The world-renowned animation studio classily closed out the 2010s with one of the best Pixar movies of the 2010s, Toy Story 4. It served as a great epilogue to the series after the tearjerker that was Toy Story 3 and it introduced some brilliant new characters.
And just as every Pixar movie seems to do, it is overflowing with references and Easter eggs to previous Pixar movies. With Toy Story 4 being so vast and having an immense depth of field, there is seemingly some sort of Easter egg in almost every frame, and there are certainly still some references in the movie that fans have yet to spot.
Guitars From Coco
Just as there were a lot of Easter eggs in the land of the dead, there are just as many scattered throughout Toy Story 4. With Coco being one of the best original Pixar movies in years, it’d be blasphemy not to reference it.
When Buzz Lightyear is tied up and offered as a prize at a carnival game, to the left of him are some guitars that are the same as the ones from the Dia de Los Muertos celebrating movie.
Pizza Planet Tattoo
The pizza planet van shows up in every single Pixar movie, but after going through Toy Story 4 frame by frame, audiences were beginning to think that it was mysteriously absent from the movie.
However, it does appear, just not in physical form, as the vehicle can be seen tattooed on a carnival employee’s calf when he finds Buzz Lightyear laying in the grass.
Barracuda From Finding Nemo
Due to the premise of Finding Nemo, as it follows a clownfish struggling to find his offspring in the depths of the ocean, the film ended up as one of the best movies with no antagonists.
However, it isn’t without some terrifying sea creatures, and one of them can be found hanging on the wall of the antiques shop. The same Barracuda can be seen protecting her eggs in the first movie.
The Walker From Up
Though Carl Fredricksen was an angry old man who would scare the heck out of anybody soliciting his home, he wasn’t the most agile guy. Being 85 years old, the balloon aficionado couldn’t get around very well and needed a walker to help him.
The walker, with a tennis ball under each leg, can be found in the antiques store. The walker is fairly high up and it doesn’t look like it has gotten much use in recent years, which might mean something sad about Carl.
Dinoco
Dinoco seems to be the go-to gas station in the Pixar universe, as it has popped up in several movies up to this point, and Toy Story 4 is no different.
Bonnie and her parents stop at the gas station to fill up, and though there’s no known major back story to the gas and oil giant, odds are there’s one yet to be discovered if past theories are anything to go by. The logo may also allude to The Good Dinosaur.
Anton From Ratatouille
In Ratatouille, Anton is a grouchy food critic who seemingly doesn’t like food. Though eating is his job, he can be overly critical and unfair, which is why him falling in love with a dish that was made by a rat made the movie so fascinating.
He’s responsible for many of the movie’s funniest quotes, and audiences may have learned where Anton carved his grumpy personality, as a tray behind Bonnie in the nursery has his name on it.
The Dogs From Up
The dogs that have the ability to talk is one of the reasons Up is arguably Pixar’s best movie, as Dug brightened up the film after it was getting a little dark between Carl and Russell.
Well, Dug, some of his other pedigree friends, and his owner can be seen in a painting playing poker, which is not only a reference to Up, but also a homage to the Cassius Coolidge paintings, such as Dogs Playing Poker and A Friend In Need.
Cookie Box From A Bug’s Life
With A Bug’s Life largely being based underground and in shrubbery, there’s little that could be used in other movies, but Pixar always finds a way.
It’s wider variety of characters is one of the reasons A Bug’s Life is Better than Antz, and one of those characters is P.T. Flea, who runs a bug circus, and he transports the circus in a cookie box, which can of course be found the antiques store.
Jet Stream From Cars
When not reveling in all of the Easter eggs in the antiques store, most of the movie takes place at the carnival, which unsurprisingly has plenty of references itself.
The establishing shot of the entire carnival has a ton of Easter eggs before the story even moves there. Not only is one of the rides called the Jet Stream, which is a reference to Cars, but the ride on the right also suspiciously has the same color palette as one Emperor Zurg.
Merida’s Logo From Brave
Being one of the more outlier Pixar movies, Brave follows a princess in the Scottish Highlands, and the family’s Celtic symbol appears prominently throughout the film.
And in Toy Story 4, that same symbol pops up at several points on plates and bowls when Gabby is fighting with Little Bo Peep. Why the Celtic symbol was on the plate is a mystery, but it certainly gives some weight to the legitimacy of the famous Pixar theory.
A Portrait Of Geri
Back at the Antique store, in what is possibly literally the smallest reference that’s almost impossible to spot by even Pixar aficionados with 20/20 vision, there is a tiny black and white photo of Geri behind the counter.
Geri briefly appeared in Toy Story 2 to fix up Woody, and he even had his own short film that was tacked on to A Bug’s Life, which saw him playing chess with himself in a park.
Tin Toy
Tin Toy is one of the very earliest projects that was created by the animation studio. The short was more of an experiment than anything and the animation is actually pretty creepy.
However, the titular character makes another appearance in Toy Story 4. The toy can be found partying with Duke Caboom and all of the other toys in the makeshift club in the antique store.
Boo From Monsters Inc.
During Bonnie’s first day of nursery, there’s another familiar toddler in the same class. It’s impossible to know if it actually is Boo, as the background is blurred out, but the child has the same pigtails as Boo, the same color top, and, of course, the same height.
Fans have been wondering if they’d ever see Boo again, and as her absence was a complete missed opportunity in Monsters University, this might be as close as we get.