Easter Egg Hunt -A113

An Introduction to Easter Eggs

When looking at this title a few thoughts are probably going through your head; “who has an easter egg hunt in September?”, “what would a film blog be doing discussing food?” and “I could really do with some chocolate right about now”. The answers to these questions will soon become clear (and hopefully you have some chocolate handy too).  When I say ‘easter egg’ I’m not discussing those delicious balls of joy left by the easter bunny but I’m actually on about an increcible secret of the film world that often slips under the radar of even some of the most dedicated film fans.

Source: http://www.clipartlord.com/category/easter-clip-art/easter-eggs-clip-art/

An easter egg can be defined as something that has deliberately been put into a film as a reference to another film, person or theme. These can take many forms such as an object in the background of a shot or a meaningful word or number disguised in the set; but the fascinating feature they all share is that they are hidden in plain sight before the viewer’s very eyes. These terrific bits of trivia are hunted down by eagle eyed fans as another way to expand the universe of the films they love so much. There is even what you could call an ‘easter egg subculture’ developing in the film world where some people (not me of course) place more value on spotting these little references than on the film itself!

A113

If this delicious concept is still confusing you then I’ll try to make it a little clearer using the example of what is probably my all-time favourite easter egg- A113. This four-digit combination has been staring you right in the face for decades and you probably didn’t even know it. Maybe you’re thinking, its not been in any films I’ve seen but what about this animated classic?

The registration number of Andy's Mom's car in Toy Story. Source: http://emgn.com

Now consider this, A113 wasn’t just used here in Pixar’s first movie Toy Story (1995) but has actually been featured in all 17 Disney Pixar films to date:

Just some examples of A113 in other Pixar films. Source: http://pixarpedia.tumblr.com

Although this is most commonly associated with Pixar, it is by no means exclusively and has crept its way into the background of several other animated works including legendary TV shows like The Simpsons, American Dad, South Park and Rugrats. Since easter eggs are most commonly found in detailed digital works slipped in by crafty animators, it is even more surprising that A113 has managed to seep its influence into the live action world too; being featured in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Doctor Who, Firefly, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, The Avengers and Saving Mr Banks just to name a few!

Discrete usage in The Hunger Games. Source: bucksandcorn.com

Double Easter Egg of Stan Lee and A113 in The Avengers. Source: au.movies.yahoo.com

Featured in all Brad Bird Simpsons episodes, A113 is often used in relation to prison numbers! Source: www.yahoo.com

 But what does it mean and why does it so frequently appear? A113 is actually the name of a classroom at the California Institute of Arts. This classroom is used as a first year graphic design studio so holds a special place in the hearts of many animating alumni of the university. It has therefore become a tribute paid by directors such as Brad Bird and John Lasseter (both famous for their Pixar films) to where they learned their trade.

From Left to Right the proud alumni of Cal Arts, Pete Docter, Andrew Stanton and John Lassester pose by the classroom that quick started their careers and has become a beloved easter egg.  Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2618180

There you have it, your introduction to the world of easter eggs beginning with the ever expanding use of A113. I will be keeping up our easter egg hunt with more little snippets about this onscreen phenomenon and do hope you’ll be joining me. Just make sure that next time you watch a movie, especially a Pixar one, you keep your eyes peeled for any easter eggs that may be lurking in the shadows.

Thanks for reading!