Rare and Fascinating Easter Eggs You've Probably Never Noticed in These Famous Movies

This article was originally published on our site: yourdailyharbour.com

Movie fans know that secret references, widely known as Easter Eggs, are the most fun part of the whole viewing experience. Hiding inside jokes and various pop culture elements inside movies has become a huge trend lately, but, as the legend goes, the first movie to do so was the Rocky Horror Picture Show film that was released back in the ‘70s. Since then, nearly every director has started hiding Easter Eggs and various secret messages inside their movies and animated films. We present you the rarest and most unusual Easter Eggs ever spotted on screen.

The Matrix: Sushi Recipes

Easter Egg: The green Matrix codingReference: Sushi recipesRelease date: March 31, 1999

If you’ve seen The Matrix at least once, then you know just how amazing and elegant those lines of green code running down the screen look. They fully summarize the whole premise of the Wachowskis movie – what if all of this is not real? What if it’s just a bunch of programming code written by some AI machine?

Right after the The Matrix came out in 1999, all the film’s details were taken apart by the fans. Naturally, they wanted to know how the iconic green Matrix code was created. Well, it turns out it wasn’t just a designer’s fantasy!

Simon Whiteley, the designer behind the iconic code, was looking for the inspiration in his wife’s Japanese cookbooks – and he found some! Most of the characters you will see in The Matrix code are Japanese. The Wachowskis wanted a cool, old-fashioned, and traditional-looking code sequence reminiscent of manga and anime – so he delivered!

Fight Club: the Starbucks Prank

Easter Egg: Starbucks is literally everywhereReferences: The culture of consumptionRelease date: 11 November 1999

Fight Club is one of the most famous hit movies of the late ‘90s. Starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton, the movie delves heavily into the corporate culture, capitalism, and the consumer culture that brainwashes many people into buying things without thinking.

In order to highlight this, David Fincher, the movie’s director, decided to use Starbucks as a stark example of a product that has taken the world. He placed Starbucks cups in each and every scene of the movie, hiding them in plain sight.

Naturally, Starbucks was aware of this little prank and supplied him with as many Starbucks cups as he needed.  We believe it wasn’t the worst type of advertisement! Still, most of the cups are hard to spot unless you’re looking for them specifically.

Harry Potter: Magic Cheerios

Easter Egg: a box of Cheeri-Owl cerealReference: CheeriosRelease date: July 19, 2007

Usually, the wizarding world is not very fond of everything connected with Muggles (also known as humans), but sometimes a thing or two would find its way into the hearts of wizards.

We all know Dumbledore was fond of sherbet lemon, a lemon-flavoured candy from the world of humans, but if you watch Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix closely, you will notice another detail reminiscent of something we’d see in the Muggle realm.

This box looks quite familiar, doesn’t it? It’s because it reminds us of Cheerios, although the name on the cereal states Cheeri-Owls to make it more magical and wizardy. But we know a box of Cheerios when we see one!

Home Alone: So What Happened to the Ticket?

Easter Egg: The mystery of the lost ticketReference: It has been in the bin all alongRelease date: December 27, 1993

Whether you’re a ‘90s kid or not, you must have at least heard of the movie Home Alone and a few of its sequels. Millions of people all over the world still watch it every Christmas because they simply can’t imagine this holiday without the iconic movie.

But there was one thing that has been bugging all the viewers for the last few decades – what happened to Kevin’s ticket? The ticket seemed to have disappeared, which led to McCallisters forgetting they had one more kid that got left behind.

At the very beginning of the movie, there’s a hectic scene with a fight and some milk that got spilled on the table and, by accident, it got spilled all over Kevin’s ticket as well! Kevin’s dad, Peter, was cleaning up the table and accidentally threw it out into the bin. Mystery solved!

John Wick 2: A Day That Lasted 3 Years

Easter Egg: Spectacular continuityReferences: John Wick 1Release date: 18 May 2017

Can you notice the difference between these two pictures? Well, apart from the lighting, of course. These two scenes look completely alike, so you’ll be surprised to find out that they belong to two different movies set 4 years apart.

Yes, we’re talking about John Wick and its sequel that had a scene at the exact same place but four days apart. John Wick was released in 2014, while its second instalment saw the light of day in 2017 – so how come the scene is so alike?

The movie’s director, Charles Stahelski, is very meticulous when it comes to details, so he completely recreated the scene from the first movie, arranging all the cars the exact same way. This is stunning!

Indiana Jones: Homage to Star Wars

Easter Egg: Hidden R2D2 and C3POReferences: Star Wars charactersRelease date: 14 August 1981

Isn’t it great when one legendary franchise acknowledges the existence of the other by inserting smart Easter Eggs and hidden messages? We think it’s really cool and so do thousands of fans who watched Raiders of the Lost Ark and spotted one mind-bending detail.

We don’t know much about Egyptian hieroglyphs, but we’re pretty sure that the robots C3PO and R2-D2 don’t belong to this ancient writing system.

The scene lasted for just a few seconds, but some eagle-eyed fans managed to spot this amazing detail on the pillar next to Indiana Jones. Stephen Spielberg and George Lucas are a brilliant movie duo, so it only makes sense that they pay homage to their creations.

Rango: A Scene Only Grown-Ups Would Understand

Easter Egg: Rango landing on a carReference: Fear and Loathing in Las VegasRelease date: March 17, 2011

We don’t think Johnny Depp has done a lot of voicing work in his acting career, but the one he did definitely stands out from the rest!

In the animated movie Rango, Johnny Depp voiced the main character, who ended up in a small town in the middle of nowhere and tried to blend in as best as he could. He experienced various adventures, but there was one scene in particular that caught everyone’s attention.

If you know anything about Johnny Depp, you know he starred in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Well, when in one scene in Rango, the lizard flies over and lands on the front window of a car with two passengers – this looks exactly like a scene from that movie!

A Knight’s Tale: Just Do It

Easter Egg: The mark on William’s armourReference: Nike logoRelease date: May 11, 2001

A Knight’s Tale tells a story of a certain William, who grew up in a poor neighbourhood, but has always dreamt of becoming a knight in shining armour. Of course, winning over a beautiful lady's heart was also on his menu of great deeds.

He couldn’t change where he was born, but he could fake it! And that’s exactly what he did to take part in a jousting tournament. The whole movie is packed with modern music hits and all kinds of references, but the Nike logo is probably one of the most hilarious ones.

When William needs new lightweight armour, he hires a feisty blacksmith named Kate who does her very own armour that is most suitable for jousting. The mark she engraves on William’s chest plate looks exactly like Nike’s logo. And we don’t think it’s a coincidence!

Aladdin: Hidden Mickey Mouse

Easter Egg: The transformation of RajahReference: Disney’s Mickey MouseRelease date: November 25, 1992

Mickey Mouse is the last character we expected to see in one of Disney’s most famous animated movies – Aladdin. Yet there he is! We don’t know what kind of sharp-eyed fan dug up this mind-bending Easter egg, but we have to applaud them for their attentiveness.

In the scene when Rajah, Sultan’s and Jasmine’s tiger, turns back into a grown-up animal after the spell cast by Jaffar wears off, there’s a short moment when his head looks exactly like that of Mickey Mouse.

This is one of the most bizarre Easter Eggs on this list and we bet most of you have never noticed this wicked transformation. It’s not unusual for Disney to hide Easter Eggs like this inside their animated movies, but we are surprised this one was noticed at all!

The Departed: Follow the ‘X’

Easter Egg: The ‘X’ sign everywhereReference: Movie ScarfaceRelease date: October 6, 2006

Martin Scorsese is a genius filmmaker who weaves mind-bending plots and creates characters that are always believable and relatable beyond words. His films are both stylish and very deep, so it doesn’t come as a surprise that they are also packed with hidden messages.

In The Departed, if you look attentively, you will notice that before the death of each character (and there are quite a lot of them dying there) some kind of X appears in the scene one way or the other. That’s his signature sign throughout this whole film!

Not only can you tell who’s going to be killed next, but you can also notice that even the main character appears with an ‘X’ multiple times. Scorsese adapted this technique from the 1932 movie Scarface in which a group of gangsters appeared with shadowy crosses above them right before they were all killed.

Back to the Future 2: The Jaws Franchise

Easter Egg: The movie theatre adReferences: Jaws 19Release date: November 22, 1989

Back to the Future movie series is packed with all kinds of smart Easter Eggs – the director got to play with the future and he used his humour to the fullest!

By the time the second Back to the Future movie was released in 1989, there were already four parts of the Jaws movies created by Stephen Spielberg. If you look at the movie theatre with a huge Jaws advertisement, you’ll notice that it’s Jaws 19, meaning that Spielberg made 15 more movies within the same franchise in the next 16 years!

And not only that, if you read the director’s name, you’ll see it’s not just Spielberg, but Max Spielberg, his son who supposedly kept on making those movies.

Toy Story: The Moment of Horror

Easter Egg: Sid’s carpetReference: The Shining movieRelease date: November 22, 1995

When you think of Toy Story, you don’t usually associate it with something terrifying, like a legendary horror movie, for example. But it so happens, that Pixar’s director Lee Unkrich has a big love for one particular thriller – The Shining.

Yep, it’s not the most kid-friendly movie, that’s why seeing references from it in Toy Story is beyond cringe-worthy! If you remember the scene from The Shining with a kid riding his little bike around Overlook Hotel, then you’re familiar with a very distinct carpet pattern that was shown in the movie.

When you look at the scene when we see the house of Sid, the toy-torturer, you will notice the exact same carpet in his house! It’s creepy, but it’s also kind of cool.

Pirates of the Caribbean: What’s Mickey Mouse Doing There?

Easter Egg: The Mao Kun MapReferences: Mickey Mouse artRelease date: May 24, 2007

When it comes to Disney, you can expect Mickey Mouse to show up literally anywhere on screen. But, of course, such Easter Eggs aren’t easy to spot. After all, Disney has been practicing hiding messages and pictures inside their movies for decades!

The Mao Kun map in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End is a real masterpiece worthy of pausing the movie just to take a better look at it. Well, there’s also an Easter Egg hidden there!

If you look closer at the lower right corner of this intricate map, you will notice a picture of the early concept of Mickey Mouse painted there like it’s the most natural thing in the world.

Wild Wild West: The Man Who Always Wears Black

Easter Egg: Empty compartmentReference: Men in BlackRelease date: June 30, 1999

All '90s kids remember two movies distinctly - Wild Wild West for being a fun action-packed steampunk adventure flick and Men in Black for being one of the coolest and funniest sci-fi movies ever. Seriously, it was just too good!

Well, nowadays Wild Wild West is considered one of Will Smith's worst movies ever made, and even the actor himself kind of despises it, but we truly believe it wasn't all that bad. Well, maybe just a little bit bad.

Will Smith made Wild Wild West shortly after he starred in Men in Black, so naturally, some MIB Easter Eggs sneaked in. During a scene on the train when Jim West gets back to the weapons compartment to get some ammo, he finds an empty space. But inside that space there was a slot with a tag saying 'Noisy Cricket'. All MIB fans remember this name from the movie - it was the name of the gun Will Smith used in Men in Black.

Hercules: Does This Lion Look Familiar?

Easter Egg: The lion peltReference: Scar from The Lion KingRelease date: June 13, 1997

If you’ve watched at least a few of Disney’s animated movies, you know that they are packed with Easter Eggs of all kinds. Disney just loves this stuff! That’s why it didn’t really surprise us when we saw Hercules for the umpteenth time and noticed that the pelt Hercules used for posing was very familiar.

This is so obvious, yet so many people didn't notice this crazy little detail! All The Lion King fans must have guessed who this tiger is by now, but if you’re still wondering – yes, it’s Scar from The Lion King, the very big bad tiger who killed Simba’s father.

This detail is so in-your-face, but we have to admit that we never spotted it while watching Hercules back in the days. But now that we’ve all grown up, we notice so many new details in all those animated movies!

E.T.: Unexpected Crossover

Easter Egg: Yoda’s appearanceReference: Star WarsRelease date: June 11, 1982

Stephen Spielberg's movie E.T. is one of the most recognized sci-fi movies that have ever graced the silver screens. True, it was released almost 40 years ago, but fans still remember it fondly and re-watch it from time to time. Naturally, new fans keep on emerging as well!

We all know that Spielberg and Lucas are life-long friends, so it doesn’t really come as a surprise when characters from their movies make sudden appearances in a totally different franchise.

It’s hard to miss Yoda’s appearance in the street where E.T. and Elliott go trick or treating on the day of Halloween. While it’s supposed to be just someone dressed as Yoda, we can hear the familiar Yoda’s music theme being played in the background when he appears on screen.

Tron: A Familiar Game

Easter Egg: Pac-ManReference: The ‘80s gameRelease date: July 9, 1982

While programming may seem the most fascinating thing to some of you, but that is definitely not the case for the main character of Tron, a 1982 classic sci-fi movie. Well, Kevin Flynn was a computer programmer, but even he was terrified after he got inside a mainframe computer and started travelling all over that hostile world.

The creators of the movie were big fans of computer games (there weren’t many at that time, but still), so they decided to sneak in a little Easter Egg reference, pointing to none other than Pac-Man!

It’s a very sweet homage to the game that is now more than 40 years old, but it was still fresh when the Tron movie was just released.

The Matrix: Kung Fu Fights and Bruce Lee

Easter Egg: Martial arts fight scenesReference: Bruce LeeRelease date: March 31, 1999

The fights in The Matrix trilogy are among the most iconic in the whole movie industry – and not just because they were action-packed and used a considerable amount of CGI which was still new back in the day, but because they reminded us of something equally great – the martial arts fights in Chinese movies.

It’s not a secret the Wachowskis are big fans of everything Eastern, including old-fashioned Chinese action movies and modern-day manga and anime. Not only did they hire Yuen Woo-Ping, one of the most famous fight choreographers ever, but they also made a few nods to Bruce Lee, the legend of kung-fu.

In a training fight sequence with Morpheus, as well as in some other scenes, Keanu Reeves makes the signature Bruce Lee move – brushing his nose with a thumb and then taking a fighting stance. This movie has ‘kung fu’ written all over it!

Frozen: Something Tangled’s Going On

Easter Egg: Elsa’s coronationReference: Rapunzel and Flynn from Tangled as guestsRelease date: December 19, 2013

It’s not too unusual to see Disney characters from one animated movie visit another one, still, we are often surprised when it happens so boldly like it did in Frozen.

If you look closely at the scene before Elsa’s coronation, you will notice that among all the guests at the royal gathering there are quite a few familiar faces. Yes, those are Flynn and Rapunzel from the Tangled movie!

We aren’t sure if Rapunzel is in any way related to Elsa or Anna, but in this magical Disney universe, everything is possible. Well, Rapunzel is also royalty, so it’s only natural for her to visit other future-to-be-queens and princesses.

The Fifth Element: Dreadful Future

Easter Egg: New York and the Statue of LibertyReference: dreadful climate changeRelease date: May 7, 1997

We’re all familiar with foreshadowing – when famous movies either hint at some important events in the plot that are about to happen or to actual events that, by some coincidence, happened in real life. Well, looking at this scene from The Fifth Element we really hope the movie is wrong!

Luc Besson imagined a pretty dreary image of what our world would look like in the 23rd century. Yes, there are lots of spaceships and other civilizations roaming around, which is cool, but the Earth, on the other hand, looks totally desolate and it’s obvious some environmental catastrophe has already happened sometime in the past.

In this shot, we see an overpopulated New York drowning in buildings, but when it comes to actual water – it’s barely there! The Statue of Liberty is towering over dry landscape and it’s clear that the water level has dropped significantly all over the world. We really hope this ‘prediction’ will not come true in the real world as well!

Rocky Horror Picture Show: Are Those Real Eggs?

Easter Egg: Actual eggs hidden in various scenes of the movieReferences: A pre-filming partyRelease date: 18 December 1975

If you look closely at some scenes of this stage-to-screen musical horror, you’ll notice there are actual Easter Eggs lying around in the most unexpected places. As the story goes, the whole cast of the movie had an intense Easter hunt before the filming even started, but not all the eggs were found.

Later, attentive viewers started noticing actual Easter Eggs and the whole thing became a huge movie trend, with Easter Eggs evolving into hidden messages and mind-boggling references to pop culture, other films, and even books.

This movie might have started the whole trend!

The Sixth Sense: A Major Hint We’ve Missed

Easter Egg: Red colour in ghost scenesReference: A special detail to signify that something supernatural is going onRelease date: August 6, 1999

The Sixth Sense has one of the most unexpected endings in the movie industry. Well, now you can see more mind-bending things, but at the time the movie aired it was a real hit!

The Sixth Sense deals with ghosts and supernatural things, so director M. Night Shyamalan decided to be smart about this and incorporated an interesting detail in every scene that has some kind of spirit appearance.

If you look at each such scene closely, you will notice that it always has red colour in it. Spirits don’t always appear on screen, so to make them more ‘visible’ the director created such a hint. But we bet not many people noticed this peculiar detail!

I am Legend: Did They Predict a New Movie?

Easter Egg: A movie posterReference: The foreshadowing of Batman V Superman: Dawn of JusticeRelease date: April 3, 2008

This post-apocalyptic thriller starring Will Smith, his charismatic dog, and a bunch of zombies, has nothing to do with any of the superhero universes out there, and yet, the director managed to play with the Superman and Batman theme a little bit.

During one of the scenes, we see a huge poster for a new movie that had both Superman and Batman in it. Let’s not forget that I Am Legend was released in 2007 so they simply couldn’t know that some nine years later there would actually be a movie that had these two superheroes in it!

Was this just a coincidence or did this movie somehow predict that there would be a Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice film almost a decade later? We’ll never know for sure.

Catch Me If You Can: Meet the Real Man!

Easter Egg: The policemanReference: The actual Frank AbagnailRelease date: December 25, 2002

Catch Me If You Can, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks, is one of those fun Stephen Spielberg movies we can watch over and over again – it’s just so entertaining! And the fact that this movie was based on actual events and a real man makes it even better.

Well, it turns out, Stephen Spielberg wasn’t just taking the story to the big screen – he wanted to showcase the man himself! Real Frank Abagnail Jr. made a short appearance in the movie alongside Leonardo DiCaprio, who was portraying the younger version of him.

It was such a cool thing to do! And most viewers had no idea that they got to see the legendary impersonator in person. And the role he played in the movie? Ironically, he played the officer who arrested the main character – it was as if he arrested himself!

Die Hard: The Unexpected Fall

Easter Egg: Terrified face of Hans GruberReference: It was realRelease date: July 22, 1988

The first Die Hard movie started a whole new franchise, becoming one of the most recognized action movie series of all time. Of course, the first movie put Bruce Willis into the limelight as the charismatic hero who saves the day no matter what, but we have to admit that Alan Rickman’s character was even more brilliant.

There was a moment at the end of the movie when Hans Gruber, Alan Rickman’s character, falls from the top of the building and we get to see his genuinely surprised face. Well, it’s because he was scared in real life as well!

The stunt team that was helping him with the dangerous fall was supposed to count until three before dropping him down to shoot the falling scene, but instead, they counted only to one. Thus, Alan Rickman’s petrified expression is absolutely real.

The Godfather: Orange Is the New Death Sentence

Easter Egg: OrangesReferences: An upcoming deathRelease date: March 24, 1972

It’s not uncommon for directors to use some kind of foreshadowing, especially when it concerns the death of a certain character. But when we’re talking about The Godfather, there are quite a lot of deaths that are happening on screen.

Similar to what Scorsese did in The Departed, Francis Ford Coppola decided he wanted to use some kind of hint. But instead of crosses or intricate shadows, he used… oranges!

That’s right, each time a character is about to die, oranges appear on screen one way or the other. If you look close enough, you will notice that oranges appear in The Godfather quite a lot!

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom: What's Obi Wan Doing There?

Easter Egg: Club nameReferences: Star WarsRelease date: May 8, 1984

You've probably realized that most of the Indiana Jones movies are packed with Star Wars references. Over the years, fans have found dozens of barely-there nods to the Star Wars saga, but among all those references, there is one that stands out the most.

It's just impossible to ignore it - this homage to the Star Wars universe is so in-your-face! If you read the name of the club on this street in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom then you'll have no further questions.

Yes, that's right, the club that is run by mafia bears the name of none other than Obi Wan Kenobi himself. And we assure that is no coincidence - it was done by the writers of the script intentionally!

Aladdin: Do You See a Familiar Face?

Easter Egg: Sultan's toy towerReference: Beauty and the BeastRelease date: November 25, 1992

Disney is a huge fan of... well, Disney, but we're totally okay with that. Disney has created some of out most beloved animated movies and we simply can't imagine the '90s without classics like Aladdin and The Lion King.

It just so happens that Disney also likes to leaver Easter Eggs everywhere. Naturally, those Easter Eggs are connected to other animated movies created by the company.

If you take a closer look at the toy tower built by Sultan, you will notice it has all kinds of beast, but one of them stands out from the rest. Yes, it's a toy version of the Beast from Beauty and the Beast movie! It's easy to miss this small detail, but once you see it, it's like the most obvious thing in the world.

Free Guy: Captain, Is That You?

Easter Egg: The shieldReference: Captain AmericaRelease date: August 12, 2021

Free Guy was released just a few months ago and already it's one of the all-time favourites that will probably become one of those movies we re-watch hundreds of times whenever we feel down.

Being a movie about games, Free Guy is packed with all kinds of references to pop culture, modern games, movies, books, and whatnot. We could write a whole article dedicated to this movie's Easter Eggs only!

This is one of our favourite Easter Eggs and not only because it's so recognizable - it was just so funny to see Mr. Good Guy flaunt Captain America's shield during his 'boss battle'! It was hilarious and we're sure this moment cracked up thousands of viewers all over the world.

Iron Man 2: What About Those Spots?

Easter Egg: Spots on the mapReference: A reference to other heroes from the MCURelease date: April 29, 2010

The Marvel Comics Universe is as action-packed as it is complex. Everything is connected to everything, if you just take some time to connect the dots so to speak. Well, in this case, the dots aren't just a figure of speech!

In a scene where Tony Stark meets Nick Fury at the end of Iron Man 2, we all get to see the S.H.I.E.L.D's monitors with some pretty interesting details that might have escaped most viewers.

#1: Captain America is frozen somewhere in Greenland.#2: Norway, the Norse cult and the location of Tesseract.#3: The land of Wakanda, a nation deep in Africa, the source of Vibranium.#4: Mid-Atlantic Ridge, possible the place where Atlantis is located.#5: The home of Tony Stark in Malibu.#6: The place where Mjolnir, Thor's hammer, arrived in New Mexico.#7: Hulk is in New York City.

The Fifth Element: What Are They Talking About?

Easter Egg: The Divine LanguageReference: It actually means somethingRelease date: May 7, 1997

The Fifth Element is one of the most iconic sci-fi movies of late '90s - it was just so good! Starring Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, Milla Jovovich, and Chris Tucker, it's one of the most hilarious, frantic, and overall beautiful space action operas we've ever seen.If you re-watch this movie for the umpteenth time, you will remember that Leeloo Dallas, played by gorgeous Milla Jovovich, arrived to Earth speaking a very particular language. She couldn't speak English, obviously, but what she could speak was the Divine Language.

Well, it turns out that's not just some random collection of meaningless words - Luc Besson actually created a new language for the movie! The Divine Language comprised around 400 words, and by the end of the filming he and Milla Jovovich could have a conversation using this language only.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame: Are Those Gargoyles Okay?

Easter Egg: GargoylesReference: The Lion KingRelease date: June 21, 1996

The Hunchback of Notre Dame offers quite an intense story with lots of drama and dark moments that aren't meant to make anyone laugh. Still, if you look closer, there are a few details that will definitely make you giggle.

Did you ever pay close attention to the gargoyles of Notre Dame? Well, the ones that didn't speak or move, of course. They do resemble someone we know very well from The Lion King animated movie.

It's almost impossible not to recognize Pumbaa from The Lion King - this gargoyle statue is the spitting image of the character! Well, he does look somewhat solemn to suit the overall atmosphere of the animated movie, but it's Pumbaa nonetheless.

Soul: That Statue Seems Familiar

Easter Egg: Hall of YouReference: Disney's statueRelease date: October 11, 2020

Talking about statues... Does this scene in Soul seem vaguely familiar? Disney is famous for hiding all kinds of Easter Eggs in their animated movies, but this time it's not about another film of theirs - it's a reference to an actual statue!

The famous Partners Statue, featuring Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse, served as an inspiration for the statue that Joe and 22 saw in the Hall of You. The resemblance is uncanny!

Well, you'd have to be a devoted Disney fan to spot this connection, but that's why we have Internet! So we can share the most mind-bending Easter Eggs and hidden messages in our favourite movies.

Free Guy: Was That a Cameo We Missed?

Easter Egg: The aggressive girlReference: Gossip Girl characterRelease date: August 12, 2021

Well, it's Ryan Reynolds we're talking about and knowing just how much he adores his wife we aren't really surprised to see a reference to one of her TV roles hidden in the movie.

As we've already said before, Free Guy is one huge pop culture reference, but it's even more endearing to see Ryan Reynolds hide some kind of homage to his beloved wife, Blake Lively. Although, that character in the game did hit him quite hard.

The aggressive woman looks like the spitting image of Serena from Gossip Girl - Blake Lively's character. We totally missed this crazy detail!

Moana: Do You Want to Make a Wish?

Easter Egg: The treasure stashReference: Aladdin's lampRelease date: November 23, 2016

Watching Moana for the first time back in 2016 was such a delight! The characters, the story - everything was just so good. Including mischievous Maui, the infamous demigod with a huuuuge ego.

After Moana embarks on her dangerous adventure we get to see a scene with Tomatoa, a giant crab carrying all kinds of treasures on his shell. And guess what's also there among all the shiny objects?

Yep, it's the lamp of Aladdin from the animated movie with the same name. We would recognize it anywhere! Now we are wondering how on Earth did it get there...

The Lovely Bones: Peter Jackson is at It Again

Easter Egg: BookstoreReference: The Lord of the RingsRelease date: February 25, 2010

When it comes to Peter Jackson - it's always about The Lord of the Rings! Don't get us wrong, we love the trilogy and it's one of the best movie series ever created, and we don't actually hate what he did with the Hobbit movies either, but it seems that the man simply can't let it go.

Well, we can't really blame Peter Jackson for inserting some LOTR Easter Eggs here and there - after all, he has spend so many years creating movies after J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novels.

In The Lovely Bones there's a scene at the bookstore and, what do you know, there's The Lord of the Rings book being sold there.

Stranger Things: So What About Telekinesis?

Stanger Things isn't inspired solely by the '80s movies and memorabilia, the TV show also pays homage to Stephen King's creations. The mysterious thriller genre with kids as the main characters is right up Stephen King's alley - that's exactly what the writer would have done if he had a chance to create an original TV series.

One of his most popular horror books is Carrie, which features a girl with telekinetic powers. Rings a bell? Well, that's because Eleven has quite a few similarities with Carrie - they are both nice girls who seem totally good-natured, but then their true powers kick in.

One second they are pretty schoolgirls enjoying their day, and the next one they are throwing people (or monsters) around like it's the most mundane thing in the world!

Zootopia: There's Something Vaguely Familiar About Those Bootlegs

This is one of those details many have already picked up on, but that doesn't make it any less entertaining. Disney is great at hiding references in plain sight and this is one of those cases when it's hard not to spot the amusing details.

In Zootopia, when camera zooms in on the collection of Duke Weaselton's bootlegs, we can see a bunch of vaguely familiar names and characters. The DVDs he's selling present us with unique versions of actual Disney films but with animals instead of original characters.

You can easily recognize Tangled, Moana, Frozen 2, Wreck-It Ralph, and Big Hero 6. Although we have to admit, watching movies like Pig Hero 6 and Meowana does seem like fun!

Stranger Things: Blondes Have All the Fun

The whole Stranger Things series is built around the '80s nostalgia, so it doesn't really come as a surprise that the producers would hide some '80s references right inside the TV show. Naturally, some fans picked up on those not-so-little hints.

It turns out the whole character of Eleven is a huge homage to the alien character in Stephen Spielberg's E.T., which has taken over the world back in the 80's. Both the movie and the TV show are about a loveable alien that finds shelter inside a kid's house. Well, in case of Eleven she's a human with superpowers.

The alien in E.T. puts on a blonde wig and a dress for disguise - and the same things happens in Stranger Things

The Matrix Resurrections

Easter Egg: Photo at the café Reference: Keanu ReevesRelease date: December 21, 2021

So we all know how the Wachowskis like to place Easter Eggs wherever they can and make wild references in each and every slide of the movies they make, especially when it comes to The Matrix movie series.

Well, the last addition to The Matrix universe is no different, although it is much milder compared to the messages that were previously hidden in The Matrix movies. Still, fans loved it!

There's a shot in the movie where Neo dines at the café he goes every day to meet Trinity. What's interesting is that he's sitting under a photo of himself as Keanu Reeves visiting the same café in real life! It's not a prop, but an actual photo taken by the owners of House of Nanking, a Chinese restaurant loved not only by Keanu Reeves, but by the whole cast of The Matrix movies.