In Pixar's ‘Elio,' Easter eggs are literally written in the stars — will you be able to spot them all?
When Elio launches into theaters on Friday, audiences will discover more than just a heartwarming sci-fi adventure about a young boy navigating the cosmos. They'll also be treated to one of Pixar's favorite traditions: Easter eggs.
Since its earliest days, Pixar has delighted fans with hidden references — some nods to past films, others teasing what's ahead. And Elio is no exception. Directed by Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi and Adrian Molina, and starring Yonas Kibreab as 11-year-old Elio and Zoe Saldaña as his aunt, Olga, the film follows an imaginative boy who is mistakenly identified as Earth's leader in outer space. Keen-eyed viewers will notice the universe around him is filled with winks to Pixar's legacy.
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One of the most iconic Pixar Easter eggs is the Pizza Planet truck. First seen in Toy Story, the yellow delivery vehicle has made an appearance in nearly every Pixar film since. Elio continues that tradition.
'The Pizza Planet makes an appearance,' confirms production designer Harley Jessup.
Elio also carries heartfelt connections to Coco, reflecting Elio's own cultural heritage.'We were trying, because it is his Hispanic family, we're trying to add a couple things from Coco,' shares lighting art director Ernesto Nemesio. 'There's a couple of Easter Eggs in his house where there's some posters that Frida Kahlo painted in Coco that are in the background.'
But Elio doesn't just look to the past — it also gives a sneak peek of what's to come. Pixar often drops hints about upcoming projects in their current films, and Elio takes that to the next level.
'There are a few Easter eggs — or more than Easter eggs — where with our next film, a full-on character shows up,' says animation supervisor Travis Hathaway, referring to Hoppers, the studio's upcoming feature. 'There might also be a Luxo lamp outline in the stars. I think somebody tried to fit those in,' he says, referring to the desk lamp that serves as the mascot of Pixar Animation Studios.
Pixar
Even the stars themselves, which Elio often gazes up at, hold a special meaning. 'The stars in Elio are the stars in the sky in real life,' explains visual effects supervisor Claudia Chung. 'That is really what the stars would look like from Northern California in the summertime.'
One of the film's more playful and inside joke-type Easter eggs is a striped blue shirt Elio wears. 'Our lighting DP has a Zoom screen with this striped blue shirt, and we put that shirt on Elio,' says Chung.
Jessup adds with a laugh, 'We didn't tell him.'
Chung continues, 'It just showed up and he was like, 'Funny guys.''
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