One year after Adam Sandler founded Happy Madison Productions in 1999, Little Nicky unofficially kicked off his shared movie universe. The film marks Sandler's first starring role for his own company, and also incorporates characters from previous movies for other studios: Chubbs Peterson from Happy Gilmore and The Townie from The Waterboy.
In the present, Sandler is well-known for his frequent collaborations with industry friends, many of whom worked with the actor-producer at Saturday Night Live during the early '90s. However, it's Little Nicky that established a properly shared movie universe. Since the film's 2000 release, several characters from Happy Madison films have appeared elsewhere in the universe, including 10-Second Tom (50 First Dates, Blended), Otto the Caddy (Happy Gilmore, Jack and Jill), Hal L (Happy Gilmore, Hubie Halloween), and Nazo the Delivery Guy (Big Daddy, Mr.Deeds) to name a few. Looking back, everything begins with Little Nicky, a film about the son of Satan, who attempts to stop his two brothers from creating a new Hell on Earth.
Little Nicky establishes a shared movie universe through brief yet memorable cameos. During the final act, Nicky sacrifices himself and ends up meeting his mother Holly (Reese Witherspoon) in heaven, along with a woman named Jackie, who is portrayed by Sandler's future wife, Jackie Titone. The women receive a visit from their dance instructor, Chubbs (Carl Weathers), who tells Nicky that mambo dancing is "all in the hips." Weathers reprises his role from Happy Gilmore, in which he plays a golf professional and uses the aforementioned line. During a late-movie moment in the sports film, Happy (Sandler) offers his mentor the head of an alligator that bit his hand off. The experience traumatizes Chubbs, and he dies after falling from a window. To further cement the shared Happy Madison universe, Little Nicky also includes a character cameo from The Waterboy.
During the climactic Central Park sequence in Little Nicky, The Townie cheers on the focal antihero who fights his brother inside a flask. Portrayed by Rob Schneider, the character states "You can do it...," a line that he previously uttered in support of Bobby Boucher (Sandler) during The Waterboy. The Townie later appears in The Longest Yard, and also in a deleted scene from Click. Sandler and Rudy Giuliani portrayed versions of the character in The Animal and Anger Management, respectively.
Little Nicky didn't receive favorable reviews upon its 2000 release, and the film failed to outperform its $85 million budget at the box office. Still, it's become somewhat of a cult classic for some, primarily because of the bizarre premise and lead performance, along with numerous cameos from celebrities such as Quentin Tarantino, Ozzy Osbourne, and Dan Marino. However, it's two brief cameos that function as Easter eggs for loyal Sandler fans and announce a shared movie universe for Happy Madison Productions.