21 Incredible Hidden Details in Movies That Will Blow Your Mind (2024)

Behind the scenes, hundreds of people spend hundreds of hours creating a film we watch in more or less two hours.

On first viewing, film fans might not pick up on all the intricate details, but that's not to say they're not there. If really scrutinised, plenty of intriguing details come to light—from family members slipped into the cast, to allusions left in by animators, to foreign phrases with hidden meanings.

Here's our rundown of boggling trivia from movie blockbusters that you may have missed.

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1. Forest Gump (1994)

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Tom Hanks had trouble mastering Forrest Gump's Southern drawl for this epic drama film. In the end, the award-winning star had to learn from the child actor, Michael Humphrey, playing younger Forrest. Humphrey's was a genuine Southern accent which Hanks picked up by studying him on set.

2. Anastasia (1997)

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In Disney's animated musical about the lost princess, Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia, the drawing that young Anastasia gives to her grandmother mimics a 1914 painting created by the real princess Anastasia.

3. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

The first film of the Indiana Jones franchise features a map that shows Palestine in the place of Israel. This is because the movie is set in 1936, and Israel was not formally declared as a state until 1948.

4. Napolean Dynamite (2004)

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In cringe-filled comedy Napolean Dynamite, the eponymous character played by Jon Heder expresses himself through childish pencil sketches. Heder drew all of the drawings used in the movie—except for the unicorn.

5. Almost Famous (2000)

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In this rock and roll flick when Penny Lane (Kate Hudson) picks up William (Patrick Fugit) to drive to the Riot House, the iconic album cover for Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon is projected onto the car windshield.

6. The Shining (1980)

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It turns out Stanley Kubrick's renowned horror was a family affair. Vivian Kubrick, one of the director's daughters plays a partygoer dressed in black in the 1920s ball scene.

7. The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019)

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In one scene in this moving film, a busker sings "San Francisco (Make Sure to Wear Flowers in your Hair)" then jokingly starts singing "I Got 5 On It". The actor is Michael Marshal, famous for singing the hook on the rap song "I Got 5 On It" by The Luniz.

8. Dumb and Dumber (1994)

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In the first film in the American comedy franchise, when Lloyd Christmas (Jim Carrey) checks the time in the bathroom, his watch reads "Casino" as opposed to the popular brand "Casio".

9. Goodfellas (1990)

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Martin Scorsese took from his personal life when directing the gangster movie Goodfellas. He used the same wine (Valpolicella Classico Bolla) in the dinner scene as his parents drank in Italianamerican, the documentary he made about his parents in 1974.

10. Poltergiest (1982)

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Robbie Freeling climbs a foreboding oak tree in his backyard in Steven Spielberg's supernatural horror. The large jagged crack in the bark is the tree's mouth, which tries to devour him later on.

11. Trainspotting (1996)

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In the Scottish cult-classic, the football club that Renton, Begbie, and co, play against was comprised of real members of the Calton Athletic Recovery Group of Glasgow. The men were former heroin addicts-turned-counsellors who consulted on the film.

12. Parasite (2019)

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A scene in the Oscar-winning South Korean film, depicts a book on the Park family's shelf about Alfred Hitchcock. Director Bong Joon-ho admitted in an interview that Hitchcock greatly influenced the movie and that the Bates motel in Psycho was an inspiration for his masterpiece.

13. The Incredibles 2 (2018)

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In this animated superhero film, Dash's 1960s math book's text is copied directly from the website helpingwithmath.com. The page has had the exact text for its 5th-grade math standards since 2014.

14. Great Gatsby (2013)

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The phrase "ad finem fidelis" is emblazed on Jay Gatsby's grandiose gates in Baz Luhrmann's movie remake. From the Latin "faithful to the end", the reference could hint at Gatsby's unwavering love for Daisy.

15. American Hustle (2013)

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The black-comedy crime film, shows Mayor Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner) kissing a baby while greeting constituents on the street. The child is Renner's real-life daughter Eva, who was only 1 month old at the time.

16. Mamma Mia (2008 & 2018)

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In Mamma Mia! (2008) and Mamma Mia! Here we Go Again (2018) ABBA singers Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson cameo in both movies.

17. The Simpsons Movie

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In a scene from The Simpsons Movie (2007), you can see a crashed ambulance in the family's backyard. This has remained there since season two of the show which aired in 1990—a whole 17 years.

18. The Dark Night (2008)

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In Christopher Nolan's iconic superhero film, the Joker is constantly licking his lips. This wasn't written into the script, but came about because the prosthetic scars that Heath Ledger wore kept falling off. Ledger would lick his lips to keep them in place and gradually, it became a part of the Joker's character.

19. Jojo Rabbit

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In one scene, the imaginary Hitler offers Jojo cigarettes and is shown eating meat. In truth, Hitler was strongly opposed to smoking and was a vegetarian, which implies that young Jojo is quite oblivious about Hitler.

20. The Invention of Lying (2009)

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As this comedy is set in a world where no one has ever lied the $100 bills are all old fashioned. The anti-counterfeit updates that came into circulation around 1990 wouldn't have been needed if everyone was truthful.

21. Scarface (1983)

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In the scene depicting Tony's drug deal with Hector, as Tony is being chained up, Hector says, "Ok, cara cicatriz". In English this means "Ok, scar face". This is the only time in the violent crime drama that Tony is referred to as Scarface.

21 Incredible Hidden Details in Movies That Will Blow Your Mind (2024)
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