43 Brilliant Beyond Brilliant Movie Details From The 2000s That'll Change The Way You Watch These Flicks

Robert's secretary in Enchanted is played by Ariel from The Little Mermaid (1989).

Hot Topic

🔥 Full coverage and conversation on Disney

As a millennial, one of my favorite things to do is rewatch legendary 2000s movies that truly defined my childhood. The most exciting part of these rewatches, you ask? Discovering a whole bunch of tiny and impressive details I never noticed as a kiddo.

Disney

Here are some movies from the 2000s that were brilliant beyond brilliant, via Reddit.

Warning: Movie spoilers ahead! 🚨

1. _The Emperor's New Groove _(2000)

In The Emperors New Groove (2000), baby Kuzco has a toy llama, a toy parrot, and a toy whale. Later on in the movie, he turns into all of these animals. from MovieDetails

2. _The Dark Knight _(2008)

During the bank robbery scene in 'The Dark Knight' (2008), each of the Joker's goons is referred to by a codename, most of them taken from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." The Joker's codename is never said on screen, but if you have the captions on you'll learn it's Bozo. from MovieDetails

Hot Topic

Obsessed with all things Disney? Join our fan community where you'll find hot topic discussions, quizzes, movie news, and more!

See our Disney Discussions

3. _Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind _(2004)

In Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) using Clementine's (Kate Winslet) hair color, viewers can keep track of what phase of the relationship they are watching: green for first meeting, red for the fantasy scenes, orange for affairs, and blue for their re-acquaintance. from MovieDetails

4. _The Curious Case of Benjamin Button _(2008)

In The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008), Mrs. Maple's gravestone is blank (no name, birth, or death date). This is because earlier in the movie Benjamin said he couldn't remember her exact name or much about her. I just noticed this upon a re-watch. from MovieDetails

5. _The Incredibles _(2004)

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

6. _Men in Black II _(2002)

In Men in Black 2 (2002), Trey Smith and Jaden Smith appear in the chase scene. from MovieDetails

7. _The Hangover _(2009)

In The Hangover (2009) during blackjack Alan splits a pair of 5's, which is widely seen as a bad move. The dealer announces this move so that the pit boss can hear, as it's an unusual play which hints that Alan is counting cards. from MovieDetails

8. _Die Another Day _(2002)

In Die Another Day (2002), Bond visits the "Rubyeon Royale" Hotel. This a meta reference for the franchise; "Ruby" for the 40th anniversary of the series, EON is the name of the company that produces the movies, and Royale for Casino Royale, the first Bond book. from MovieDetails

9. _The Devil Wears Prada _(2006)

At the conclusion of “The Devil Wears Prada” Andy frees herself of the self-imposed prison of Miranda’s life. She later spots Miranda who looks like a prisoner of her lifestyle while in a limo. from MovieDetails

10. _Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End _(2007)

In POTC: At World's End (2007), you can see a hidden mickey on Sao Feng's sea chart. from MovieDetails

11. _Shark Tale _(2004)

In Shark Tale (2004), when Oscar tries to sing the Bob Marley song "Three Little Birds", Ernie zaps him telling him "That's not the way you sing that song mon." Ernie is voiced by Ziggy Marley, Bob's son. from MovieDetails

12. _Enchanted _(2007)

In Enchanted (2007), Robert's secretary is played by Jodie Benson, the voice actress for Ariel from The Little Mermaid (1989). from MovieDetails

13. _Up _(2009)

In Up (2009), Russell has a badge that is a burger with a candle in it. This is a reference to Merritt Bakery in Oakland, CA, which makes burger cakes. from MovieDetails

14. _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory _(2005)

In Charlie and The Chocolate Factory (2005), Charlie’s father works at the Smilex toothpaste factory. Smylex was the name of the poisonous gas created by The Joker in Batman (1989), also directed by Tim Burton. from MovieDetails

15. _The Simpsons Movie _(2007)

In The Simpsons Movie (2007), you can still see Homer's crashed ambulance from season 2 of the show from MovieDetails

16. _The Cat in the Hat _(2003)

In Cat in the Hat (2003), a newspaper that the Cat is holding in one scene has an article about a 72-hour "Raver's Partython". Later in the movie, they actually end up at the rave from MovieDetails

17. _Signs _(2002)

Early on in Signs (2002), a TV showing a scene from Dexter’s Laboratory foreshadows the events at the end of the film - A monster is repeatedly hit on the head with a stick and then Dexter is dunked head first into water. from MovieDetails

18. _Casino Royale _(2006)

In Casino Royale (2006), one of the poker players is played by actress Tsai Chin. She had played a minor Bond girl in You Only Live Twice (1967). from MovieDetails

19. _Cast Away _(2000)

Cast Away (2000) On the plane ride home, Chuck is offered a Dr. Pepper, and is told that at his funeral people put Elvis Presley CDs in his coffin; which are the favorite drink and music of Forest Gump. A previous Robert Zemeckis/Tom Hanks project. from MovieDetails

20. _The Princess Diaries _(2001)

In The Princess Diaries (2001) Mia breaks her glass at a dinner party and a waiter reassures her “It happens all the time.” In Pretty Woman (1990) a waiter played by the same actor says the exact same line to Vivian after she flings a snail across the room. Both films are directed by Garry Marshall. from MovieDetails

21. _Ratatouille _(2007)

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

22. _Kung Fu Panda _(2008)

In Kung Fu Panda (2008), when Shifu and Tai Lung first saw the blank Dragon Scroll, they had the same initial reactions: looking at it sideways and folding it and opening it again. Like father, like son. from MovieDetails

23. _Coraline _(2009)

In Coraline (2009), the face on the dollar bill is Henry Selick, the director of the movie. from MovieDetails

24. _Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince _(2009)

In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009), Child Tom Riddle has 7 rocks on the windowsill in his bedroom, foreshadowing the 7 horcruxes. from MovieDetails

25. _Meet the Parents _(2000)

In Meet the Parents (2000) Jack says to Greg that he is a patient man and "That's what 19 months in a Vietnamese prison camp will do to you." a nod to his character in The Deer Hunter (1978) who also spent time in a Vietnamese prison camp. from MovieDetails

26. _Jennifer's Body _(2009)

In "Jennifer's Body" (2009), Jennifer's doodles in her notebook makes multiple references to the actor Adam Brody, who plays the lead singer of Low Shoulder. from MovieDetails

27. _Brick _(2005)

The captioning for Rian Johnson's debut move "Brick" (2005) reveals the bad word that Laura whispers inaudibly to Brendan at the conclusion of the movie. from MovieDetails

28. _Howl's Moving Castle _(2004)

In Howl's Moving Castle (2004), near the end in a sequence where Sophie met Howl in the past, he says, "Find me in the future!" In the beginning, when Howl first meets Sophie, he says, "I was looking everywhere for you". from MovieDetails

29. _I, Robot _(2004)

In "I, Robot" (2004), Sonny is not in lock-step with the other robots as he's being escorted, which subtly sets him apart as unique even during the most mundane actions. from MovieDetails

30. _Scream 3 _(2000)

In Scream 3 (2000), Jenny McCarthy’s character complains to the director of the fake movie ‘Stab 3’ that she is in only two scenes. Jenny McCarthy is only in two scenes in Scream 3 from MovieDetails

31. _The Core _(2003)

The Core (2003) Aaron Eckhart misses his cue to move when the ship crashed. Everyone but him moves. You can see him get upset. from MovieDetails

32. _Over the Hedge _(2006)

During the end credits of Over the Hedge (2006), various characters are shown looking at or displaying different panels from the original comic strip from which the movie was adapted. from MovieDetails

33. _Meet the Robinsons _(2007)

In Meet the Robinsons (2007), you can see posters for Toy Story 2 and The Jungle Book at the baseball field. from MovieDetails

34. _Elf _(2003)

In Elf (2003) the Gimbel’s manager has a “Wanda” name tag. The filmmakers hired Wanda Sykes for the role but she dropped out at the last minute. When Faizon Love came on for his scenes he chose to wear Wanda’s nametag. from MovieDetails

35. _Around the World in 80 Days _(2004)

In Disney's Around the World in 80 Days (2003), Richard Branson (owner of Virgin Airlines) makes an appearance as a Hot Air Balloon operator. He was actually the first person to attempt to fly around the world in a balloon. from MovieDetails

36. _Finding Nemo _(2003)

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

37. _Mamma Mia! _(2008)

In the Mamma Mia Movies (2008 & 2018), Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson from ABBA have cameos in both movies. from MovieDetails

38. _Monsters vs. Aliens _(2009)

In Monsters Vs Aliens (2009), you can see Madagascar (2005) on one of the screens in Tokyo. It's showing Marty the Zebra. from MovieDetails

39. _Flushed Away _(2006)

“Flushed Away” 2006: When Roddy dances to Billy Idols “Dancing with myself” at the beginning, he presses play on the boom box on Track 2. Dancing with myself was track 2 on Vital Idol 1985. from MovieDetails

40. _The Princess and the Frog _(2009)

In The Princess and the Frog (2009), one of the fireflies is named "Cousin Randy". He is actually voiced by composer Randy Newman, who also created the music for the movie. from MovieDetails

41. _Mr. & Mrs. Smith _(2005)

Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005) Brad Pitt interrogates Adam Brody who is wearing a fight club t-shirt. Brad Pitt starred in Fight Club (1999). from MovieDetails

42. _Watchmen _(2009)

In Watchmen (2009), Hollis Mason has a copy of the original Watchmen graphic novel in his apartment. Notice the distinct yellow lettering. from MovieDetails

43. And _American Psycho _(2000)

In American Psycho(2000) When Patrick Bateman(Bale) Is Rushing Out Of The Dry Cleaners His Mask Of Sanity Drops For A Few Seconds Showing His Cold Emotionless Face from MovieDetails

You can check out more brilliant movie details from r/MovieDetails here.

Hot Topic

🔥 Full coverage and conversation on Disney