Inside Out 2 Easter Egg Ties To ’80s Sci-Fi Classic
Pixar movies are famous for their after-credit scenes, and Inside Out 2 is no different. The stinger at the end of the film’s butt-numbingly long credits has already spawned countless think pieces and explainer articles. What nobody mentions, though, is that Inside Out 2‘s seemingly throwaway post-credit gag is actually a subtle nod to Back to the Future.
Deep Dark Secret Connects To Back To The Future
Inside Out 2 follows Riley, now 13, as she struggles with the onset of puberty. As her body changes, so do her emotions, leading to several new characters in her head. Joining Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust, and Anger this time around are Anxiety, Embarrassment, Envy, and Ennui.
One of Inside Out 2‘s plot points sees Anxiety locking the original emotions in a vault deep in Riley’s subconscious. The vault is home to another new character, Deep Dark Secret. This character representing Riley’s most shameful secret is the key to understanding the movie’s Back to the Future reference.
The Big Secret Is Out
The movie’s after-credit scene involves Joy revisiting the vault to find out the truth about Deep Dark Secret. Having resolved all of the film’s conflicts, Joy attempts to coax Deep Dark Secret into spilling the beans until he eventually caves. So what’s Riley’s big, shameful secret?
As Deep Dark Secret confesses, “We burn hole in rug.” Viewers who sat through the whole movie and didn’t just search the scene on YouTube know there’s no rug-burning flashback in Inside Out 2. Nor the first Inside Out, for that matter. So what exactly does the scene mean, and how does it tie into Back to the Future?
Marty Also Set Fire To The Rug
The key to explaining the scene’s significance lies in an equally throwaway line from Back to the Future. In the 1985 time travel classic, once Marty McFly has fixed the past and ensured that his parents end up together, he leaves the two lovebirds with one final message.
Before he leaves, Marty turns to his future parents and says, “One other thing. If you guys ever have kids, and one of them, when he’s eight years old, accidentally sets fire to the living room rug… go easy on him.”
Pixar Loves Back To The Future
In Inside Out 2, we learn that Riley also started a fire on the carpet when she was younger. Fortunately, she got away with it, unlike Marty. This connection to Back to the Future might seem like a coincidence, but we have good reason to think it was deliberate.
As it turns out, Pixar has a long history of referencing Back to the Future in its movies. It started with the OG Pixar joint, Toy Story. At one point, Rex, the toy dinosaur, utters the line, “I just don’t think I could take that kind of rejection!” the same line George McFly says to Marty in Back to the Future.
Meanwhile, Onward features a shot at the end where the main character’s van takes flight, mirroring the DeLorean taking off in the final scene of Back to the Future. Even Bing Bong watching his hand fade away in the first Inside Out is an homage to Marty doing the same thing in BttF.
Decide For Yourself
With this new perspective in mind, we encourage you to watch Inside Out 2 and see if you agree with our assessment—if you can stop crying once the movie ends, that is. The movie is definitely a gut punch to the feels, or as Marty McFly would say, “The movie is heavy Doc!”
