Movie Details You Almost Definitely Totally Missed
15th April, 2020
Movie Details You Almost Definitely Totally Missed
Warner Bros. Pictures
Some movies are worth watching only once, while there are others you just can't stop rewatching—sometimes just for scenes that make a lasting impression. But how often do you notice the intricate details and painstaking efforts taken by filmmakers to ensure continuity and bring you the best of cinema? We bring you thirty Easter eggs and instances of attention-to-detail in movies that you might have missed.
Snape knows
Warner Bros. Pictures
Snape knows

In The Sorcerer’s Stone, Snape looks at Harry while talking to professor Quirrell. While everyone thought Harry’s scar was hurting because of Snape, very few noticed that Harry was looking at the back of Professor Quirrell's head at the time.

What a prop!
Paramount Pictures
What a prop!

A multi-million dollar budget would allow the production crew to use any props needed for filming. Yet, the makers of Star Trek creatively used a Dyson hand dryer as a sci-fi prop. Two are placed right outside the captain’s bridge.

Apples for roses
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Apples for roses

Interestingly, throwing an apple to a woman you like was considered a proposal in ancient Greece. And the makers of Aladdin certainly account for this little detail in one of their magic carpet ride scenes over Greece, where Aladdin tosses a juicy red one over to Jasmine.

Redding’s mugshot
Columbia Pictures
Redding’s mugshot

Shawshank’s prison file contains a mugshot of Ellis Boyd Redding (played by Morgan Freeman), which is featured in several scenes. Unless you follow the actor’s life closely, you wouldn’t realize that the photograph used is of his real son, Alfonso.

Pun intended indeed
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Pun intended indeed

If you ever come across a Hyena Gomez, Kanine West, or even Gazelle, you’ve got a serious eye for detail. Kudos! These were the animal-centric pun names inspired by real singer names in the iPod scene from the film Zootopia.

Hat’s off!
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Hat’s off!

When Davy Jones’s ship is about to go under in the Pirates of the Caribbean, you can see him hold on to his hat with his tentacles. Don’t blink as you might just miss this amazing attention to detail.

Hostage situation
Paramount Pictures
Hostage situation

Tony Stark was kidnapped by the Ten Rings twice: once in the first Iron Man movie and once again under Mandarin’s control in the third installment. The similarities are evident in the group’s identity poster hung in the background.

Doc’s clocks
Universal Pictures
Doc’s clocks

In Back to the Future, Doc hangs from the Hill Valley clock tower. But you might have missed out on noticing the small merchandise of a man hanging off a clock at the start of the movie, essentially a prelude to the actual shot.

Amazing continuity
Lionsgate Films
Amazing continuity

John Wick and John Wick 2 were filmed and released three years apart, but all the cars outside the Continental Hotel remain the same. Talk about flawless continuity. You might just have overlooked this detail amid the flying bullets!

School of Rock
Paramount Pictures
School of Rock

In School of Rock, Dewey Finn (Jack Black) is so obsessed with rock and roll that his blackboard pointer stick also has a tiny hand at the end, which is shaped to represent the rock and roll gesture.

Bee beautiful
Paramount Pictures
Bee beautiful

The Bee Movie gave audiences an up-close and personal view of the world of bees. Even so, you might question exactly how close you looked if you missed out on noticing that almost all male bees have the “buzz cut” hairstyle.

Floored
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Floored

The pattern on the carpet in Overlook Hotel in The Shining is identical to the one in Sid’s room in Toy Story. Well, it gets challenging when you have to pay close attention to two movies.

Lucky shape
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Lucky shape

Did you notice that the pup named Lucky from 101 Dalmatians sports spots in a horseshoe pattern? It's no coincidence that he was named lucky; the horseshoe is considered to be a symbol of luck after all.

Christmas tree compass
Warner Bros. Pictures
Christmas tree compass

The Christmas tree in The Polar Express is placed at the center of compass markings, but that’s not all. An interesting detail you might have missed is that every point on the massive dial points South.

Jurassic dilemma
Universal Pictures
Jurassic dilemma

The movie follows a storyline of dinosaurs bred with female reproductive organs only. This is made evident with symbolism in the shot where Dr. Grant ties up his seat belt that has both buckles (female end of the locking mechanism).

Well done Forrest!
Paramount Pictures
Well done Forrest!

Forrest Gump defends his long-time love interest, Jenny, by beating up her boyfriend one night. In an amazing example of maintaining continuity, there are bruises on his knuckles the next morning.

Sandman loses his teeth
Sony Pictures
Sandman loses his teeth

Watch it in slow motion, and you’ll be surprised to know that Sandman’s teeth don’t grind off like the rest of his face. Instead, they fly right out his mouth when Spiderman pushes his face against the train in Spider-Man 3.

Auto takes over in Wall-E
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Auto takes over in Wall-E

When the camera pans across the portraits of all the captains of the Axiom posing with the autopilot (Auto), you can see Auto getting closer in each portrait. This represents the AI’s gradual takeover of Axiom and metaphorically, mankind!

Andy Dusfrene’s hammer
Columbia Pictures
Andy Dusfrene’s hammer

All inmates get the Bible when they first come to Shawshank. And Andy Dusfrene hides the small rock hammer (that he used to tunnel out of his cell) in the Book of Exodus that narrates the moving tale of Israelites being rescued from slavery.

The same color scheme
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
The same color scheme

The close-up shots of Ego’s iconic car are shown only at the beginning of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. But pay careful attention, and you’ll see that both the car and Peter Quill’s spaceship feature the same cool paint job.

Captain America’s shield
Paramount Pictures
Captain America’s shield

Marvel fans did not miss Captain America’s shield lying on Tony Stark’s workbench in the first Iron Man movie. That’s also why the producers had to show it again in the new element discovery scene in the sequel.

The time when Titanic sank
Paramount Pictures
The time when Titanic sank

The mighty Titanic sank at 2.20 am, which is also the time on the wall clock when Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) greets Rose (Kate Winslet) at the stairs the last time. The clock is also shown at crucial points throughout the movie.

The garbage man from Toy Story
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
The garbage man from Toy Story

We hated Sid from Toy Story as he brutally disfigured toys for amusement. Interestingly, in the third sequel, Sid made a cameo appearance as a trash collector in the same skull T-shirt he wore for the first movie.

Bruce Wayne’s car
Warner Bros. Pictures
Bruce Wayne’s car

Bruce Wayne drives a Lamborghini Murciélago in Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. And it isn’t mere coincidence that Murciélago is actually Spanish for the word “Bat”. Do we even have to debate on its relevance?

Longbottom’s cloak
Warner Bros. Pictures
Longbottom’s cloak

In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Neville Longbottom can’t remember what he forgot after the Remembrall turns red. Yet, you can see that he is the only one without his cloak in the scene.

Weasley’s robes
Warner Bros. Pictures
Weasley’s robes

The Weasleys could not afford to buy new clothes for their younger children. Look at Ron’s robes closely in all the movie installments—they’re old and faded as they’re hand-me-downs from one of his brothers.

Darker intros – Harry Potter
Warner Bros. Pictures
Darker intros – Harry Potter

The intro animation of Warner Bros. Pictures, the movie title, and the background became more moody by transitioning to darker shades in the Harry Potter movies. Now that’s called staying true to a plot that gets darker with each movie!

The canyons are cars
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
The canyons are cars

You might have missed out on a little detail in Pixar’s Cars. See how the canyons in the background are shaped like old cars and hood ornaments? They are inspired by cars of the time driving across the original iconic Route 66.

Pulp Fiction predicts Kill Bill
Miramax
Pulp Fiction predicts Kill Bill

The conversation that Uma Thurman has with John Travolta in a restaurant has multiple references to specific characters of Kill Bill That’s how Quentin Tarantino masterfully included similar references to the characters in Pulp Fiction.

The Lord Al-Mighty himself
Universal Pictures
The Lord Al-Mighty himself

This is a subtle and easy-to-miss detail concerning Morgan Freeman in Evan Almighty. The actor’s name tag spells “Al Mighty” when he poses as a waiter to tend to Evan’s family. Did you catch that?