In its animation and storytelling, Pixar has always been a cut above the rest.
1. Al says, "Don't touch my mustache," when he gets off the phone with a Japanese toy museum in Toy Story 2 (1999). This is a mispronunciation of Dōitashimashite (どういたしまして), which means "you're welcome" in Japanese.
2. In Soul (2020), you can see a travel poster for Portorosso, the town featured in Luca (2021).
3. In Up (2009), the other dogs cannot track Kevin because they are guarding breeds (English Bulldog, Doberman Pinscher, Rottweiler). Dug is able to find the bird because he's the only hunting dog (Golden Retriever).
4. The Moorish idol is a fish that is notoriously difficult to keep in captivity. So when the filmmakers of Finding Nemo (2003) needed Gill to be a fish that would escape at all costs, they knew exactly which species to make him.
5. Unicorns are usually shown as majestic, elegant creatures, but that's not the case in Onward (2020). They are aggressive and untamed, which actually matches the original myths about the creature.
6. Cruz Ramirez plays some music to help train one of the newer cars in Cars 3 (2017). Turns out the car comes from Santa Cecilia, where Coco (2017) takes place. When we get a glimpse of the screen, there is even a scene from the movie.
7. Abuelita is based on a real-life Abuelita in Coco (2017), especially when it comes to her neck.
8. Even though he passed away in 2017, Don Rickles still voices Mr. Potato Head in Toy Story 4 (2019) thanks to some clever editing.
9. Bruce cries in Finding Nemo (2003), stating that he never knew his father. In nature, shark fathers immediately leave their pups, leaving the mothers to nurse the embryos.
10. In Incredibles 2 (2018), the painting in Helen's hotel room is an abstract representation of her separation from the rest of the Parrs.
11. In Soul (2020), a soul is assigned the number 108,210,121,415. This roughly matches the amount of people that have ever lived, according to the Population Reference Bureau.
12. Obviously, there's a lot of rats in Ratatouille (2007). Pixar kept rats as pets for over a year so that the animators could study their movements, fur, and behavior.
13. Forrest Woodbush from The Good Dinosaur (2015) makes an appearance in Inside Out (2015).
14. The Burger Shire in Onward (2020) shows a sign that says "Now serving 2nd breakfast," a reference to Pippin's hunger pains in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001).
15. The carpet in Sid's house in Toy Story (1995) matches another (and perhaps the only) famous movie carpet pattern. The colors are slightly different, but the style is identical to the carpet in The Shining (1980).
16. The first 20 minutes of WALL-E (2008) feature no dialogue. To study visual storytelling, director Andrew Stanton and his team watched every film and short of Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin.
17. Mr. Incredible's first suit was blue and Elastigirl's was red in The Incredibles (2004). It only makes sense that they named their daughter Violet.
18. In Cars (2006), the animators paid perfect attention to the way different types of vehicles drive over various terrain.
19. A familiar face (or snout) appears in Ratatouille (2007). Recognize that pooch? It's Dug, from Up (2009)!
20. It happens in high school, college, work, and it happens at Pixar: corrupted files.
21. In Cars (2006), not only are the cars cars, but the canyons are cars, too.
