Traditionally on Easter morning, parents hide eggs around the home or yard for their children to find. These edible secrets are able to be enjoyed only once they are found.
The term ‘Easter egg’ also refers to secret features or inside jokes contained in the media we consume. According to Wikipedia, the term was originally “coined to describe a hidden message in the Atari video game Adventure that led Atari to encourage further hidden messages in later games, treating them as Easter eggs for players to find.”
While video games may be the OG vehicle for Easter eggs, we’re movie buffs, and film offers an extremely rich playground for discovering and savoring these hidden secrets for those who are in the know. While there are so many to choose from, we’ve narrowed our list down to Tongal’s top dozen most favorite Easter eggs, in no particular order.
1. You’ve Been Warned
Fight Club (1999)
(source: The Houdini Theory)
On the DVD for Fight Club, the standard FBI warning is replaced with a message from the film’s anarchist lead character, Tyler Durden. This message sets the tone for all the major themes of the movie, from anti-capitalism to nihilism.
2. R2-D2 Sure Gets Around
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Star Trek (2009), Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009), Star Trek Into Darkness (2013), and more!
(source: Screen Rant)
R2-D2 leaves a galaxy far, far away to make cameo appearances in several other non-canon films. Here, R2 shows up as a hieroglyph in Raiders of the Lost Ark alongside C-3PO, and attached to the undercarriage of a spaceship in Close Encounters.
3. Laying the groundwork for Alien vs. Predator
Predator 2 (1990)
(source: TONIamazing)
Before Alien went ginormous head-to-head with Predator in 2004, fans of the comic series that spawned this sci-fi horror franchise got a glimpse of Predator’s future nemesis near the end of the film. When Lieutenant Mike Harrigan (Danny Glover) stumbles upon a Xenomorph Warrior's skull mounted behind glass while aboard the Predator’s mothership, fanboys everywhere felt a chill go down their spine.
4. Steve Buscemi’s Character Parallels in Coen Brothers Films
The Big Lebowski (1998)
(source: Apollonia Corleone)
This cult comedic noir by the brothers Coen has gained a devoted following since its modest debut, thanks in no small part to endlessly quotable lines like, “Shut the f*ck up, Donny!’ This line aimed at Steve Buscemi, who can’t get a word in edgewise to his friends, is especially hilarious in light of another character the actor previously played in 1996’s Fargo (also a Coen brothers film). In Fargo, Buscemi’s Carl Showalter plays the chatty foil to his near-silent partner-in-crime Gaear Grimsrud (played by Peter Stormare), who unfortunately never told him to shut the f*ck up but did voice his desire to go for pancakes to no avail. Bonus parallel: Stormare also turns up in Lebowski as a nihilist who finally gets to eat some pancakes.
5. X Marks the Death
The Departed (2006)
(source: ScreenPrism)
In this violent film, the death of each character is visually foreshadowed by an ‘X’ appearing in the frame with the character at some point in the movie (more examples here!). Director Martin Scorsese intentionally did this as an homage to the 1932 version of Scarface where, in similar fashion, an ‘X’ appears on screen just as a murder is about to happen.
6. Show Me the Monkey!
King Kong (2005)
(source: IMDB)
Early in the film, a ship on its way to Skull Island receives a Morse code message supposedly warning the captain that a passenger is wanted by the police. However, if the dots and dashes are decoded, the message actually spells out "Show me the monkey."
7. Orange Omens
The Godfather Parts I, II, and III (1972 - 1990)
(source: TheFilmSpectrum)
Without fail, oranges seem to foreshadow all kinds of tragic deaths and occurrences throughout Parts I, II, and III of The Godfather. In one of its most famous scenes, Don Corleone walks out into the street after buying a bag of oranges, and moments later is riddled with bullets. In dramatic fashion, barrels of oranges topple over into the street and surround him as he dies. When Jack Woltz wakes up from a blissful night’s sleep to find the disembodied head of his prized horse right next to him…think back, what was on the table when he first offended Hagen? Oh yeah, a big ol’ bowl of oranges. And when Don Fanucci wistfully strolls down the street in his white Armani suit, what’s he throwing carelessly in the air? An orange! Cut to: Don Fanucci sleeping with the fishes. Both Francis Ford Coppola and production designer Dean Tavoularis adamantly deny the connection with citrus and death. Their explanation? Oranges simply provided a nice colorful contrast to the otherwise cavernous and somber salons and meeting rooms of these troubled characters.
8. The Effects of Time Travel
Back to the Future (1985)
(source: AlltimeMovies)
Caution: traveling back in time can do some wonky things to the present and the future. For example, when Marty McFly uses Dr. Emmett’s time machine for the first time in the Twin Pines Mall parking lot, he travels back to 1955 and accidently runs over one of Old Man Peabody’s treasured pine trees. When he returns from his time-traveling escapades, the mall’s name changes to Lone Pine Mall.
9. Spit Take
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
(source: mental_floss)
Here’s another example of a hidden message that only a select audience - this time, Spanish speakers - could fully appreciate. In a movie jam-packed with jokes, this visual gag appears in an establishing shot for a restaurant scene in Anchorman. The “Escupimos en su Alimento” restaurant literally translates to “We Spit in your Food”.
10. Here’s Johnny!
Toy Story 1, 2, 3 and 4 (1995 - 2010)
(source: R3P3N74GR4M)
Animators love dropping Easter eggs in their films, sometimes of the not-so-kid-friendly sort. Pixar’s Toy Story has one the most bizarre connections to the movie The Shining. Ever wonder why Buzz and Woody get so stir-crazy when they try to escape from Sid’s house? Look no further than that distinctive 70’s carpeting underneath them. It’s the exact same carpet design from the Overlook Hotel. The references to The Shining only become more obscure from there. In Toy Story 3, there’s a box with the same carpet pattern on the table next to the surveillance monitors (perhaps a nod to when Jack sees his family in the miniature maze), plus a 1970s intercom that matches the one seen in the hotel manager’s office. Not to mention the multiple hidden references to Room 237 (you know, the room Jack has an awkward encounter with a corpse). In one animated shot, we see a security camera with the model number “OVERLOOK R237” and a garbage truck with the license plate RM237.
11. Wes Craven’s Coming for You (alt title: I’m Your Janitor Now)
Scream (1996)
(source: LawrisZ)
In the first movie in the Scream franchise, director Wes Craven gives a nod to another great horror franchise that he also happened to direct, A Nightmare on Elms Street (1984). Craven briefly cameos as a school janitor wearing Freddy Krueger's iconic sweater. His character is even billed as ‘Fred the Janitor’ in the film’s IMDB credits.
12. Wocka Wocka!
Tron (1982)
(source: RenegadePanda29)
And now it comes full circle! Since the term “Easter egg” in media was first used in reference to video games, it’s only fair that at least some video game references make their way into movies. Case in point, a tiny yellow Pac-Man has been snuck onto the grid in this Tron scene, which takes place inside an arcade game machine.
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Those are just a few of our favorite Easter eggs in movies, but we’d love to hear about your favorites down in the comments. We dare you to outdo us with your mind-blowing movie Easter egg trivia!
