Hoppers has made a splash at the box office in the past week, becoming Pixar's strongest debut for an original animated movie since Coco back in 2017. If you been to see it, you probably noticed that it looks different from other Pixar movies due to its more stylised look, but that doesn't mean it turns its back on the Pixar universe.
If you blinked you might have missed them, but Hoppers is packed full of Easter eggs that reference other Pixar and Disney films, from Toy Story to Up. Below, we'll recap a few that you might have missed.
Article continues belowWarning: this article may contain spoilers, revealing details of things that happen in Pixar's Hoppers.
In the video above, Pipa Curda, who voices Mabel Tanaka in the movie, reveals a bunch of Easter eggs in Hoppers. There are at least six in a brief scene in Mabel's bedroom, where there's even a drawing that Pipa did herself on the noticeboard.
If you look closely in Mabel's bedroom, you might also spot a poster of a character from the upcoming Toy Story 5 and a skeleton from Coco. Meanwhile, Mabel's phone case is decorated with stickers that include Toy Story aliens and one from the Wilderness Explorers from Up. You might also catch a glimpse of a stroller covered by a blanket from Brave.
There's also a reference to director Daniel Chong's cartoon network sitcom We Bare Bears (see an episode above) on Mabel's windowsill. Animators apparently snuck that in without Daniel's knowledge. Hoppers actually features the voices of several actors who also worked on We Bare Bears, including Bobby Moynihan as King George and Demetri Martin as the voice for a flock of birds!
Speaking of voice actors, did you notice that the Insect Queen in Hoppers is played by Meryl Streep? It's the second time in her career that the actress has played a queen insect – she played a queen any in Warner Bros' The Ant Bully in 2006.
Going back to Disney and Pixar films, did you notice the name of the turtle that Mabel rescues early in the movie? A sign on the tank reads 'My name's Crush' – which was the name of the turtle in Finding Nemo.
Later in the Hoppers, all kinds of species attend a council meeting. That includes a flock of birds that resembles those that appeared in Pixar's For the Birds (above), winner of the Oscar for best animated short in 2001.
But the biggest Hoppers Easter egg collection of all has to be Dr Sam's chalkboard, which is packed with references to five different Pixar movies.
Most notably, there's a drawing of a dog with a collar and a speaker, like the collars that dogs wear in Up. Did the scientists who created the hopping technology also work on the tech that appears in other Pixar movies, potentially linking up the whole Pixar universe?
Did you catch any more Easter eggs in Hopper? Let me know in the comments section.
For more animation inspiration, see how Unreal Engine 5 was used for KPop Demon Hunters.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
