Pitch Perfect 2 was the 2015 sequel to the musical comedy Pitch Perfect, a follow-up on the adventures of the acappella group Barden Bellas. The movie series which made stars out of actors like Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson is a fun take on college singers and music societies. As Pitch Perfect 2 deals with an international acapella competition, it's not surprising to see popular acapella group Pentatonix make a small cameo. There are several other such facts and hidden details all through the film that you might have missed.
Here are 10 Easter Eggs that you might have missed while watching Pitch Perfect 2.
X Ambassadors Have A Cameo Of Sorts
When Anna Kendrick's character Beca sits on her desk in one scene listening to music, we see a tour poster of American rock group X Ambassadors adorning her wall. The band is a New York-based alternative and indie outfit who have collaborated with artists like Eminem and Imagine Dragons. They broke out in the music scene with their 2013 single Jungle.
Interestingly, Jungle was also played in most of the teasers, trailers, and other promotional snippets for the film.
Elizabeth Banks' Last Name
Elizabeth Banks reprised her role as commentator Gail Abernathy. The surname which is introduced in this film seems like a nod to a popular character from The Hunger Games series, another franchise of which Banks has been a part of.
Haymitch Abernathy is the drunk mentor to Katniss Everdeen, played to perfection by Woody Harrelson. In the final film, Haymitch and Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks' character) engage in an improvised kissing scene, making them an instant fan-favorite couple.
Rebel Wilson's Ellen Tribute
As the Barden Bellas perform at the World Championship, Rebel Wilson's Amy sings a song called Kitty Cat in the background as the group performs the GIRLS section of their song.
This is a slight tribute to the time in 2014 when Rebel Wilson appeared on the Ellen show. In this specific episode, Wilson and Ellen Degeneres made a fake hip-hop group called Rebellen, performing a song called Watching Cats On The Internet. Also, Rebel Wilson was also a part of the cast of Cats, the musical with the notorious CGI. Guess she's a little too obsessed with cats!
Fairy Tales & Star Wars
As the Bellas visit the Danish capital city of Copenhagen, one member suggests that they should visit the house of Hans Christian Andersen, one of the greatest writers from Denmark. Andersen thrived in the 19th century and was responsible for penning many kids' fairy tales like The Little Mermaid and The Ugly Duckling.
However, another member takes this suggestion negatively, saying that she didn't like his performance in Star Wars. The joke is that this member confused Hans Christian Andersen with actor Hayden Christensen. The latter is (in)famous for portraying Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader in the Star Wars prequel trilogy with many fans citing his performance as bland and romantic.
A Troll Reference For The Future
Bad blood between the competing acapella groups is on a high in this sequel. A German acapella singer Komissar shows her meanness to Anna Kendrick's Bella by calling her a troll.
Interestingly, Anna Kendrick starred as a troll a year later in another musical comedy film. This was Dreamworks' Trolls where she provided the voice for a troll called Poppy. True to her Pitch Perfect nature, she even sang songs like Can't Stop The Feeling from the original soundtrack and covers like Cyndi Lauper's True Colors.
Key's Substitute Teacher Reference
Keegan-Michael Key from the comedy duo Key & Peele (which also comprised of director Jordan Peele) had an iconic Comedy Central sketch in which he played the role of a substitute teacher. He mispronounces the name of every student as he takes their attendance. For instance, he calls a boy named Aaron, 'A-arawn'.
There is a nod to this character and his eccentric behavior as Key portrays Becca's boss. This time too, he routinely calls her by wrong names.
The Screenwriter's Cameo
There are many celebrity cameos in Pitch Perfect 2, most of which are by acapella groups. A cameo that you might have missed is that of Emmy-winning screenwriter Kay Cannon. Cannon who achieved fame from writing episodes of 30 Rock also wrote the scripts for and produced all three Pitch Perfect movies.
She appears as a news reporter at the start of the film when Rebel Wilson's Amy accidentally flashes during a performance for President Obama.
John Michael Higgins' Second Role As An Acapella Singer
Alongside Elizabeth Banks' Gail Abernathy, John Michael Higgins reprises his role of an ex-acapella great-turned-sneaky commentator simply called John. But this isn't the first role of his which is related to acapella.
In The Break-Up, the 2006 rom-com starring Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn, he portrayed a member of the acapella group called The Tone Rangers.
An Actual Acapella Champion Was Part Of The Bellas
While the other stars trained to nail their acts as acapella vocalists, Kelly Jackle who plays one of the Bellas is an acclaimed acapella singer herself. She and her team actually did win the International Championship of Collegiate A Capella (ICCA) in 2008. This is the same competition for which the Bellas and other international teams train to win in the movie.
Jackle was also the winner of the 2010 edition of ICCA, this time with The SoCal Vocals. This is an LA-based collective and is widely reputed as one of the finest college singing groups.
Pentatonix & Various Other Acapella Groups Make Appearances
Most of the teams that contest the world championship were actual acapella groups. Viewers would have immediately recognized the Canadian team as the Grammy-winning group Pentatonix. The five-member pop group is known for their YouTube covers of various songs and had also been the winners of the third season of The Sing-Off.
Other cameos include The Greenbay Packers (the muscled dudes in black) after one of their members openly asked director Elizabeth Banks on Twitter for a chance to be featured in the film. Even Penn Masala is featured which usually consists of Americans of South Asian descent who mix Western and Eastern music styles.