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Did you catch all of these? Join us as we count down the greatest film Easter eggs and hidden details ever put to screen! Our countdown includes the Wilhelm Scream, Hidden Mickeys, R2-D2 and C-3PO in "Raiders of the Lost Ark," the Lone Pine Mall in "Back to the Future," and more! Which hidden detail blew your mind the most? Let us know in the comments!
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00:06Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the greatest
00:11film easter eggs and hidden details of all time.
00:22Number 20. The Collector's Collection, Guardians of the Galaxy.
00:26Tanelir Tivan, better known as The Collector, scoured the cosmos for items and species both
00:31rare and unusual.
00:33Oh my dear Gamora, how wonderful to me in the flesh.
00:38This meant that the collection was a veritable treasure trove of easter eggs referencing
00:42the long history of Marvel Comics and films, including the adorable Cosmo the Space Dog.
00:47Even more notable was Howard the Duck, a comic character who had starred in his own ill-fated
00:52movie, here voiced by Seth Green.
00:54What do you let it lick you like that for?
00:58Gross.
01:02Of course, creatures from other MCU films like A Chitauri and A Dark Elf appeared, but nods
01:07also to director James Gunn's past works with the slugs from his film Slither were also visible.
01:12Even real history got a shout-out as a NASA spacesuit from the 1990s was on display.
01:17The remnants of these systems were forged into concentrated ingots.
01:23Number 19. The Xenomorph Skull, Predator 2.
01:27When the time came to design the trophy wall of the Yautja, the titular aliens in the Predator
01:32franchise, legendary effects artist Stan Winston had a bit of fun.
01:36Among the skulls of vanquished foes adorning the trophy wall was one familiar to fans of another
01:41film franchise about killer aliens hunting humans.
01:50The elongated skull of a Xenomorph, the terrifying and mindless monsters from the Alien films,
01:55was among the prizes.
01:56Cluing those in the know as to just how tough these hunters were.
02:05As Fox owned both franchises, it was a perfect crossover, and one that had already been done
02:11in comic form, linking, for better or worse, both alien species.
02:21Number 18. Batman vs. Superman Billboard, I Am Legend.
02:26In a rare example of an easter egg for a film that had yet to be released, I Am Legend
02:31has
02:31a blink-and-you'll-miss-it reference to Batman vs. Superman, almost 10 years before the superhero
02:36film would come out.
02:37You don't understand.
02:40There's no time.
02:43I understand.
02:48Seeing as how I Am Legend was set in the not-too-distant post-apocalyptic future, in the
02:53desolate Manhattan, one of the remnants of the old world is a large billboard featuring
02:57logos for both the Man of Steel and the Caped Crusader.
03:07The inclusion was actually referencing an earlier, never-to-be-realized version of BVS.
03:12A shout-out from Batman Forever and Batman & Robin screenwriter Akiva Goldman, who also
03:17just so happened to write, I Am Legend.
03:20Seven million.
03:24Never leave the cave without it.
03:25Number 17. Vitamin D, The Truman Show.
03:28Living a controlled life down to the most minute detail, Truman Burbank's world is a reality
03:33show, spending his entire life on a massive soundstage that he believes to be real.
03:38Why don't you let me fix you some of this new mo-cocoa drink? All natural cocoa beans from
03:42the upper slopes of Mount Nicaragua, no artificial sweeteners.
03:46What the hell are you talking about?
03:49Who are you talking to?
03:51I've tasted other cocos. This is the best.
03:54That artifice extends to the sun Truman sees when he looks into the sky.
03:58It's actually a massive artificial light in the massive dome that served as the show's set.
04:02Of course, this meant Truman had no natural source of vitamin D, but it seems that too
04:07was being controlled.
04:19Eagle-eyed fans could spot that with his daily breakfast, Truman also took large doses of
04:24vitamin D capsules. They really did think of everything.
04:28In case I don't see you, good afternoon, good evening, and good night.
04:35Number 16. Duke's Officially Licensed Movies, Zootopia.
04:40Referencing his oft-mispronounced Frozen character, the Duke of Weselton, frequent Disney
04:44voice actor Alan Tudyk played a literal weasel named Duke Weaselton.
04:48Oh, I have a message from the queen. Arendelle will henceforth and forever no longer do business
04:54of any sort with Weaseltown.
04:59However, Frozen was not the only film from Disney Animation's recent history that was
05:04referenced. Running an illegal bootleg DVD business with a name that isn't fooling
05:08anyone, we get a chance to see what Disney films would look like in the world of Zootopia.
05:12Make me an offer! Come on!
05:14These include Wreck-It Rhino, Pig Hero 6, Wrangled, and Meowwana. Duke even has a few
05:20pirated DVDs for movies that haven't even come out yet, including Floatsen 2, referencing
05:25the yet-to-be-released Frozen 2, and Giraffic, an easter egg for the ultimately cancelled film
05:31Gigantic.
05:32What were you gonna do with those night howlers, Weaselton?
05:34It's Weaselton. Duke Weaselton.
05:36Number 15. Pac-Man. Tron.
05:39When Tron was released in the 1980s, the medium of video games was brand new, and the film
05:44embraced the emerging cultural phenomenon.
05:56The digital world created for the film was a technical marvel for the time, featuring
06:01bright and colorful characters with groundbreaking effects, but it was also a love letter to
06:05the arcade games of the time.
06:06One way the film paid tribute to video games was by featuring a cheeky cameo by what was
06:11arguably the era's most famous game, and the first character to become an icon in his
06:16own right. Pac-Man.
06:22On a display grid, the unmistakable yellow circle and the dots he chomped were displayed,
06:28along with sounds anyone who spent any time in an arcade would instantly recognize.
06:33Send out every game tank in the grid!
06:35Get there!
06:41Over the course of Lost's six-season run, there were countless easter eggs and hidden references
06:46to the show's complex mythology. One of the most recurring easter eggs was the logo for
06:51the mysterious Dharma Initiative, which had conducted experiments on the island decades
06:55earlier.
07:05However, their influence wasn't solely restricted to the island. When Lost writer Drew Goddard got
07:11the opportunity to write his first film, he slipped in the Dharma logo for a split second
07:15at the opening of the film.
07:23Given that Cloverfield saw Goddard re-team with J.J. Abrams' production company Bad Robot,
07:28who also worked on Lost, it is no surprise the shady organization got a sneaky cameo in some
07:34government footage.
07:35We're going to need to watch that again.
07:38Number 13. Scars Pelt. Hercules.
07:41Although Disney's Hercules is hardly a faithful adaptation of the ancient Greek myth,
07:45there are a number of ways in which the film honors those tales.
07:49Among these is Hercules' defeat of the Nemean Lion, one of his 12 labors. In the myth,
07:55Hercules dons the lion's pelt as armor. Here, he merely wears it while his likeness is painted
08:00on a vase.
08:00Phil, what's the point?
08:05But this being a Disney film that came out just a few years after the massive success of
08:10The Lion King, the animators made the pelt bear a resemblance to that film's antagonist.
08:14You want to go to Olympus, don't you?
08:16Yeah, but this stuff doesn't seem to be getting me anywhere.
08:20You can't give up now, I'm counting on you.
08:23Fittingly, the pelt looked identical to the villainous Scar, becoming, just as Zazu predicted,
08:29a throw rug.
08:30What am I going to do with him?
08:32He'd make a very handsome throw rug.
08:34Zazu.
08:34Number 12. Starbucks Cups. Fight Club.
08:37A harsh critique of consumerism and status obsession, Fight Club consistently took jabs
08:43at big-name brands throughout its runtime.
08:45Even the Rizlampa wire lamps of environmentally friendly, unbleached paper.
08:49I'd flip through catalogs and wonder, what kind of dining set defines me as a person?
08:55This was done in ways sometimes in your face and impossible not to notice, while at others
09:00it was subtle and even subconscious.
09:02This was perhaps most evident with Starbucks Coffee Cups, which, according to David Fincher,
09:07were present in almost every scene of the film.
09:09This chick, Marla Singer, did not have testicular cancer.
09:14She was a liar.
09:16While some were obvious, in other scenes, finding the cup was much more difficult, subtly
09:20hidden by the notoriously meticulous and detail-oriented Fincher.
09:24Just as in real life, it's almost impossible to go long while watching the film without
09:28seeing a cup of Starbucks Coffee, whether you're looking for them or not.
09:32Here's your flight coupons.
09:33Call me from the road if there's any snags.
09:35He was full of pep.
09:36Must have had his grande latte enema.
09:39Number 11.
09:40Forboding Oranges.
09:41The Godfather franchise.
09:43The quintessential gangster franchise is unsurprisingly filled with plenty of death
09:47and tragedy, but often accompanying these catastrophes are a splash of color in the form
09:52of citrus.
09:52Initially meant to brighten up a drab set, Oranges can be spotted just before disaster
09:57strikes or a betrayal takes place at several points in The Godfather and its sequels.
10:09Oranges litter the street during an assassination attempt on Don Vito's life, and he's playfully
10:14eating one when he meets his end.
10:21The traitorous Tessio holds one at Michael's wedding, as does Johnny Ola in Part 2.
10:26Whether they're foreshadowing a horse head in a bed, an ambush, or Michael's ultimate
10:31end, you can be sure that if you see an orange, something bad is coming.
10:48Pixar is well known for putting easter eggs into their films, referencing the studio's
10:53past and occasionally even their future.
10:55Almost every Pixar film features A113 in some way, a call-out to the classroom where animators
11:01and graphic designers studied at CalArts.
11:09However, their most repeated and recognizable easter egg is a reference to their first film,
11:14the Pizza Planet delivery truck from Toy Story.
11:20It would crop back up, parked next to a trailer in both A Bug's Life and Monsters, Inc., appear
11:25as a sentient version of itself in the Cars franchise, and in the post-apocalyptic wasteland
11:30in WALL-E, just to name a few.
11:37It was even a wood carving in Brave, and a Carnies tattoo in Toy Story 4.
11:47A major plot point in the third Harry Potter involved the young wizard using the Marauder's
11:52map, a magical item that allowed him to see the location of anyone in Hogwarts.
12:05Fans of the books were delighted to see the map represented beautifully on film, with footprints
12:10showing characters making their way from one place to another, even through secret passageways.
12:21Naturally, when the closing credits rolled, they were styled like the map, with the familiar
12:26footprints dancing across the screen.
12:28As the credits scrolled up, however, two pairs of footprints appeared together in a somewhat
12:32compromising position.
12:40One pair wedged firmly between another in a corner, it was clear that the two people represented
12:45were in a very close embrace.
12:47Number 8.
12:48X.
12:49The Departed.
12:50As the film's title implied, many of the characters in The Departed were destined not to survive
12:55to the end.
12:56In fact, a particular Easter egg marked them for death, with director Martin Scorsese placing
13:01exes in frame with doomed characters.
13:03Besides, something just came off the building.
13:06Always one to pay tribute to the classic films that inspired him.
13:10Characters being marked for death by an ex is a callback to 1932's Scarface.
13:27Pieces of architecture, beams of light, tape on the wall, graffiti, a crossed-out name,
13:33and a delete key all spell certain doom.
13:36Innocuous at first, the marks are impossible to miss once you know they're there.
13:42I am killing you.
13:44Number 7.
13:45Hitchcock's Cameos.
13:46Alfred Hitchcock Films.
13:48If legendary director Alfred Hitchcock was known for anything, it was for being a master
13:53of suspense, and for cameoing in his own films.
13:56Starting as a simple extra in the background, going back to the days he was making silent
14:00films, ultimately he would appear in 40 of his own movies.
14:06Later in his career, his roles were even more noticeable, often appearing at thematically
14:11important moments, leading to him being one of the era's most recognizable directors.
14:17Some of his most memorable cameos include missing a bus in North by Northwest, being spied
14:23on in Rear Window, and walking his own dogs in The Birds.
14:31Number 6.
14:32E.T.
14:33Star Wars Episode I, The Phantom Menace.
14:35Being lifelong friends and collaborators who each directed some of the best science fiction
14:40films of all time, it's no wonder that Steven Spielberg and George Lucas referenced each
14:44other's works.
14:54A few years after the little green Jedi Yoda appeared in Lucas' The Empire Strikes Back,
14:59the titular alien in Spielberg's E.T. sees a child wearing a Yoda mask on Halloween and
15:04seems to recognize him.
15:11When Lucas' first Star Wars prequel was released, we learned why.
15:16Among the many alien races present at the Galactic Congress was a trio of short creatures with
15:21long heads, unmistakably the same race as E.T.
15:25Order!
15:27Now they will elect a new chancellor.
15:30Number 5.
15:31Sid's Carpet.
15:32Toy Story.
15:32Perhaps one of the most unexpected easter eggs, and therefore one that eluded many viewers,
15:37especially its core demographic, was a Toy Story reference to Stanley Kubrick's The Shining.
15:42Appropriately enough, it appears while Woody and Buzz are trapped in their own existential
15:47nightmare at Sid's house.
15:48There's no place like home.
15:49There's no place like home.
15:51There's no place like home.
15:53A distinct hexagonal red and orange pattern appears on the carpet, a dead ringer for the
15:57same carpet Danny rode his big wheel over in the Overlook Hotel in a famous scene with
16:01impossible geography.
16:08That easter egg, and many more that reference The Shining across Pixar's filmography, have
16:13been attributed to Lee Unkrich, Toy Story's editor and eventual Toy Story 3 director.
16:18Yee-haw!
16:20Get up!
16:21I'm not!
16:22We got to get this wagon trying to move!
16:27Split up!
16:32Number 4.
16:33The Lone Pine Mall.
16:35Back to the Future.
16:36When Doc Brown decided to test his time machine, he did so at the Twin Pines Mall, land that
16:41was once a farm owned by old man Peabody.
16:44Although he would never see his dream of breeding pine trees realized, the mall bore the name
16:48of the two pines that once stood on Peabody's land.
16:54Einstein!
16:55Hey, Einstein, where's the dot, boy?
16:57When Marty went back in time, he ran right into those pines, literally in fact, hitting
17:02one tree and leaving just one standing as he drove off.
17:06I'm wild!
17:10When Marty arrived back in his own time near the end of the film, much had changed, and
17:14one of the more subtle nods at what Marty had altered was visible when Marty returned
17:18to the mall, now called the Lone Pine Mall.
17:29Number 3.
17:30R2-D2 and C-3PO.
17:32Raiders of the Lost Ark.
17:34After making Star Wars, George Lucas teamed up with his good buddy Steven Spielberg to
17:38make a different kind of throwback to 1930s serials.
17:49However, Harrison Ford taking on the lead role wasn't the only connection to a galaxy
17:54far, far away.
17:55During the iconic Well of Souls scene, Indiana Jones recovers the Lost Ark hidden in a chamber
18:00in the lost Egyptian city of Tannis, but among the hieroglyphics is one that is a bit
18:05out of place.
18:13On the wall, the unmistakable likenesses of droids R2-D2 and C-3PO are engraved on a block
18:19of stone.
18:27Number 2.
18:29Hidden Mickeys.
18:30Disney Films.
18:31Despite consisting of just three circles, the silhouette of Mickey Mouse's head has become
18:35one of the most recognizable images in the world, doubling as a logo for the Disney brand.
18:40Theme park enthusiasts have long known to keep their eyes peeled for the iconic hidden visage
18:44on attractions and around the parks.
18:47However, long before Disneyland ever opened, animators were putting hidden Mickeys into Disney
18:51films, going all the way back to their first feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
18:59In the ensuing decades, countless hidden Mickeys have been inserted into films.
19:14And while many are three circular objects forming the distinct shape, Mickey himself has even
19:20appeared a handful of times, including on wristwatches and under the sea.
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19:42If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.
19:48Number 1.
19:49The Wilhelm Scream.
19:50Various.
19:51First used in the 1951 western Distant Drums and named after a character in 1953's The Charge
19:57at Feather River, The Wilhelm Scream quickly became a stock sound for a character in anguish
20:02or falling to their doom.
20:09It appeared in dozens of films over the next few decades, eventually becoming a calling
20:14card for legendary sound designer Ben Burtt.
20:17It would go on to become an in-joke for sound designers who gleefully inserted it into everything
20:21from Batman Returns to The Lord of the Rings and even Juno.
20:30It's gained a reputation far beyond just sound designers, as The Recognizable Scream has become
20:35a part of cinematic history, showing up in hundreds of films.
20:42Which easter eggs have you found in movies?
20:44Let us know in the comments.
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