The phrases "Pixar movie" and "Easter eggs" go together like peanut butter and jelly.
Fans always anticipate the studio's freshest release to be full to bursting with fun references
and winks to pop culture, and director Lee Unkrich's journey into the Land of the Dead
with Coco is by no means an exception.
Here are just a few of the Easter eggs in Coco you may have missed.
And it goes without saying, but spoilers ahead.
Famous food delivery
A Pixar movie must, the Pizza Planet delivery truck first appeared in 1995's Toy Story,
and has popped up in almost every single film the animation studio has rolled out since.
The truck sits outside a trailer in A Bug's Life, drives across a bridge in Ratatouille
— and it can be spotted in Coco right outside Miguel's house near the beginning of the movie.
As the young boy stares wistfully outside, the Pizza Planet truck zooms past his window.
The anticipated A113
Like the Pizza Planet truck, the letter-number combination of "A113" has deep roots in the
Pixar film pantheon, though it extends its reach into plenty of non-Pixar animated films
and television shows.
The four-figure code is actually a reference to Room A113, the classroom that animation
industry A-listers attended at California Institute of the Arts.
And just like in every other Pixar movie, A113 shows up in Coco, specifically in the
Land of the Dead, written backwards on the door of the Bureau of Family Grievances, where
the deceased members of the Rivera family go to coordinate a way to send Miguel back
where he belongs.
Pixar Piñatas
Sticking with the nods to Pixar projects past, Coco also features a tucked-away reference
to a few of its other movies: Toy Story and Monsters, Inc.
As Miguel dashes through his village's market toward the central plaza in the beginning
of the movie, viewers will notice that he runs past a bundle of piñatas in the shape
of cowboy Woody and astronaut Buzz from Toy Story, and the one-eyed, green-skinned monster
Mike Wazowski from Monsters, Inc.
Near the back of the piñata pack is a turquoise one, likely designed to look like Mike's partner
Sully.
Familiar figurines
After grabbing a bite to eat on his way to the plaza, Miguel happens upon a table lined
with alebrijes [ah-lay-BREE-hayz], Mexican folk art sculptures that depict fantastical
creatures painted in bright colors and bold patterns.
Hidden amongst these striking sculptures are small figurines of the clownfish Marlin and
Nemo and the regal blue tang fish Dory from Finding Nemo.
Look carefully and you'll also see trinkets of the rat chef Remy from Ratatouille and
the whale shark Destiny from Finding Dory.
Never-forgotten Nemo
There's yet another Nemo figure for viewers to find in Coco, this time on the Rivera family's
ofrenda.
You'll spot the little guy during the scene in which Abuelita Elena places the photo of
Mama Coco, Mama Imelda, and Miguel's great-great-grandfather.
He sits atop a jar on the righthand side of the screen, just behind a mustachioed skeleton
in a suit and top hat.
The Luxo Ball
Pixar's famous ball, officially called the Luxo Ball in reference to the studio's first-ever
animated short Luxo Jr., is yet another staple of the studio's efforts.
The yellow bouncy ball, adorned with a thick blue stripe and red star, appears in Coco
during the rehearsal sequence featuring Frida Kahlo.
Watch the background carefully as Dante the dog and Frida's monkey run after each other
in the workshop.
The ball can be seen on a table in a super quick moment.
The inspired performer
If wardrobe choices are any indication, it's possible that one of Pixar's oldest characters,
Sid from the original Toy Story, may no longer be in the Land of the Living.
During the talent show, one performer took the stage with a familiar looking t-shirt.
Sure, the hair's different, and he's not making monsters out of toys, but only one guy in
Pixar's history was dark enough to wear that shirt.
Despite how sad it is that Sid's somehow ended up in the Mexican afterlife, being a skeleton-DJ's
got to be better than being a garbage man.
A legendary voice
John Ratzenberger, an actor best known for his long-running role on Cheers and his voiceover
work, has become a Pixar legend.
He's lent his pipes to a character in every one of the studio's films, including Hamm
the Piggy Bank in Toy Story, Mack the 18-Wheeler in Cars, and the Yeti in Monsters, Inc.
"Welcome to the Himalayas!"
As expected, Ratzenberger has a part in Coco, but it's so brief that it likely breezed right
by you.
Ratzenberger voices a goofy skeleton whose dentist is the one who remembers him in the
Land of the Living, thanks to his massive mouth of metal.
Pixar's personal ofrenda
Last but in no way least is a touching tribute to a few influential people who have sadly
passed away.
The Coco team included its very own ofrenda of sorts in the film's credits, with a series
of photographs honoring those who've had an impact on Pixar as a whole.
Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple who was also a CEO and shareholder of Pixar; Don Rickles,
famed insult comic and the voice of Mr. Potato Head in the Toy Story movies; and Joe Ranft,
the voice actor behind Heimlich in A Bug's Life and Jacques in Finding Nemo.
Director Lee Unkrich confirmed Jobs and Rickles' inclusion to Metro in an interview:
"At the very end of the movie we kind of do a digital ofrenda, where we gave everyone
in the company the opportunity to submit a photograph of someone in their life who is
no longer with them but had been supportive of them.
And we just filled the screen with hundreds and hundreds of these beautiful images.
We included people in that group that we had lost from the Pixar family, people like Steve
Jobs and Don Rickles."
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