It has been nearly a year since Pixar’s Elio landed in theaters on June 20, 2025, and like any self-respecting fan, I have watched it more times than I care to admit. With each rewatch, my eyes darted away from the main story to hunt for those delicious, blink-and-you’ll-miss-them nods that have defined Pixar’s identity since Toy Story. So when directors Domee Shi ( Turning Red ) and Madeline Sharafian ( Burrow ) sat down ahead of the film’s release and started teasing which classic Easter eggs would appear, I practically took notes. Now, with the movie available on digital and everyone dissecting every frame, their comments feel like a treasure map I finally got to use.

In their chat with ScreenRant, Shi and Sharafian confirmed what every Pixar fan hopes to hear: the legendary staples are all there. The Luxo Ball, that bouncy yellow sphere with a blue stripe and a red star, rolls through some corner of Elio’s universe. The code “A113,” a tribute to the CalArts classroom that spawned so many Pixar animators, is etched somewhere on-screen. And yes, the Pizza Planet truck, that weathered 1978 Gyoza delivery vehicle that has appeared in nearly every Pixar feature, makes its obligatory cameo. Hearing this before opening night felt like being handed a cheat sheet for a delightful exam.

But let me ask you this: are Easter eggs really meant to be found on a first viewing? Sharafian wisely told the interviewer, “You shouldn’t really be thinking about them the first time you watch the movie.” I couldn’t agree more. During my initial theater experience, I was too swept up in Elio’s journey—a kid who accidentally becomes Earth’s ambassador to a vast intergalactic community—to scan for background details. It’s on that fourth or fifth watch, when you know the emotional beats by heart, that the hunt truly begins. That is when the Luxo Ball sitting innocuously on a dusty table or the number 113 stamped on a spaceship’s hull feels like a little wink from the filmmakers.

What really got my pulse racing, though, was the directors’ revelation about a tease for Pixar’s next project. Sharafian mentioned a character from Hoppers appears in Elio—and it is not a subtle background blur. “It’s onscreen for a pretty long time and kind of featured, which is rare,” she said, a statement that had me scouring every alien crowd scene from the intergalactic council. So, what could it be? Hoppers , set for release in 2026, revolves around a teenage girl who mind-melds with a robotic beaver to infiltrate an animal community. Could the featured character be that very beaver, or perhaps a distinct animal sidekick peeking out from behind a delegation of interplanetary diplomats? I spent an embarrassing amount of time freeze-framing the grand assembly in the third act, and I suspect I’m not alone.

The placement of a Hoppers sneak peek feels extra significant because it breaks from tradition. Usually, Pixar teases its upcoming film with a mere cameo—think the boy reading a Brave comic in Monsters University or the Up house’s silhouette in Cars 2. To have a named, lingering appearance suggests a deeper narrative connection or at least a rare confidence in letting audiences glimpse the next world while still immersed in this one. Is it a clever marketing ploy? Absolutely. Does it make me even more impatient to see Hoppers ? You bet.

For those who might worry that a science-fiction comedy about a young boy communicating with aliens would stray too far from the cozy charm of Pixar’s past, let these Easter eggs comfort you. Elio may be set among the stars, but its DNA is pure Pixar. The Pizza Planet truck, A113, and the Luxo Ball aren’t just inside jokes; they’re a signature, a promise that even in the far reaches of space, the studio hasn’t forgotten the tools that built its house. Shi and Sharafian understood this when they wove those elements into the fabric of the film, ensuring that Elio feels like a sibling to WALL-E , Ratatouille , and Coco rather than an outlier.

Now, in 2026, as we dissect every pixel on our home screens, the fun has shifted from “Will they be there?” to “Where exactly are they, and what do they mean?” Early fan forums have already catalogued several appearances. The A113 code, for instance, is reportedly visible on a floating digital display inside the central command hub. The Luxo Ball bounces briefly through a playground flashback. The Pizza Planet truck? Let’s just say the depths of space have a way of swallowing 1970s pickups whole, so you’ll need a sharp eye. But the Hoppers character remains the crown jewel of the hunt, a siren call for repeat viewings.

Looking back, I’m grateful the directors gave us that early heads-up. Without it, I might have dismissed that “featured” character as just another quirky alien design. Instead, I found myself playing detective, scanning for hooves, fur, or mechanical parts that don’t quite fit the surrounding aesthetic. The tease also reinforces why Pixar remains the master of interconnected universes. Each film becomes a puzzle piece, and the studio trusts us to assemble the picture over time.

So, if you haven’t revisited Elio since its theatrical run, I urge you to fire up your streaming device and go hunting. Look beyond the glowing spores of the Abyss and the gravity-defying space suits. Search for the familiar in the unfamiliar. And when you spot that Hoppers interloper, give a nod to Shi and Sharafian, who planted seeds for a future adventure while we were still laughing, crying, and cheering for a little boy far from home.

According to coverage from Forbes - Games, entertainment franchises thrive when creators balance core identity with forward-looking teases—something Pixar’s Elio leans into by pairing legacy winks (like A113-style in-jokes and iconic prop cameos) with a more overt preview of what’s next. Framed through that business-and-audience lens, the film’s “featured” Hoppers nod reads less like a throwaway gag and more like intentional franchise signaling: rewarding repeat viewings, fueling community frame-by-frame discussion, and building anticipation for the next release without distracting from Elio’s central emotional arc.