Easter eggs are always exciting finds, but some movies keep them so well hidden that they aren’t discovered for many years. Filmmakers often put Easter eggs in their movies as a bonus for audiences who are more observant, often because they are passionate enough to watch a movie many times. They can either be references to other movies, small signatures from the director, or hidden details that add to the story.
These days, people can find comprehensive lists of the Easter eggs in a movie online just a few days after it hits theaters. This makes it even more exciting when somebody discovers a hidden reference that has been lying in plain sight for years. The most dedicated fans have been able to sniff out secret details in movies long after other people have moved on and forgotten all about them.
Related 10 Obscure References In Movies That Go Over Most People’s Heads (But Are Awesome)
References in films aren’t always obvious after the first watch. However, once they are understood, it can make the movie all the more enjoyable.
10 The Potato Asteroid
Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back 10
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Director Irvin Kershner Release Date June 18, 1980 Cast Mark Hamill , Harrison Ford , Carrie Fisher , Frank Oz , Billy Dee Williams , Anthony Daniels , Kenny Baker , David Prowse , Peter Mayhew , James Earl Jones
Each Star Wars movie has been analyzed frame-by-frame for decades, and some of the franchise’s Easter eggs are loved by millions of fans. The reference to E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial in the senate and the blue milk in Andor are two of the most famous examples, but not all Star Wars Easter eggs get spotted so quickly. Some stay hidden for years, even with so many fans scrutinizing each movie.
This is a fun detail, but it’s also a reminder of how the original trilogy had to use practical effects in creative ways.
During the Millennium Falcon’s escape in The Empire Strikes Back, Han pilots the ship through a dense asteroid field with some strangely-shaped obstacles. One of the asteroids that narrowly misses the Falcon is actually a potato, while another is a tennis shoe. This is a fun detail, but it’s also a reminder of how the original trilogy had to use practical effects in creative ways.
9 Groot’s Biblical Symbolism
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
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Guardians of the Galaxy 7
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Director James Gunn Release Date July 30, 2014 Cast Zoe Saldana , Karen Gillan , Vin Diesel , Michael Rooker , Djimon Hounsou , Lee Pace , Benicio Del Toro , Glenn Close , Dave Bautista , Chris Pratt2 , Bradley Cooper , John C. Reilly
Plenty of superhero movies use religious imagery to paint their heroes as saviors with supernatural powers. Often, this is extremely obvious, but there are also some more obscure examples. James Gunn had to reveal the Easter egg that he put in Guardians of the Galaxy years later after nobody pointed it out to him. In the film’s emotional climax, Groot sacrifices himself to save his friends. When he does so, he stretches his arms out beside him like Jesus on the cross.
James Gunn had to reveal the Easter egg that he put in
Guardians of the Galaxy
years later after nobody pointed it out to him.
It makes sense that not many people picked up on this reference, since Groot’s body position is so natural in context that it doesn’t seem odd. There are more parallels to the Bible in Groot’s story, though. After his sacrifice, he is resurrected, albeit as a small twig dancing in a pot. Also, the top of his head resembles a crown. Gunn was raised in a Catholic family, so it’s no wonder that he uses religious imagery in Guardians of the Galaxy.
8 Binford Tools
Toy Story (1995)
Toy Story 2
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Director John Lasseter Release Date November 22, 1995 Cast Tom Hanks , Don Rickles , Annie Potts , Tim Allen , Jim Varney
Pixar’s first movie was a huge success in 1995, and it contains a subtle reference to one of Tim Allen’s other famous roles. Allen voices Buzz Lightyear in all four Toy Story movies, but during the 1990s he was most well-known as the star of Home Improvement. Toy Story references the sitcom by showing a toolbox with the brand “Binford Tools,” the company that Allen’s character works for in Home Improvement.
Allen voices Buzz Lightyear in all four
Toy Story
movies, but during the 1990s he was most well-known as the star of Home Improvement
Pixar has plenty of Easter eggs, many of which are common knowledge among fans. Pixar fans are always on the lookout for the Pizza Planet truck, the Luxo ball, and the code “A113” whenever a new movie is released. Pixar also likes to use Easter eggs to hint at upcoming movies in the early stages of development. Even before certain projects are announced to the public, there may be some background detail that teases them, like how Boo has a Finding Nemo toy in Monsters Inc.
7 White Robes Product Placement
The Truman Show (1998)
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The Truman Show 2
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Director Peter Weir , peter Release Date June 5, 1998 Cast Ed Harris , Natascha McElhone , Laura Linney , Jim Carrey , Noah Emmerich
The Truman Show has layers of meaning packed into every shot, and there are some details that have taken fans years to spot. The Truman Show plays with the idea of product placement in Truman’s life in a few ways, either with characters shoehorning brand names into conversations or with Truman being pushed up against an advertising board so the show’s producers can get the perfect shot.
The Truman Show
has layers of meaning packed into every shot, and there are some details that have taken fans years to spot.
One of the less obvious ways that The Truman Show uses the idea of product placement has to do with the “costumes” of the characters in Truman’s life. Meryl is seen wearing a white robe with a subtle floral pattern at one point, and this same robe is seen being worn by a viewer later in the movie. This suggests that everything on-screen in the TV show is for sale, or that companies have paid to have their products featured. This highlights just how commercialized Truman’s false reality is.
6 Quentin Tarantino’s Simpsons Reference
Kill Bill Volume 1 (2003)
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Kill Bill 0
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Director Quentin Tarantino Release Date October 10, 2003 Cast David Carradine , Michael Madsen , Uma Thurman , Daryl Hannah , Lucy Liu , Vivica A. Fox
Quentin Tarantino’s movies are often packed with references to the classics, as the director prides himself on his extensive knowledge of film history. Kill Bill Volume 1 may contain a reference to The Simpsons, which in turn references Tarantino himself. When the Bride fights Vernita Green in her home, Green surprises her by pulling a gun out of a cereal box. This is oddly reminiscent of a Simpsons episode which pokes fun at Tarantino.
Kill Bill Volume 1
may contain a reference to
The Simpsons,
which in turn references Tarantino himself.
In The Simpsons season 8, episode 13, “Simpsoncalifragililsticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious,” the Simpson family watch an Itchy and Scratchy cartoon that parodies Reservoir Dogs. Tarantino then appears on-screen, although not played by himself, to explain the message of the cartoon. He states that violence is everywhere in society, “even in breakfast cereals.” This could be a coincidence, but Tarantino wore a T-shirt with the image of his Simpsons character while doing press for Kill Bill Volume 2, suggesting that he knew exactly what he was doing.
5 Queen Diana
Back to the Future Part II (1989)
Back to the Future Part II 1
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Director Robert Zemeckis Release Date November 22, 1989 Cast Lea Thompson , Elisabeth Shue , Christopher Lloyd , Michael J. Fox , Thomas F. Wilson
Back to the Future Part II packs in plenty of gags when Marty first travels to the future. The movie’s vision of 2015 includes some predictions about what the world might look like. Some of these are supposed to be tongue-in-cheek, like the cinema showing Jaws 19, but some of Back to the Future Part II’s predictions were more sensible, as if the writers were genuinely trying to guess what could happen in 2015.
Back to the Future Part II
packs in plenty of gags when Marty first travels to the future. The movie’s vision of 2015 includes some predictions about what the world might look like.
One tiny detail shows that the movie predicted that by 2015, Britain’s Princess Diana would have become Queen Diana. Of course, not only did Princess Diana leave the royal family before her death, but Queen Elizabeth II was still on the throne in 2015. This prediction appears in a headline of the newspaper Marty reads to try and figure out what decade he has found himself in.
4 Wizards Getting Intimate On The Marauder’s Map
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban 3
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Director Alfonso Cuarón Release Date May 31, 2004 Cast Gary Oldman , David Thewlis , Daniel Radcliffe , Emma Watson , Rupert Grint , Robbie Coltrane , Timothy Spall , Maggie Smith , Michael Gambon , Richard Griffiths , Fiona Shaw , Alan Rickman
One great way to hide an Easter egg is to put it in a movie’s end credits. Audiences might have already walked out of the theater by the time that Alfonso Cuarón snuck a dirty joke into Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, an otherwise kid-friendly movie. The credits roll over footage of the Marauder’s Map, an enchanted map which shows the holder the movements of everyone walking around Hogwarts.
Audiences might have already walked out of the theater by the time that Alfonso Cuarón snuck a dirty joke into
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
Hidden in a corner of the Marauders Map, there are two pairs of footprints awfully close together in a suggestive position. This is the kind of subtle joke that could easily go over the heads of any children who did manage to spot it, and it took a long time before people started to notice it. Cuarón’s influence was a key factor in transitioning the Harry Potter franchise from the charming children’s entertainment of the first two movies toward a slightly darker and more mature style, but this joke is still surprisingly adult-oriented.
3 HAL Cheats At Chess
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
2001: A Space Odyssey 4
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Director Stanley Kubrick Release Date April 3, 1968 Cast Keir Dullea , Gary Lockwood , William Sylvester , Daniel Richter , Leonard Rossiter , Margaret Tyzack
During Frank and Dave’s long journey aboard the Discovery One, Frank passes the time with a game of chess against the ship’s artificially intelligent computer. HAL’s victory is an important moment in the narrative, as it could be the moment that HAL decides Frank is no longer fit for duty. The game may appear random, but it actually follows the pattern of a real-life contest from 1910.
The game may appear random, but it actually follows the pattern of a real-life contest from 1910.
2001: A Space Odyssey copies the movements of Roesch vs. Willi Schlage, but HAL makes a notational mistake. HAL convinces Frank that he cannot win, or rather, Frank is manipulated into reaching that conclusion himself. This could suggest that HAL is already malfunctioning in some way. A more sinister interpretation could be that HAL intentionally makes an error to test Frank. When Frank doesn’t notice the error and resigns himself to defeat, HAL decides that he must be eliminated.
2 Morse Code Trickery
King Kong (2005)
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King Kong 4
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Director Peter Jackson Release Date December 14, 2005 Cast Naomi Watts , Jack Black , Adrien Brody , Thomas Kretschmann , Colin Hanks , Andy Serkis , Kyle Chandler
Remaking King Kong was an extremely ambitious project for Peter Jackson to take on after the success of his Lord of the Rings trilogy, but his passion for cinema shines through. King Kong had to face up to the legacy of the revolutionary 1933 original, but this isn’t the only classic movie that Jackson pays tribute to. He also includes a sneaky tribute to the Tom Cruise movie Jerry Maguire.
King Kong
had to face up to the legacy of the revolutionary 1933 original, but this isn’t the only classic movie that Jackson pays tribute to.
The most famous quote from Jerry Maguire is “Show me the money,” and Jackson puts a humorous spin on this in King Kong. As the ship nears Skull Island, it receives a message in Morse Code. This supposedly says that there is a warrant out for Carl Denham’s arrest. Anyone who understands Morse Code can recognize the true meaning of the message is “Show me the monkey,” which is apt since Kong is introduced shortly after.
1 The Map Of Dune
Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
Moonrise Kingdom 2
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Director Wes Anderson Release Date June 21, 2012 Cast Bill Murray , Kara Hayward , Bruce Willis , Jason Schwartzman , Edward Norton
Wes Anderson is famous for exercising full artistic control over every tiny detail in his movies, and he likes to leave Easter eggs for his most observant fans. One of these has only recently been uncovered after 12 years. In Anderson’s coming-of-age love story Moonrise Kingdom, Suzy is frequently seen reading sci-fi and fantasy novels. None of the novels are real, but one of them has a map from Frank Herbert’s Dune on the back cover.
Wes Anderson is famous for exercising full artistic control over every tiny detail in his movies, and he likes to leave Easter eggs for his most observant fans.
The Moonrise Kingdom Easter egg has gone unnoticed for over a decade, but it’s appropriate that it has been discovered now, with the success of Denis Villeneueve’s Dune saga. It’s also serendipitous that Anderson’s latest movie, Asteroid City, has elements of sci-fi. It’s likely that new Easter eggs will keep being found in Anderson’s movies for years to come.