21 Subtle Movie Details That Make These Hit Movies So Much Better
There is so much more behind Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin character than we thought.
Movie magic often hides in plain sight, and that is part of what makes a great film stick with you long after the credits roll.
Behind the biggest hits, filmmakers tuck away tiny visual clues, background details, and clever callbacks that can completely change how a scene lands once you notice them.
Some of these moments are easy to miss on a first watch, but they make the movies feel even smarter the second time around.
1. Don't Look Up
In "Don't Look Up," The Daily Rip's logo reads as "lib" in its reflection because it was a left-leaning show.
LarryKingshead2. Encanto
In "Encanto," Bruno's "mice TV" recreates the famous 1990 World Cup match between Germany and Colombia.
Disney / Pixar
Frank Leonhardt / Picture Alliance via Getty Images
3. Tick, Tick...Boom!
The elementary school teacher of Lin-Manuel Miranda, who inspired his love for musical theater, makes an appearance in "Tick, Tick...Boom!"
Str33twise84
4. Venom: Let There Be Carnage
The sweatshirt Eddie wears, which has "Mumford Phys. Ed. Dept." on it, is a tribute to "Beverly Hills Cop."
dartmaster666
5. Spider-Man (2002)
In one moment, Norman Osborn's expressions quickly go through the five stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance) after Oscorp's board forces him to resign in the film.
Sony
Sony
Sony
6. Last Night in Soho
In the film "Last Night in Soho," there are identical coatroom attendants in one scene with a mirror. That wasn't CGI, though.
Those were twin actors James and Oliver Phelps, better known as Fred and George from "Harry Potter."
DrLoomis6Times
7. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
In the film, Peter Parker uses a backslash instead of the usual forward slash in the URL of his Christmas album because he, just like Miles, is from an alternate universe.
SuperAlloyBerserker
This is the same kind of “wait, what?” energy as 81 visual anomalies that will leave your logic spinning in the mud.
8. Pleasantville
In the scene where the empty books start to fill with text, the first two books to be filled are "Catcher in the Rye" and "Huckleberry Finn," both of which are frequently banned in the real world for their controversial content.
New Line Cinema
9. Rosemary's Baby
In the film, the baby is born in June 1966, also known as 6/66.
Str33twise84
10. Coco
In "Coco," Miguel names his dog Dante after the horse in one of Ernesto de la Cruz's famous films.
Disney / Pixar
11. Twilight
The owl figurine behind Edward in this scene makes him look like he has the wings of an angel.
PBandJthyme
12. Who Framed Roger Rabbit
The background of Roger's photo with Jessica shows caricatures of the people who worked on the film.
Numerous-Lemon
13. American Psycho
In one of their conversations, Detective Kimball uses a CD case to reflect light into Bateman's eyes, but Bateman doesn't flinch or cover his eyes like a normal person would.
Lionsgate
Lionsgate
The Shawshank Redemption
Red's cell number in the film is 237, which is also the hotel room number in "The Shining." This is a reference to both films being based on Stephen King novels.
Comic_Book_Reader
15. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
One of the belts worn by Jack Sparrow is Anamaria's belt from "Curse of the Black Pearl."
Disney
16. Marriage Story
The mediation scenes in "Marriage Story" took place in the real-life offices of Laura Wesser, the family law attorney who represented Scarlett Johansson and Laura Dern, as well as director Noah Baumbach, in their divorces.
Invictusology
17. Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion
The red jacket worn by Lisa Kudrow in the film is the same one her "Friends" co-star Courteney Cox wore in "Scream."
superancica
18. Sherlock Gnomes
The moving company in the film is named Sherrinford, which was almost Sherlock Holmes' name.
Numerous-Lemon
19. Thor: Ragnarok
The Grandmaster's "I pardon you" gesture was actually made in reference to "Schindler's List."
Marvel, Universal Pictures
20. Godzilla
Mayor Ebert and his assistant Gene were based on real-life critics Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel, who had given the director of the film pretty bad reviews before.
TriStar Pictures
21. Ironman
The soundtrack playing in the background of the casino scene is the theme song from the classic 1966 "Iron Man" TV show.
Deepakhn
No matter how small and inconsequential these details may seem, they prove that the filmmakers behind these films have truly put a lot of thought into everything that went into their productions. With the details they've included, they've made their films richer and much more interesting than they were before, don't you think?
Some of these little touches are easy to miss, but they make a big difference once you spot them.
Still think the world is predictable, check out small moments that prove the world is full of surprises.
