52 Clever Movie Details From The 1990s That You Most Likely Didn't Notice The First Time Around
Something I truly never get tired of is rewatching a movie from my childhood and discovering a hidden detail I didn't notice the first time around. Movies from the 1990s are chock-full of them, and as a millennial, I was honestly floored by some of these details!
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So here are some brilliant movie details from the '90s that were really, really clever, via Reddit.
1.Home Alone (1990)
I'm Home Alone (1990), Old Man Marley has a Wound on his hand, when he meets with Kevin in the Church revealing to be a sweet gentle man his wound only has a band aid, when he reunites with his son and his wife and kid his wound is healed, Symbolising old wounds can heal. from MovieDetails
2.Goodfellas (1990)
In Goodfellas (1990), before Henry first meets Karen's Jewish mother, she asks him to cover his cross. After they are married, Henry can now be seen wearing a cross AND a star of David. from MovieDetails
3.Death Becomes Her (1992)
In Death Becomes Her, Helen claims she took the potion on October 26, 1985. This is the same date Marty McFly traveled back in time in Back to the Future. Both films were directed by Robert Zemeckis. from MovieDetails
4.Aladdin (1992)
In Aladdin (1992) Jasmine loves the flower Aladdin gives her so much she wears it in her hair then saves it in a vase on her vanity from MovieDetails
5.Forrest Gump (1994)
I just noticed Bubba's helmet says 'I'd Rather be Shrimping' in Forrest Gump (1994) from MovieDetails
6.Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998)
In Halloween H2O (1998), Norma is played by Janet Leigh, who played Marion in Psycho (1960). She also owns the same car as Marion. from MovieDetails
7.The Prince of Egypt (1998)
In the Prince of Egypt (1998) after God tells Moses to remove his sandals he remains barefoot for the rest of the film from MovieDetails
8.The Sandlot (1993)
In The Sandlot (1993), the actor who plays Benny Rodriguez as an adult is Pablo Vitar, the IRL big brother of young Benny's actor, Mike Vitar. from MovieDetails
9.Toy Story 2 (1999)
In Toy Story 2 (1999), Jessie's fight with Woody ends with the same move that Buzz used on him in the original film from MovieDetails
10.The Addams Family (1991)
In The Addams Family (1991), they pour boiling oil on some Christmas carollers at the start of the movie. You can still see the stains from the oil at the end of the movie. from MovieDetails
11.Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
In Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991) the terminator portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger uses sunglasses as a visual representation of his change in character. As the movie progresses he loses the sunglasses as he transforms from pure killing machine to “more human”. from MovieDetails
12.Batman Returns (1992)
In Batman Returns (1992) the shadow of Selina Kyle's glasses (literally) foreshadows her transformation into Catwoman. from MovieDetails
13.The Matrix (1999)
In The Matrix (1999) the way Neo and Morpheus attack each other with the same move, their clothes and head/hair forms the Ying-Yang Symbol from MovieDetails
14.Reservoir Dogs (1992)
The gasoline can Mr. Blonde douses Nash with in Reservoir Dogs (1992) is later seen in the trunk of the car in Pulp Fiction (1994) from MovieDetails
15.A Night at the Roxbury (1998)
In A Night at the Roxbury (1998) Doug and Steve Butabi (yes they're brothers) suggest to Mr. Zadir to make his pool a dance floor by putting glass over it. Later when the brothers discover the club that Mr. Zadir opened for them you can see the dance floor is glass over an aquarium. from MovieDetails
16.Billy Madison (1995), Happy Gilmore (1996), and The Waterboy (1998)
Adam Sandler’s love interests in Billy Madison (1995), Happy Gilmore (1996), The Waterboy (1998), Little Nicky (2000), Pixels (2015), & Hubie Halloween (2020) all have a double-V character names from MovieDetails
17.Jurassic Park (1993)
In Jurassic Park(1993), there is a scene where the raptor opens the door to the kitchen and you can spot an operator grab the raptor's tail. from MovieDetails
18.The Santa Clause (1994)
In the Santa Clause(1994) when Charlie is at school you can see an elf behind him in class meaning they were keeping tabs on him and his dad from MovieDetails
19.Anastasia (1997)
In Anastasia (1997), the drawing that Anastasia gives to her grandmother is based on a 1914 painting created by the real princess Anastasia. from MovieDetails
20.Man of the House (1995)
In man of the house (1995) Jonathan Taylor Thomas is reading a magazine with an ad on the back for The Lion King (1994) in which he voices simba in (sorry for quality) from MovieDetails
21.The Big Lebowski (1998)
In The Big Lebowski (1998), a painting of scissors with a red background is seen when the Dude visits Maude. Later, when the Dude is in a drug induced hallucination, he is chased by a guy dressed in red with giant scissors that have the same black handles. from MovieDetails
22.Fight Club (1999)
In Fight Club (1999), after the Narrator loses to his opponent (Robby Robinson), his opponent asks, “How about next week?” To which the Narrator responds, “How about next month?” Robby Robinson is credited as “Next Month’s Opponent”. from MovieDetails
23.10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
In 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) David Leisure’s character ‘Mr. Chapon’ flinches when he tries to sit due to getting an arrow in his backside earlier in the day while teaching archery. from MovieDetails
24.Friday (1995)
In Friday, Craig’s girlfriend calls him to accuse him of cheating on her with a girl at a concert, she has a man laying in her bed while she’s doing this. from MovieDetails
25.Men in Black (1997)
Men in Black (1997) When Will Smith is looking at the two space ships at the MIB headquarters, if you look in the background Zed and K are there typing on the computer. But if you look closer you can tell that they're not even touching the keyboard from MovieDetails
26.The Nutty Professor (1996)
Eddie Murphy’s character in The Nutty Professor (1996) and in Shrek (2001) both claim to be the stair master. from MovieDetails
27.Space Jam (1996)
In Space Jam (1996), Bill Murray explains his entry into the toon world by saying the film's producer is a friend of his. Space Jam's executive producer was Ivan Reitman, who directed the Murray-starred Ghostbusters (1984), among others. from MovieDetails
28.Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999)
Austin Powers The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) re-used the rocket launch scene from Apollo 13 (1995) from MovieDetails
29.The Lion King (1994)
In The Lion King, Shenzi the Hyena has no eyebrows, just like Whoopi Goldberg who lends her voice to the character. from MovieDetails
30.The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
In the Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), the scene in which Lock, Shock and Barrel remove their masks was based on a season five episode of The Twilight Zone called “The Masks,” which had a huge impact on Burton as a child. from MovieDetails
31.Mulan (1998)
In Mulan (1998), Mulan's horse Khan, is a Ferghana horse, a classical Chinese breed. On the other hand, Shan Yu's horse is a Mongolian Horse, one of the original horse breeds, small, but incredibly strong. from MovieDetails
32.Bean: The Movie (1997)
33.The Boondock Saints (1999)
In The Boondock Saints (1999) it is established in the beginning that Il Duce only has one rule, that he doesn't kill women or children. This is why Willem Dafoe's character is the only one to survive his slaughter during this scene. from MovieDetails
34.Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
In Leaving Las Vegas (1995), Nicolas Cage's character Ben doesn't eat a single thing during the whole film, since chronic alcoholics often can't/won't eat. In the restaurant, he puts spaghetti on his fork but doesn't eat it and, when Sera cooks rice for him, he eats an ice cube instead. from MovieDetails
35.Malcolm X (1992)
In Malcolm X (1992) starring Denzel Washington, the first child that stands up and says I’m Malcolm X is played by John David Washington, Denzel’s son and star of Tenet. https://www.capitalxtra.com/features/facts/john-david-washington/malcolm-x/ from MovieDetails
36.The Truman Show (1998)
In The Truman Show (1999), the man playing the piano while Truman sleeps is composer Phillip Glass. He created some of the music for the movie, including the piece he is playing. from MovieDetails
37.The Bodyguard (1992)
In The Bodyguard (1992), Rachel Marron's (Whitney Houston) mansion is the same mansion as the "horse head in the bed" mansion in "The Godfather (1972)". from MovieDetails
38.Independence Day (1996)
In Independence Day (1996), Will Smith shows his buddy a dolphin engagement ring he purchased for his fiancé, telling him she has a thing for dolphins. Earlier, when he’s saying goodbye before leaving, she’s wearing dolphin earrings. from MovieDetails
39.Scream (1996)
In Scream (1996), Sidney (Neve Campbell) can be seen hesitantly checking her mailbox after she gets off the school bus. In the previous scene at school, her friends were talking about the murderer putting body parts in the victim's mailbox. from MovieDetails
40.Boyz n the Hood (1991)
"Boyz n the Hood" (1991) - man wearing Eazy-E shirt gets beatdown by Ice Cube (ex NWA bandmate-turned-rival) from MovieDetails
41.Richie Rich (1994)
In 'Richie Rich' (1994), the villain Van-Dough is seen watching 'North by Northwest' (1959), which ends in a climax on Mt. Rushmore. The film has a similar climax on "Mt. Richmore" from MovieDetails
42.A Bug's Life (1999)
In A Bug's Life (1999), the queen is seen to have a pet named "Aphie." In real life, this little bug is an aphid (also known as aphids) and they live in harmony with the ants, but not as pets, but as "livestock". from MovieDetails
43.From Dusk till Dawn (1996)
In From Dusk Till Dawn (1996), during the border checkpoint scene, Cheech Marin plays a customs agent who, if you look closely at his badge, is named Oscar Marin. That was the name of Cheech’s father in real-life. from MovieDetails
44.Seven (1995)
In Se7en (1995), they mention the list of books logged on John Doe's library card, one of them being "Homicide Investigation". Later when Somerset opens one of John Doe's notebook, a quote from that book can be seen. from MovieDetails
45.Schindler's List (1993)
In Schindler’s List (1997), the waiter that Schindler meets is played by Branko Lustig, a real-life Holocaust survivor. He is also one of the movies producers. from MovieDetails
46.Good Will Hunting (1997)
Good Will Hunting (1997). Robin William's painting alludes to the idea that both Robin William's character and Will are both enduring "storms" in their lives. After the movie's resolution, we see a similar shot of a boat and ominous figure; however, in still water this time. from MovieDetails
47.The Iron Giant (1999)
In the Iron Giant (1999), you can see a moving star next to the moon. This is Sputnik. The movie is set in 1957, the same year that Sputnik was sent into orbit. from MovieDetails
48.Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993)
In Sister Act 2, Rita Watson(Lauren Hill) has practiced her mom’s name on several scrap pieces of paper before forging her mom’s signature. from MovieDetails
49.Wayne's World (1992)
In 'Wayne's World' (1992), on Garth's wall there are pictures of him from when SNL parodied Madonna's 'Justify My Love' video. from MovieDetails
50.Beverly Hills Cop III (1994)
In Beverly Hills Cop III (1994) Eddie Murphy cuts into line at the Spider ride, in front of George Lucas from MovieDetails
51.Mallrats (1995)
During the end credits of Mallrats (1995), director Kevin Smith included a very special expression of gratitude to his parents that must have just melted their hearts when they first saw it. from MovieDetails
52. And The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Silence of the Lambs (1991) When characters are talking to Clarice, they often talk directly to the camera. Director Jonathan Demme has explained that this was done so as the audience would directly experience her point of view, and more readily identify with Clarice, over her male counterparts. from MovieDetails