Animators like their fun, don’t they? Since the advent of cartoons, creators have been inserting sly little references, and only the sharpest fans catch them. Here’s some of the wildest cartoon easter eggs you won’t believe!
Uncle Scrooge’s Vault is Full of Gold from Aztec Genocide
Scrooge McDuck is one rich duck! But did you know that according to legendary artist Carl Barks, Scrooge’s Money Bin is full of gold plundered from the Aztec people by the monster Hernán Cortés and is thus forever tainted with the blood and terror of a massacred people? Not easy to spot!
Scar’s Dark Hair Marks Him as a Descendant of Cain
“The Lion King’s” Scar is one of the Disney Renaissance’s most distinctive, flamboyant villains, but only real fans can tell that his iconic dark mane is an indication that this murderous lion is a direct descendant of Cain, the original murderer of Genesis 4:1-18. Makes him killing his own brother the more ironic, huh?
Scooby-Doo Can Fucking Talk
Most people can’t even tell, but if you listen to Hanna-Barbera’s iconic pooch, he’s clearly fucking talking. That’s wild. He’s a dog, dogs can’t talk.
The Good Dinosaur DVDs
If you check out Pixar’s catalogue of DVDs, you’ll see they carry a copy of something called “The Good Dinosaur,” which is something of a real-life easter egg to the fictional movie of the same title! No such movie exists.
Robin Hood Re-Uses Animation from The Jungle Book, Hinting at a World in Which Disney is Lazy as Fuck
If you watch Disney’s “Robin Hood” (1973) and “The Jungle Book” (1967), you can pick up key little movements and references to a world in which the guys working on these cartoons were real lazy pieces of shit who couldn’t be bothered to do their jobs. First shared universe, maybe?
TMNT Always Portrays Splinter as Sick and Old
Throughout the extended media of the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” franchise, their mentor Splinter is always depicted as being old and sick. This is a subtle, decades-long reference to the fact that age destroys all things and one day we will all be as hobbled and ill as the wise rat. Time makes fools of us all!
The Ren & Stimpy Show
Every easter egg added to the show by creator John Kricfalus is disgusting beyond belief and we refuse to discuss them.
Avatar: The Last Airbender Includes Sly References to the Ancient Tradition of Warfare
Acclaimed Nickelodeon show “Avatar: The Last Airbender” was a three season tale of friendship and magic, but what most don’t realize is that creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko inserted numerous references to what was once known as “war.” According to legend, this “war” was a fearsome thing that made many hurt and was beyond what wise men could explain. Wow!
In Life, The Skeletons in That Old Cartoon Were All Hung
The very first “Silly Symphony,” Walt Disney and Ub Iwerk’s 1929 short portrayed four skeletons in a spooky dans macabre. But if those skeletons’ hip structure and confident strut are any indication, when those dudes were alive, they were packing serious heat. The very first Disney easter egg!
Pixar’s Pizza Planet Indicates That None of the Movies Happen in a Universe Where You Exist
Over the years, Pixar has filled their films with hints of a shared world for “Toy Story,” “Ratatouille,” “Monsters Inc.” and the rest, most prominently the Pizza Planet delivery truck. But this truck does not exist in your world, which means you are in a world devoid of magic and friendship. Your world is cold and empty.
Wow!