Obvious Easter Egg in Disney's "Cars 3" we didn't notice until Thanksgiving!

Anyone who knows me understands how much I love Disney - what's not to love about those cuddly animals: Mickey, Minnie, Daisy, Donald, and my favorite; Goofy, to name a few!  So of course we were interested when Pixar joined the Disney family. I was still a minor myself when "Toy Story" first premiered.  And they didn't disappoint.  From "Monsters Inc." to "Wall-E", we've always laughed and cried more with movies designed for the young than those created for us adults. But throughout seeing ALL - I mean all- of the Disney/Pixar films available to the public, I never really understood the fun of finding the bread crumbs that link each of these films to another.

Our family doesn't like reading articles before we see a movie, because we don't want to be exposed to any spoilers, and with that in mind:

*WARNING - THOSE THAT DON'T LIKE SPOILERS OF ANY KIND SHOULD STOP READING NOW!!!! While I'm not going to give away a lot of plot information, I while be describing a bit of background setting and scenes.   If you haven't seen any animated movies from "Cars 3" and on this year (including "Coco"), come back and read this after you view the films.

Seeing Sulley in "Monster's Inc." pick up a toy in Boo's room that we can easily recognize from the movie "Toy Story" and "Finding Nemo".  While watching "Toy Story" for what seems like the umpteenth time, I finally saw the Dinoco filling station sign that links that movie to the "Cars" line of films.  And its even more exciting when you realize that what appeared to be a scene that could have been an inside joke is really reference to yet another movie that hasn't even arrived in theatres yet!  That's what happened yet again this year!  We saw both "Cars 3" and "Coco" at the theaters during their opening weekends... and purchased the "Cars 3" movie for home viewing once that arrived, and there is a scene while they are at the all new Rusteze Training Center on the treadmills that immediately rang a bell in my head as loud as the bell that hit Ernesto De La Cruz in "Coco"!
In the scene around the 28th minute of the movie, Lightning McQueen is undergoing his tour of the center and being introduced to Cruz Ramirez.  There are 3 cars she's training on the treadmills that are having issues with reaching their full speed potential.  The last one, Gabrel, is slowed down by his homesickness.  Cruz projects a picture of a Mexican town on his screen above his treadmill, and he almost instantly finds the motivation he needs to run faster - as he shouts, "Santa Cecilia! My pueblo!"   This is the same pueblo that the movie "Coco" begins in!  Ah! Disney does it again!  I love it!  Some time can pass before you start recognizing the significance of certain images or phrases, and it allows you to appreciate the detail that these animators put into each film they create!

Disney Pixar "Cars 3"

By the way, "Coco" was a movie I was apprehensive about in the beginning because my 4 year old hasn't experienced much death in his life. The skulls everywhere I thought would be a bit overwhelming and could possibly be a movie he would be bored in.  But they made it something that even he could relate to, with him understanding the importance of family, even if he didn't quite grasp the dynamics of things such as song writing and ownership, and the afterlife. It's a good movie to have your child see if they are not prone to be easily frightened.  You laugh and cry, and they learn a lesson. "Coco" is now in theatres across the country.