40 Tiny Details In Pixar Movies That Even Hardcore Disney Fans Probably Didn't Notice

Pixar movies are packed with tiny visual jokes, hidden references, and background details that most viewers miss on the first watch. That is part of what makes films like Toy Story, Up, Inside Out, and Wall-E so fun to revisit, because there is always another Easter egg tucked into the frame.

Some of these details are clever production choices, while others connect one Pixar movie to another in ways that reward longtime fans. From character design to props, costumes, and even background objects, the studio keeps slipping in little surprises that make the worlds feel connected.

If you love spotting hidden details in Pixar films, these 40 examples are worth a closer look.

'When Mike Marks An X On The Calendar In Red Marker, It's Brighter And Fresher Than The Rest Of The Marks, Which Have Dried.'

'Whenever Characters Play Guitar In The Movie, Their Hands Form The Actual Chords Corresponding To The Music... Even Though It Would Have Been Easy To Just Fake It.'

'In 'Toy Story 4,' Mr. Potato Head Is Voiced Posthumously By Don Rickles (Who Passed Away In 2017).'

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'In "Up" (2009), Ellie's Things Are Rounded While Carl's Things Are Square, Matching Their Respective Character Designs.'

GammaKing

'In "Up" (2009), Dug Is The Only Dog To Successfully Track Down The Tropical Bird Because He Is The Only Hunting Dog (Golden Retriever). All The Others Are Guard Dog Breeds.'

JohnnyCharles

Pixar really does hide the good stuff in plain sight.

'In The Pixar Logo After The Credits Of Wall-E, Wall-E Replaces Luxo Jr.’s Lightbulb With An Environmentally Friendly Bulb After His “Round” Bulb Goes Out.'

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'In "Up" (2009), The Town Buildings Develop Over The Years.'

Eve_Tiston

'Incredibles (2004), Elastigirl’s Original Suit Was Red And Mr. Incredible’s Suit Was Blue. Their First Child’s Name? Violet.'

-Captain-Price-

'In "Cars," The Canyons Are All Old Cars And Hood Ornaments.'

TheBuggaWump

'In Inside Out (2015), Riley's Clothes Become More Muted As She Becomes More Depressed Throughout The Movie.'

'For Monsters Inc. (2001), Due To Mary Gibbs, Who Played Boo Being So Young, It Was Difficult To Get Her To Stay In The Recording Booth To Perform Her Lines. So They Decided To Follow Her Around With A Microphone And Cut Her Lines Together Using The Random Things/Noises She Said Whilst Playing.'

StatusLoquat8

'In Finding Dory, Jacques's Bag Is Cleaner Than All The Other Bags. This Is Because He's A Skunk Cleaner Shrimp, Which Means He Eats Dead Tissue And Other Organisms.'

'In The Incredibles 2, The Painting In Helen’s Hotel Room Is An Illustration Of Her Separation From The Family.'

Justsoinsane

'In Finding Nemo (2003), Gill Is A Moorish Idol. This Species Is Known To Not Handle Captivity Well, So Him Being The One Who Constantly Comes Up With Escape Plans Makes Sense.'

goingtodeletedis

'In Ratatouille, The Dog Barking At Remy Is Doug From Up.'

PlamenDrop

'The Playing Cards In Riley's Imagination Feature Her Dad's Face As The King, Her Mom's Face As The Queen, And Her Face As The Jack (Except The J Is Changed To An R For "Riley").'

'In One Close-Up Shot, You Can See That Andy Marked The Height Of His Various Toys Against The Door Jamb.'

'In Inside Out, The Pizza Toppings Were Changed From Broccoli To Bell Peppers In Japan, Since Kids In Japan Don’t Like Bell Peppers. Pixar Localized The Joke.'

BaxterBuckworthy

'In Monsters U, Power Comes From Screams Which Appear As A Gaseous State In The Scream Tanks. Because Power Here Is A Gas, Light Switches Are Valves And Instead Of Wires, There Are Pipes.'

inspectcloser

The background details are doing a lot of work here.

For more “how is this even possible?” energy, see 81 visual anomalies that’ll make your logic spin.

'Bob Parr In The Incredibles (2004) Has Most Of His Cubicle Taken Up By A Pillar, Which Is Why It's So Cramped. I Can't Believe I Never Noticed This Before.'

pizzaazzip

'For Brave (2012), Pixar Developed Two New Software Programs Over Three Years To Allow Simulation Of Merida's 1,500 Strands Of Hair Curls To Move Together With Her Movements.'

whenuleavethestoveon

'For A Scene In Ratatouille (2007) Where Linguini Is Wet From Jumping In The River, They Got A Member Of The Crew (Kesten Migdal) To Jump In A Swimming Pool In A Chef's Uniform To See Where The Uniform Would Normally Stick To On The Body When Wet.'

StatusLoquat8

'In The Incredibles (2004), Director Brad Bird Wanted To Give Dash A Realistic Out-Of-Breath Voice In Certain Scenes, So He Made Actor Spencer Fox Run Four Laps Around The Pixar Studio Until He Got Tired.'

Tokyono

'Wall-E: My 8-Year-Old Noticed Rex While Wall-E Is Organizing His Findings In His Home.'

Huichan81

'In Coco (2017), A Collection Of Piñatas Of Other Pixar Characters Can Be Seen Hanging From A Building.'

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'At The End Of Disney/Pixar’s Ratatouille (2007), Anton Ego Is A Little Bit Fatter. This Is Especially Poignant Since He States, "I Don't Like Food, I Love It... If I Don't Love It, I Don't Swallow."'

mandydchew

'The Name Of Pixar’s 2018 Short, Bao, Is A Play On Words. 包, Pronounced “Bao,” Is The Mandarin Chinese Word For “Dumpling”; However, This Pronunciation Is Shared By 宝, Meaning “Treasure” Or “Baby,” And 保, Meaning “Protect” Or “Defend.”'

ramenayy

'In Finding Nemo, Bruce The Shark Starts Crying When Marlin Starts Talking About Nemo, Saying, “I Never Knew My Father.” Male Sharks Mate With The Female Then Leave, So Baby Sharks Never Actually Meet Their Father.'

LiveLoveKanye

'In Incredibles 2 (2018), Elastigirl’s New Super Suit Is Designed By Devtech. Her Suit Is The Only One To Be Damaged, Indicating Edna Mode’s Superior Designing Ability.'

cocarroll14

'Sid Makes An Appearance In Toy Story 3, Showing That He Got A Job As A Garbage Collector.'

'After Cars (2006) Lost Out On The Oscar For Best Animated Movie To Happy Feet (2006), Which Utilized Motion Capture, Pixar Placed A "Quality Assurance Guarantee" At The End Of Their Next Movie, Ratatouille (2007), To Remind The Academy They Animate Every Single Frame Of Their Movies Manually.'

JonathanAllen19

'The Carpet At Sid’s House In Toy Story (1995) Was Intentionally Made The Same As The Carpet At The Overlook Hotel In The Shining (1980), One Of Many References To The Horror Film Throughout The Pixar Series.'

ant91a

'In Toy Story 4, The Red Thread That Was Used To Sew Woody's Arm Back On Is Still Visible.'

'In The 2010 Film By Pixar “Toy Story 3,” One Of The Toys Featured Is A Stuffed Totoro Doll From The Studio Ghibli Film “My Neighbor Totoro.”'

KillerKaiju04

'In Toy Story 2 (1999), The American Flag Is Replaced By The Globe In The Rest Of The World.'

Abhishek1520

'A Magazine In Riley's Living Room Features Colette From Ratatouille On The Cover.'

'In Incredibles 2 (2018), The Pilot's Uniform Has Ribbons/Bars That Represent The Color Schemes Of All The Other Pixar Movies To Date.'

joshholtsclaw

'During The Opening Titles, The Windows On The Disney Castle Light Up To Make The Incredibles Logo.'

'Toy Story 4: On This Glue, It Is Written That It Was Manufactured In Emeryville, California, Which Is Where Pixar Studios Is Located.'

thissaccount

'If You Look Closely After The Lightning Strikes The Umbrella Wall-E Is Holding, The Electricity From The Bolt Charges His Battery Back To Full.'

PennywiseACDC

Pixar fans could probably watch these movies ten more times and still miss a few.

Still not convinced the small stuff matters, check out small moments that turn everyday life into something surprising.