Did You Catch These 10 Easter Eggs Hidden in “Turning Red”?

In a March 10 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Shi confirmed there would be “one or two” nods to “Lightyear” in “Turning Red” because it’s tradition for Pixar to tease its next film in its latest project.

As it turns out, the “Lightyear” Easter eggs happen right at the beginning of the movie when Mei Lee and her best friends Miriam, Priya, and Abby are walking down the streets of Toronto. During the scene, Miriam is seen holding a skateboard that features some cool “Lightyear” stickers on the back. One is a pair of wings reminiscent of the Space Rangers logo, and the other is of Sox, the robot cat that becomes Buzz’s friend in the upcoming film.

This Easter egg is a bit more obvious, but when Mei draws Devon (you know, the clerk from the Daisy Mart) as a merman in her notebook, her doodles are reminiscent of Luca and Alberto’s sea-monster designs in “Luca.” The 2021 Pixar film is about a young sea monster who turns into a human boy when on land, which is similar to how Mei transforms into a big red panda when she becomes too emotional.

Years before Shi made her feature directorial debut with “Turning Red,” she directed a Pixar short film called “Bao,” which tells a story about a steamed bun that comes to life. The film was screened before showings of “Incredibles 2” in 2018.

At the start of “Turning Red,” a sign for a Bao restaurant can be seen in the background when Mei is introducing herself to us on the bus. Later on in the movie, Mei’s mother, Ming, also brings her dumplings to eat as a snack, which serves as a sweet nod to Shi’s previous work.

Another Pixar short film that gets referenced in “Turning Red” is “Burrow,” which is a story about a young rabbit that tries to build the burrow of her dreams. During the scene in Mei’s room when Ming is looking through her daughter’s notebook filled with drawings of Devon, you can see a cute “Burrow” sticker on the back of Mei’s book.

Remember the scene in “Turning Red” when Mei and her friends are in the girls’ bathroom talking about their plans to see their favourite boy band 4*Town in concert? Well, if you look closely, there’s a tiny Nemo sticker on one of the bathroom stalls. Blink and you’ll miss it.

After Mei transforms into a red panda at school for the first time and is trying to make her way back home, she accidentally bumps into two people walking on the street. In the background of this scene, there’s papel picado (colourful sheets of tissue paper) hanging near a house. The decoration is also seen in the 2017 Pixar film “Coco.”

“Turning Red” includes another nod toward “Coco” besides the papel picado. Did you notice it? It’s hidden in plain sight when Mei and her friends see a boy with black hair and eye makeup in their school hallway. The kid has a green T-shirt on that reads “Escápula,” which is a fictional music group that appears during the battle-of-the-bands scene in “Coco.”

Yup, you totally missed the famous Pizza Planet truck from “Toy Story” in “Turning Red.” Here’s when you can catch it: After Mei decides not to go through with the ritual that will seal away her panda powers for good, she changes into her panda form in order to make it to 4*Town’s concert in time. While she’s running toward the Skydome for the show, a Pizza Planet truck can be seen in the background parked on the street.

Besides the “Lightyear” reference, Shi also teased the yellow Luxo Ball, which has appeared in every Toy Story movie, as well as a number of other Pixar films, would show up in “Turning Red.” Now that the film is out, fans have discovered the Easter egg is carefully hidden in a pool at Tyler’s birthday party.

“A113” is an Easter egg that’s hidden in every Pixar film. It’s a reference to the classroom number used by animation students at the California Institute of the Arts, where several employees at Pixar once studied.

The number shows up in two different places in “Turning Red.” The Easter egg is first seen at the Skydome when Mei and her family are trying to perform the ritual on Ming. It’s then seen again on a 4*Town concert ticket during the film’s end credits.

See all the Pixar Easter eggs for yourself by streaming “Turning Red” on Disney+.