Disney‘s live-action Beauty and the Beast hits theaters this week, bringing that “Tale as old as time” back around for another chance to bring Disney magic into the lives of viewers all over the world.
By now, Beauty and the Beast and so many other classic stories that were given the Disney animated treatment do in fact feel like ‘tales’ that have been around forever – stories that anyone over the age of six knows by heart. That’s a funny (and specious) confidence to have; as it turns out, fans may not know all of their favorite Disney films as well as they may have thought.
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For Instance: Did you know all Disney movies exist in one universe? Here are 10 Hidden Disney Movie Crossover Easter Eggs that you never spotted.
Tangled Beauty
In Disney’s 2010 filmย Tangled,ย Rapunzelย has a major Disney movie Easter egg in her room at the tower: Sleeping Beauty’sย spinning wheel, which Maleficent cursed in order to put Aurora asleep.ย
Be Our Guest
Disney movies have a long history of big, grand, party scenes – and those scenes can be used to hide some really fun crossover cameos.ย
The Little Mermaidย has a majestic entrance by King Triton into an undersea hall of onlookers – whose ranks included Goofy, Donald Duck and Kermit the Frog.ย
Conversely, inย Frozen, Elsa’s coronation gets a visit fromย Tangled‘s Flynn Rider and Rapunzel.ย
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Dead Nemo
If you didn’t see Disney’s 2003 film,ย Brother Bear, don’t worry: not many did.ย
Still, by missing it you missed a somewhat horrific Easter egg crossover: ย aย Finding Nemoย clown fish characterย winding up in an Inuit fish catch, along with a bunch of salmon.
We can’t be sure which clown fish ended up on the menu – but we’ll be extra sad watching the Finding Nemoย /ย Finding Doryย movies from now on.ย ย
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The Hercules King
In the 1997ย Herculesย animated film, our hero has to complete his iconic trials to prove his heroism – and one of the involves slaying the ferocious Nemean Lion.ย
Well, in what is either a very clever or disturbing crossover Easter egg, that Nemeanย Lion is Scar fromย The Lion King.ย
Tangled Reading
Duringย Tangled, there’s a scene where Rapunzel and Flynn are in a library reading books. There are many books on the library floor, but three of them are definite Disney movie crossover Easter eggs:ย The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast andย Sleeping Beauty.ย
Aladdin and the Beast
Disney’s 1995 animated version ofย Aladdin is an iconic movie now, but Disney fans would be forgiven for missing a particular Easter egg from the film at the time of its release.ย
During Aladdin, Jasmine’s father The Sultan was seen playing with a stack of toy figurines; one of those toys is The Beast from Disney’s 1991 Beauty and the Beast animated film.ย
Tarzan and the Beast
In the 1999ย Tarzanย movie, Tarzan’s ape friend Terkย (Rosie O’Donnell) comes crashing through Professor Porter’s camp, and during that scene we catch a glimpse of Mrs. Potts and Chip fromย Beauty and the Beast.ย
The Mermaid and the Frog
During a colorful Mardi Grasย celebration scene in the 2009 filmย The Princess and the Frog, one of the floats in a parade is modeled to represent King Triton fromย The Little Mermaid.ย
Frozen Monsters, Inc.
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Frozenย has been mined for many, many, Disney Easter eggs, but one of the most ambitious ones involves putting one of Pixarsย monsters into a Disney animated princess tale.ย
During the scene at Wandering Oaken’sย Trading Post and Sauna, store owner Oaken has many, many wares to try to hock. Even you look closely at his desk, there is a figurine of Billy Crystal’s Mike Wazowskiย fromย Monsters, Inc.
In addition to the Pixar Easter egg, there is also a Mickey Mouse figurine in another shot.ย
Pixar Shared Universe
There are enough theories about the Pixarย movie connections to write an entire separate article.ย
One of the most glaring examples, however, can be found inย Toy Story 3: As Andy is packing up his room, we get a clear shot of a bulletin board that has a postcard fromย Upย couple Carl and Ellie Fredricksen, giving Andy the address of their house (before it flew away).
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