54 Details From Animated Films You've Probably Never Noticed Before, Even If They're In Your Fave Movie

I aspire to be as detail-oriented as the animators of the world.

Disney / Courtesy Everett Collection

1. Two characters from _Cinderella _took time out of their busy schedules to attend a wedding in an entirely different movie.

In The Little Mermaid (1989), you can see the king and his advisor from Cinderella (1950) at the wedding. from MovieDetails

2. The Little Mermaid's King Triton gets a Mardi Gras tribute in The Princess and the Frog.

In The Princess and the Frog (2009) King Triton from the Little Mermaid (1989) appears as a parade float at Mardi Gras. from MovieDetails

3. Dr. Facilier's shadow transforms the pattern of the wallpaper it touches into skulls. 

The Princess and the Frog: Dr. Facilier's shadow reveals skulls on the wallpaper in his shop. from MovieDetails

4. Just in case you were wondering if Gaston actually died after he fell off the castle in _Beauty and the Beast, _the animators added little skulls to his pupils. 

In Beauty and the Beast (1991), you can see little skulls in his eyes as he falls to his death. from MovieDetails

5. The streets of Paris in_ The Hunchback of Notre Dame _feature multiple Disney cameos, including the carpet from Aladdin, Belle from Beauty and the Beast, and an animal on a spit that may or may not be The Lion King's Pumbaa. (If it is, RIP.)

In The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) a man can be seen shaking out the magic carpet from Aladdin, Belle from Beauty and the Beast walking down the street reading a book and a warthog that resembles Pumbaa from The Lion King being carried on a spit. from MovieDetails

6. The Beast makes a cameo appearance in Aladdin as one of the Sultan's beloved toys. 

In Aladdin, when the Sultan is stacking animals, he sneaks The Beast on to one of the levels. from MovieDetails

7. Here's a detail that makes The Hunchback of Notre Dame even darker than it already is: While Claude Frollo sings, "It's not my fault," in "Hellfire," the monks in the background sing, "Mea culpa," a phrase that basically means, "It is my fault."

During the song “Hellfire” in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Frollo sings the lyric “It’s not my fault” repeatedly. However the monks providing the backing vocals immediately respond with the Latin “mea culpa” which literally means ‘through my fault’ and as a phrase means an admission of guilt. from MovieDetails

8. A very brief moment in Hercules references the death of the mythic Greek hero Jason, leader of the Argonauts, who died when the mast of his ship hit him on the head.

In Hercules (1997) when Hercules first walks into Phil's cabin he hits his head on the mast of the Argo. In the original myth, Jason, the captain of the Argo, was killed when the mast hit his head. from MovieDetails

9. Scar is a rug by the time Hercules rolls around.

Disney follows through: In Lion King Zazu exclaims that Scar “would make a very handsome throw rug”. This is later fulfilled in Disney’s Hercules movie from MovieDetails

10. In Hercules, Hades quietly breaks the fourth wall and reassures both his minions and the audience that they're only at the halfway point of the movie.

In "Hercules" (1997) Hades says "Guys, relax. It's only half-time" exactly at the 46-minute mark, the halfway point of the 92-minute movie from MovieDetails

11. Nani from Lilo and Stitch is a big fan of Mulan.

Mulan (1998) reference in Lilo and Stitch (2002). from MovieDetails

12. When Nani signs Stitch's adoption papers, she's actually signing a thoughtful thank you to those who helped make Lilo and Stitch, including "the artists, production management team, and overhead departments."

In Lilo & Stitch (2002) Stitch’s adoption paper Nani signs is actually a thank you letter from the directors and producer to the people who helped create the film from MovieDetails

13. Mother Gothel tells Rapunzel's hair, and not Rapunzel herself, that she loves it the most. 

In Tangled(2010) Mother Gothel says “I love you the most” , while kissing Rapunzel's HAIR instead of her forehead. from MovieDetails

14. Prince Hans did enough damage in the Frozen universe that he's wanted by the police in the_ Big Hero 6_ one. 

In Big Hero Six (2014), Hans from Frozen can be seen on the “Most Wanted” board at the police station. from MovieDetails

15. Zootopia's Nick Wilde held onto the handkerchief from his uniform for the Junior Ranger Scouts.

In Zootopia, Nick's handkerchief was part of his Scout uniform from when he was a cub from MovieDetails

16. Nick admits to having been arrested on his application to become a police officer, then thinks better of it, scratches out his answer, and checks, "No."

In Zootopia, Nick first answers "yes" when asked if he's ever been arrested, and then crosses over it. from MovieDetails

17. Moana's Tamatoa got ahold of Genie's lamp from Aladdin. 

In Moana (2016), Tamatoa may have had help collecting all of his treasures... he has the Genie’s lamp from Aladdin. from MovieDetails

18. _Frozen 2 _shouts out Hans Christian Andersen ("some new Danish author"), author of many of the fairy tales Disney has adapted, including The Little Mermaid and The Snow Queen, which was the inspiration for the Frozen movies.

In Frozen 2 (2019), when Elsa is walking through the memories of the past, she sees her parents as youth. Her mother asks what her father is reading, he says “Just some new Danish author”, implying Hans Christian Andersen. The cover of the book features a silhouette of the Little Mermaid. from MovieDetails

Pixar / Courtesy Everett Collection

19. Everyone in the Pixar extended universe orders Chinese takeout from the same place.

The same Chinese take out boxes can be seen in A Bug's Life, Ratatouille, and Inside Out from MovieDetails

20. Boo offers Sulley a toy Nemo in Monsters, Inc., which was released two years before Finding Nemo.

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

21. Little Mikey, Mike Wazowski’s beloved teddy bear, is prominently displayed in his dorm room in Monsters University.

In Monsters University (2013), Mike Wazowski’s stuffed teddy bear Little Mikey, which he humorously didn’t want Boo to touch in Monsters Inc. (2001), is shown sitting on his dorm room shelf. from MovieDetails

22. Incrediboy has a thrifty solution to a mask that doesn't cover his entire face in The Incredibles.

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

23. Four of the supers killed by their own capes make an appearance at Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl's wedding, prior to their sartorial demises. Presumably, they're not sitting next to Edna because if they were, she would've told them to drop the capes.

In The Incredibles (2004) At Helen and Bob Parr's wedding in the second row are four of the Superheroes Edna later says died because of their capes. Thunderhead, Stratogayle, Meta Man, and Dynaguy. from MovieDetails

24. Ratatouille's Linguini is a big enough fan of The Incredibles to wear underwear patterned with its logo.

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

25. Here's something bleak as hell: The humans in Wall-E tried to avert catastrophic climate change...after they'd already covered the Earth in piles of garbage.

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

26. Pixar's 1988 short film Tin Toy (only their third short ever) is playing on TV while Hamm is channel surfing in Toy Story 2.

In Toy Story 2, when the pig starts flipping through the channels super fast, most of the channels show shots from Tin Toy (including this famously creepy baby), one of the original Pixar shorts. from MovieDetails

27. Buzz Lightyear's batteries are produced by Buy n Large, a company that is heavily featured in Wall-E.

In Toy Story 3 (2010), the batteries that Buzz Lightyear uses is made by "Buy N Large", the same company that made Wall - E. from MovieDetails

28. Carl and Ellie from Up apparently know Andy from Toy Story well enough to send him a postcard.

In Toy Story 3 (2010) there is a postcard from Carl and Ellie from Up (2009) in Andys room from MovieDetails

29. In _Toy Story 4, _Buzz Lightyear is starting to show signs of age in one of the few ways a hunk of plastic can.

In Toy Story 4 (2019), a closer look at Buzz Lightyear shows that his stickers are slowly starting to peel away. from MovieDetails

30. By the time Inside Out is set, Colette from Ratatouille has become enough of a celebrity chef to be featured on a magazine cover.

In Inside Out (2015), you can see Collette from Ratatouille (2007) on a magazine cover. from MovieDetails

31. Sid's shirt (or perhaps Sid himself) makes an appearance in Coco. 

In Coco (2017), a skeleton is wearing Sid's shirt from Toy Story (1995). from MovieDetails

32. The numbers assigned to the souls in Soul approximately line up with estimates about how many human beings have ever existed.

In Soul (2020), the first soul assigned is number 108,210,121,415. This lines up with the current estimate from the Population Reference Bureau (PRB), which estimates that more than 108 billion humans have existed on earth. from MovieDetails

33. A poster in _Soul _advertises Portorosso, the setting of Luca. 

In Soul (2020), you can see a travel poster for "Portorosso". This is the main setting for Pixar's next movie "Luca". from MovieDetails

Dreamworks / Courtesy Everett Collection

34. Two Egyptian guards from The Prince of Egypt abandon their weapons and join the freed slaves on their exodus. 

In Prince of Egypt (1998), two Egyptian guards are seen throwing their weapons down as the Jews Exodus. Later, they can be seen in the crowd, having joined them. from MovieDetails

35. The dragon from Shrek channels some _Ratatouille _energy in its lair. 

In Shrek (2001) the dragon has a cookbook that includes “choice cuts” and the diagram of a knight chopped up. from MovieDetails

36. In Shrek 2, the Gingerbread Man carries the scars from Lord Farquaad's interrogation in the first film, which is a chilling bit of continuity.

In (Shrek 2, 2004) the gingerbread man has stitches on his legs since lord Farquaad broke them of in the first movie from MovieDetails

37. A character in Monsters vs. Aliens pays homage to a fellow DreamWorks property and wears a pin shaped like Shrek (on the left-hand side of his jacket, above the blue stripe).

[Monsters Vs Aliens] General W.R. Monger wears a Shrek pin. from MovieDetails

38. The stylish neck accessories adorning each Chicken Run character are designed to keep audiences from remembering that they're watching puppets.

In "Chicken Run" every character has something around their neck-- usually a scarf or necklace-- to hide the seam of the models' detachable heads. from MovieDetails

39. A photograph of Wallace and Gromit in Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit reveals that Gromit got his education at a very prestigious institution.

In Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Gromit graduated from Dogwarts. from MovieDetails

40. _Rise of the Guardians references the Spanish-speaking world's version of the tooth fairy myth: El Ratoncito Pérez. _

In Rise of the Guardians (2012), the tooth fairy identifies a mouse as a member of the “European division” of the tooth fairies. This mouse is “Ratoncito Perez”, a character from a Spanish children's book. In the Spanish dub of the movie, it is even called "Pérez". from MovieDetails

41. Astrid gives Hiccup a new look in How to Train Your Dragon 2, and he keeps it for the entire movie. There's a chance that he just forgot about it, but I'm going to take this at its (adorable) face value.

In How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014) Astrid braids Hiccup's hair nonchalantly. At the end of the film the braids are still there. from MovieDetails

42. _Madagascar _leans on the fourth wall with a blink-and-you'll-miss-it reference to a screenplay's three-act structure.

In Madagascar (2005), the cargo ship the animals are shipped on during the film's second act is called the SS Act II, as seen by the patch on the captain's sweater. from MovieDetails

43. According to The Road to El Dorado, DreamWorks has been around for way longer than we thought. 

In The Road To El Dorado, when Tzekel-Khan is flipping through his ritual book, an Aztec/Mayan version of the Dreamworks logo can be seen on one of the pages. from MovieDetails

Laika / Courtesy Everett Collection

44. Coraline features a van with pro-stop-motion animation graffiti. 

In Coraline (2009) there is graffiti on the back of the moving van that says StopMo Rulz. Coraline ended up being the longest running stop-motion animation film to date. from MovieDetails

45. Mr. Bobinsky was apparently recognized by the Soviet Union for his services relating to the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. 

In "Coraline", the character of Mr. Bobinsky wears a medal awarded to the Liquidators of the Chernobyl Disaster from MovieDetails

46. In a terrifying detail, the Other Mother's cute oven mitt is repurposed for the worst possible purpose later in the film.

In Coraline, the oven mitt the Other Mother uses on their first encounter is later used to sew Wybie's mouth shut from MovieDetails

47. _ParaNorman _gives a shoutout to Cujo, Stephen King's 1981 novel (and its 1983 movie adaptation of the same name) about a rabid dog.

In Paranorman (2012), a vending machine is selling “Cujohs”, a direct reference to Cujo (1983). It even has a dog as a logo. from MovieDetails

48. Following Kubo's defeat of the Moon King in Kubo and the Two Strings, the moon itself is less impressive than it was at the beginning of their battle. 

In Kubo and The Two Strings, when Kubo faces The Moon King, the moon is full. After, the moon is crescent. from MovieDetails

49. A drawer seen in the 2019 film Missing Link contains references to ParaNorman, Kubo and the Two Strings, and The Boxtrolls.

In “Missing Link” (2019) Sir Lionel Frost looks through drawers for a big foot print. One drawer contains a drawing of a box troll, the monkey toy from Kubo, and the fairy tale book from Paranorman. Laika extended universe confirmed 😄 from MovieDetails

Studio Ghibli / Courtesy Everett Collection

50. Kiki's cat, Jiji, makes a cameo appearance on a pillow in Spirited Away.

In Spirited Away (2001) Jiji from Kiki's Delivery Service (1989) is visible on a pillow in Boh's room. from MovieDetails

51. Howl's clothing gets torn after he suddenly grows wings in Howl's Moving Castle.

Howl's Moving Castle (2004): During his encounter with Madame Suleiman, Howl is turned partially into a bird. Afterwards, his clothes are torn where wings sprouted from his back. from MovieDetails

52. The first thing Howl says to Sophie in the film is explained by a moment that occurs way later on, when Sophie encounters Howl's past self and tells him to "find me in the future." 

In Howl's Moving Castle (2004), Sophie towards the end of the movie tells a young Howl from the past “I know how to help you now. Find me in the future." When we first encounter Howl at the beginning he tells Sophie "There you are, sweetheart. Sorry I'm late. I was looking everywhere for you." from MovieDetails

53. _Ponyo _takes a second to acknowledge the physiological differences between its two protagonists. 

In Ponyo (2008) Sōsuke’s nose has oxygen coming out since he is a human. But Ponyo, who can breathe underwater does not. from MovieDetails

54. And finally: A _Spirited Away _duck can be spotted in Ponyo.

In Ponyo (2008), a plush toy of one of the ducks from Spirited Away (2001) appears on a shelf at the senior center where Lisa works. from MovieDetails

As always, thanks to the fine folks at r/MovieDetails for being some of the most observant people on the internet.