The chances are good that you’ve already seen “Toy Story 3″ with your kids. The chances are also good that your kids will be dragging you back to the theaters to hang out with Buzz and Woody at least one more time this summer. Don’t worry, the Pixar animation wizards have planted enough hidden “easter eggs” (references and in jokes buried in a movie or television show) in the movie to keep more sophisticated viewers from ever getting bored, even on a third or fourth viewing.
You can find cheat sheets for these hidden gems on Slashfilm and ComingSoon.net. The New Orleans Times-Picayune also did some digging and produced a list of it’s own.
Some of these in jokes are obscure references that only those who have done a lot of research would know – like the fact that Andy’s mother’s license plate is “A113″ because that is the number of a classroom at CalTech where many of the the animators studied. In fact, “A113″ appears as an easter egg in every Pixar film.
Others will reward fans of the “Toy Story” series by calling back to the early films in the trilogy. Watch out for Sid, a childhood bully in the first movie who reappears as a garbage man in this installment. You’ll recognize him by his skull T-shirt, which is the same in both films.
There are also countless references to other Pixar movies. To name a few: a postcard on Andy’s dresser (pictured above) is addressed from Carl and Ellie Fredrickson of “Up,” Buzz Lightyear’s batteries are from “Buy ‘N’ Large,” the mega corporation responsible for ruining the planet in “WALL-E,” Lightning McQueen from “Cars” is referenced repeatedly and a calendar from Pizza Planet is clearly seen. Pizza Planet has appeared in every Pixar film except for “The Incredibles.” Following Pixar’s habit in all of their films, a character from the next Pixar movie is hinted at in “Toy Story 3″ – this time it’s a poster in Andy’s room that features Finn McMissile, a new car joining the “Cars 2″ cast.
