Cartoon movies made by studios like Disney, on the surface look all nice and happy. But sometimes these otherwise bright and colorful movies drop insane references that we as kids were too young to understand. Here are 10 such instances from our favorite cartoon and Disney movies that had hidden insane references.
1. Toy Story
As kids, we all loved to watch the Toy Story movies. We might have watched it quite a few times and yet never cared enough to notice an insane reference to The Shining. Yes, The Shining. The carpet in Sid’s house matches the pattern of the carpet in Overlook Hotel’s corridor from The Shining.
2. The Incredibles
Our favorite superhero family from childhood, The Incredibles is one of the most enjoyable kids movies. But this one too is hiding an insane reference. The scene where a cop busts Mr. Incredible and Frozone at the jewelry shop is a reference to Die Hard with a Vengeance. It is referring to the scene where Zeus Carver was held up by police.
3. Moana
Based on the new era heroine, Moana is a story of a young girl that saves her world by going on an adventure alone. Maui in the movie is voiced by none other than Dwayne Johnson. And the character makes an insane reference to its voice actor’s signature “pec pop of love” from the film Journey 2: The Mysterious Island.
4. Hercules
The animated movie of Hercules has a hidden insane reference too. In a scene, during the training montage, we see Hercules, Phil, and Pegasus are seen doing different activities. Also, the three make a pose that resembles the pose from the beach scene of The Karate Kid.
5. Mulan
Mulan is another new age Heroine centric movie. So, it might come to you as a surprise that it did an insane reference to Rambo III. The scene where Mushu is asked by the men of the fireworks tower, who he was. The response of the dragon is the same as Rambo’s in Rambo III – “Your worst nightmare.”
6. Toy Story 2
Another time when the Toy Story series made an insane reference was in the second movie. In the movie, there is a scene where the toy T-rex chases the car. That scene is shot the same way the T-rex chase scene is shot in Jurassic Park 2.
7. Up
Up is one of the most loved Disney movies. But this beautiful story made a reference to The Lost World, 1925. The landscape of Paradise Falls, where the couple always wished to go, was nearly identical to the fictional landscape in the 1925 movie.
8. Zootopia
What could a movie based on a rabbit saving the town refer to? But it is. Zootopia makes an insane reference to the classic The Godfather. If you watch closely, you will notice that Mr. Big’s mannerisms match Vito Corleone’s.
9. The Little Mermaid
We all know the fish Henry Limpet from The Incredible Mr. Limpet. But what if we told you that he did he was present in The Little Mermaid. Yes, in a scene the movie makes an insane reference to Henry Limpet. He is a part of the crowd in the “under the Sea” sequence.
10. Monster’s Inc.
The kids’ movie did teach us that not all monsters are scary. But what went unnoticed by us as kids was an insane reference to The Right Stuff. The scene where monsters come out to the scare floor is similar to The Right Stuff’s scene.
Related: Best Animated Movies of 2021, Ranked As Per IMDb
