TheArtOfFilm

EasterEggs

AlanIbanezGallegos
26thApril,2016

Whatisaneasteregg?Aneastereggisadeliberatehiddenmessagewithina
film.Thepurposeofaneastereggistomaketheviewerpaycloseattentiontothe
detail,especiallyinthemiseenscene,tofindinsidejokes,homages,andcarefully
constructedlinkagebetweenfilms.Eastereggsgettheirnamefromtheegghunting
traditionduringeaster.Thewholeideaofaneastereggistofinditjustlikeyouwould
lookforeastereggsduringeaster,sometimesitiseasytofindthemandsometimesitis
not.Eastereggscanbefoundinmanyways,shapes,orforms.Mosteastereggsare
foundwhenlookingcautiouslyatthemiseenscene.Thishasdrivenmanyfansand
moviegoerstowatchamovieframebyframeforhoursinordertofindthesehidden
gems.Nowadays,eastereggshavegrowninpopularity.Pixar,MarvelStudios,and
othershavebecomefamousforcarefullyplacingeastereggswithintheirmovies.
Eastereggshavegainedmainstreampopularity.Youcanfindtheminvideo
games,sourcecodes,andevensongs.Wherediditallstart?Whowasthefirstdirector
touseeastereggsintheirfilms?Therewasapersonwhostarteditalllongbefore
eastereggsgotpopularitythroughvideogamesandwaybeforepixardiditintheir
animatedfilms.ThecelebrateddirectorAlfredHitchcockwasthefirstdirectortohave
eastereggsinhisfilms(Fravele).Theeastereggscameintheformofcameosbynone
otherthanHitchcockhimself.Inthemovie
DialMForMurder
,Hitchcockmakesa
cameo13minutesand13secondsintothemoviethroughayearbookpicture(see
image1).Themovie
Lifeboat
takesplaceinaboatwithninepeople,Hitchcockstillfinds
awaytomakecameobyappearinginthefrontcoverofthenewspaper(seeimage2).

Hitchcockalsoshowsupinothermoviessuchas,
Thebird
,
Psycho
,
Rope
,
ToCatcha
Thief
,
NorthbyNorthwest
,
RearWindow,

Blackmail
,and
TheTroubleWithHarry
(Conradt).Hitchcockssmallcameoswouldpavethewayandhistechniquewouldsoon
takeoffandinspiremanydirectorstocreatehiddensymbolswithintheirfilmstointeract
withtheaudience.

Image1HitchcockInyearbook(Conradt)

Image2.Hitchcockinnewspaper(Conradt).

QuentinTarantinoisanacclaimeddirector.Mostlyknownforhis
nonchronologicalstorytellingandthegoreinhisfilms,Tarantinoisalsoknownfor
craftingnoticeableandsomenotsonoticeableeastereggsinhisfilms.Apassionate
movielover,throughhismovies,hehasgivennodstothosewhohaveinspiredhim
whilealsoalludingtothefilmsheadmires.AnoticeableeasteregginTarantinofilmsis
thetrunkshot.Invariousofhisfilms,Tarantinoshowsthedominanceofhischaracters
throughthefamoustrunkshot(seeimage3)(Lai).Themovie
DjangoUnchained
sharesthesamenameasthemoviedirectedbySergioCorbucciin1966.Thespaghetti
westernstarredFrancoNeroasthenamesakecharacter.InTarantinosfilm,Franco
NerohasasmallcameoashetalkstoDjango.Thisisanodtothefilmthatinspired
Tarantinoswestern(seeimages4and5)(Lai).
Tarantinohasattentivelycreatedtwoseparateuniverseswherehisfilmstake
placethroughtheplacementofeastereggs.Tarantinohasconfirmedthatboth
KillBill
moviesand
FromDuskTillDawn
,inwhichhewascreditedasacowriter,takeplacein
thesocalledMoviemoviesuniverse.Thesearemoviesthatthecharactersinhis
moviesenjoytowatch.Forinstance,inthelittleseen,Tarantinoproduceddrama
Curdled,acharacterisseenwatchingtheGeckobrothersfromFDTDonTV.Thisgoes
somewaytoexplainingtheircartoonishviolenceandsupernaturalelement(Gray).
OthermovieslikePulpFiction,TheHatefulEight,DjangoUnchained,andInglourious
BasterdstakeplaceintheRealerThanrealuniverse.Obviouslythereislessfantasy
andthemoviesstickbytherulesofourworld.Eastereggsshowupinbothuniverses.

BrandswithinthemovielikeRedAppleCigarettesandBigKahunaBurgeralsomake
appearancesinbothuniverses,however,charactersdonotalwaysmakethejumpfrom
oneuniversetotheother.Sometimeseastereggsarehardtofindandthesehaveno
effectontheplotofthefilm,however,Tarantinostillplacessmallnodstorewardthose
whopayattentionandtoconnectallofhismovies.Themovies
ReservoirDogs
and
PulpFiction
areinterconnectedthankstothemaincharactersofbothmovies.VicVega
from
ReservoirDogs
andVincentVegafrom
Pulpfiction
areactuallybrothers.Theirlast
nameleadtospeculationthatbothcharacterswererelated.Thiswaspurespeculation
untilTarantinosaidthathehadplannedamoviestarringMichaelMarsdenandJohn
travoltacalledtheVegaBrothers.ThisisjustoneofmanywaysthatTarantinohasdone
tocreateacoherentuniversewherehismoviestakeplace.IGNalsoreportsthatEven
Tarantino'speriodcharactersbreathethesameoxygenashismodernheroes,thanksto
somecleverfamilyconnections.EliRothplayedthefearsome'BearJew'inWWIIromp
InglouriousBasterds,buthischaracter'srealname,DonnieDonowitz,revealedhimto
betheeventualfatherofTrueRomance'scokeguzzlingmovieproducerLeeDonowitz
(SaulRubinek)inthemoderndaygangsterthriller(Gray).Thegraphicbelowshows
howotherfilmsareinterconnected(seeimage6).Tosumitup,Tarantinoisabig
admirerofcinema.Hepayshomagetomanymoviesthatmeansomethingtohim.He
alsocreatesaspecialbondwithaudiencebymakingthemgoonahunttofindthe
hiddensymbolsinhiswork.

Image3.Tarantinotrunkshot(Lai).

Image4.DjangobySergioCorbucci(Lai).

Image5.FrancoNeroandJamieFoxx(Lai).

Image6.TarantinoGraphic

(Gray).

EdgarWrightdirectedthefamous
ThreeFlavoursofCornetto
trilogy.Even
thoughthetrilogyisnotconnectedthroughtheirrespectivenarratives,theyare
connectedthroughthemes,details,andmotifs,andeastereggs.Anobviouseasteregg
throughoutthethreemoviesisthetrilogysnamesakeicecream.Acrossthemovieswe
canseetheeastereggshowup(seeimage7).Thecornettosseemtobeapartofthe
supportingcastbecauseoftheirpresence.ThenotionoftheCornettotrilogycame
fromawisecrackWright,Pegg,andFrostmadefollowing
HotFuzz
.Withfansclamoring
forathirdfilm,thetriojokedabouttheicecreamconnectionbindingFuzztogether
withShaun,andlaterrealizedthatbothmovieswerealikeinmorewaysthantheir
characterscommonfondnessforfrostyCornettodeliciousness(Crump).InThe
WorldsEnd,nooneseemstoenjoythecornetto.Butthereisaverysubtlehintinthe
veryendwhenacornettowrapperfliesbyAndy.Everycornettofilmalsosharesvarious
similarities.Themainprotagonistofallfilmsalwaysbondoveratabarorpub.Thepubs
andbarsalsoputthecastofheroesagainstzombiesfrom
ShaunoftheDead
,Aliens
from
TheWorldsEnd
,andmurderersfrom
HotFuzz
.Likemostdirectors,EdgarWright
isalsoamoviefan.Hegiveshomagestothemoviesthathaveinspiredhim.For
example,InHotFuzz,wecanseetheDVDsof
PointBreak
and
BadBoysII
(seeimage
8).ThesefilmsheavilyinfluencedWrightsHotFuzz.Anothernoticeableeastereggis
ShaunoftheDead
.Thenameisanodtothemovie
DawnofTheDead
,whichinspired
WrightincreatingShaun(Crump).InShaunoftheDead,Edgivesaspeechthatpretty
muchgivesawaythewholemovie.Howeverwedonotknowthisunlesswewatchthe
filmtwice.Itsaneastereggthatgivesawaytheeventstofollow.Atthepub,Edtalksto
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Shaunandthepicturebelowoutlineswhathesays(seeimage9)(wired).Inthiscase,
Wrightemployedtheuseofeastereggstoshowcohesionbetweenhistrilogy.Even
thoughthethreemoviesarenotconnectedthroughthestoryline,hemakesthe
audienceknowthatitallbelongstoasingletrilogywiththeuseofeastereggsand
cameos.

Image7.EdgarWrightCornettos(Crump).

Image8.PointBreakandBadBoysIIDVD(Crump.)

Image9.Wrightoutline(Wired).

Eversincethemainstreamreleaseof
ToyStory
,Pixarhasbecomeabig
powerhouseintheanimatedmoviebusiness.Everyyearoreveryfewyearsthey
becomemoreprominentwitheverymovietheyrelease.Theyalsointroducenew
charactersthatfans,especiallyyoungboysandgirls,fallinlovewith.Theanimated
moviestudioPixariswellknownforinsidejokes,references,andeastereggsintheir
movies.Someareplainobviouswhereasothersneedcarefulattentiontodetail.Oneof
thefirsteastereggsthatpixarhasentertainedaudienceswithisthefamousLuxoBall.

TheballfirstappearedinPixarsfirstanimatedshort
LuxoJr.
Theshortwasthefirstof
itskind.Itshowedthewholeindustrythatcomputersweretoolsinthenextgeneration
ofanimation.TheLuxoBallalongwiththePixarLamparethemosticonicsassetsof
theanimatedstudio.TheLuxoballshowsupinvariousmoviessuchas
ToyStory
when
BuzzLightyearshowsoffhisabilitytofly.HedoesthisbybouncingofftheLuxoBall
(seeimage10).Theballmakesanotherappearanceinthe
ToyStory3
atSunnyside
Daycare(seeimage11).Italsomakescameosin
Up
,
the

Incredibles
,andtheshort
Presto
(Conradt).PizzaPlanetplayedacrucialroleinToyStory,especiallythescapein
thedeliverytruck.EversincethetruckhaspoppedupineveryPixarmoviewiththe
exceptionbeing
TheIncredibles
.Theeastereggsisfirstfoundin
ABugsLife
,thetruck
isparkedoutsidethetrailerwiththebugzapper.Thetruckandthetrailerturnupnextin
Monsters,Inc
,whenRandalliskickedoutofMonstropolisandtransportedtothesame
truckfrom
ABugsLife
(seeimage12).Thetruckshowsupagainin
Finding

Nemo
,
Cars
,
Ratatouille
,
WALLE
,
Up
,
Cars

2
,
Brave
,and
Monsters

University
.Pixar
animatorsalsohaveatendencyforslidingreferencestootherPixarmoviesandeven
somethathavenotbeenreleasedyet.Lotso,theantagonistfrom
ToyStory3
,appears
inashotfrom
Up
whenMr.Fredrickson'shousefliesbyherwindow(seeimage13).
TheLuxoBallcanalsobespottedintheframe.In
MonstersInc
.,BoogivesSulleya
stuffedanimal.ThishappenstobeNemothemainprotagonistfrom
FindingNemo.
This
marksNemofirstonscreenappearance,twoyearsbeforehismoviewasreleased.In
FindingNemo,Nemofindshimselftrappedintheaquariumofadentist.Inthedentists
waitingroomwecanspotaboyreadingacomicbook.Themainprotagonistofthe

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comicbookisMr.IncrediblefromtheIncredibles(seeimage14).Thismoviewouldbe
releasedthefollowingyear.Manypeopleontheinternethavefoundmanyshotsin
PixarmoviesaswellasothershowscontainingthereferenceA113.A113isa
classroomintheCaliforniaInstituteoftheArts.Thisiswheremanygraphicdesign
studentshavetakenclasses.ThisincludesPixarhigherupssuchasJohnLasseterand
BradBird.Animatorsgiveanodtotheroomthroughtheirworks.A113hasnotonly
appearedinPixarmovies(seeimages15and16),ithasalsoshownupinThe
Simpsons,AmericanDad!,SouthPark,Rugrats,andmanymore(Conradt).Herearea
fewpixarshotswherethenumbercanbeseen.StanleyKubricks
TheShining
isoneof
themostacclaimedhorrormoviesofourtime.Writers,producers,anddirectorshave
highpraiseforthemovie.TheToyStoryfranchisepayshomagetothemoviethrough
variouseastereggs.In
ToyStory
thereisascenewhereBuzzandWoodyaretryingto
fleefromSydshouse(seeimages17).Thecarpetinthehousehasthesamepattern
astheOverlookhotelfromtheshining(seeimage18).Thiseastereggaddstothe
suspensefromthescenecreatingdread.Morereferencesarefoundin
ToyStory3
.
Thereisascenewhenamonkeytoywatchesafeedofsurveillancecameras(see
image19).NexttothecamerasthereisaboxwiththesamepatternfromtheOverlook
carpet.Morerecurringeastereggsarethereferencestoroom237fromtheOverlook.
Thiseastereggsarenotacoincidence.DirectorLeeUnkrichisanadmirerofThe
Shiningandpersonallyputtheeastereggsinthemovie(Short).Pixarhasbecome
iconicbecauseoftheireastereggs.IthasbecomeatraditionthateveryPixarrelease
containsaneasteregg.Thisispartoftheculturebehindthebigstudio.Viewersenjoy

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theinteractionsthateastereggsprovide.Ifoneweretogoonyoutubeandtypeeaster
eggsthousandsofvideoswouldpopup,speciallythoseaboutpixar.Therearealso
countlessthreadsabouteastereggsonredditandotherforums.

Image10.LuxoballinToyStory(Conradt).

Image11.LuxoballinToyStory3(Conradt).

Image12.PizzatruckinAbugsLife(Conradt).

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Image13.LotsoInUp(Conradt).

Image14.Mr.IncredibleinFindingNemo(Conradt)
.

Image15.A113inMonsters,Inc.(Conradt).

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Image16.A113inToyStory(Conrat).

Image17.ShiningcarpetinToyStory(Short).

Image18.TheShiningshot(Short).

Image19.Toymonkeyshiningreference(Short).

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Inconclusion,eastereggsareafunpartofmoviesthatallowdirectorstointeract
withviewers.Forsome,itisatraditiontoplacethesehiddengemswithintheirmovies.
Othersdoittopayrespecttowhathasinspiredthem.Andlastly,therestdoitforfun
andtokeepfansentertained.Forexample,JamesGunnplacedmanyeastereggsin
GuardiansoftheGalaxy.Hegavenodstotheavengers,StanLee,marvelcomicsand
manymore.DuringtheendingcreditssceneheelaboratedaHowardtheDuckeaster
eggcameothatmadeaudienceslosetheirminds.HealsocommentedonFacebook
thatthebiggesteasteregghasnotbefound.Today,manydirectors,cinematographers,
andanimatorstaketimeandefforttocreateeastereggs.Mostmovieswillhaveatleast
aneastereggforaudiencestofind.Eastereggshaveriseninpopularityamongviewers
Eastereggsareawayfordirectorstobecreativeandhavefunwiththeirworks.

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WorksCited
Conradt,Stacy."30PixarEasterEggstoLookforNextTime."
MentalFloss
.
MentalFLoss,1Apr.2014.Web.27Apr.2016.
Conradt,Stacy."TheQuick10:10AlfredHitchcockCameos."
Mental_Floss
.
MentalFLoss,3Aug.2010.Web.27Apr.2016.
Crump,Andy."TheWorldsEnd':CornettoTrilogyTieIns,References,&
Cameos."
ScreenRant
.N.p.,23Aug.2013.Web.27Apr.2016.
Frevele,Jamie."TheOriginofEasterEggsTheDigitalOnes."
TheMarySue
TheOriginofEasterEggsTheDigitalOnesComments
.N.p.,18Apr.2012.Web.27
Apr.2016.
Gray,Ali."TheIntricate,ExpansiveUniverseofQuentinTarantinoIGN."
IGN
.
N.p.,17Jan.2013.Web.27Apr.2016
Lai,Kristin."11oftheCleverestEasterEggsinQuentinTarantino'sMovies."
Moviepilot.com
.N.p.,n.d.Web.27Apr.2016.
Short,Aaron."6MindBlowingEasterEggsHiddeninFamousMovies."
Cracked.com
.N.p.,4Nov.2013.Web.27Apr.2016.
WiredStaff."TheBestRunningGagsandEasterEggsoftheWorldsEnd
Trilogy."
Wired.com
.CondeNastDigital,26Aug.2013.Web.27Apr.2016.

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