It’s always so satisfying to rewatch a movie or TV show and pick up on obscure details that you missed the first time around. Even to the keen observer, subtle easter eggs may go unnoticed! Luckily, we’ve rounded up 15 of our favorites so you don’t have to.
Here are 15 Disney movie details that we never caught:
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“The Princess Diaries”
As it turns out, the scene when Anne Hathaway’s character is walking along the bleachers and accidentally trips was completely authentic. The director, Gary Marshall, decided to include it in the final cut because it was such a perfect fit.
“Up”
In Up , Carl wears a bowtie to Ellie’s funeral because she was the one who always tied his ties for him (yes, I’m crying).
“Lilo and Stitch”
In the Lilo & Stitch extended version on Disney+, in the scene where Lilo is hiding from her big sister, she hides behind a pizza box while she’s inside the dryer, instead of the dryer door.
“Atlantis: The Lost Empire”
In Atlantis: The Lost Empire before the crew heads back home, they’re each gifted a crystal. But later, once they’ve made it back to the surface, the crystals have all been turned into more typical-looking accessories, for discretion.
“Finding Nemo”
In Finding Nemo , Gill, a Moorish idol, is hellbent on breaking out of the dental office aquarium, and it turns out, Pixar chose his breed with that, specifically, in mind.
Moorish idols are notoriously difficult to keep in captivity.
“Freaky Friday”
In the final scene of Freaky Friday — the part with Jamie Lee Curtis’ iconic guitar solo — it turns out she actually learned how to play it IRL, and that is in fact her playing the guitar.
“Wall-E”
If you recognized the sound that Wall-E makes when fully charged, it’s probably because it’s a sound you know all too well.
The sound is actually the same as the one a Macbook makes when it turns on. Steve Jobs, a co-founder of Apple, was also a co-founder of Pixar.
“Encanto”
During the scene in Encanto when Maribel initially meets Bruno, there is a plant in his boot — a subtle reference to the 2008 Pixar film, Wall-E , where there is also a plant inside a boot.
“Incredibles 2”
In Incredibles 2 there is an abstract painting that hangs behind Helen’s bed when she’s staying at a hotel.
The painting is meant to represent her being separated from her family — the cluster of red lines being her husband, daughter, and son, and the red line off to the right being her.
“Up” again.
In the movie Up , the reason Dug is the only one that can track Kevin is that the other dogs are guarding breeds — English Bulldog, Doberman Pinscher, Rottweiler — while Dug is the only hunting breed — a Golden Retriever.
“Soul”
In Soul , which was released in 2020, there is a scene that subtly features a travel poster outside of an agency advertising the town of Portorosso. While viewers didn’t know it at the time, this was actually a nod to the Pixar film Luca , which wasn’t released until 2021.
“High School Musical 2”
If you’re anything like me, you’ve seen all of the High School Musical movies several times and can recite every song. But did you know that Miley Cyrus made a brief cameo in the second film during the final song?
She was listed in the credits as “Girl at pool.”
“Wreck-It Ralph”
The high score of the Felix Fix-It Jr. game is 120501. While this number might not seem significant, the filmmakers chose to include it as a tribute to Walt Disney. Disney’s birth date was December 5, 1901.
“The Princess and the Frog”
There’s a bit of foreshadowing in the movie if you look closely at Prince Naveen’s tarot card. It features a prince on a lily pad on one side and a frog design on the back, hinting at his amphibian destiny later in the film.
“Mulan”
This is one detail that you probably missed — unless you really know your Disney directors. The firework operators in Mulan are actually modeled after the film’s directors, Barry Cook and Tony Bancroft.
“Moana”
There’s nothing better than spotting a cross-over reference in Disney movies, especially when a new movie references a classic. In this case, if you look closely at Tamatoa’s treasure stash in Moana , you’ll see Aladdin’s magic lamp. So cool!
“Frozen”
The norse runes featured in Frozen are accurate and authentic. Disney consulted with an Old Norse expert prior to including them in the film. Now that’s dedication to the story.
“Hercules”
This is a minor detail but a touching one at the same time. Hercules continues to wear the cape his adoptive mother gave him, even after he transforms from a zero to a hero. What a great way to show the character’s commitment to his family.
“The Emperor’s New Groove”
In The Emperor’s New Groove , during the scene when Kronk tells Yzma not to drink the poison, she dumps it into a nearby plant. Later in that scene, the plant shifts into the shape of a llama. Now, that’s what I call foreshadowing.
“The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe”
In The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe , the White Witch’s ice crown starts melting and decreasing in size throughout the film as she loses her powers.
