56 Tiny Details From 2000s Movies That Were Too Clever For Us To Notice When We Were Kids

I clearly need to rewatch Monsters Inc. because I missed SO much.

1. This Nemo cameo:

In Monsters Inc (2001), Boo tries to give sully a Nemo Doll. Finding Nemo wouldn’t come out until 2003. from MovieDetails

2. Mike's sticky notes:

In Monster’s Inc (2001) Mike has 3 sticky note reminders to file his paperwork in his locker, which he later forgets to do, driving the plot of the movie. from MovieDetails

Walt Disney Pictures / Pixar Animation Studios

3. This Die Hard reference:

In The Incredibles there is a clearly reference to Die Hard 3, the scene of the phone with Samuel L. Jackson, who also plays Frozono, and the policeman from MovieDetails

4. This coffee shop:

In Monsters Inc (2001), Sully and Mike pass by the “Hidden City Café”. This is a reference to a real-life café in Point Richmond, California. In 1994, several famous Pixar directors had lunch there and came up with ideas for movies…A Bug's Life, Monsters, Inc, Finding Nemo, and WALL-E. from MovieDetails

5. This fish's cunning:

In Finding Nemo (2003), Gill is a moorish idol. This species is known to not handle captivity well, so him being the one who constantly comes up with escape plans makes sense. from MovieDetails

6. This editing choice:

For Monsters Inc. (2001) due to Mary Gibbs who played Boo being so young, it was difficult to get her to stay in the recording booth to perform her lines. So they decided to follow her around with a microphone and cut her lines together using the random things/noises she say whilst playing. from MovieDetails

7. This comic book in the waiting room:

Finding Nemo (2003) has a Mr. Incredible comic one year before The Incredibles came out. from MovieDetails

8. The paint on this bell:

The paint on bell that rings at the beginning and end of each shift on the Scare Floor in ‘Monsters Inc’ (2001) is worn away around the area where the hammer strikes it. from MovieDetails

9. This keyboard:

In Monsters Inc (2001) during the scare floor scene, the large button on the top left corner of the keyboard says 'FIZT'. That is the name of the hair simulation physics tool used to animate the characters hair. from MovieDetails

10. The clever names of these twins:

In Finding Nemo (2003), one of the fish, Deb, thinks she has a twin sister, Flo. These names are a play on the words 'Ebb and flow'. from MovieDetails

11. This dirty dentist:

The dentist in 'Finding Nemo' (2003) emerges from the bathroom immediately after flushing and goes to work in his patient's mouth without washing his hands. from MovieDetails

12. This actor reference:

in Monsters, Inc. (2001) Sulley calls the child "Boo". But when she's drawing in Sulley's bed, she shuffles through pictures that she's signed "Mary," which seems to be her real name. and it is a reference to Mary Gibbs here voice actor. from MovieDetails

13. This monster's helmet:

In Monsters, Inc. (2001) Fungus has a bracket on his helmet that attaches to his glasses, to keep them secure on his face due to his lack of ears. from MovieDetails

Walt Disney Pictures / Pixar Animation Studios

14. This ending credits message:

In Monsters, Inc. (2001) at the end of the credits there is a line that says “No monsters were harmed in the making of this motion picture.” from MovieDetails

15. This abandoned shark:

In Finding Nemo, Bruce the shark starts crying when Marlin starts talking about Nemo, saying “I never knew my father”. Male sharks mate with the female then leave, so baby sharks never actually meet their father. from MovieDetails

16. Boo's missing sock:

I must’ve watched Monsters Inc a hundred times with my two year old and only just noticed now that the sock Mike uses to distract the yellow CDA guys is Boo’s. from MovieDetails

Walt Disney Pictures / Pixar Animation Studios

17. This fireplace of fish:

In The Incredibles (2004) Edna Mode has an artistic fireplace made of fish from MovieDetails

18. The shapes of these clouds:

In Cars (2006), the clouds are shaped like tire tracks. from MovieDetails

19. This eye-mask detail:

In The Incredibles (2004), Buddy has his inner eye-mask colored in. from MovieDetails

20. This Buzz Lightyear cameo:

In Finding Nemo there is a Buzz Lightyear toy on the floor in the dentist's waiting room from MovieDetails

21. This timeline of The Incredibles:

Based of Elastigirl's last sighting in The Incredibles, the main story takes place in 1970. from MovieDetails

22. This Apple reference:

In Cars (2006), an 'Apple car' can be seen in the race at the beginning of the movie. This is a tribute to the former CEO of Pixar, Steve Jobs. The number 84 is also significant and was chosen because it was the year the first Apple computers began selling. from MovieDetails

23. These fish's formation:

In Finding Nemo (2003) when the school of fish are doing their charade of a ship, you can see a fish walk the plank in the back. from MovieDetails

24. Lightning McQueen's shaky body:

In Cars (2006), Lightning McQueen's body shakes much more than Mater's because McQueen is a racecar with firmer suspension, which means the bumpy roads make him shake more aggressively than normal cars that have softer suspension. from MovieDetails

25. This huge rat:

In Ratatouille(2007) Git, the jacked rat, has a tag on his ear reading A113. Not only is this a frequently used Pixar easter egg, it also implies that Git was a lab rat, explaining his large size from MovieDetails

26. WALL-E's lunch:

In WALL-E (2008) you can see a can of WD-40 in his lunchbox from MovieDetails

27. This recurring character:

In The Incredibles(2004) , Bomb Voyage was a French mime who had turned to a life of crime. In Ratatouille (2007) , we see him as an actual mime working the streets of Paris. Both movies were directed by Brad Bird. from MovieDetails

28. This hand-eye coordination:

In The Incredibles (2004), when Helen arrives to rescue Bob and punches Mirage, you can see that Helen attempted to punch Bob too, but he dodges it. from MovieDetails

29. This logo on Linguini's boxer's:

In Ratatouille (2007) Linguini's boxer have a familiar logo on them. Yes , that's The Incredibles' Signature i logo. Both films were directed by Brad Bird as well. from MovieDetails

30. This office set-up:

Bob Par in The Incredibles (2004) has most of his cubical taken up by a pillar which is why it's so cramped, I can't believe I never noticed this before from MovieDetails

31. The brand of this motorcycle:

In Ratatouille (2007), Colette rides a "Calahan" brand motorcycle. This is a reference to Sharon Calahan, the Director of Photography for Ratatouille. from MovieDetails

Walt Disney Pictures / Pixar Animation Studios

32. This character's name in the credits:

In Cars (2006) the member of lightning McQueen's pit crew who insists that his name isn't Chuck is listed as "Not Chuck" in the end credits. from MovieDetails

33. This Buzz Lightyear Easter egg:

In Cars (2006) the Lightyear tires used by the race cars are an obvious reference to Buzz Lightyear, the not so obvious detail is that they are listed as being from 'Sector 4, Gamma Quadrant' where Buzz said he stationed in the first Toy Story movie. from MovieDetails

34. Mr. Incredible's memorabilia:

In the Incredibles (2004) Mr Incredible has a jar full of bullets that have bounced off his chest on his desk from MovieDetails

Walt Disney Pictures / Pixar Animation Studios

35. This descriptive article:

(Found a clearer shot) The animators of The Incredibles (2004) typed out a full article on the disappearance of Simon J Paladino (Gazerbeam) that conforms with information through the movie. Common practice of kids movies is to pretty much smack the keyboard in text columns from MovieDetails

36. This Pizza Planet truck that often appears in Pixar movies:

In WALL-E (2008) EVE scans a pizza planet delivery truck while searching for her pime directive. from MovieDetails

37. This Pizza Planet truck in another sneaky appearance:

Pizza planet truck in Up 2009 from MovieDetails

38. This subtle change in color:

In Up (2009), before Carl finds out about the photos Ellie put in the adventure book, the colors around him appear bland and cold. They are much brighter and warmer afterwards, signifying his feelings. from MovieDetails

39. The clock during Linguini's speech

In Ratatouille (2007), Linguine gives an "inspirational speech" before food critic, Anton Ego, comes to critique the restaurant's food. Pixar's attention to detail shows the staff visibility exhausted by this speech. That's because it lasts almost 20 minutes during dinner service! from MovieDetails

40. The supplies on this night stand:

In Up (2009), you can see tape and markers on Ellie’s hospital bedside table when she’s gives Carl The Adventure Book for the last time from MovieDetails

41. The blinds in this office:

In Ratatouille (2007), the first time we see Ego's office, his blinds are closed. After eating Remy's Ratatouille, he has his blinds open as he stares outside with a little 'perspective'. from MovieDetails

42. The shape of this office:

In Ratatouille (2007) Anton Ego’s typewriter resembles a skull and his office a coffin. from MovieDetails

43. This method acting:

In the Incredibles (2004), director Brad Bird wanted to give Dash a realistic out-of-breath voice in certain scenes so he made actor Spencer Fox run four laps around the Pixar studio until he got tired. from MovieDetails

44. This food critic's weight gain:

At the end of Disney/Pixar’s Ratatouille (2007) Anton Ego is a little bit fatter. This is especially poignant since he states, "I don't like food, I love it... if I don't love it I don't swallow." from MovieDetails

45. The shapes of these flies:

In Cars (2006) the flies swarming by the light are little cars (Volkswagen Beatles). from MovieDetails

46. This dog's collar:

In Up (2009), the dog to the very right has an ace of clubs in his collar from MovieDetails

47. This Star Wars reference:

In UP (2009), when the dogs are flying planes to shoot the house, they check in with their leader in much the same way as the Red Squad from Star Wars checks in. However, they call in as Grey leader, 2, and 3 since dogs don't see color. from MovieDetails

48. These marks on Linguini's hand:

In Ratatouille (2007) When Linguini is chopping leeks for the soup you can see a green smear on the cutting board that actually happens when cutting green vegtables. Also his bite marks are still there from when Remy bit him a couple of days before. from MovieDetails

49. This costume parallel:

In Pixar's Up (2009), both young Carl and Russell have one collar tip untucked over their vests. from MovieDetails

50. This costume detail:

In up(2009), Carl wears a bow tie at the funeral because he never learned to tie a tie without Ellie from MovieDetails

51. This innuendo:

In Disney/Pixar's Up(2009) Carl and Ellie are shown hammering nails and sawing wood on their wedding day. This is a once popular euphemism cleverly disguised as innocent enthusiasm to fix their dream home. from MovieDetails

52. These dog breeds:

In Up (2009), Dug is the only dog to successfully track down the Tropical Bird because he is the only Hunting Dog (Golden Retriever). All the others are Guard Dog breeds. from MovieDetails

53. These developing buildings:

In "Up" (2009) the town buildings develop over the years from MovieDetails

54. Remy's reasoning:

In Ratatouille (2007), the reason Remy suddenly makes Linguine kiss Colette when he was about to reveal his secret was because he saw this couple's fight getting resolved with a kiss earlier in the movie when he ran through the insides of Paris from MovieDetails

55. These windmills and nuclear plants:

In the opening scene of WALL-E (2008) there are wind turbines and nuclear plants built on top of trash mounds to imply that mankind didn't convert to clean energy until it was too late from MovieDetails

56. And lastly, the shapes of these character's belongings:

In Up (2009), Carl physically and everything related to him is drawn square-shaped. In contrast, Ellie physically and everything related to her is drawn circle-shaped. These small details reflects on their personalities, where Carl is rigid and stable, while Ellie is fluid and energetic. from MovieDetails