.
You know the bit in Monsters, Inc. where Boo hands Sully her stuffed Nemo?
Well, Finding Nemo didn't come out until two years after Monsters, Inc.
It's all part of Pixar's master plan.
An Incredible Cameo
Pixar also snuck a sneak peak of a future film into Finding Nemo itself.
If you look closely at the bit where the kid in the dentist's office is scared senseless
by the sounds of Nemo's escape attempt, you'll see that he's reading a Mr. Incredible comic
book—a full year and a half before The Incredibles hit theaters.
Rex Isn't Extinct
Of all the things you'd expect to survive our planet's self-induced ecological disaster
in Wall*E, you'd wouldn't predict that one of Andy's toys from Toy Story would be on
that list of items, let alone the one that's been extinct for millions of years.
Nonetheless, when we're given a look into Wall*E's sanctuary and see all the junk contained
within its walls, there's Rex's toothy grin smiling at you.
Postcard From The Fredricksens
As we know from the opening credits of Up, Carl and Ellie Fredericksen traveled quite
a bit in their youth.
In the process, they apparently made a few friendships that we've yet to see explored.
If you take a very close look at the bulletin board in Andy's room in Toy Story 3, you'll
see that the Fredericksens sent Andy a postcard.
That's considerate of them.
Monster In The Woodwork
When Princess Merida takes it upon herself to stroll through the forest, she finds herself
at the house of a witch.
Merida watches in awe as a magic broom moves around the room on its own power.
But what's more fascinating is that its path takes it—and the viewer—past a log which
has Sully from Monsters, Inc. carved into it.
A113 Marks The Spot
You may already be aware of how "A113" has a tendency to show up in just about every
film produced by Pixar.
It's shown up on a license plate in Toy Story, a train in Cars, on a tag attached to Git
the rat's ear in Ratatouille, and in many, many more places.
So what is A113?
Why not ask the man himself, Pixar's chief creative officer John Lasseter.
“A113 was the animation, um, classroom at California Institute of the Arts in the character
animation program
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