A great movie is like a great lasagna: there’s a lot of layers built-in. The technical term I’m referring to is what’s known as an “Easter Egg.”
It’s a way for directors to reward their audience’s careful eye with a clever reward.
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With that in mind, here are 10+ little movie details fans probably didn’t notice.
The anti-piracy warning in *Fight Club*
For the DVD release of Fight Club , director David Fincher thought he’d try something a little different.
As you can see, this is not an anti-piracy warning. This is a special message for the audience, written by Tyler Durden himself.
Ambigrams in *The Princess Bride*
Notice the cover for the 20th Anniversary edition of The Princess Bride ; you can see that the title is what’s called an ambigram.
It can be read right-side-up or upside down.
There is no camera in *The Matrix*
When filming The Matrix , the Wachowski brothers were unable to properly hide the camera during the doorknob scene.
So they did the next best thing: they dressed it in a black coat and tie to match Morpheus.
*Harry Potter* keeps getting darker…
During the opening credits for each of the films in the Harry Potter franchise, the Warner Bros. logo gets increasingly darker as the films go on.
This was done to reflect the darkening mood of the series over time.
Buzz’s girlfriend wasn’t a girl in *Home Alone*
“Buzz, you’re girlfriend – WOOF!”
We all can’t help but laugh every time we hear Kevin McCallister spout this horribly rude joke about his brother’s girlfriend in Home Alone .
As it turns out, the girl in the picture was actually director Chris Columbus’ son .
Foreshadow of the Cat in *Batman Returns*
If you pay extra close attention to the shadow cast on Selina Kyle’s face in Batman Returns , you’ll see that they form two purrrfect cat ears.
A bone to pick with *Poltergeist*
If the looks of terror seem genuine during the pool scene in Poltergeist , that’s because they were.
Those are real dead bodies floating around.
It turns out that it was cheaper for production to purchase the real thing than it would have been to create a prosthetic version.
Voilà , Jacques’ bag is the cleanest in *Finding Dory*
Fans of the original Finding Nemo will no doubt remember Jacques , the cleaner fish and his aquarium pals.
During the after-credits scene in Finding Dory , the fish from the aquarium can be seen bobbing along in plastic bags. All of them are dirty, except Jacques’.
Twin Pines Mall changes its name in *Back To The Future*
When Marty McFly first goes to meet Doc Brown in Back to the Future , the name on the sign reads “Twin Pines Mall.”
But when Marty returns from 1955, the sign reads “Lone Pine Mall.” This is a reference to when Marty crashes the Delorean on Old Man Peabody’s farm, destroying his pine.
Cat scratch fever in *Avengers: Civil War*
When Captain America throws his shield at Tony Stark’s feet in Captain America: Civil War , the only visible damage is five distinct claw marks.
This is a reference to an earlier battle with Black Panther. Cap’s shield is made of Vibranium , the same metal as Black Panther’s suit.
Truman’s travel agent wasn’t camera ready in *The Truman Show*
In The Truman Show , Truman decides to make an impromptu visit to the travel agent’s office. He waits patiently in her office and when she finally arrives, she’s wearing a bib.
This is a makeup bib. It was worn to suggest that the actress wasn’t camera ready for Truman’s arrival.
A nutritious proposal in *Aladdin*
During the sequence for “A Whole New World,” while flying over ancient Greece, Aladdin tosses an apple to Jasmine.
In ancient Greece, throwing an apple to someone was a way of proposing marriage.
Pennywise is watching in *IT*
Look closely at the mural painted on the brick wall and you’ll see the face of Pennywise the Dancing Clown in IT .
This was supposedly done to imbue a sense of fear that Pennywise was everywhere, always watching.
Thumbprints are awesome in *The Lego Movie*
Pause The Lego Movie at just the right moment, any time there’s a ‘flashy’ or ‘shiny’ sequence, and you can clearly see thumbprints embedded on the LEGO.
The witch’s crown is melting in *The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.”
The witch’s ice crown in The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe is symbolic of her power.
As the film goes on and her power lessens, the crown gradually begins to melt.
Vietnam is the 51st state in *Watchmen*
Everyone knows that the American flag’s 50 stars represent the 50 different states that make up the country. So why is there 51 on the flag draped over The Comedian’s coffin in Watchmen ?
This is because Dr. Manhattan won The Vietnam War for the U.S. As a result, Vietnam became the 51st state .
The car crash reveals the ending in *Fight Club*
Fight Club has one of the greatest plot twists of any movie ever made. But they actually give away the ending very early on.
In this scene, where Tyler is very clearly driving, the pair argue, which causes them to crash the car. However, Tyler exits from the passenger side and pulls The Narrator out from the driver-side window.
Seeing double in *The Matrix*
Remember that scene in The Matrix where Morpheus takes Neo into various training programs?
You were probably too focussed on the woman in the red dress. But pay close attention for next time: The Wachowski brothers used sets of twins and triplets to help give the effect of an authentically replicated dreamworld.
Ed foreshadows the entire movie in *Shaun Of The Dead*
When Shaun and Ed first meet in the pub, Ed tells Shaun his plan for the day: a Bloody Mary, a bite to eat, and then stagger back to the bar for shots.
The thing is though, that’s exactly what happens. Only in a much more literal fashion than they would have hoped.
Vincent Vega’s drug use is affecting his body
Vincent has a drug problem. He also has a bathroom problem, as is shown multiple times throughout the film. It’s even what leads to his unfortunate demise.
One of the main side effects of cocaine/heroin use is constipation. This would explain why Vincent spends so much time attending to his business.
No ticket for Kevin in *Home Alone*
In the opening scene of Home Alone , the family is gathered in the kitchen, waiting to eat their pizza. After a fight erupts between Buzz and Kevin, chaos ensues and the kitchen is quickly turned upside down.
Look closely and you can see that when Kevin’s aunt and father are tidying up, they accidentally throw away Kevin’s plane ticket with the trash .
The numbers mean something in *Scott Pilgrim vs. The World*
If you pay careful attention to each one of Ramona’s exes in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World , you can see there are a number of external references to their individual numbers .
Todd wears a shirt with the number 3 on it, Matthew’s hair conveniently covers only one eye, etc.
A field of dreams in *Interstellar*
Talk about dedication to your craft. Director Christopher Nolan opted to plant 500 acres of corn instead of going the CGI route for Interstellar .
When filming wrapped, he sold the corn for profit.
An automobile graveyard in *Cars*.
Take a second look at the canyon in Cars and you’ll begin to notice some very familiar imagery.
They’re made of the fenders and hood ornaments of old classic cars.
30 minutes or less in *Fargo*
During an especially memorable phone call between Jerry and Carl in Fargo , Carl (Steve Buscemi) says to Jerry (William H. Macy):
“30 minutes, Jerry, we wrap this thing up.”
Which is exactly how much time remains in the film at that very moment of dialogue.
Something doesn’t belong in *Moana*.
This picture is a Disney version of Where’s Waldo .
See if you can spot the hidden Baymax from Big Hero 6 ! He almost looks passable as a Kakamora.
Real terror on Alan Rickman’s face in *Die Hard*
Alan Rickman was a great actor, but even he couldn’t fake this genuine look of terror seen in Die Hard .
It turns out that the stunt crew, instead of dropping the actor on the count of three (as was the plan), released him after counting “one.”
The clockhands in *Titanic*
In the final moments of Titanic , after Rose passes away, there’s a beautiful scene that seems to show everyone who died on the ship alive and well. Almost as if they’re welcoming her to the afterlife.
If you look at the clock over Jack’s right shoulder, you’ll see the hands of the clock read 2:20, which is the exact time that the ship sank.
Earning your stripes in *Guardians Of The Galaxy*
Remember in the first Guardians of the Galaxy film when they get sent to prison?
It turns out the stripes shown on the yellow jumpsuits are symbolic of each crime committed by an inmate.
A nod to Cesar Romero in *The Dark Knight*
Remember that classic opening scene from The Dark Knight ? The one where Joker and his gang of clowns rob the bank? During the heist, each is wearing a different mask.
The Joker’s mask is the exact same one worn by Cesar Romero , the first Joker from the 1960s Batman television show.
Finding true north in *The Polar Express*
I know what you’re thinking: just an ordinary compass, right? Wrong.
Take another look; every direction points south. This is because when you live in the North Pole, everywhere is technically south.
