Digital Easter Egg Hunt: Finding Disney’s Hidden Gems
Disney films are full of Easter eggs, the non-edible, digital kind. Usually they are subtle references to characters from other Disney films, including some that have yet to be released. Other times they are numbers or symbols that hold significance for the individuals working on the films. They’re called Easter eggs only because they are hidden, like the colorful ones some of us choose to conceal in our backyard around this time of year. They have no other ties to the religious holiday. Sadly that means there’s also no tasty reward to enjoy after you’ve found an egg, unless you include bragging rights as your treat.
Although it may seem like a more recent phenomenon, Disney artists have been hiding the figurative eggs in their work for decades. For example, some of the dogs from Disney’s Lady and the Tramp in 1955 can be spotted (no pun intended) in 101 Dalmatians in the early 1960s. References from 1989’s The Little Mermaid and 1992’s Aladdin have appeared in several films over the last fifteen years. Perhaps there are more hidden eggs in the films now due to changing technology or they are just easier to spot since we can all pause, rewind and zoom-in like pros.
Even with the modern technology, I’ll confess I’m not that great (horrible?) at spotting hidden eggs. It’s always surprising to me when a new Disney movie opens and articles about the film’s hidden gems start showing up on the internet the same day. How do they do it? Illegal copies? Relatives at Disney? Super human vision?
Perhaps it’s a combination. Or maybe, these individuals just know where to look. While researching for this post I started recognizing patterns to Disney’s Easter egg placement. Some items, particularly within the Disney Pixar films, are repeated in almost every film. Other eggs are hidden in similar places time and time again. If I used these clues and tips from other bloggers could I actually find these hidden eggs myself?
Short answer: YES! You can too. This post covers tips to help you with your egg hunt this Easter season.
(Note: All images are screen shots of Disney films.)
Crowds
The first place we’ll explore for hidden Easter eggs is crowds. For example, Disney artists seem to love placing kings and princesses at royal events. Although their screen time is ridiculously brief, the King and Grand Duke from Disney’s Cinderella appear as guests at Prince Eric’s wedding in The Little Mermaid.
Another example that is somewhat easier to see is Rapunzel from Tangled attending Elsa’s coronation in Frozen.
The hidden characters in crowds aren’t always royalty though. Goofy, Donald and Mickey are hidden among the underwater crowds in The Little Mermaid. Bay Max from Big Hero Six is hiding in the crowds of Kakamora (coconut pirates!) in Moana. Belle is walking the streets of Paris in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Take a closer look at crowd scenes in Disney films and see who else you can find!
Wall hangings
Another place Disney artists tend to hide Easter eggs is in wall hangings. These wall hangings can take the shape of framed pictures, calendars, artwork or even bulletin board fliers.
Here’s one example of a bulletin board flier from Big Hero Six. It’s a “WANTED” poster for Prince Hans from Frozen.
Also from Big Hero Six but much easier to spot is this framed picture of Stitch on the wall in Hiro’s home.
Calendar art is another place to look for Easter eggs in Disney films. This image from Zootopia shows a decorative calendar of the fictional city of San Fransokyo from Big Hero 6.
This extended shot from Toy Story 2 includes a calendar with artwork from A Bug’s Life.
Also from Toy Story 2, you’ll find a blurry Mickey Mouse watch hanging on the wall in Andy’s room.
See what else you can find just by staring at the walls in Disney films!
Cluttered spaces
Similar to images on walls, Disney artists also like to hide eggs among clutter. Look for scenes with a lot of background stuff, like messy desks or overloaded book shelves.
I was surprised to find Mickey hiding out on a crowded shelf in Wandering Oaken’s Trading Post in Frozen.
A little less so to see the famous Pixar ball on the shelf in Toy Story 2. Other examples of Easter eggs hiding on shelves include Dumbo in The Great Mouse Detective or Pinocchio in Rapunzel. More recently, you can spot an elaborate copy of Cinderella’s carriage on the shelves of the CEO’s office in Cars 3.
Among the shiny clutter on Tamatoa the crab’s back in Moana you can find the famous lamp from Aladdin. You’ll definitely need a pause button to see it though!
No need for a pause button to find this one. It’s the Pizza Planet truck from Toy Story among the clutter of the witch’s workshop in Brave.
I also like this shot because it pays tribute to Rodin’s famous sculpture entitled The Thinker. I’m not sure if they are technically considered Easter eggs, but Disney animators love to play homage to famous works of art in their films. This same scene from Brave also includes a tribute to The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo. Mulan includes an interesting reference to American Gothic by Grant Wood. Frozen includes more than I can succinctly list, including a spoof of The Swing by Fragonard.
(See? Disney films offer culture too!)
Disney-Pixar gems
Pixar artists, in particular, are famous for adding hundreds of hidden Easter eggs in their work. Fortunately, they also tend to use the same items over and over again, so it makes them somewhat easier to spot. Two of the items I already mentioned, the ball and the Pizza Planet truck. The third is “A-113” which represents the classroom at CalArts where some of the artists honed their craft.
Here’s another example of the ball, placed near the foot of Boo’s bed in Monster’s Inc.
Sometimes the artists just use the star and circle logo from the ball too, as shown here in the center of the steering wheel in Finding Dory. You can find all of the hidden Pixar ball references in this video link to Disney.
The Pizza Planet trucks are sometimes harder to find because they tend to look like regular vehicles parked on street corners or hidden in traffic. Fortunately, the A-113 references are much easier to spot!
Pretty hard to miss this one, right? It’s full-screen size for a few moments when the crazy computer tries to take over the ship from the captain in WALL-E.
A little more subtle, but still clearly visible, is the classroom number where Mike and Sulley practice their scare techniques in Monsters University.
Also easy to see is the license plate reference in Finding Dory. License plates are popular hiding places for the room number tribute. You can also find them on tags, boats or cameras such as the underwater variety in Finding Nemo. You can also spot A113 on the movie theater marquee toward the end Incredibles 2 or on the door of the Rust-eze CEO’s office in Cars 3.
Not-so-hidden Eggs
Ah. This is my favorite category because it’s the easiest! Easter eggs everyone can find without pause buttons, inside knowledge or eye strain.
Here’s a great example from Moana. Maui spends a few moments as Sven from Frozen while practicing his shape-shifting skills.
Phil wipes his face on the fur of Scar from The Lion King in this scene from Hercules.
The street selling weasel spoofs upcoming Disney films in Zootopia. Even his name pronounced as WEEZ-EL-TUN instead of WEZ-EL-TON is a nod to the peacock-dancing crook from Frozen. In one of the flashback scenes from the beginning of Frozen 2 you can also easily spot Baymax from Big Hero 6 made out of snow. Dumbo is there too, I think. Not sure why a snow elephant would be included in the scene otherwise, do you?
Whew! And that’s it. Hopefully you learned some tips to help you with your egg hunt this season. It could also make that 100th viewing of Frozen 2 more interesting if certain family members don’t give you a say in the matter.
Keep your finger near the pause button and add a little magic to your world!