The world of Toy Story has never been brighter since the spinoff Lightyear was released this summer and Disney World's Hollywood Studios just opened Jessie's Trading Post — a Toy Story-themed gift shop for fans. Now that Lightyear is coming to Disney+ this August, fans of the franchise are rewatching the four Toy Story movies in preparation.
Through rewatching the movies, Redditors have noticed an ongoing theme (as is the case for most Pixar movies): Easter eggs and shoutouts to previous Pixar movies. One movie that is consistently seen is A Bug's Life (1998). Funny enough, shoutouts to the first Toy Story movie are in A Bug's Life as well.
Look Out For Geri!
Before A Bug's Life was played on VHS in the late '90s, Pixar released a short that would play before the movie called Geri's Game. In the short, an elderly man named Geri played chess against himself and faked a health condition to win... against himself.
A year later when Toy Story 2 came out, Redditor PieForDays realized that Geri made an appearance. "Geri from the famous Pixar short ‘Geri’s Game’ that played before ‘A Bugs Life’ (1998), is also the man who cleans up Woody to sell in Toy Story 2 (1999)," they wrote. This was not the first time an Easter egg popped up in a Pixar movie.
Andy Appreciated 'A Bugs Life' In Toy Story 3
Many felt that Toy Story 3 was the perfect finale for the franchise. Andy was no longer a little boy and was transitioning to college life. Knowing how special his toys were, he donated them to a little girl named Bonnie who promised to play with them the same way he did.
When Woody took a gander at Andy's more mature room, Comic_Book_Reader noticed a shoutout to A Bug's Life on his wall. "Andy's room, from Toy Story 3 (2010), is full of Pixar Easter eggs," they wrote. They continued, "a poster with a mosquito from A Bug's Life (1998)" can be seen on the wall.
Characters Could Have Bought Dim Toys From Al's Toy Barn
One of the things that some fans didn't know about Toy Story 2 was that there were A Bug's Life toys on the shelves of Al's Toy Barn.
"In Toy Story 2 (1999), Al's Toy Barn is selling toys from A Bug's Life (1998)," Numerous-Lemon told Reddit. In the scene, the toys explored the inside of Al's Toy Barn, and as Buzz was running down an aisle, a Dim toy can be seen on the shelf. As a blue rhinoceros beetle, Dim was easily recognizable.
The Riverbed From A Bug's Life Makes An Appearance In Toy Story 2
Chocobomog noticed an amazing call back to A Bug's Life in Toy Story 2. "In Toy Story 2 (1999), the planet Buzz flies in is a modified version of the riverbed from A Bug's Life (1998). When modelers transformed the set, they didn't select the rocks which resulted in the floating rocks seen in the movie."
Buzz had some of his best quotes during the opening segment of Toy Story 2 when his imagination had him playing inside a video game created after his character.
A Love For Chinese Takeout
Manny had some of the best quotes in A Bug's Life. He was a wise and noble praying mantis who was the voice of all reason — even though his friends didn't always listen to him.
In one of his circus acts, he used an old Chinese takeout box for his wife Gypsy to disappear in and out of. Numerous-Lemon found another Easter egg between movies when the same Chinese takeout box appeared in the back of a fridge. Fredehs chimed in, "That box is in A Bugs Life, Toy Story 2, Ratatouille, Inside Out, Incredibles 2, Toy Story 4, Soul, and a slightly different model is used in Monsters Inc."
The Planet Pizza Truck Struck Again
In one of the bigger connections between both movies, Sacrer pointed out the iconic Planet Pizza Truck in both movies. "In A Bug's Life (1998), you can see a Planet Pizza Truck which exists in nearly all Pixar movies."
The Planet Pizza Truck made its first appearance in Toy Story after Andy and the toys visited Planet Pizza for fun and food. In A Bug's Life, the truck can be seen parked outside of the trailer where bugs swarmed the porch light.
Recognize That Cookie Box?
Numerous fan theories surround Toy Story and other Pixar movies, and one of them is that all of the movies are in the same universe. Meaning Darla from Finding Nemo could run into Andy from Toy Story.
Redditor LucasWebb proved the connection from a still in Toy Story 4. They wrote, "In Toy Story 4 (2019), there are at least 2 Pixar movie references in this image. The Goggles of the scuba diver who took Nemo in Finding Nemo (2003) and the Casey Jr. Cookies box from A Bug's Life (1998)." The cookie box was used by the circus bugs as their mode of transportation.
Zoom In On The Calendar
In yet another connection between A Bug's Life and Toy Story 2, ThatsWhatSheSaid006 spotted something on Andy's wall. "In Toy Story 2 (1999) a still from A Bug's Life appears on the calendar in the background."
What's cooler is that the 15th is circled on the calendar, which was the day of A Bug's Life premiered in North America. There appear to be countless Easter eggs throughout Toy Story and A Bug's Life that fans continue to find years after it was released.