‘Luca’ Easter Eggs Make Reference to ‘Toy Story,’ ‘Pinocchio’ and More!
Disney-Pixar has laid out some more easter eggs in their latest movie Luca, and it’s nothing new. If you’re a Disney fan or have kids who are Disney movie fans, you’ve likely already noticed easter eggs in previous popular films like Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Onward, and more — in fact, it’s become a game to point out all the easter eggs for many fans.
Most recently, fans have taken to Luca to see what they could find, and you won’t want to miss it. Not only did the film give a nod to popular films from the past, but it also referenced a new movie coming to Disney+ in March 2022.
‘Luca’ is Pixar’s newest coming-of-age story
If you haven’t seen it yet, there’s no better time than now. Hop onto your Disney+ and start streaming Luca right away, as it’s one of the most adorable new films to make its way onto Disney. While it didn’t receive as good reviews as Soul (a film that is unmistakably hard to beat), it certainly deserves some acknowledgment.
A young boy, or secret sea monster, finds himself in a pickle when he disobeys his parent’s order never to step foot on land. Alongside newly-found best friend Alberto, Luca discovers adventure and friendships while battling against discrimination and bullying. The little green guy takes on the world — and the human race — nonetheless, changing hearts and minds in the process.
It’s the perfect coming-of-age story, set on the Italian Riviera and filled with tributes to Italian culture and way of life.
‘Luca’ easter eggs reference previous Disney films
As Disney tweeted out in 2019, all your favorite Disney movies are filled with easter eggs! In fact, there isn’t one that doesn’t reference their other popular features. And guess what — Luca isn’t any different!
If you watch closely, you’ll notice the most common and classic reference, the Luxo ball, on the right-hand corner of the roof during a top-view shot of Luca bicycling in the race. The Easter egg is a nod to Pixar’s first animated short Luxo, Jr. It is most prominently featured in the Toy Story series, which also makes it into Luca in the form of our favorite Pizza Planet truck (no pizza sign, but the same rocket ship on top!).
We also get some references to character animation classes with the train ticket number A113 and a boat named Elena, which is a nod to 2017’s Coco character Abuelita.
When you take a look at the scene in Giulia’s bedroom, you’ll notice two more great easter egg nods to previous films. There’s Donald Duck kicked back looking more chill than ever as a stuffed animal and a book referencing Pinocchio, titled Le Avventure di Pinocchio (or The Adventures of Pinnochio).
An up-and-coming Disney feature is referenced too
Previous movies and animation classroom numbers aren’t the only wonderful easter eggs to make it into the Disney-Pixar movie. We also get a tiny promotion for their new movie lined up to premiere in early 2022 — Turning Red.
The catch with this one is no one has yet to find the super-secret easter egg, but it was announced it’s in there nonetheless. According to Cinemablend, Luca director Enrico Casarosa not only said it was in there, but it is ‘very well hidden.’ So, good luck!
“We have a little Turning Red secret one, but it’s very well hidden, and we don’t want to spoil any surprises for Turning Red,” Casarosa said. “So that might be more of a later reveal.”
