Considering it’s named after a land at Disney’s theme parks, it’s no surprise that Tomorrowland is packed full of little nods to the company’s history and projects.
Here are 8 big Disney easter eggs and connections we’ve found so far:
1. Cinderella’s Castle
The iconic “castle” logo that plays before most Disney movies gets a futuristic update for Tomorrowland. The connection becomes even more relevant in the film itself though, as the Tomorrowland cityscape was actually inspired by the shape of Cinderella’s Castle in the theme parks.
2. A Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow
The song we hear as Frank Walker arrives at the World’s Fair is “There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow,” from Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress. The attraction actually premiered at the real life World’s Fair in 1964, before being moved to Disneyland a few years later.
3. Is That You Wendy?
Athena’s outfit during the World’s Fair resembles the look of a famous Disney character. With the blue dress, blue bow, and similar hairstyles, Athena looks a whole lot like Wendy from Peter Pan, a movie that had a similar theme of the power of positive thinking.
4. It’s a Small World After All
It’s not exactly an easter egg given how prominently the ride is featured in the movie, but it’s worth noting that It’s a Small World really did debut at the 1964 World’s Fair, alongside other future theme park attractions like the Carousel of Progress and Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. Portions of the movie were even shot at the actual Disneyland ride, which remains very similar to the original World’s Fair version.
5. Michael Giacchino’s Cameo
Michael Giacchino, who composed the music for Tomorrowland (as well as The Incredibles, another Brad Bird/Disney movie) gets a small cameo as the operator of the Small World ride.
6. Space Mountain
You can see Disneyland’s Space Mountain dome in the background of Casey’s Tomorrowland tour. Here’s what it looks like in real life:
7. Tons of Toys
In the Blast from the Past sci-fi collectibles shop, you can spot a ton of little easter eggs, including Mr. Incredible and Iron Giant action figures (from two other films by Tomorrowland director Brad Bird). Star Wars, acquired by Disney in 2012, is also featured in a few not-too-subtle moments; while Emperor Zurg from Toy Story 2 can be seen in front of a TV.
8. Audio-Animatronics
The robots in Tomorrowland are called “Audio-Animatronics.” This term was coined by Walt Disney himself to describe the robots he developed for his theme parks. Since then, “animatronics” has become a common way to describe similar types of robotics.
Did you find any that we missed? Let us know in the comments!
at 54:54 a boy playing a game and drop the number of strange, who knows what?
Hugo Gernsback was the name of the ship that Jacobs father served on in mass effect 2
During the fight scene in blast from the past, weren’t the Audio’s using blaster guns that looked to me straight off of the buzz lightyear space ranger spin ride!
When Casey first shows the pin to Hugo in Blast From the Past she puts it down on top of a poster for the 1979 Disney sci-fi movie The Black Hole. The gum is a nod to The Rocketeer. Casey’s choice in gum is the same gum that was the good luck charm in The Rocketeer. It also seems Bird likes to put references to his past work in the movie too because if you look close enough in the shop you’ll see a Simpsons reference. And if you go see it again keep your eyes out for the hidden Mickey, Donald, and Walt in the film.
The little two seater car is a display at Test Track.
When she flew the helicopter past the guard shack there was a poster there with instructions. I noticed it said something about hanging up or doing something with light sabers.
The trip to Paris and to the moon is a nod to Tomorrowland’s sister land in Disneyland Paris. Instead of Tomorrowland they have Discoveryland, which is based on the Jules Verne age of Discovery. The original incarnation of the DLP Space Mountain was called La Lune De La Terre (to the moon from the earth) in which you were shot out of a cannon to the moon.
There was a clear view of a Close Encounters poster in Blast from the Past
Entertainment Weekly ”FIRST LOOK: George Clooney is a man out of time in Disney’s ‘Tomorrowland’
by Anthony Breznican | October 8 2014 — 12:20 PM EDT “Another big influence for Jeff Jensen and I when we first started talking about this story was Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” Lindelof says. “Somehow it was able to do what no modern movies are able to do, which is tell a story that doesn’t have a bad guy who is trying to blow up the planet, or giant robots fighting, or lots of karate—though who doesn’t love karate? It was so not plot driven. It was just a pure discovery movie…”