Films are generally a collaborative effort between all sorts of creative folks, script writers, directors, actors, set designers, costume, prop and makeup artists and really everything else. Naturally, a good film will have a lot of hidden details left by these creatives. This is even more true in animation where really anything is possible.
We’ve gathered posts about cool and interesting details in animated movies from across the internet. So get comfortable as you scroll through, upvote your favorites and be sure to share your own ideas and examples in the comments section below.
#1 In Big Hero 6 (2014), This Happens:
Image credits: reddit.com
#2 Moana Writers Play A Joke On The Rock’s Nickname
Image credits: Dill_P1
#3 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
Image credits: EveFluff
Before Marvel started doing it, Pixar was famous for leaving in fake “bloopers” during the credits of their films. Many children, myself included, truly believed that, somehow, the animation simply followed the voice actors messing up their lines. This, of course, made really no sense, as often these would feature visual gags that would literally have to be animated in.
This “feature” was introduced in the 1998's film "A Bug’s Life," where the characters would literally play pranks on each other during the credits, mirroring the on set antics of various non-animated movies.
#4 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
Image credits: JohnnyCharles
#5 Brad Bird Was In Part Inspired To Make This Movie (The Iron Giant 1999) As A Memorial To His Sister Susan, Who Died At The Hands Of Her Husband By Gun Violence
His Pitch Was This: "What If A Gun Had A Soul And Didn't Want To Be A Gun?"
Image credits: xXDazzieXx
#6 Mulan (1998) Only Has Musical Numbers For The First Half, Until The Characters Find The Destroyed Village
From There On Songs Were Avoided Because The Tone Was Meant To Be Darker
Image credits: reddit.com
The head of Pixar at the time, John Lasseter, stated that he wanted this idea to help differentiate Pixar films Disney animation. “We picked shots and the characters from the film so that it had the feel that it was actually part of the film” he told the Las Vegas Sun. Pixar has not included this detail since 2001s “Monsters Inc,” unfortunately.
#7 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
Image credits: StatusLoquat8
#8 In Frozen(2013) The Duke Of Weselton Is Mistakenly Called Weaseltown. In Zootopia(2016) Duke Weaselton Is Mistakenly Called Weselton. Both Were Voiced By Alan Tudyk
Image credits: Walstib82
#9 In Spider Man: Into The Spider-Verse, When Miles Morales Electrocutes Peter B. Parker, It Illuminates His Nervous System Instead Of The Usual Cartoon Trope Of His Skeleton. Being Much More Scientifically Accurate
Image credits: PJMcKrafty
#10 Disney's "Lilo & Stitch" (2002) Used Watercolor Backgrounds, Exclusively. The Studio Had Some Financial Failures And Was Doing Ambitious Things Elsewhere, So They Left The Filmmakers To Their Own Devices, Off At The Florida Studio. The Only Other Watercolor Films Are Dumbo And Snow White
Image credits: 1ightsaber
#11 In Asterix Conquers Rome (1976): Asterix Shows Obelix That They Are In The Fourth Floor By Forming A Roman Iv With His Fingers Instead Of Just Holding Up 4 Fingers
Image credits: WhenThereIsCookies
#12 In The 2012 Stop-Motion Animated Film Paranorman The Popular High School Quarterback, When Asked Out By The Typical Popular Girl, Reveals He’s Gay
Making Him The First Queer Character In A Children’s Animated Movie
Image credits: IsMisePrinceton
#13 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
Image credits: reddit.com
#14 In "Up" (2009) The Town Buildings Develop Over The Years
Image credits: Eve_Tiston
#15 In The Incredibles 2, The Painting In Helen’s Hotel Room Is An Illustration Of Her Seperation From The Family
Image credits: Justsoinsane
#16 In Monsters Inc (2001), Boo Tries To Give Sully A Nemo Doll. Finding Nemo Wouldn’t Come Out Until 2003
Image credits: Numerous-Lemon
#17 In An American Tail (1986), The Colour Of The Statue Of Liberty Is Historically Accurate
As The Film Is Set In 1885, The Year The Statue Was Completed, It Still Has Its Bright Copper Colouring. It Was Only After 1900 That The Statue Turned Green Due To Oxidisation
Image credits: Tokyono
#18 Chicha From The Emperor’s New Groove (2000) Is The First Pregnant Female Character To Appear In A Disney Animated Feature Film, According To The Dvd Commentary
She’s Also One Of The First Mother Characters In A Disney Film Not To Be Killed Off Or Villainized
Image credits: _Raines_
#19 Kid Notices Something That Most Of Us Wouldn't Have: Up(2009), Cars 2 (2011)
Image credits: saintwithataint
#20 In “Toy Story 4,” Mr Potato Head Is Voiced Posthumously By Don Rickles (Who Passed Away In 2017)
The Pixar Team Mined Through More Than Two Decades Of Rickles’ Voice Sessions, Outtakes For Other Films, Theme Parks, Toys,... etc. To Piece Together The Performance
Image credits: reddit.com
#21 In The LEGO Movie (2014) Benny The Spaceman Has A Broken Helmet. This Used To Happen To The Original LEGO Pieces. Picture Of My 80s Spaceman To The Right
Image credits: whiteridge
#22 In Lilo & Stitch (2002), The Man Who Sells Shaved Ice Is Named Luki. He Was Named After My Nickname When I Was A Kid, Lukie. My Dad Worked As A Background Artist On The Movie
And He Added My Name As A Joke, And It Stuck. The Second Image Is His Other Work, He Lost The Og Piece With Lukie
Image credits: luke2377
#23 In The Pixar Logo After The Credits Of Wall-E, Wall-E Replaces Luxo Jr.’s Lightbulb With An Environmental Friendly Bulb After His “Round” Bulb Goes Out
Image credits: xXFirefryXx
#24 The Developers Of Shrek (2001) Took Mud Showers To Study “Fluid Dynamic Simulation” For The Movie
The Art Director Also Took A Trip To A Magnolia Plantation To Learn How To Properly Render Shrek’s Swamp. He Was Chased By An Alligator
Image credits: Numerous-Lemon
#25 Sid, From Ice Age, Makes A Cameo Appeareance In The Movie Robots (2005)
Image credits: imnotakpopfan
#26 Disney's 1940 Animated Film Fantasia Shows The Dinosaurs Dying Off As The Result Of An Intense Drought. The Theory Of Mass Extinction As The Result Of An Astroid Strike Wasn't Proposed Until 1980
Image credits: hezzyb
#27 In Flushed Away, The Main Character Roddy (Played By Hugh Jackman) Pulls Out Wolverine's Suit While Deciding What To Wear
Image credits: BobBee12345
#28 In Zootopia (2016), Mr Big, The Mafia Boss, Is An Arctic Shrew. Director Roy Moore Made This Choice Because “The Arctic Shrew Is The Most Vicious Predator On Earth”
Arctic Shrews Eat Three Times Their Own Body Weight And Even Eat Other Shrews
Image credits: Numerous-Lemon
#29 Miyazaki Adds To All His Films, Including “Spirited Away” (2002), Quiet Little Scenes Of Inaction, Called ‘Ma’, Where The Character Just Glances Into The Horizon And Reflects, As A Way To Have A Breathing Room Amid Constant Action (Citation Inside)
Image credits: abaganoush
#30 In Tangled(2010) Mother Gothel Says “I Love You The Most”, While Kissing Rapunzel's Hair Instead Of Her Forehead
Image credits: wonkaass
#31 In Zootopia (2016), Bellwether Is Wearing A Little Bell. In Real Life, A Bellwether Is The Leading Sheep Of A Flock, With A Bell Around Its Neck To Help Direct The Other Sheep
Image credits: Russian_Bagel
#32 In 'The Little Mermaid' (1989) When King Triton Is Introduced, You Can See Mickey, Donald, Goofy And Kermit The Frog In The Crowd, Underwater
Image credits: Film Easter Eggs & Details
#33 Finding Nemo (2003) Has A Mr. Incredible Comic One Year Before The Incredibles Came Out
Image credits: TheIndigoCrafter
#34 In The Little Mermaid (1989), You Can See The King And His Advisor From Cinderella (1950) At The Wedding
Image credits: Numerous-Lemon
#35 After Cars (2006) Lost Out On The Oscar For Best Animated Movie To Happy Feet (2006), Which Utilized Motion Capture
Pixar Placed A "Quality Assurance Guarantee" At The End Of Their Next Movie Ratatouille (2007) To Remind The Academy They Animate Every Single Frame Of Their Movies Manually
Image credits: JonathanAllen19
#36 In Spirited Away (2001), The Radish Spirit Rides Past His Floor So That Chihiro Doesn't Have To Travel Through The Bathhouse Alone
Image credits: readarchvillain
#37 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
Image credits: Gonsi_1Kenobi
#38 In Coraline (2009) The Crew Spent 800 Hours Painting 250,000 Pieces Of Popcorn—pink On The Outside, Red On The Kernel—to Stand In As Blossoms For The Nearly 70 Trees
Image credits: StatusLoquat8
#39 In Incredibles 2 (2018), Elastigirl’s New Super Suit Is Designed By Devtech. Her Suit Is The Only One To Be Damaged, Indicating Edna Mode’s Superior Designing Ability
Image credits: cocarroll14
#40 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"
Image credits: John-Coffey-
#41 In Big Hero 6 (2014), Mochi The Cat Is Dressed As Stitch, From Lilo And Stitch (2002)
Image credits: Numerous-Lemon
#42 In The Movie Lilo And Stitch, You See That Nani Was A Surfing Star, But Dropped Everything When Her Parents Died To Take Care Of Lilo
Image credits: alexiarmiller
#43 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
Image credits: Kyle102997
#44 In Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001), Preston Whitmore Has An Aquarium With Coelacanths, A Living Fossil Fish That Was Thought To Be Extinct Until 1938. 24 Years After The Film’s Setting Of 1914
Image credits: FenGreWolf
#45 In The Simpsons Movie (2007), You Can Still See Homer's Crashed Ambulance From Season 2 Of The Show
Image credits: wilymon
#46 In Toy Story 4 (2019), A Closer Look At Buzz Lightyear Shows That His Stickers Are Slowly Starting To Peel Away
Image credits: kklkktlg
#47 In The Original Lion King (1994), Rafiki Only Recognises Simba's Scent On The Wind After Eating A Baobob Fruit
The Taste Triggering The Memory Of Anointing Simba With The Same Fruit As A Lion Cub At The Beginning Of The Film
Image credits: Orichalcon
#48 In 'Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse' (2023), An Inverted Version Of Nike’s 'Just Do It.' Slogan Can Be Seen
Image credits: FilmEasterEggs
#49 In Inside Out, The Pizza Toppings Were Changed From Broccolis To Bell Peppers In Japan, Since Kids In Japan Don’t Like Bell Peppers. Pixar Localised The Joke
Image credits: BaxterBuckworthy
#50 In Coco (2017), A Skeleton Is Wearing Sid's Shirt From Toy Story (1995)
Image credits: Numerous-Lemon
