'Coco': You won't believe all the Disney-Pixar Easter eggs hidden in plain sight
As Coco arrives in theaters, droves of Disney-Pixar fans are swelling multiplexes in search of the studio’s most famous Easter eggs, notably the Pizza Planet truck, the Luxo ball, and “A113,” along with nods to past and future animated films. But fans don’t have to leave their homes to see most of these — in fact, many of Pixar’s most common hidden objects can be found in trailers and clips released before Coco opened. Here’s a sampling:
Luxo ball
In March, Disney released Dante’s Lunch, a short sequence from Coco introducing Dante the dog. The native Xoloitzcuintli tears through town chasing a bone that we learn belongs to the film’s trickster, Hector (voiced by Gael García Bernal). Along the way, he smashes into several stalls in the local market. As you can see, one of the lucha libre masks in this stand uses the same single-star design as the Luxo ball, an Easter egg dating back to Pixar’s very first short.
This isn’t the only glimpse of the ball we get. In the most recent trailer, the ball is briefly seen.
Pizza Planet truck
Pixar’s best-known Easter egg (with the Mexican-appropriate Pizza Planeta signage) zips by Miguel’s home, as seen in a Coco clip titled “Not Like the Rest,” released last week.
A113
An ode to the legendary CalArts classroom where many top animators studied, this is possibly Hollywood’s most prolific Easter egg, appearing in more than just Pixar films. As seen in the Coco trailer, A113 is the room number for the Bureau of Family Grievances in the Land of the Dead.
Lightning McQueen
The corn-eating kid, first seen in the Dante’s Lunch short, is sporting a pair of sneakers that pay homage to one of Pixar’s most popular characters. Ka-chow!
Nemo found
In this shot, which is featured in several trailers and the “Not Like the Rest” clip, Pixar’s celebrated clownfish is chilling.
Nemo, Marlin, Dory, and Destiny (and Remy)
Some of the featured fish from Finding Nemo/Finding Dory, as well as Remy the rat from Ratatouille, are gathered on a table of alebrijes in the “Not Like the Rest” clip.
In the film, as this scene continues, you can also spot pi?atas of Woody and Buzz from Toy Story, along with Mike from Monsters, Inc. hanging in a booth in the marketplace.
The Skrillex-Sid twofer
As Miguel watches the talent show, there’s one act who not only bears a striking resemblance to the popular DJ but also is wearing the same skull shirt as Toy Story‘s Buzz-abusing bully.
Heimlich, RIP
As noted by the superfan blog Pixar Post, the photo on the tombstone at the end of Dante’s Lunch (which also appears in a Coco trailer) appears to be of late Pixar legend Joe Ranft, the animator, writer, and voice actor who earned an Oscar nod for co-writing Toy Story and gave voice to Heimlich the caterpillar/”beautiful butterfly” in A Bug’s Life. Meanwhile, director Lee Unkrich told the site Metro that “at the very end of the movie we kind of do a digital ofrenda” that features photographs of dearly departed submitted by Pixar employees. Among those included: former Pixar CEO Steve Jobs and Don Rickles, the voice of Mr. Potato Head in the Toy Story films.
John Ratzenberger
Despite the film’s predominantly Latino cast, Ratzenberger, long considered Pixar’s good-luck charm, continues his streak of appearing in every one of the studio’s feature films. In Coco, he plays a ghost called Juan Ortodoncia. Alas, he’s not featured in any of the video clips released thus far, so keep your eyes peeled when you go see the movie.
Watch the full “Not Like the Rest” clip:
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