41 Disney Movie Easter Eggs That Only Die-Hard Fans Can Spot
We *definitely* missed most of these hidden moments.
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It’s funny to think about the history of hiding Easter eggs in animated movies. Before the days of VHS, if an animator slipped something into the background of a film, it really was an in-joke that quite possibly very few people could ever find out about. Once home-video came into play — and the slo-mo features that came with it — fans could pore over every frame of a movie. But even if fans found something, they could only spread it through word-of-mouth. You had to be dialed in with the whole world of fans IRL before the information could come to you. Now, there are streaming services, there are screen-shots, and there’s the whole internet that can help a fan get the word out about a clever hidden joke — so filmmakers have to bring their Easter-egg game to the next level.
These Disney Easter eggs — which span nearly four decades — run the gamut. There are some that are delivered with a wink, as if the animators expected fans to notice and be delighted by them right away. Older ones, though, were even hard to spot on a streaming service — you really needed to find an old-school, frame-by-frame way of watching it to find the hidden surprise. How many of these Disney Easter eggs did you know about before the age of VHS, before the dawn of the internet, or before Disney+? Test yourself to see if you’re a true, eagle-eyed Disney fan.
Aunt Cass in 'Ralph Breaks the Internet' (2018)
Ralph Breaks the Internet is full of overt Disney in-jokes, from the Stormtroopers that chase our heroes to a scene of all the famous Disney princesses in their cozy clothes. But slow it down and you'll get even more references. For example, when Ralph and Vanellope first encounter pop-up ads, the image of the "desperate housewife" dying to meet other singles looks a lot like Aunt Cass from Big Hero 6.
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Aladdin's Lamp in 'Moana' (2016)
The Little Mermaid isn't the only other Disney movie that gets a shout-out in Moana. In Tamatoa's very shiny treasure collection, sharp-eyed viewers can spot the Aladdin's lamp.
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Elsa and Anna in 'Zootopia' (2016)
Speaking of Frozen, it seems that little girls all over the world want to dress up as that movie's princesses — even in the animal-filled city of Zootopia. When Judy Hops takes a train through all of the different districts of the city, she passes through Tundratown and sees two little elephants dressed like Anna and Elsa.
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Stitch in 'Big Hero 6' (2014)
If you had to guess which character pops up the most in Easter-egg cameos, who would you pick? It just might be Stitch from Lilo and Stitch — that mischievous little alien finds ways to hide everywhere. In Big Hero 6, for example, you can spot a photo of Mochi, Hiro's cat, wearing a Stitch costume. It's in a gallery wall of photographs on Hiro's staircase.
Rapunzel in 'Frozen' (2013)
In the beginning of Frozen, Arendelle's gates have been closed for so long that, when they finally re-open for Elsa's coronation day, everyone wants to take a peek inside. Including, it seems, Rapunzel — you can spot her with her short harido walking into the castle for a split-second when Anna sings "For the First Time in Forever."
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'Paperman' in 'Wreck-It Ralph'
This is a deep-cut for real, die-hard Disney fans. During Ralph's visit to his bad-guy support group in Wreck-It Ralph, you can find a paper on the bulletin board that bears a bright-red lipstick kiss. That is a nod to "Paperman," the Oscar-winning animated short film that was shown in theaters with Wreck-It Ralph. "Paperman" is a romantic short about a guy who goes in search for the woman who makes that lipstick impression on one of his forms, then disappears onto a train. (It really is lovely, and every animation fan should try to watch it if they missed it in theaters.)
Pinocchio in 'Tangled' (2010)
In Tangled, you can meet a lot of unsavory characters at a pub called the Snuggly Duckling — including, it seems, Pinocchio. During the big "I Have a Dream" musical number, he's chilling on a perch high above the action — you can only see him when one of the other patrons flies around like Cupid. (And look! No strings.)
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Princesses in 'Tangled' (2010)
Rapunzel must've seen the other Disney princess movies — she's painted homages to them on the newel posts in the staircase in her tower. There's an apple for Snow White, a slipper for Cinderella, a rose for Belle, and a shell for Ariel. She also has a real spinning wheel in there, too, as a nod to Aurora.
The Magic Carpet in 'The Princess and the Frog' (2009)
Right before the title comes up in The Princess and the Frog, we see a quotidian street scene, with people walking to work, taking cars, and shaking out a carpet. Wait a minute — that carpet, with the tassels and the blue-and-purple design, looks familiar. It's the Magic Carpet from Aladdin.
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Jack Skellington in 'The Princess and the Frog' (2009)
'The Jungle Book' in 'Meet the Robinsons' (2007)
Meet the Robinsons jumps around in time, but every year is a good year to be a fan of The Jungle Book. Toward the end of the movie, you can see a poster for the adventures of Mowgli and Baloo on the back fence of the Little League field.
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Nemo in 'Brother Bear' (2003)
This is one of those one-frame Easter eggs — the kind that's really hard to catch with the pause button on a streaming service. (Doing slo-mo on a VHS would probably make it easier to catch.) But, during a montage where Denahi and Sitka are fishing and a mammoth-like creature disrupts their net, for one second you can see one clownfish among the chaos. If you spot him, you've found Nemo.
Hidden Mickeys in 'The Emperor's New Groove' (2000)
"Hidden Mickeys" are a sub-category of Easter egg all their own. Basically, animators love hiding the classic Mickey head shape (a silhouette comprised of three circles) into movies, TV shows, even the rides at Disney World. In this overhead shot from The Emperor's New Groove, you can see a bunch of Hidden Mickeys made out of green vegetables.
Mrs. Potts and Chip in 'Tarzan' (1999)
Tarzan doesn't have a lot of in-movie songs, but when the jungle animals come across a campsite full of objects that belong to English explorers, they can't help themselves from banging on it all and breaking out into "Trashin' the Camp." And one of the found objects they turn into a drum set is a very distinctive tea set — including a teacup with a signature chip in it. Beauty and the Beast fans know this as Mrs. Potts and Chip.
Marisa (she/her) has covered all things parenting, from the postpartum period through the empty nest, for Good Housekeeping since 2018; previously, she wrote about parents and families at Parents and Working Mother. She lives with her toy-collecting husband and daughter in Brooklyn, where she can be found helping out her team at bar trivia or posting about movies on Twitter and Bluesky.
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