A Geek Daddy received a surprise Valentine from Vanellope von Schweetz! Thanks Walt Disney Studios for sending a sweet Valentine's Day treat my way. I'm looking forward to having a family movie night seeing Vanellope's newest adventure with Wreck it Ralph now that RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET is available to add to our home entertainment video library.
The Digital edition of RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET: WRECK IT RALPH 2 is available now and the movie is arriving February 26, 2019 on Blu-ray and DVD. The movie is rated PG for some action and rude humor by the Motion Picture Association of America. This animated film has a run-time of 112 minutes. Along with the feature presentation, the home video release has bonus extras that include deleted scenes, a documentary about the making of the movie, and a segment highlighting Easter Eggs that were placed within RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET: WRECK IT RALPH 2.
In the movie, Video-game bad guy Ralph and his best friend Vanellope von Schweetz leave the comforts of Litwak's Arcade to try to save her game, Sugar Rush, from being retired after it becomes broken by a player. This quest takes them to the vast, uncharted world of the Internet. There Ralph and Vanellope must rely on "the Netizens" who inhabit the Internet to help the duo navigate their way. Lending a virtual hand are Yesss, the head algorithm and the heart and soul of the trend-making site "BuzzzTube," and Shank, a tough-as-nails driver from a gritty online auto-racing game called Slaughter Race, a place Vanellope wholeheartedly embraces - so much so that Ralph worries he may lose the only friend he's ever had.
Will Sugar Rush continue to delight kids at Litwak's Arcade or is it heading to the garbage heap? And if Sugar Rush is unplugged forever what will happen to all of its characters? You will have to watch RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET: WRECK IT RALPH 2 to find out! Available to watch digitally now from Movies Anywhere, iTunes, and Vudu or pick it up at your favorite retailer where Blu-rays and DVDs are sold beginning February 26.
The answer to a question that has been on Star Wars fans minds since the original movie debuted in 1977 was answered last year. How did Princess Leia get her hands on the Death Star plans that Darth Vader was chasing after in the opening sequence of that movie? Last December, Disney released its first Star Wars standalone film, ROGUE ONE, which tells the epic story of a group of unlikely heroes who band together on a mission to steal the plans for the Empire's ultimate weapon of destruction -- the Death Star. This brand new adventure expands the Star Wars universe in its own unique way yet its plot also nicely wraps into the previous movies enhancing the franchise's overall story.
I really enjoyed ROGUE ONE when I saw it at the theater (ranking it as one of my top three favorite films in the Star Wars franchise) and have been waiting in anticipation to add it to my home video collection. Well the wait is finally over! ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY is available TODAY (3/24/17) on Digital HD and will be available to get on Blu-ray or DVD beginning April 4th.
Disney Movies Anywhere and Roku set-up my family to enjoy a fun movie night this weekend by providing us with a free ROGUE ONE Digital HD code and some Star Wars goodies. We'll be watching ROGUE ONE on Sunday, March 26, 2017 at 7pm ET / 4pm PT simultaneously along with other social media influencers' and their families from across the country live tweeting as everyone is watching the movie at the same time. I've been designated part of #TeamEmpire and will be engaging in a Twitter Duel against #TeamRebel as we banter about whose side is superior. We'll also be giving away some great prizes to people who RSVP for this #RogueOneDigital Twitter Party and actively participate in the conversation.
There are 10 prizes in total including the following:
1 Director Orson Krennic Pop! Vinyl Figure by Funko
1 Sergeant Jyn Erso Elite Series Die Cast Action Figure
1 Captain Cassian Andor Elite Series Die Cast Action Figure
1 K-2SO Elite Series Die Cast Action Figure
1 Imperial Death Trooper Elite Series Die Cast Action Figure
1 Imperial Stormtrooper Elite Series Die Cast Action Figure
1 R2-Q5 Mini Metal Action Figure by Takara Tomy
1 C2-B5 Pop! Vinyl Figure by Funko – Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
1 Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Journal
1 Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Rebel Dossier Book
Winners will be randomly chosen from the RSVP list throughout the Twitter Party and must be actively tweeting using the #RogueOneDigital hashtag when selected to be eligible to win. I'd appreciate you also using #TeamEmpire while tweeting to help my team win this Star Wars Twitter Duel but #RogueOneDigital is the only one you actually need to use to be eligible to win a prize during the party.
Give in to the power of the Dark Side! Follow @Geekdad248 along with my other #TEAMEMPIRE Twitter Party panelists on Sunday, March 26, 2017 from 7pm ET (4 pm PT) until the movie ends. The #RogueOneDigital Twitter Party will be full of movie commentary, Star Wars trivia and prizes. Purchase the Digital HD edition of ROGUE ONE: A Star Wars Story from Disney Movies Anywhere and watch it along with us as we chat on Twitter. RSVP to join in the #RogueOneDigital Twitter Party -- it will be a blast!
The Digital HD version in addition to the feature presentation also contains never-before- seen “Rogue One” bonus material that will take fans behind
the scenes with the movie’s diverse, dynamic cast and inspired team of
filmmakers. An intimate collection of stories reveals how the film came
to life, as well as hidden Easter Eggs and film facts that audiences may
have missed in the theater.
Bonus features include*:
A Rogue Idea – Hear how ILM’s John Knoll came up
with the movie’s concept – and why it’s the right film to launch the
Star Wars stand-alone films.
Jyn: The Rebel – Get to know Rogue One’s defiant,
resourceful survivor, and hear what it was like for Felicity Jones to
bring her to life onscreen.
Cassian: The Spy – Diego Luna shares insights into
his complex, driven character, who becomes a hero through selflessness,
perseverance and passion.
K-2SO: The Droid – Explore the development of this
reprogrammed Imperial droid, from initial pitch and character design
through Alan Tudyk’s performance.
Baze & Chirrut: Guardians of the Whills – Go
deeper into the relationship between these two very different
characters, with Chinese superstars Jiang Wen and Donnie Yen.
Bodhi & Saw: The Pilot & The Revolutionary –
Forest Whitaker and Riz Ahmed reflect on Saw Gerrera, the broken Rebel
leader, and Bodhi Rook, the Imperial pilot who defects.
The Empire – Meet a dangerous new Imperial adversary…and cross paths once more with the most iconic villain of all time.
Visions of Hope: The Look of “Rogue One” – The
filmmakers describe the challenges and thrills of developing a bold new
look for the movie that can fit within the world of the original
trilogy.
The Princess & The Governor – See what it took
to bring the vibrant young princess of “Star Wars: A New Hope” – as well
as one of her most memorable foes – back to the screen.
Epilogue: The Story Continues – Filmmakers and cast celebrate Rogue One’s premiere and look forward into the future, to the Star Wars stories yet to be told.
Rogue Connections – Uncover Easter eggs and film facts hidden throughout the movie that connect “Rogue One” to the Star Wars universe.
When I think of Easter Eggs it normally isn't the decorated holiday decorations that come to mind but rather the inside jokes and references that are often hidden within movies. Whenever we add a new movie to our family's home video library, I always enjoy going on an Easter egg hunt to find these hidden tidbits within a film. As an Easter treat here are ten of my favorite discoveries from the last year:
10. THE MARTIAN
When a group from NASA secretly works to save a stranded astronaut on Mars they call their effort Project Elrond in a reference to the secret mission that is the heart of the plot for The Lord Of The Rings. Also actor Sean Bean has major parts in both movies.
9. JAMES BOND: SKYFALL
The Mi6 safe house location in the film is hidden behind a storefront that says "Hildebrand - Prints and rarities - Established 1953, London" which is a reference to James Bond creator Ian Fleming's collection of five short stories titled For Your Eyes Only which included one called The Hildebrand Rarity.
8. STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS
While rummaging through the Millennium Falcon, Finn comes across the training orb used by Luke Skywalker from when he trained with Ben Kenobi during his first voyage on the ship. A nice homage to the original Star Wars movie.
7. ANT-MAN
While watching the Ant-Man scenes within Hank Pym's house keep an eye out for shrunken items sprinkled throughout the house from the scientist's experiments. One of the items to look out for is a little red chair that is a reference to Pym's first comic book appearance in Tales To Astonish where he shrinks this chair to test his invention before using it on himself.
In another scene of the movie the character Darren Cross during his speech introducing the Yellow Jacket militarized shrinking suit jokes about Hank Pym saying "an Ant-Man sounds like tales to astonish" referencing the Marvel comic book series in which the Ant-Man and Wasp characters were first introduced. Hank Pym first appeared in Tales To Astonish #27 and the Wasp joined him in his adventures beginning with issue #44.
6. MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
The movie references a popular character from past Mad Max films, Gyro Captain, in a gruesome scene. When the Road Warrior is captured by the War Boy's one of the captors is hoisting a totem that has a human skull mounted at the top wearing the Gyro Captain's cap and flight googles. Alas it appears this is the end of the road for the Gyro Captain in Mad Max films.
5. FANTASTIC FOUR
When the Johnny Storm character is introduced in the movie there is a hint to his future fate hanging from the rear view mirror of the car he is racing -- A Super Mario Fire Flower which spits out flames in the video game.
4. JURASSIC WORLD
Jeff Goldblum may not have appeared in Jurassic World, but the book God Creates Dinosaurs (written by his Jurassic Park character Dr. Ian Malcolm) is shown in the movie during several different scenes.
3. AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON
When Tony Stark needs to replace JARVIS at the end of Age of Ultron to help him control the Iron Man suit he considers several alternate AI programs to use including versions called Friday, Jocasta and Tadashi. Friday is a reference to an AI secretary used by Stark in Marvel's comic books; Jocasta was a robot built by Ultron as his wife in a comic book story arc; and Tadashi refers to the character that created the Baymax robot in the Disney animated movie BIG HERO 6.
2. INSIDE OUT
Disney / Pixar films are know for being filled with Easter eggs, especially ones with clues to upcoming movies, and INSIDE OUT is no different with references to The Good Dinosaur and Finding Dory. In one scene you can see an image of Nemo on the box for a board game called FIND ME in a tease for the upcoming sequel. There is also a scene where Riley's family car has a run in with a dinosaur tale to tease The Good Dinosaur.
1. FURIOUS 7
While the Rock's character is staying in the hospital he's watching a football game that features footage of his real life self (Dwayne Johnson) playing as a defensive tackle in a Miami Hurricanes versus Florida State Seminoles game.
So what are some of your favorite Easter Eggs from movies that you've stumbled across?
**Disclaimer: I attended an advance screening of INSIDE OUT as a guest of Walt Disney Studios. The opinions in this post are honest and my own** My little girl and I recently had a daddy-daughter night out on the town to grab a bite to eat and check out the newest Disney PIXAR animated feature film INSIDE OUT. This film takes its audience on an emotional journey - you see the primary characters are the emotions of an 11 year old girl named Riley. From the control room inside Riley's mind 5 emotions ( Joy - voiced by Amy Poehler, Fear - voiced by Bill Hader, Anger - voiced by Lewis Black, Disgust - voiced by Mindy Kaling & Sadness - voiced by Phyliss Smith) steer the girl through all the obstacles life throws her way both literally and figuratively. This movie was inspired by the emotional changes that Director Pete Docter observed his daughter go through as she matured from a young girl to a tween during the time he was directing the movies Monsters, Inc. and Up. INSIDE OUT opened in theaters on June 19, 2015 and features many moments that both parents and their kids can relate to. I was impressed that this is a very original movie with a fresh approach to its stories as too many Hollywood productions lately seem to be regurgitating material from past works. INSIDE OUT takes the road less taken and establishes its own memorable path to audiences' hearts.
Disney PIXAR has developed a tradition of thrilling audiences with delightful short films before their feature presentations and INSIDE OUT is no exception to that legacy with LAVA. I have to admit that I had forgotten about this and was a little perplexed at first on what a singing volcano had to do with the premise of INSIDE OUT before I realized that this was the traditional short proceeding the main movie. Ooops! My six year old daughter just adored LAVA with its bright animations and Hawaiian lullaby inspired soundtrack. When it looked like there may not be a happy ending she looked so distraught and then when things worked out in the end she giggled continuously with a huge smile on her face until INSIDE OUT began.
Riley (and her 5 emotions) seem to have a perfect and content life as the film begins. Then Riley's family picks up and moves across the country from Minnesota to San Francisco and things start to get all out of wack. Sadness starts to have a major role in the control room for reasons that none of the emotions can understand, including Sadness herself, so they try to isolate her because everyone wants Riley to be happy not sad about the changes in her surroundings and life. In a tussle about whether Riley's core memories should be classified as joyous or sad, the emotions accidentally flush them away to the far reaches of her mind where they may be lost forever. Joy and Sadness must leave the comfort zone of the brain's control room to find them and hopefully restore these core memories to their rightful place. The adventures that ensue take Joy and Sadness throughout Riley's mind visiting places like Long Term Memory, Imagination Land, Abstract Thought, and Dream Productions. While Joy and Sadness are venturing through the inner recesses of Riley's mind, that leaves Anger, Disgust, and Fear running the show when it comes to Riley's interactions in the real world...and that does not go smoothly at all for anyone.
While the 5 emotions are billed as the stars of the show, my daughter and I both agree that the best character and our favorite part of the movie was Bing Bong. Joy and Sadness stumble upon Riley's childhood imaginary friend wandering around in her long term memory trying to avoid being dumped into the forgotten memories grave yard by the workers who determine what needs to be stored to remember later and what can be tossed away as a forgotten moment. Hey who can't love a creature that is part elephant, half teddy bear, and a little bit cheshire cat while also being made out of cotton candy! In the end it is Bing Bong that saves the day and helps the emotions learn through their journey that joy and sadness are two sides of the same coin when it comes to helping steer Riley through the memorable moments in life. Joy can lead to sadness and sadness can lead to joy with both emotions playing a role in keeping Riley's overall life healthy and happy.
Just like starting out the movie with a short film is a Disney PIXAR tradition, so is subtly placing easter eggs throughout the movie. Easter eggs are intentional inside jokes or hidden messages that are placed within movies. For example, A113 was the graphic design classroom at California Institute of Arts where PIXAR honchos like John Lassetter and Brad Bird went to school. A113 has been incorporated into every PIXAR feature film including INSIDE OUT. According to Pete Doctor A113 just happens to be Riley's class room number at her new school in San Fran.
As you are watching the movie keep an eye out for pizza trucks, PIZZA PLANET trucks to be specific. First introduced in Toy Story, Pizza Planet trucks tend to pop up in PIXAR movies. According to the movie's director this truck appears in three different shots and should be visible to fans who search for it. I have to say I totally missed it so feel free to share with us where it appears if you catch site of it in the movie.
Also PIXAR has a habit of previewing upcoming characters from upcoming movies. For example, in Up, there were scenes that showed Lotso Huggin Bear who later appeared in Toy Story 3 and Fin McMissile who later appears in Cars 2. For INSIDE OUT, Doctor has mentioned that audiences can catch a glimpse of Arlo who is the lead character in the upcoming movie The Good Dinosaur. So just a few things to keep an eye out for when watching INSIDE OUT.
The one downside to INSIDE OUT was that it wasn't the type of PIXAR movie that parents can take their whole family to go see knowing children of any age would love the show. While there isn't content that is overly violent, scary or graphic in nature to make it inappropriate for younger children, I found that my six year old just didn't get most of the humor and jokes found within it as they were over her head for understanding what was going on so this may not be the best movie to take younger children to. I thought Joy, Sadness and Bing Bong trying to escape a furnace that will turn them into abstract thoughts was very hilarious and creative but I've also taken college level art classes too getting more of a meaning on jokes like these compared to a Kindergartener. My daughter told me she LIKED this movie but felt she just didn't LOVE it in the same way she does Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc., and Toy Story which she will watch over and over and over again.
While the show is very creative and original over all, I was also a little disappointed that the ending was just a little too similar to the conclusion of another recent Walt Disney Studios movie Big Hero Six. This movie really was a roller coaster of emotions for both its characters and the audience so you may want to bring some tissues with you. It seemed as everyone around us was in tears as the movie was reaching its conclusion. This being said, that doesn't make it a bad movie just don't go into it expecting it to be entirely a feel good humorous comedy.
While INSIDE OUT didn't become my favorite Disney PIXAR movie, I did find it enjoyable to watch from my own adult perspectives. If you have tweens and teens at home I'd recommend taking them to go see it for a family outing to the movie theater. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll have a good time together.
This year was the third year in a row that we've hopped over the the Detroit Zoo to participate in its annual Bunnyville activities. Taking place the Friday and Saturday before Easter, the zoo provides fun activities, games and entertainment for children that are FREE with paid admission to the zoo. Being that we live a fifteen minute drive from the zoo and have an annual family pass this egg-stravaganza is always a nice extra benefit of having a zoo membership that my kids really enjoy.
We started off our visit to Bunnyville with a stop at the Jelly Bean Jamboree where the kids rubbed on some temporary tattoos, built custom bracelets, and made bunny faces from paper plates and cotton balls while enjoying live music performed by Mr. Seley and the Troublemakers that put a rock spin on some popular children's songs like "Old McDonald Had A Zoo."
Next was a stop at the Ford Education Center for a sp-egg-tacular magic show by the Amazing Clark followed by a stroll around to view some of the animals and a zookeeper talk at the grizzly bears exhibit. Than it was off to the Children's Hospital of Michigan Whisker Painting Station so the kids could get their bunny faces on.
The Funny Bunny Games are always a hit. This year's activities included a hoop toss, floating duck contest, beanbag throw, and don't drop the egg walk for prizes that included dinosaur masks, a handheld pinball maze game, pencils, and some fruit gummy snacks. All of which thrilled and excited my kids.
Every year we've attended this egg-stravaganza my kids favorite part has been the Bunny Follies live play, especially when they get everybody in the audience to do the chicken dance.
The theme of the skit is on how Elmer the Bear wants to replace the Easter Bunny with the Big Brown Easter Bear. The show has some humorous gags and musical numbers that get the audience engaged and my kids talk about it for days afterwards.
The Bunny Follies really are egg-cellent!
Our family has really enjoyed the Detroit Zoo's Bunnyville activities during our kids preschool and kindergarten years. Based upon the activities though the event probably peaks out as being suitable for children in first or second grade so while Bunnyville has become somewhat of a family tradition it might not be that much longer lived as the twins move on to first grade this Fall. If you are a parent of a preschooler or kindergarten aged child that lives in the Metro Detroit area, Bunnyville at the Detroit Zoo gets A Geek Daddy Nod of Approval and I highly recommend hopping by to enjoy the festivities.
Spring is here, the sun is out and it is time to get your Vitamin Z!
This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its
advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #DisneyEaster
#CollectiveBias
According to the non-profit group FARE (Food Allergy Research & Education) 1 in 13 children suffer from food allergies. A statistic my daughter joined when she was 18 months old and went into life threatening anaphylactic shock after eating some peanut butter which resulted in her being rushed to the ER and a three day hospital stay. Prior to that incident our family didn't know much about food allergies or understand how dangerous and severe of a medical condition it can be, now taking protective steps regarding food and products has become part of our daily routine.
What is a food allergy? FARE describes it like this, "the job of the body’s immune system is to identify and destroy germs
(such as bacteria or viruses) that make you sick. A food allergy results
when the immune system mistakenly targets a harmless food protein – an
allergen – as a threat and attacks it." What makes dealing with a food allergy especially challenging is that the trigger is microscopic (you can't see a protein) and even if a food or product like shampoo doesn't have the allergen as an ingredient if it is bakes, created, or processed with the same equipment or utensils that have handled those ingredients the contamination can cause a reaction.
Holidays like Easter can be very difficult for children with food allergies because many of the treats associated with it, like candy from the Easter Bunny, are off limits due to their ingredients or contamination issues. To make it up to my daughter, we work to make these days extra special with non-food treats. My daughter, like most 6 year old girls, is enamored with FROZEN so we went to our local Walmart and created a #DisneyEaster basket for her. Here are some tips on making a food allergy friendly Easter Basket.
In addition to large assortments of candy on stock, Walmart has a nice selection of fun non-food related Disney FROZEN items that can be used to fill an Easter basket ranging from activity sets to clothing to toys. Even if a child in your life doesn't have a food allergy you may want to check out some of these items if you're looking to cut down on the sweets they are eating. Here are some food allergy friendly categories of items to look out for and examples of products we purchased during our shopping trip.
CLOTHES
My kids are often just as thrilled and excited to get some cool clothing items as they are to get candy. Plus a fun t-shirt or hat lasts longer and is more useful compared to candy for a treat. We picked up an adorable cap and a hair accessory set that included barrettes, terries, snap clips and elastics to put in my little girl's Olaf basket.
ACTIVITIES & CRAFTS
Art supplies, temporary tattoos, and stickers can be creative and imaginative treats to use as prizes for Easter egg or basket hunts instead of jelly beans and chocolates. You'll never have to worry about putting a kid at risk at a family gathering, school function or community event by providing these types of items as a treat. Walmart has available a #Disney FROZEN 3-in-1 Activity Set and sticker books that we picked up for our Food Allergy Friendly Easter Basket.
TOYS
Toys are always a safe option to candy as a treat when it comes to food allergies. They often times will be a more expensive option than candy but provide peace of mind when it comes to a child's safety for parents and of course always put a smile on a kid's face. Walmart has a great selection of #FROZEN toys for budget conscious shoppers - keep an eye out for them rolling back those prices too! We picked up a trio of Anna, Elsa and Olaf plush toys to fill our daughter's #DisneyEaster basket.
SNACKS & TREATS
Whether it is filling Easter Baskets, hiding Easter Eggs for a hunt, or entertaining a party providing candy, snacks and food can be a touchy subject. While the numbers of people suffering from food allergies is growing, it is still a relatively small percentage of the overall population which means that many people aren't aware of the seriousness of the problem and the difficulties associated with the medical condition because they don't have to deal with it on a daily basis so food allergies just isn't a top of mind issue. The fact is though that most schools average two children per classroom with a severe food allergy that once triggered could cause them to go into life threatening anaphlyactic shock so it is likely that someone you know is impacted. My daughter's class for example has two girls with peanut allergies and another girl with a milk allergy. That makes it important to be considerate of the problem when planning snack or treats for events and parties, especially ones where children are involved. Please keep the following points in mind:
READ THE INGREDIENTS - In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires
food manufacturers to list the eight most common ingredients that
trigger food allergies: milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy, and wheat. The label should include any specific allergen included in the food as well as any ingredient, coloring, flavoring or other additive that contains a protein from the eight major food allergens. Carefully reading labels is a good way to be proactive in avoiding food allergy problems.
CONTAMINATION IS AS BIG AN ISSUE AS INGREDIENTS - Microscopic contamination of food or candy can make treats unsafe even
if they don't have the allergen in their actual ingredients. Don't just
look at the ingredients on labels but also watch out for warningss that
identify if a treat was processed, prepared or packaged in a facility
with the allergens. Note though that contamination warnings are voluntary and not mandated by the FDA so if something looks like it may be produced with other products that contain allergens but doesn't have a warning on the label it is best to still be cautious.
HOME BAKED & BAKERY MADE ITEMS ARE A NO NO - Unfortunately, even with washing, if the same bowls, pans, utensils and
other kitchen tools are used to make and prepare items that contain
allergens there is a significant risk of contamination though the food
itself may not have the allergen as an ingredient. That often makes most home baked goods from other people and items from bakeries off-limits for kids with food
allergies. If you bake or cook at home using any of the eight most common allergens in your kitchen, it is probably in every one's best interest not to include home made items as Easter treats unless you are certain no one has a food allergy.
For our daughter's food allergy friendly FROZEN Easter basket, after reviewing the label we picked up some movie themed Kellog's fruit snacks that are shaped in form of various Disney princesses including Anna and Elsa. In the food/snack category we also picked up a 2-in-1 Snack & Drink cup so our daughter can conveniently enjoy her food allergy safe snacks at home while watching her favorite movie, FROZEN on the TV.
FARE cites on their website the stat "every 3 minutes, a food allergy reaction sends someone to the ER – that's more than 200,000 visits per year." Nobody wants a holiday ruined by a trip to the hospital and by taking some precaution and consideration for this serious medical condition that outcome can very easily be avoided. As we've demonstrated in this #CollectiveBias shop at Walmart there are numerous safe and fun items that can be used for Easter Baskets, egg hunts, and holiday celebrations that are food allergy friendly and don't put people's health and lives at risk.
Have a wonderful Easter everyone. For more information on the products listed in this post, please visit www.walmart.com and for more information about food allergies go to www.foodallergy.org
When you hear the term "Easter Egg" the first thing that probably comes to mind is a furry bunny hiding colored eggs for children to find. There is another term for "easter egg" though which can allow you to have fun hunting for things throughout the year rather than just around the Easter holiday. Originating from a hidden message in the 1979 Atari video game ADVENTURE, the term "Easter Egg" now refers to a concealed joke or message in a video game, television show, or movie. As with any good Easter Egg hunt, finding these treasures are tough to find and lots of fun when you discover them.
Easter Eggs received a lot of public attention a few years ago when Director J.J. Abrams slipped in an appearance of the Star Wars character R2D2 into his 2009 Star Trek movie.
R2D2 made a repeat appearance in 2013's Star Trek: Into Darkness:
In fact, R2D2 has been a popular Easter Egg that has been slipped in movies ranging from Close Encounters of the Third Kind to Transformers. Can you spot the droid from Star Wars in this scene from Close Encounters?
R2D2 was also carved into the wood of the pirate ship deck for the movies Goonies. If you aren't looking you'd probably miss him.
Did you catch him in these scenes from the Transformers movies?
My favorite R2D2 Easter Egg though is the robot's appearance in Raiders of the Lost Ark. The Egyptian hieroglyphs in some of the scenes contain images of R2D2 with famous golden sidekick C3PO.
Disney, which now owns the rights for the R2D2 character, is known for placing Easter Eggs in their films. It will be interesting to see if they add some R2D2 appearances in their future productions. While R2 didn't appear in Disney's most recent animated feature FROZEN, here are a few easter eggs they did add to the film.
In FROZEN, there is a Mickey Mouse toy sitting on the lower shelf of supplies at the Wandering Oaken's Trading Post & Sauna.
An inside joke with the film's production team, during Anna's big song "For the First Time in Forever" she leaps into the air mimicking the pose of the painting "The Swing." This Rococo-era masterpiece by Jean-Honore Fragonard was credited by the artists who worked on the movie TANGLED as the inspiration for the visual look of their film.
Take a close look and you'll see that they imported the candy from the Land of Sugar Rush in the Disney movie WRECK IT RALPH for the treats at the royal coronation in FROZEN.
In another nod to TANGLED, Rapunzel and Flynn Rider are guests at Elsa's coronation in FROZEN. Some people have even suggest that this ties FROZEN to THE LITTLE MERMAID. The theory is that Elsa & Anna's parents boat that sunk in FROZEN is the sunken ship in THE LITTLE MERMAID which went down in a storm on its way to the Return Celebration held for Rapunzel in TANGLED. Rapunzel and Flynn Rider are attending the coronation out of respect for loss of Elsa & Anna's parents relating to their loss at sea. "The Little Mermaid" was written by Hans Christian Andersen and is set in Denmark. Andersen also wrote "The Snow Queen" which FROZEN is based on and takes place in Norway. The story of "Rapunzel" is based in Germany so it appears transit along the path of these three stories would be feasible if they were featured in one combined fairy tale timeline. Hmmm?
Another Disney acquisition that makes use of Easter Eggs in its films is Pixar. The creative team is known for slipping "A113" into their movies which has appeared in every Pixar film since TOY STORY. The inside joke is that this is the classroom number at California Institute of Arts where John Lasseter and his Pixar leadership team learned about animation. Well in MONSTER'S UNIVERSITY this is the classroom where Mike & Sulley learn the art of scaring.
A Pizza Planet truck appears in almost every Pixar film and MONSTER'S UNIVERSITY is no exception. The truck made famous in the TOY STORY movies is parked outside the JOX Fraternity house in this movie.
The ball featured in Pixar's first short film "Luxo Jr" has appeared as an Easter Egg in most of the studio's feature films. In MONSTERS UNIVERSITY the Luxo Ball appears in graffiti on a wall in a scene during the Scare Games first challenge.
Pixar often plants Easter Eggs in its films that tie to an upcoming film. In MONSTERS INC for example, Pixar teased FINDING NEMO by placing a Nemo doll in Boo's room. In MONSTER'S UNIVERSITY, dinosaur toys are placed throughout the movie that look like the concept art for an upcoming Pixar movie titled THE GOOD DINOSAUR that was originally slated to hit theaters in 2014 and is now being released in 2015. Could these be an Easter Egg for things to come?!
Once people are aware that these hidden images are included in movies, Easter Egg hunts can be a fun addition to the enjoyment of a film. Not all movie related Easter Eggs are on the silver screen though. Did you know there is a Darth Vader gargoyle included on the National Cathedral in Washington D.C.?
You need binoculars to see it...but Darth Vader is there! Print out this PDF for more information on how to find him if you are taking a trip to the nation's Capital: www.nationalcathedral.org/pdfs/darth It pays off to always be on the hunt for an Easter Egg!
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