It’s no secret that Walt Disney Studios understands how to craft incredible movies. They’ve been at the forefront of cinema since the 1940s.
But what’s seldom discussed is how good Disney is when it comes to the nitty-gritty meticulous little details that go into movie making. Have a look below and check out these 15 little details in Disney movies that were pure genius .
‘Cars 3’ gives a subtle nod to ‘Wall-E’.
If you take a look at the advertisement on the side of the racetrack in Cars 3 , you’ll notice that it’s for BuyNLarge Gas. In the movie Wall-E , BuyNLarge gas is the company responsible for polluting the entire planet.
‘Soul’ knows where your next vacation should be.
In Soul , as Joe makes his way down the street, he passes by a local travel agency. If you look at the poster in the window, it’s an advertisement for Portorosso — which is the setting for Disney/Pixar’s subsequent film Luca.
A subtle nod to the author in ‘Frozen II’.
“In Frozen II , when Elsa is walking through the memories of the past, she sees her parents as youth[sic]. Her mother asks what her father is reading, he says “Just some new Danish author”, implying Hans Christian Andersen. The cover of the book features a silhouette of the Little Mermaid.” – Reddit u/ finchwantstoFLY
There’s a special significance to the high score shown in ‘Wreck-It Ralph’.
At the beginning of the movie, the high score of the video game displayed on the screen is 120501. This is a reference to the iconic Walt Disney, who was born on December 5th, 1901 .
‘Toy Story 4’ has a clever reference to ‘The Shining’.
When Forky and Woody first meet Gabby in Toy Story 4 , a strange song begins to play on an old phonograph. This is the exact same eerie song that plays in the final moments of the Stephen King-inspired horror classic — The Shining .
Did any get the license plate of that Bug in ‘Finding Dory’?
“In Finding Dory , Dory passes by a sunken Volkswagen Beetle at the bottom of the ocean. This is a nod to the old Disney movie Herbie Goes Bananas (1980), in which one of the VW bugs that played Herbie was thrown into the ocean during filming and never got retrieved.” – Reddit u/ MissBarker93
RELATED STORIES
There’s a reason why Chief Bogo wears eyeglasses in ‘Zootopia’.
While reading documents at the podium, Chief Bogo slides on a pair of reading glasses. This is in reference to the fact that a Buffalo has extremely poor eyesight in real life.
The first cut is the deepest.
If you look closely at Merida as she fires off her third arrow in Brave , you’ll notice that upon the release, the fletching ever so slightly grazes her cheek, cutting her in the process.
Over sideways and under on a magic carpet ride…
When Moana is singing the song ” How Far I’ll Go “, the carpet that we see is an exact replica of the one that Aladdin and Jasmine rode while singing “A Whole New World.”
Maui has found the magic lamp!
Right after Maui locates his magic hook in Moana , he’s seen standing atop a pile of treasure. If you pause the movie just right, you’ll be able to see the iconic lamp from Disney’s Aladdin . i wonder what Maui would wish for?
Lightning McQueen gets an upgrade in ‘Cars 2’.
In the first Cars film, Lightning McQueen didn’t actually have headlights, since he didn’t need them to race in the Piston Cup. In Cars 2 , however, he has real lights since he needs to race in the dark.
Blending in with the scenery in ‘Encanto’.
“In Encanto , Camillo’s name is a reference to Chameleons, tying into his shapeshifting powers. He was also named after Camilo Garcia, a tour guide who escorted Disney staff around Columbia.” – Reddit u/ Numerous-Lemon
Woody’s arm just doesn’t look right.
Look closely at Woody’s right arm in Toy Story 4 and you’ll be able to see the stitch mark from where Andy sewed him together in Toy Story 2 . You can even see by comparing it to the left that the stuffing is uneven.
‘Luca’ sees anchovies.
In Luca , after he falls off his bike and hits his head, he sees swirling anchovies dancing around his head. This is because earlier on, Luca was told by Alberto that stars are, in fact, anchovies.
Riley from ‘Inside Out’ seems to have memories of Carl and Ellie from ‘Up’.
“In Inside Out two of the memory orbs on the shelves contain scenes from Up . One features Carl & Ellie’s wedding, while the other shows their house.” – Reddit u/ HellotoHorse
