5 Movie And TV Easter Eggs Hiding In The Real World
A lot of movies, TV shows, and video games these days are absolutely crammed full of Easter Eggs; minute references and sly allusions usually designed to distract eagle-eyed fans from the lousiness of the overall product they just paid too much money for. But as we've mentioned once or twice before, these secret morsels of entertainment aren't just relegated to the world of fiction – even here in what we're reasonably sure is the real world, there are hidden pop-culture tokens to be found if you're willing to look, such as …
A Chinese Office Building Is Shaped Like The Enterprise, Because Why Not?
Most office buildings aren’t built in the shape of iconic cinematic locations – unless you count the fact that pretty much every skyscraper is shaped like the Die Hard building. Pretty much every office building you see is just unimaginatively shaped like a giant rectangular dick – amazingly, a building in China's Fujian province, built by Liu Dejian, the “founder of online game developer NetDragon Websoft,” was impressively constructed to resemble Captain Kirk’s intergalactic bachelor pad, AKA the U.S.S. Enterprise.
The faux Enterprise, which acts as the NetDragon headquarters building, is reportedly “260 meters long” and “100 meters wide.” Rather than risk being shut down like a particularly lascivious piece of fan fiction, the construction received the official seal of approval from CBS – once they realized that the request wasn’t actually a prank. The building also houses a “life-sized replica of a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton,” which is either just a cool, unrelated collectible or a deep-cut reference to the time Kirk and Spock went dino-back riding.
Of course, to truly notice the unique structure, you really need a bird’s eye view of the street – and also, if you squint, that soccer pitch kind of looks like an irregular Borg ship on St. Patrick’s Day.
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There’s A My Neighbor Totoro Bus Stop In Rural Japan
With the possible exception of those fans who believe that it’s secretly about a tragic murder-suicide, pretty much everybody loves My Neighbor Totoro, Hayao Miyazaki's comforting animated masterpiece about two kids who befriend a furry woodland creature and thankfully aren’t eaten alive.
Recreating one of the most iconic images from the film, an elderly Japanese couple built a life-sized Totoro sculpture next to a bus stop on the side of a road. Which is pretty goddamn adorable. Thankfully they stopped short of covering a city bus in cat hides for the full effect.
If you fully want to pretend that you live inside the world of My Neighbor Totoro (and, you know what, fair enough), there’s also a “full-scale replica” of the “Kusakabe house” from the movie in Nagakute, Japan.
Which, come to think of it, seems like a way more relaxing spot to visit than the fan replicas of the Griswold’s yuletide anxiety house or Michael Myers’ murder palace.
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Helicopter Is Still In The Predator Jungle
Predator; it’s the movie that launched a surprising number of political careers and also gave us what can only be described as the greatest oil painting in human history (suck it, DaVinci). Fans wishing to pay homage to the classic action film may want to visit Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, where they shot the movie and apparently left some iconic garbage behind. Which, to be fair, is by far not the craziest thing that happened while making Predator.
One tour operator offers a “Predator Area,” which in any other context sounds like a place you would want to avoid at all costs while on vacation. But in this case, you can zipline through jungle filming locations, pose with a Predator statue, and explore one of the helicopters from the film, which was apparently just left behind as if it were a run-of-the-mill prop from The Predator.
Hopefully, there’s some kind of fine in place for every tourist who yells “Get to the choppa” after slathering themselves from head to toe in mud.
What Couple Wouldn’t Want To Move Into The Real Life Up House?
If you happen to be wandering around Herriman, Utah, you might suddenly feel as though you’ve stepped into a Pixar movie – not because the town is full of sentient toys, sentient cars, or meals that taste like they’ve been prepared by a rodent, but rather because one random house in an ordinary neighborhood is an exact replica of the house from Up.
Yup, the colorful home owned by Carl and Ellie in the beloved animated movie/relentless tear-extracting machine was built in 2011 with the permission of Disney, on the condition that “the plans be turned over once completed” lest the world become overrun with Up-themed housing developments. Even the interior was decorated to match what we see in the film, including Carl and Ellie’s armchairs and the nursery they built. We’ll give you a few minutes to pull yourself together and get a box of tissues because we’re guessing that you’re already crying by now.
The house was eventually sold for $400,000 to a real-life couple who are “huge fans of the movie” – and who apparently weren’t worried that one of them was going to tragically die after being there for only like 10 minutes.
There Are Life-Size Versions Of Star Wars Imperial Walkers In Random Spots Across The World
There are pieces of the Star Wars universe littered throughout the world, even on property not owned by the Walt Disney Company. In addition to some anonymous person keeping an X-Wing in their backyard for unknown reasons, other fans have created full-scale replicas of Imperial military technology at their homes. For instance, someone built an AT-ST in their yard, possibly due to some kind of Ewok infestation. We only know about it because a YouTuber happened to randomly spot it and requested a tour of the unusual landmark.
Even the interior is full of realistic controls that generate sound effects, making it truly feel as if the forces of the Empire are invading a quaint suburban community.
Another fan erected another full-size AT-ST at the side of a UK expressway, to the understandable confusion of drivers, in order to “raise the town's profile” – but he was ordered to take it down because he never actually got permission. Thankfully the walker was eventually saved, and will remain for at least a decade to further bewilder passing motorists.
And even bigger was “YouTube engineer” Colin Furze’s giant AT-ACT from Rogue One, which he built and placed in his yard, instead of like, planting a tree or something. And it comes complete with a children’s playroom inside.
Perfect for thwarting violent political uprisings while chilling out with your friends over a glass of Sunny D.
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Top Image: Lucasfilm/Studio Ghibli
