12 Cartoon Easter Eggs You’ll Wish You Noticed Sooner

Cartoons are filled with hidden surprises that many viewers miss the first time around. Watching them again can reveal clever Easter eggs and unexpected references woven into the story. Some fans go even further, piecing together intriguing theories about the secret connections between beloved animated characters.

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa

When the hungry lion Alex dreams of food, he lounges among pieces of meat. This scene strongly resembles a moment from the legendary film American Beauty. The similarity in the composition and atmosphere highlights a clever cinematic reference, blending humor with a deeper cultural nod.

Inside Out 2

In the film Inside Out 2, there is a moment where Joy gives Anxiety binoculars to look at Family Island. These binoculars are a reference to the character named Lenny from the Toy Story franchise.

WALL-E

In the opening scene of the cartoon, you can see that the wind turbines have been built on piles of rubbish. Perhaps this was a hint that mankind decided to switch to green energy production only when it was too late.

Hercules

In one scene, the cartoon character Hades says, “Guys, relax. It’s only half-time.” And this happens exactly at the 46th minute, which is the middle of the 92-minute film.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

When Miles Morales electrocutes Peter Parker, there is a glowing effect of his nervous system. But previously, when they wanted to show electrocution in cartoons, they would illuminate the skeleton of the character. From the anatomical point of view, this technique looks more believable than the old one.

Aladdin

In one of the scenes of Aladdin, Aladdin accidentally throws an apple to Jasmine and she catches it. There is a belief that in Ancient Greece, a girl was called to marry by throwing her an apple. If she caught it, it meant consent. So, maybe it was Jasmine’s marriage proposal, and we all missed it.

A weird sign

If you notice this sign once in one of the old cartoons, you’ll notice it everywhere. For example, in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Alice in Wonderland and many other films.

Why do they show this? Does it have a meaning, or is it just a coincidence? Perhaps the characters were trying to protect themselves from evil this way.

Kung Fu Panda 2

In the Kung Fu Panda 2 cartoon, you can see patched up cracks above the entrance to Mr. Ping’s restaurant. It makes sense because this arch was destroyed during the battle between Po and Tai Lung in the first part. The creators of the film decided to add this realistic touch.

Frozen 2

When the cartoon characters play charades, Anna in one of the scenes makes the same expression as Sulley from the cartoon Monsters, Inc. He was scaring children in this way to get energy for the inhabitants of his world.

Up

During the heroes’ journey, Dug is the only dog to successfully track down the tropical bird. And this is most likely because he is the only hunting dog, a golden retriever. All the others involved in the hunt are guard dog breeds.

Monsters, Inc.

In the first cartoon of this universe, there is a moment where we can notice the real name of the girl who is accidentally kidnapped by Sulley. He calls her Boo, but the girl signs her drawings and we can see that her real name is Mary.

Inside Out

In the movie Inside Out, Bing Bong begins to disappear and looks at his hand in disbelief, much like Marty McFly in Back to the Future. As he fades away, the moment mirrors Marty’s panic when he starts to vanish in the past. This nostalgic reference adds an emotional layer to Bing Bong’s farewell, echoing a classic scene from another beloved film.

If you’re a movie fan, you’ll enjoy discovering more Easter eggs hidden in various cartoons.