The 30 best Pixar Easter eggs you might have missed

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In many ways, the cinematic Easter egg is the purest indication of quality. The egg's presence suggests confidence; a confidence that the film in which it appears will be so darn good, fans will want to pour over every last detail in order to unearth it. It's the self-assurance to proclaim: "We will have a sequel, there will be a spin-off, if it were otherwise, why would we be dropping so many hints?" No studio is more synonymous with this kind of quality than Pixar. From humble beginnings, the little start-up has become one of the main movers in 3D animation, regularly churning out box office beasts that speak to both children and adults alike. Oh, and Pixar is pretty damn good at hiding its nods. Here are 30 of the very best Pixar Easter eggs.

Read more: The 30 coolest Marvel Movie Easter eggs

30. Nemo, found

The movie: Toy Story 3 (2010)

The Easter egg: In one scene during Toy Story 3, a Nemo sticker can be seen on the side of Andy's toy dresser.

How obscure is it? That clownfish colouring is easy to spot anywhere as long as you are looking out for it. Which you might not be, of course. There's always the plot to be following instead.

29. Really old friends

The movie: The Good Dinosaur (2016)

The Easter egg: Remember the part in Inside Out where we see one of Riley's happy childhood memories amidst her impending teenage angst? The triceratops sculpture is a precursor for The Good Dinosaur's Pet Collector.

How obscure is it? Not difficult to miss, but it's unlikely fans will have recognised the character when first watching Inside Out.

28. The right to bear arms

The movie: WALL-E (2008)

The Easter egg: When WALL-E builds a statue of Eve from junk, her right arm is made from a Luxo, Jr. desk lamp.

How obscure is it? That desk lamp has become synonymous with Pixar and its almost always easy to spot the angle-poised mascot whenever it crops up.

27. French connection

The movie: Cars 2 (2011)

The Easter egg: In Cars 2, when in Paris, a vehicular version of Ratatouille's Gusteau's Restaurant can be seen, called Gastow's.

How obscure is it? Its a quick spot and a neat gag to throw in. You only need to have a rudimentary knowledge of Ratatouille to get this one.

26. Totoro recall

The movie: Toy Story 3 (2010)

The Easter egg: Less an Easter egg and more a neat crossover, Totoro from Hayao Miyazaki's My Neighbor Totoro makes a brief appearance in Toy Story 3.

How obscure is it? As long as you've seen Miyazaki's 1988 film, this one's easy. Of course, were guessing that the average seven-year-old Toy Story fan won't get it. Or care.

25. Living doll

The movie: Monsters Inc. (2001)

The Easter egg: When Boo returns home at the end of Monsters, Inc., she gives Sulley a doll of Jessie from Toy Story 2.

How obscure is it? All too easy, but a nice touch all the same.

24. Book marked

The movie: Toy Story (1995)

The Easter egg: In one scene in Toy Story, a book shelf can be seen behind Woody bearing titles of Pixar shorts, such as The Adventures of Andre and Wally B., Reds Dream, Luxo, Jr., Tin Toy and Knick Knack.

How obscure is it? A nice nod to all the Pixar short films that's very easy to spot. And you have obviously all seen them by now, haven't you? We shouldn't need to have this conversation again.

23. Lightyear Buzzard tyres in Cars

The movie: Cars (2006)

The Easter egg: All of the cars racing in the Piston Cup in Cars have Lightyear Buzzard tyres, which is obviously a reference to a certain space ranger.

How obscure is it? Well, there's only one Lightyear as far as were concerned, so this is an easy spot.

22. Silver lining

The movie: Monsters Inc. (2001)

The Easter egg: Andy's cloud wallpaper, as seen in the Toy Story films, appears in Monsters, Inc. as Randall is practising his scares.

How obscure is it? It's hard not to associate that white-clouds-on-blue-sky image with anything else so this quite an easy one. The same thing goes with those little green soldier men.

21. I should Dinoco

The movie: Cars (2006)

The Easter egg: Dinoco is a small petrol station seen in Toy Story, but is also the sponsor of the Piston Cup in Cars. The name and logo can also be seen on a lighter in WALL-E.

How obscure is it? The signs are clear in both films and yet it's not the kind of thing you'd recognise unless you've seen Toy Story more than 100 times. Which isn't completely out of the realms of possibility.