20 Disney Easter Eggs You Missed The First Time
Disney has a lot of easter eggs. So many that you can find another list of completely different hidden secrets here. From Moana to Big Hero 6 and everything in between, these are the easter eggs I definitely didn't catch on first viewing.
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1.Aunt Cass (Big Hero 6) makes an appearance in Ralph Breaks the Internet.
Cass was the aunt of Hiro, the main character in Big Hero 6. She was also a huge crush for many people who watched the movie. If you were lucky enough to miss the internet news, she was even turned into a meme after so many people revealed they had the hots for her. Apparently, the filmmakers behind Ralph Breaks the Internet caught wind, as she appears on the cover of a pop-up ad that says: "Sassy housewives want to meet you today!"
2.A piece of paper from the short Paperman appears in Wreck-It Ralph.
When they say "sharp-eyed viewers," I don't think of people who notice Boo giving Sully a Jessie doll in Monsters Inc. Yes, that's a great find, but just look at the top-right picture of Ralph sitting in his Bad Guy support group in Wreck-It Ralph. See that piece of paper on the bulletin? I wouldn't have even been able to tell you that was lipstick on the page, but someone recognized it from the Disney short Paperman. Now that's a sharp-eyed viewer.
3.Mochi wears a Stitch hat in Big Hero 6.
Besides Mochi having the best cat name, he also has the best hat.
4.A stuffed-animal Dumbo can be seen in Lilo's toy box.
Lilo & Stitch has quite a few Disney references, many of which go beyond movie shoutouts. There's a Mulan poster, tons of "Hidden Mickeys," and even a postcard with the Magic Castle on it. And way before Boo pulled out her clownfish and Jessie dolls in Monsters Inc., Lilo had a Dumbo stuffed animal back in '02.
5.In Treasure Planet, young Jim Hawkins has a plushie of Stitch.
Stitch makes for popular merchandise no matter which universe you're in. With Mochi's Stitch hat and Jim Hawkins' Stitch plushie in Treasure Planet, it's no wonder Disney is planning a live-action reboot. Though it makes sense that Stitch would appear in Treasure Planet, where his mom falls in love with an alien dog-man.
6.Symbols for various princesses appear throughout Rapunzel's tower in Tangled.
The apple (representing Snow White) is the only one clearly visible, but you may be able to spot a few more during Rapunzel's song, "When Will My Life Begin?" There is a slipper (Cinderella) and a rose (Belle) on the upstairs bannister, as well as a five-pointed shape that many suppose is a shell for Ariel.
7.Mickey, Donald, and Goofy are in the crowd in The Little Mermaid.
They're magic, that's how they're breathing underwater.
8.A familiar crab stabs at Genie's finger in Aladdin.
When Genie cracks open his book of Royal Recipes, he finds one for king crab. Who else should pop out of the book than THE king crab himself, Sebastian from The Little Mermaid.
9.The King and Grand Duke from Cinderella are in The Little Mermaid.
As Prince Eric prepares to marry "Vanessa" (Ursula in disguise), several wedding guests mill about on the ship's deck. Two of them are some of the biggest names you can pull for your wedding guest list: the King and Grand Duke from Cinderella!
10.The magic carpet from Aladdin makes an appearance in The Princess and the Frog.
During the opening sequence of The Princess and the Frog, a woman shakes the dust out of a beautiful purple-and-gold rug. I was too busy looking at the beautifully animated street of New Orleans to notice at the time, but it's the exact same pattern as the magic carpet. Same rug? Could all Disney movies take place in the same universe like the Pixar Theory?
11.Aladdin's lamp can be seen during Tamatoa's song "Shiny."
Moana has a lot of easter eggs, referencing The Little Mermaid and Frozen. Aladdin also gets a subtle shoutout as Maui stands on top of a pile of treasure. It's hard to spot amid all the glittering gold, but there's no mistaking that iconic lamp.
12.The ingredients for Olaf from Frozen are shown in Moana.
This one may seem like a stretch at first, but I promise it's Olaf. Just look at the shape of the carrot and the way the sticks split apart at the ends. It's everyone's favorite snowman!
13.Baloo and Mowgli show up in Meet the Robinsons.
Poor Goob. As Mike Yagoobian dozes off during that fateful baseball game in Meet the Robinsons, you can barely make out a faded mural attached to the fence. Enhance! It's actually Baloo and Mowgli from The Jungle Book!
14.Jock from Lady and the Tramp appears in The Lion King.
I knew Jock could handle himself, but I didn't expect him to take up with a pack of hyenas.
15.This isn't the opening from The Lion King, it's Chicken Little.
In the intro, Buck can't decide how he wants to start the story. He tries out the opening from The Lion King among others before going "back to the day things took a turn for the worse."
16.In Brother Bear, a familiar clown fish from Finding Nemo flies through the air.
If you're wondering whether this is actually a reference to Finding Nemo or literally just a fish, it's worth pointing out that Brother Bear was released the exact same year (2003). Though Disney didn't yet own Pixar, they acted as the distributor of their movies. Also, clownfish are native to the Indian Ocean, which is a bit of a swim away from Alaska, where Brother Bear takes place. So it's a certified easter egg!
17.A figure of Mulan's dog falls out of Professor Porter's pocket in Tarzan.
Mulan's dog, Little Brother, has an unmistakable nose and big, floppy ears. How could anyone miss him? Well, many did in the blink-and-you-miss-it moment from Tarzan when the professor is being shaken upside down. Many random things fly out of his pocket, and someone caught the little pooch in the split-second that he was on screen.
18.Not only is Camilo's name referencing a chameleon, but also Camilo García, a Colombian tour guide who helped out during the production of Encanto.
In García's words, "I also had the privilege of participating in the Disney movie Encanto. In 2018, I was hired as tour leader of the group of creators for the film. I toured with them to various places in the country, and I could see that they worked hand in hand with Colombian musicians, anthropologists, biologists, historians, dancers, choreographers, artists, and even luthiers [someone who makes string instruments], looking to make a film that reliably represented our culture."
19.The painting "Girl with a Pearl Earring" hangs in Beast's home.
Just because he's a giant, snarling chimera doesn't mean Beast can't have nice taste.
20.The faded text on the abandoned signs in Beauty and the Beast actually spell out California cities.
When Maurice gets lost, he comes across some signs that aren't very helpful. Not only because the writing on them is nearly impossible to read, but because they point to Anaheim and Valencia, which are a skosh far from France. They also didn't exist in the mid-1700s... or did they? Either way, Valencia is the home of the California Institute of the Arts, which is where many of the animators working on Beauty and the Beast started out!
