Top 10 Small Details You Didn't Notice in Animated Movies

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The animators behind these small details knew what they were doing. For this list, we’ll be looking at the most notable easter eggs, clever references, and other nuanced details from our favorite animated flicks.

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00:00 "Come on guys, every Christmas and birthday we go through this."
00:03 Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the top 10 small details
00:08 you didn't notice in animated movies.
00:22 For this list, we'll be looking at the most notable easter eggs, clever references, and
00:26 other nuanced details from our favorite animated flicks.
00:30 Some plot points will be discussed, so here is your spoiler warning.
00:34 Did you spot any of these?
00:36 Or did you see something that didn't make our list?
00:38 Let us know in the comments.
00:41 Number 10.
00:42 Alex's Pa Birthmark - Madagascar Escape to Africa
00:46 In the second installment of this franchise, we get a little more insight into Alex's origins.
00:51 "You see this mark?
00:54 You and me are the same.
00:56 And when you're bigger, you're gonna be an alpha lion just like your daddy."
00:59 But we still can't talk about that without tearing up.
01:02 The film also introduces us to Alex's birthmark, which becomes pivotal to the storyline when
01:07 he's reunited with his pride and parents later on.
01:10 "Alec-ay, is that?"
01:13 "No, it's Alex.
01:15 X.
01:16 Like New York Knicks."
01:17 "Zuba!
01:18 Look!"
01:19 In fact, his dad Zuba has the very same mark in the exact same spot.
01:24 As you might recall, this movie is called Escape to Africa, and now we know that Alex
01:28 is from a nature reserve somewhere on the continent.
01:31 "She's come home."
01:33 "What?"
01:34 "You come home."
01:37 "Whoa."
01:38 But did you notice that his and Zuba's birthmarks resemble the shape of Africa as seen on a
01:46 map?
01:47 Number 9.
01:48 Links to Other Animated Movies - Missing Link
01:51 Despite its funny and heartwarming narrative and a Best Animated Feature Oscar nomination,
01:56 this movie largely flew under the radar.
01:58 "What did you just do?"
01:59 "Uh, what do you mean I threw the rope over the wall?"
02:00 "I didn't mean all of it."
02:01 "Well, you never said that.
02:02 I'm very literal."
02:03 "No, you don't say."
02:04 "No, I do say.
02:05 I just said that right then.
02:06 Aren't you listening?"
02:07 In it, we're introduced to Sir Lionel Frost and Adelina Fortnight, who assist Sasquatch
02:16 Mr. Link on a journey to locate some family.
02:19 Let's rewind.
02:20 Before going to see the Society of Great Men, Sir Lionel rummages through drawers to
02:24 find his model of a Sasquatch footprint.
02:27 "I am truly the real deal, and I…
02:30 I believe you are too."
02:37 We're focusing on the contents of the drawer below the one with said item in it.
02:44 See the sketch of a box troll from the eponymous movie, the storybook from Paranorman, and
02:49 a nod to Kubo and the Two Strings?
02:51 In case you're wondering what the missing link is, Laika Studio has production credits
02:56 on all of these projects.
02:58 "Can you tell?
02:59 Ha ha!
03:00 The game is afoot!"
03:01 "Ha ha!
03:02 Afoot!
03:03 It's a…
03:04 Hmm.
03:05 Right.
03:06 Ahem."
03:07 There are so many Easter eggs hidden throughout this franchise that we're probably still
03:14 not done finding them all.
03:16 However, we spotted a nod to Home Improvement, which starred Buzz voice actor Tim Allen in
03:21 Sid's bedroom.
03:22 "Today we get to mess with a Binford 60-pound upright electric jackhammer.
03:26 You know, Al, they say that breaking up is hard to do.
03:29 Evidently, Neil Sedak never played one of these bad boys."
03:32 Similarly, in Toy Story 3, we see Buzz's batteries are manufactured by By and Large,
03:38 a name you might know from WALL-E. But going back to the first movie, remember that scene
03:42 where Woody briefs the toys on, well, toy matters?
03:46 "Tuesday night's plastic corrosion awareness meeting was, I think, a big success, and we
03:52 want to thank Mr. Spell for putting that on for us.
03:55 Thank you, Mr. Spell."
03:56 "You're welcome."
03:57 Did you ever stop and look at the names of the books behind him?
04:01 Many are titles of Pixar shorts.
04:03 Incidentally, bits of tin toy can be seen in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment in Toy
04:07 Story 2.
04:08 "Keep looking."
04:09 "Oh, you're going too slow.
04:10 Let me take the wheel."
04:11 "It's too fast!
04:12 How could he even tell what's on?"
04:13 "I can tell."
04:14 "Thank you, Mr. Spell."
04:15 Number 7.
04:16 A shout-out to Steve Jobs.
04:20 Coco.
04:21 You probably knew the late Steve Jobs as the co-founder, CEO, and chairman of Apple.
04:26 "So it is with considerable pride that I introduce a man who's been like a father to me, Steve
04:35 Jobs."
04:36 But did you know that he was also one of Pixar's key players?
04:40 He was even an executive producer on Toy Story.
04:43 "You gotta believe me.
04:46 Yee-haw!
04:47 That you got a friend in me."
04:50 Sadly, Jobs passed away in 2011, but you can see a sweet nod to the tech genius in 2017's
04:56 Coco.
04:57 Check out this computer in the Land of the Dead.
04:59 "Sorry, senora, it says here no one put up your photo."
05:02 "My family always, always puts my photo on the ofrenda.
05:07 Devil box tells you nothing but lies."
05:11 If you're old enough to remember Apple's original Macintosh design, it'll probably give you
05:16 some major flashbacks.
05:18 Likewise, 2016's The Angry Birds Movie, based on the popular App Game, also finds a humorous
05:24 way to memorialize the inventor.
05:26 Number 6.
05:27 Gingy's Scars, Shrek franchise.
05:30 During Shrek's early production, there were apparently some disagreements over where to
05:34 draw the line in making a film aimed at kids equally appealing to adults.
05:38 "Not my gumdrop buttons!"
05:40 "Alright then, who's hiding them?"
05:43 "Okay, I'll tell you.
05:45 Do you know the Muffin Man?"
05:47 "The Muffin Man?"
05:48 "The Muffin Man!"
05:50 DreamWorks head honcho Jeffrey Katzenberg reportedly thought Guns N' Roses' tunes and mature humor
05:55 were a step too far.
05:57 Yet, a scene depicting Gingerbread Man being intimidated, with his legs broken, doesn't
06:02 cross the line?
06:03 "Run, run, run as fast as you can.
06:06 You can't catch me.
06:07 I'm the Gingerbread Man!"
06:09 "You're a monster!"
06:11 Of course, Gingy's legs are eventually repaired, but this leaves physical marks on him that
06:16 bring a whole new meaning to "icing" the wound.
06:19 It's kind of bittersweet.
06:20 Sure, he can move again, but he's literally walking proof of the traumatic event throughout
06:25 the subsequent films.
06:26 "Gingy!"
06:27 "Papa!"
06:28 "Sit down now!"
06:31 We'll never look at Gingerbread Man the same way again.
06:37 Number 5.
06:38 Historically Accurate Chewing Gum - The Road to El Dorado
06:42 This film gave us so many treasures, from its highly quotable dialogue to a pretty epic
06:47 soundtrack.
06:50 However, it also seemingly contains a historically accurate detail you may have yet to spot.
07:03 In this scene, Miguel and Tulio play ball against some locals.
07:07 You might have observed that before they begin, one of their opponents is chewing gum.
07:11 This could be "chickle," a natural gum that grows on trees native to the Americas.
07:16 "The main work with these people is extraction of the chewing gum.
07:20 They have done it for generations.
07:22 In fact, for the Mayan people, "chicle," it means to chew."
07:27 Apparently, the Maya and Aztecs chewed it to keep hunger at bay, so maybe it was nearing
07:31 dinner time?
07:32 It reportedly also served similar purposes as toothpaste and mouthwash.
07:37 So perhaps this man was just being considerate of his fellow players.
07:40 Either way, this attention to detail is pretty golden.
07:49 Number 4.
07:50 Esmeralda's Biblical Dress Meaning - The Hunchback of Notre Dame
07:54 During her performance at the Festival of Fools, Esmeralda dons a red and purple outfit.
08:13 Some have pointed out that this might be a reference to Babylon the Great, a symbolic
08:17 biblical figure and outcast depicted as the opposite of what the church is said to represent.
08:22 We also see Esmeralda's first clash with Judge Frollo during this scene.
08:26 Indeed, the two couldn't be more polar opposites.
08:32 Later, during Hellfire, Frollo repeatedly protests that he bears no blame for his sinful
08:46 thoughts about Esmeralda.
08:48 But if you listen closely, you'll hear the accompanying choir singing "Mea culpa," which
08:53 can be translated as "Through my fault."
09:05 Well well, Judge Frollo, ratted out by the chorus.
09:08 Number 3.
09:10 Carl Becomes a Square - Up Few Pixar scenes melt our hearts like Carl
09:14 and Ellie's meet-cute.
09:29 Fewer still have us sobbing harder than the montage, which ends with Carl becoming a widower.
09:34 So it makes sense that since our vision was so blurred by our non-stop tears, we missed
09:38 how the round-faced kid we first met turned into a square-headed adult.
09:54 According to the movie's creative team, this was a deliberate choice.
09:58 His head shape represents his rigid and boxed-in lifestyle.
10:01 Meanwhile, rounder features indicate more openness.
10:18 This pattern is also seen in the picture frames around Carl and Ellie's home.
10:22 A good place to spot it is when he takes the chairlift down the stairs.
10:26 Number 2.
10:27 The Princess Songs - Ralph Breaks the Internet
10:29 Including Disney's princesses and heroines in the Wreck-It Ralph sequel was a stroke
10:34 of genius.
10:35 It's non-stop easter eggs and hilarious references, from when Vanellope first meets them to when
10:40 they save Ralph during the film's climax.
10:55 Speaking of the rescue scene, did you hear the medley of iconic songs that accompany
10:59 the action?
11:00 "Ariel," for instance, swims to part of your world.
11:03 You can also hear "Someday My Prince Will Come" from Snow White, "Colors of the Wind"
11:07 from Pocahontas, "Down in New Orleans" from The Princess and the Frog, and more.
11:25 We won't deny you the fun of listening out the rest for yourself.
11:37 Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
11:41 Genie writes "From right to left," "Aladdin."
11:44 We're told Agrabah is somewhere near the Jordan River, so, naturally, Genie writes in his
11:49 native Arabic.
11:58 A halfway heads up, "Hercules."
12:01 Hades delivers a meta-comment roughly halfway into the story.
12:11 Roddy Wolverine, "Fleshed Away."
12:13 We wonder if, like voice actor Hugh Jackman's Wolverine, Roddy's costume comes with retractable
12:18 claws.
12:29 The Statue of Liberty's Color, "An American Tale."
12:32 The green monument we know today is a result of oxidation.
12:35 The statue was originally copper.
12:50 The Car Mountains, "Cars."
12:52 Ever notice how the mountains in Ornament Valley look a lot like a group of classic
12:56 cars?
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13:25 The Pied Presidents, "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs."
13:28 Flint Lockwood realizes he's bitten off more than he can chew when his food-making contraption
13:33 goes haywire.
13:43 It isn't long until the residents of Swallow Falls are dodging giant bagels, running from
13:47 a humongous cob of corn, and more.
13:50 Even world-famous landmarks aren't safe.
14:04 In one shot, we see pies hit the Mount Rushmore presidents in the face, but there's an exception.
14:10 Abraham Lincoln, he's hit from behind.
14:13 If you know your American history, you'll know just how morbid this reference is.
14:20 But if you still don't get it, we suggest you go read up about Ol' Abe.
14:24 We'll just leave you with this food for thought.
14:38 [music]
14:46 [Music]