It's Impossible To Find Every Disney Easter Egg In Wish (But Here Are The Best Ones)
This article contains spoilers for "Wish."
In honor of Walt Disney Animation's 100 year anniversary, the House of Mouse has released its 62nd animated feature — "Wish." Starring Oscar winner Ariana DeBose and "Best Chris" Chris Pine, the story follows a young woman who makes a wish on a star with so much passion that the little Star comes down to help her save her kingdom from the evil, magical King Magnifico. Blending traditional hand-drawn animation styles and the new computer generated artistry into one film, "Wish" is also Disney's first original fairy tale. The film is the pièce de résistance of Disney's centennial celebration, and as such, features countless references to the films and characters that turned a scrappy animation studio into the most powerful name in entertainment.
If you're a person who loves hunting for cinematic Easter eggs ... you're gonna need a bigger basket.
Directors Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn have confirmed that "Wish" contains over 100 Easter eggs, with the number likely closer to 150. Short of holding a projectionist making minimum wage hostage and demanding they play the film for me frame by frame, the only way to realistically find them all is to see the film dozens of times in theaters, or waiting until it arrives on home video to pause as needed. However, there are three tiers of spoilers to consider — obvious, homage, and blink-and-you'll-miss-it. I've identified a handful of my favorites, but understand that an exhaustive list is impossible, unless producer Juan Pablo Reyes Lancaster-Jones leaks the spreadsheet that contains them all.
Obvious Easter eggs
There isn't a lot of hunting required for some of the Easter eggs in "Wish," which will certainly be a joy for some of the younger viewers in the crowd who will finally get to have their own "Leo Pointing Meme" moments. As a true-to-form villain, King Magnifico often recites direct quotes or shares similar powers to some of Disney's most famous villains. Self-absorbed to the extreme, he is obsessed with his own reflection and even quotes "mirror, mirror on the wall." It's also implied that the poisoned apple from "Snow White" is one of his dastardly creations, created from the same book as the Witch.
When Magnifico is crushing the wishes of his citizens, he makes references to a number of Disney films (like "Mary Poppins"), which elicited some laughs (and groans) from my audience. On a happier note, Peter Pan is here! He's a citizen of Rosas who offers to help teach one of the civilians whose dream is to fly, well, how to fly. The credits of the film also include constellation designs of characters across Disney Animation's 100 years, which is a way for the film to honor all that came before it. But the biggest and most obvious Easter egg is during the post-credits scene, when Asha's grandfather Sabino plucks on his lute while looking at the stars and writes "When You Wish Upon a Star." I dare you to hear it and not wind up with a lump in your throat.
Homage Easter eggs
Asha has a core group of friends named Dahlia, Gabo, Hal, Simon, Safi, Dario, and Bazeema ... and they are all new takes on the characterizations of the Seven Dwarfs of "Snow White" fame. Their inspirations are subtle at first, with Dahlia wearing the same glasses as Doc, Simon dozing off, and Safi constantly sneezing due to his allergies. However, the homage becomes a bit more obvious as time goes on. There are some adults who might find this ham-fisted, but this will be a treat for younger viewers who might take the wiggling of Dario's ears like Dopey or the group marching in a single line for the reference to click.
During the number "I'm a Star," Star sprinkles magic around the woodland creatures, who all begin to sing in typical Disney fashion. There are so many references to other Disney films littered throughout this scene, paying homage to many of the films from Disney's golden era. If there was a singing animal in a Disney movie, they're hiding here somewhere. I got giddy in my seat when the bear introduces himself as "John," a clear reference to Little John from "Robin Hood," hanging out with a young deer named Bambi. There are also singing mushrooms that resemble the ones from "Alice in Wonderland," but sing like they're straight out of "Fantasia."
And if you didn't already know, the character of Star shares a similar facial marking to Walt Disney's most famous character, Mickey Mouse. The heart shape on Star's face is meant to mimic the heart shape of Mickey's face, making the character the ultimate Hidden Mickey.
Blink-and-you'll-miss-it Easter eggs
With so many Easter eggs scattered throughout, there are a ton of "blink and you'll miss it" references that we'll not be able to fully track down until the film hits Disney+ and we can search frame by frame. However, there were a few small ones that had me absolutely tickled. During a scene in Magnifico's lair, the poisoned apple from "Snow White" is visibly on display. This makes for a great swerve because while the audience is too busy pointing at the apple and congratulating themselves for noticing it, they've likely completely missed the fact the candles on his table are black flame candles. As in, the candles from "Hocus Pocus." Considering he's lit the candles and the Sanderson Sisters do not show up, this also implies that King Magnifico is not a virgin. Hell yeah, King. Get it.
However, my personal favorite is during "I'm a Star" when three birds on a tree glow pink, green, and blue for about a second. It's a cute light up scene that happens in sync with the music, but the color choice is an homage to Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather from "Sleeping Beauty." The love I have for those sassy fairy godmothers is beyond measure, so seeing a little nod to the trio was such an unexpected treat.
"Wish" is a movie that begs to be seen more than once, if only to try and find every last hidden reference. There are just too many to count, and I salute the dedicated Disney Adult Bloggers who will certainly spend countless hours finding every last one of them for all of our enjoyment. I thank you in advance for your service.
Catch "Wish" in theaters everywhere.