Barry Levitt

Easter eggs are the ultimate treat for movie geeks – and nobody does them like Pixar. For the uninitiated, these are the secret references in movies that are hidden in plain sight. For Pixar, they’re an opportunity to celebrate the studio’s rich history, with plenty of nods to their past, present, and future – and well as influences, inspirations and plain old for-the-fun-of-it. With Toy Story 5 hitting theaters this weekend, it’s the perfect time to dive into how these hidden gems tell the story of one of cinema’s greatest animation studios. RECOMMENDED: 📽️ The best movies of 2026 (so far)🔥 The 100 greatest animated movies of all time

Ever felt like nobody can see you? That’s a daily reality for housewife Mona Friedman (Julianne Moore). She’s not literally invisible, mind you, but she’s constantly overlooked. Her kids barely register her existence, and people doing their shopping push her out of the way. At dinner, her husband and friends talk over her as if she’s not even there.  In Jesse Eisenberg’s wildly entertaining The Debut, Mona may have found the thing that makes people take notice: a role in a community theatre production. She has to audition for show director Jerry (Paul Giamatti), whom a fellow auditioner tells Mona is ‘the biggest name’ on the scene. When Mona gets the role, she’s thrust into the spotlight and forced to confront her demons to become a star. If she doesn’t want to face them? Too bad. Jerry’s going to push her to greatness, no matter the cost. Eisenberg paces the film in a way that perfectly reflects the nerves, preparation and giddy anticipation of the theatre scene. He’s proven his talent as a director twice previously (When You Finish Saving the World, which also starred Moore, and A Real Pain), but The Debut is his most accomplished film to date. It’s whip-smart and exceptionally funny. It’s whip-smart and exceptionally funny It’s impossible to talk about The Debut without talking about Moore. She’s been so great for so long, winning an Oscar for 2014’s Still Alice, and picking up multiple nominations through her 30-plus-year career. She has an inimitable ability to slip int

Tessa (Cynthia Erivo) is a gifted defence barrister. ‘It’s not emotional to me,’ she says. ‘It’s like a game.’ In that game, she knows precisely when to interject, expertly leading questions to ensure victory for her clients. Her speciality has become sex crimes. As a colleague observes, that’s because the optics are good for a man accused of rape to have a woman defending him. It doesn’t bother Tessa: her role is to uphold the legal system that she holds in such high esteem.  But her faith in the system is shattered when Tessa is raped by a colleague, fellow barrister Julian (The Gentlemen’s Daniel Ings). It’s a horrifying violation that shatters Tessa’s worldview, as well as her sense of safety and self. Devastated by what seemed like a promising romance blowing up in such violating fashion, she intends to use the full extent of the law against Julian in the pursuit of justice. Susanna White’s Prima Facie starts with a literal spring in its step, zooming in on Tessa’s shoes as she dances through London’s Old Bailey to some upbeat hip-hop. It’s an exciting signal that we’ve not seen something like Prima Facie before. But that energy quickly fades, and White’s film becomes highly conventional. It often feels like an episode of Law & Order, except that show has a more interesting visual texture than what’s on display here. It’s unfortunate that the film is so frustratingly familiar, especially given that the one-woman play it’s based on bucks convention at every turn. The film