Easter eggs are when people discover a hidden reference or familiar character from another source of entertainment, and these discoveries often fill them with excitement and joy. Many Easter eggs can be seen throughout Pixar's collection of feature films and animated shorts, and one of the most renowned is "A113," which is much more than just a random code.
A113 is the number of the classroom at the California Institue of the Arts where many professional animators, including Pixar staff, studied. What started out as an inside joke among graphic designers and character animation students became a homage to their school and a way for graduates to recognize each others' work. As a result, Pixar has referenced the institute's room number several times in their animations.
10 Toy Story Was The First Pixar Movie To Include The Code
The first movie where Pixar used A113 was in 1995 in their feature film, Toy Story. The easter egg is used for the license plate for Andy's mom's minivan and initially appears after Buzz falls out the window. He jumps onto the rear bumper of the vehicle as it departs for Pizza Planet.
The reference to the classroom is shown more clearly later in the movie when Woody and Buzz escape from the menacing clutches of the next-door neighbor, Sid. When Andy's family moves home, the minivan pulls out of the drive one last time and a close-up of the license plate can be seen beside Woody.
9 A Bug's Life Shows A113 In Bug City
A Bug's Life was Pixar's second movie, and the animation studio featured the easter egg in the first half of the movie. After Flik leaves the ant colony and arrives in Bug City, A113 can be seen on a cardboard box. While Flik is in awe as he enters the insect metropolis, the box is in the background.
P. T. Flea's traveling circus uses a train of carriages made out of cookie boxes to transport performers and equipment. At Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park, these carriages are sometimes used as a float to showcase A Bug's Life during Pixar parades. Although it's not in the movie, A113 is seen on the rear of the float under nutritional facts and appears as "Vitamin A113."
8 Finding Nemo Features The Reference On An Underwater Camera
Shortly into the touching tale of Finding Nemo, the young clownfish and his classmates head to the drop-off. After abandoning Mr. Ray's class, Nemo and his new friends swim off, which is when they come across the boat. When Marlin appears, Nemo bravely decides to touch the bottom of the vessel to prove that he's not scared of the open water.
This is the iconic scene when Nemo is caught by a scuba diver. Marlin is also confronted by a scuba diver who takes a picture of him with an underwater camera. On the front of the camera is A-113, which is clearly done on purpose to reference the institute's classroom number.
7 The Incredibles Included A113 More Than Once
When Elastigirl wants to know her husband's whereabouts, she decides to locate him to make sure he's not in trouble. Ironically, this curious act leads to his capture. When Elastigirl reaches the island, she sneaks into Syndrome's lair and tries to find out where Mr. Incredible is being detained. After sneaking into a control room and seeing which cells are consuming the most power, she finds out that Mr. Incredible is on level A1 in cell 13.
Earlier in The Incredibles, after completing his first assignment, Mirage invites Mr. Incredible back for another test. When he arrives at the volcanic island, Mirage tells him there will be a meeting in a conference room numbered "A-113."
6 Cars Feature The Easter Egg In Every Movie From The Franchise
When Lightning McQueen finds himself in the impound, he meets Mater, the town's tow truck. This is when viewers first get a glimpse at his rear license plate, which reads A113. The code can also be seen on Mater's license plate in Cars 2 and Cars 3.
In the original movie from the franchise, A113 can also be seen on the freighter train, Trev Diesel. When Lightning McQueen tries to catch up with Mack, he races to beat the locomotive to the crossing where the road and track meet. A113 is illuminated twice on the front of the train with the main headlight in the center.
5 Ratatouille Subtly Included A113
In Ratatouille, Remy is the protagonist; however, one of his fellow rodents bears the easter egg. Git, the strong rat, is a friend of Remy's older brother, Emile. Although it's not very distinguishable, Git has a tag on his left ear that reads A113.
The running gag is also seen when Linguini takes Remy home for the first time. After showing his furry friend around his apartment, Linguini falls asleep with the TV on in the background. On the TV screen is a black and white movie where a couple is romancing. A113 appears on a wall in the background of this scene.
4 WALL-E Includes One Of The Most Obvious Uses Of A113
Wall-E includes one of the most obvious uses of A113, and the reference appears a few times in the movie. When EVE returns with positive evidence of photosynthesis taking place on Earth, the Axiom's autopilot, AUTO, is the first to analyze the results. This is when viewers first see A113 flash on AUTO's red central terminal.
AUTO later comes into contact with EVE again, and the code is shown from the point of view of the autopilot. When the captain is convinced that Earth has reached life-sustaining status, he demands AUTO discloses the classified information. This is when the president's video recording is shown as he authorizes override directive A113, giving full control to the autopilot.
3 Up Features The Hidden Reference As The Movie Begins
The main protagonist in Up is Carl Fredericksen, a lonely old man who refuses to sell his home to a nearby construction company working in the area. After a dispute with one of the workers, Mr. Fredericksen is summoned to court where the recurring easter egg appears.
When Mr. Fredericksen is waiting for the hearing to begin, he's seen sitting on a bench outside the courtroom reflecting on everything that's happened. A113 appears in this brief scene as busy-looking people walk by. The reference is seen in the background engraved on a plaque on the wall.
2 Brave Features The Easter Egg In A Different Way
When Merida rides her horse into the forest after arguing with her mom, she stumbles across some magical blue wisps that lead her to the witch's cottage. As Merida is being forced out for not buying any wood carvings, the Easter egg is seen above the cottage door, but slightly different from how audiences have seen it before.
After the letter A, the numbers are written in roman numerals and the reference reads "ACXIII." There are a lot of things happening in this scene, so it's easy to miss, and the animators clearly decided to be more subtle when including A113 in Brave.
1 Coco Shows A113 On Two Occasions
When Miguel finds himself in the land of the dead, A113 appears in Grand Central Station. The code is on the office door to the Bureau of Family Grievances when Miguel meets Mamá Imelda and the rest of his deceased family.
The reference is also seen at the beginning of Coco when Miguel explains where his love for music originated. This is when audiences learn the history of Ernesto de la Cruz and are shown some of the albums he made. A113 is seen in the bottom left corner on one of his album covers.