A look back at Disney and Pixar animated classics, and at 12 disturbing, disturbing and sometimes even frightening little details that hide in the feature films of the enchanted studios.
Shredded animal carcasses in the Beast’s castle, a reference to The Shining in Toy Story, skulls in Kuzco, the megalomaniac emperor… A look back at 12 particularly gloomy easter eggs that hide in animated feature films Disney and Pixar studios.
roast warthog
Table of Contents
Walt Disney Animation Studios
At the beginning of The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, when the camera flies over the Parisian alleys during the song of Quasimodo, we can see a few characters taken from other Disney classics. It’s hard to tell for sure by observing this plan with the naked eye, but according to some fans, the boar on a spit carried by the two passers-by, at the bottom left, is none other than Pumbaa, the warthog from The Lion King who would therefore have known a very sinister fate.
The Beast has a voracious appetite
Walt Disney Animation Studios
In Beauty and the Beast, when the heroine walks clandestinely in the west wing of the castle (a sector that the master of the place has strictly forbidden her to visit), the sinister decor she discovers lets us imagine what were the torments of the Beast. The prince, once transformed, apparently went so far as to devour animal carcasses at the foot of his own bed.
Grim memory
Walt Disney Animation Studios
When we observe the walls of the brick house in The Three Little Pigs – a short film made by Disney studios in 1933 – we discover with horror what happened to the father of the protagonists. Indeed, this frame representing a string of sausages and accompanied by the word “father”, unfortunately leaves very little room for our imagination.
Nemo got caught!
Walt Disney Animation Studios
At the beginning of Brother Bear, while Sitka and Denahi are busy fishing in the river and Kenai arrives on the back of a mammoth, we can see (by pressing “pause” at the right time) that among the fish caught by the two brothers is Nemo. What is Pixar Studios’ little clownfish doing so far from its anemone? Will it survive the nets of fishermen and the claws of bears that rage upstream of the river? Nothing is less sure.
Disastrous office
Pixar Animation Studios
In the middle of Ratatouille, when we discover the lair of the sinister food critic Anton Ego, we can see that his office is shaped like a coffin, and his typewriter that of a skull. Logical, given that this sad sire with a cadaverous appearance is renowned throughout Paris for his murderous papers.
The shadow of Dr. Facilier
Walt Disney Animation Studios
The villain of The Princess and the Frog, whose dance steps are also inspired a lot by Michael Jackson, hides many secrets. By carefully observing his shadow, however, one can easily guess his deceit and duplicity. Indeed, when his silhouette passes in front of the patterns of his tapestry, they are instantly transformed… into skulls.
A familiar carpet
Pixar Animation Studios
fans of shining, the artists of the Pixar studios very regularly slip into their films small nods to this monument of horror. Thus, in Sid’s house (where Buzz and Woody find themselves stuck in the first Toy Story), we can see that the carpet in the hallway is identical to that of the sinister Overlook Hotel, where Jack Nicholson and his family stay in Kubrick’s feature film.
Like between dog and rat
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Georgette, the pretentious poodle of Oliver and company, would she have had an affair with Ratigan, the despicable villain of Basil, private detective? Even if we prefer not to imagine such a situation, it is in any case what the presence of this small executive suggests to us, among the admirers of the champion of beauty.
Gaston’s death
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Don’t blink at the end of The beauty and the Beast, when Gaston falls into the void! You may see, for half a second, two small skulls in the eyes of the character. No doubt the latter has already understood the disastrous fate reserved for him.
Threatening vegetation
Walt Disney Animation Studios
In the middle of Kuzco, the Megalo Emperor, when the llama is chased by a horde of black panthers, the plants around him, bathed in a sinister red light, suddenly take on the shapes of skulls. What visually support the distress of the character who tries desperately to escape death.
The Shining Twins
Pixar Animation Studios
When we tell you that the artists of Pixar studios are fans of shining ! Like Toy Story or Nemo’s worldCoco also abounds with small nods to the film of Kubrick, including the terrifying twins that appeared in the hallway of the Overlook Hotel. Provided you open your eyes well, you can indeed see them drawn here.
Scar’s claws
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Did you notice this little detail? Scar, Simba’s cruel uncle, is the only animal in the Lion King whose claws are not retractable. Indeed, Mufasa’s sinister brother always seems poised to attack. Maybe he’s constantly on the alert, traumatized from the day he got his ugly scar on his left eye.
