References to Upcoming Films

Some of Pixar's notorious Easter eggs are references to Pixar films that were still in production at the time of release, and Pixar films yet to be made or released, making them references to upcoming Pixar films. Although it hasn't been as consistent as some of their other Easter eggs, in recent years it has become a tradition for Pixar to put in each of their films a cameo of or an allusion to a character from their following film.

Instances[]

Toy Story:
- Buzz Lightyear has a winged ant being smashed on his helmet after staying on the roof of the van, an allusion to A Bug's Life.
A Bug's Life:
- Woody makes a cameo in one of the alternate outtakes during the end credits, an allusion to Toy Story 2.
Toy Story 2:
- Geri the repairman has a drawer of loose eyeballs, a reference to monster Theodore Pauley from Monsters, Inc. when Theodore grabs a handful of loose eyeballs and attaches them to his face.
- The license plate of a white car has HDNCTY written on it, which when coded means Hidden City, the cafeteria seen in Monsters Inc.
- A non-anthropomorphic version of Flo from Cars appears as Al's car.
Monsters, Inc.:
- Harryhausen's has a painted mural featuring a clownfish.^[1]
- A Nemo model is seen hanging in the trailer where Randall is banished.
- Boo gives Sulley a Nemo toy.
Finding Nemo:
- A boy in the dentist's waiting room is reading a Mr. Incredible comic book, a reference to The Incredibles.
- A non-anthropomorphic version of Luigi from Cars drives by when the tank gang finally escapes.^[2]
The Incredibles:
- A non-anthropomorphic version of Red from Cars is parked outside a burning building.
- A non-anthropomorphic version of Doc Hudson from Cars is parked in a street of Metroville during the final battle.
Cars:
- In the Cozy Cone Motel, there is a picture of the Eiffel Tower, an allusion to Ratatouille.
Ratatouille:
- A shadow of Dug from Up is seen when Remy wanders in an apartment.
- Hal, the roach from WALL•E, also makes a cameo in Linguini's apartment.
Your Friend the Rat:
- WALL•E from the film of the same name is the driver of the vehicle on Mars. This reference is unique as this was in a short, not a movie.
WALL•E:
- Carl Fredricksen's walking stick from Up can be seen upside down (with the tennis balls attached to the feet) on two occasions. Firstly, when WALL•E is about to pull across the magnifying screen the walker is sitting behind the iPod. Secondly, when WALL•E falls down from the ceiling of his truck (after being knocked there by EVE), he collides with the walker.
Up:
- Lots-o'-Huggin' Bear from Toy Story 3 is placed next to the bed of a little girl.
Toy Story 3:
- Finn McMissile from Cars 2 is featured on a poster in Andy's room.
- The number 95 is on the train in the opening scene, possibly an allusion to Cars 2.
- At Sunnyside Daycare, one of the toddlers wears a shirt with a design of a #95 with a lightning bolt, a reference to Lightning McQueen's number, another allusion to Cars 2.
- Also in Andy's room is a "Newt Xing" sign, an allusion to newt. Even though newt was canceled, it had been set to be released in 2012 (two years after Toy Story 3), and as such, this was technically a reference to an upcoming film.
Cars 2:
- A car-ified version of the DunBroch family tapestry from Brave appears in the Ye Left Turn Inn in London.
Brave:
- A wood engraving of Sulley appears in the witch's hut. Although Sulley is an original character from Monsters, Inc., this cameo was advertised as an allusion to Monsters University.^[3]^[1]
- The witch holds up a newt, an allusion to the cancelled film newt, which was in production at the time.
Monsters University:
- Toy versions of dinosaur characters from The Good Dinosaur appear in the Scare simulators used for the final event of the Scare Games.^[4]^[1]
- Art gives Mike Wazowski and James P. Sullivan a dream journal with a unicorn and a rainbow, an allusion to Rainbow Unicorn from Inside Out.
Toy Story OF TERROR!:
- The paintings hung in the motel room depict dinosaurs under a tree, another allusion to The Good Dinosaur.^[5]
Toy Story That Time Forgot:
- According to director Steve Purcell, the three posters in Mason's gaming room were allusions to three of Pixar's then-upcoming films: Inside Out, Cars 3 and Coco.^[6]
Inside Out:
- Giant statues of Forrest Woodbush and Arlo from The Good Dinosaur are seen in Riley's memories of the road trip to San Francisco.
The Good Dinosaur:
- Hank from Finding Dory appears at the bottom of the water when Arlo learns to swim. (It might be hard to find him so don't worry)
Finding Dory:
- The driver of the truck heading for Cleveland at the end of the film has a Band-Aid with an image of Lightning McQueen on his right hand, a reference to Cars 3.
Cars 3:
- The image Cruz Ramirez displays to motivate a homesick trainee is of the Santa Cecilia Grave from Coco.
- The Shiny Guitar from Coco is hung on the wall behind the band playing at the Cotter Pin Bar at Thomasville.
Coco:
- As Miguel and Hector are on their way to the Land of the Dead talent show, an Incredibles poster is briefly seen, an allusion to Incredibles 2.
Incredibles 2:
- A Duke Caboom action figure from Toy Story 4 is seen in Jack-Jack's playpen.
Toy Story 4:
- The pegasus on the side of Barley Lightfoot's van is seen on the bouncy castle at the carnival, an allusion to Onward.^{[citation needed]}
Onward:
- When Colt Bronco knocks over Barley Lightfoot's Quests of Yore board game, in the left side on a bookshelf, a music album of Dorothea Williams can be seen, a human jazz performer in the Pixar film, Soul.
Soul:
- A poster on the left of a travel agency's window reads "Visit Portorosso", a major location in Luca.
- Just before Joe Gardner falls down a manhole at the beginning, he narrowly avoids a biker driving a Vespa, Luca Paguro and Alberto Scorfano's dream vehicle in Luca.
Luca:
- There is an Italian logo that says "4 (Star) Villaggi," a reference to the boy band 4 Town in Turning Red.
Monsters At Work:
- In episode 3, a toy red panda is seen, an allusion to Turning Red.
Turning Red:
- Miriam's skateboard has a sticker of Buzz Lightyear's Star Command logo and Sox on it as a reference to Lightyear.
Lightyear:
- Water bottles in the snack machine are labeled "Wade Water," in reference to a main character from Elemental.
Elemental:
- One of the snack brands sold at The Fireplace is "SparkJoy", which in addition to being a pastiche both of "Wrigley's Spearmint" as "Almond Joy", is also a reference to the Inside Out character, Joy, who would return in Inside Out 2.
- One of the signs in Firetown has letters in the Firish language with the colors of core Emotions, including orange, the color of Anxiety, a character who would debut in Inside Out 2.
- Harold's painting seen during the Ripples' dinner includes the colors of emotions (red, yellow, green, blue and purple) and adds orange, pink, indigo and aquamarine, in reference to Inside Out 2.
- There's a Join the Space Club poster at young Wade's school, in reference to Elio, which was originally scheduled to be next film after Elemental, in 2024, but was delayed to 2025.
- Ooooo, Elio's alien companion, can be seen in the crowd at the Cyclone Stadium as they cheer ''We love you, Lutz!''
Inside Out 2:
- When Sadness comes crashing back into headquarters, one of the yellow memory spheres that came along with her shows Elio as a reference to Elio.

Gallery[]

References[]

[DMA-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 1 Screaming Fact About Monsters University + a Peek at Inside Out on Disney Movies Anywhere

[2] Pixar Fans Join the Hunt! (1:30) (Full version on Disney Movies Anywhere)

[3] ‘Brave’ Easter Eggs – Pizza Planet Truck, Sulley From ‘Monsters University’

[4] Bob Peterson on Twitter

[5] Pixar talks challenges of creating ‘Toy Story of TERROR!’ for television, easter eggs with Hypable

[6] Episode 044 of the Pixar Post Podcast - 'Toy Story That Time Forgot' Interview & Easter Egg Chat with Director, Steve Purcell

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