Top 10 Things Only Adults Notice in DreamWorks Movies
#10: What's in the Bottle, Kid? “The Boss Baby” (2017)
Top 20 Things Only Adults Notice in DreamWorks Movies
With a film that essentially gives a baby the mind of an adult, you’re bound to get a few jokes like this one. There’s a scene where Boss Baby explains his identity to Tim. After a long day of being the boss, he lounges around in his diapers, socks, dress shirt, and tie. We half expected a “Risky Business” dance number, here, but alas. Boss Baby unlocks a safe, grabs a baby bottle and a cocktail shaker to make his drink, and kicks back with his beverage for the evening. We’re not claiming there’s anything other than milk in the bottle, but it is pretty suspicious that it’s kept in a vault… Just saying.
#9: Euphemisms at Their Finest “Kung Fu Panda” (2008)
In any martial arts movie, there’s sure to be a fair bit of bruising. Funnily enough, though, Po’s defeat here doesn’t come from another martial artist so much as it does from the Training Hall. Po is thrown around like a ragdoll and, for the Gauntlet of Wooden Warriors’ finishing move, Po is hit in the crotch. Now, there are a lot of genteelisms one might use to describe the anatomy in that area, but Po opts for: [SB: "Oh! My tenders!"]. We wonder just how many kids understood what he was referring to.
#8: Incestuous Bees “Bee Movie” (2007)
In case you missed out on bee biology in school, we’ll give you the rundown. The male bees mate with the one queen bee, which essentially means that the queen is everyone’s mother. The lineage gets kind of complicated, but the bottom line is that in a movie where bees (like Barry’s parents) couple up, their relationship is… a little closer than strictly necessary. The creators of the movie are definitely aware of this because there are a few incest jokes, with possibly the funniest one at the beginning. Adam says he thinks one of the bees is hot, and Barry reminds him that they’re cousins.
#7: Cursing, but Make It PG “Madagascar” (2005)
Cursing is one of those things writers of children’s content often need to get a little creative with and, as adults watching these films, it’s always fun to see what they come up with. In “Madagascar”’s scene on the beach where Marty and Alex reunite, Marty quickly realizes that Alex is a little less than happy to see him. He turns the other way, muttering “Oh, sugar, honey, iced tea!”. This is a pretty specific way to swear, but it all makes sense when you isolate the first letter of each word. Pretty clever, guys! There’s also another instance where Marty exclaims “mother!”, after Melman gives him a pretty odd birthday gift. It’s a little less creative than the first one but, you know, it still gets the point across.
#6: Lola “Shark Tale” (2004)
While gold digging isn’t the most obscene thing that could be put in a children’s movie, it usually is a concept depicted in content directed at more mature audiences. When we’re first introduced to Lola, her motives are made obvious with the way her head turns after hearing the word ‘millionaire’ spoken about Oscar. If things weren’t clear enough, 'Gold Digger' by Ludacris, Bobby V, and Lil' Fate plays in the background during her intro, something that’ll have adults in stitches but go right over kids’ heads. Another subtler joke is the Sushi Bowl scene where one, lone sushi chef can’t attract any customers. We’d feel bad for him if not for the fact that he’s a fish trying to sell sushi… to other fish!
#5: The Reason Gobber Never Got Married “How to Train Your Dragon 2” (2014)
After 20 years of Valka being gone and Stoick fearing the worst, their reunion scene is nothing short of touching. Stoick becomes, inopportunely, exactly the meaning of his name and is stunned into silence. Valka, on the other hand, begins rambling off apologies and explanations about why she never returned. The tension is palpable, leading Gobber to say: [SB: "This is why I never married. This and one other reason."]. Reading between the lines, here, we can conclude that this second reason is simply Gobber being gay. There isn’t much to speculate about here considering that it was confirmed by screenwriter Dean DeBlois. It’s a very quick line and we would have loved more overt representation, but it’s still nice that it was included.
#4: A Joke For the History Buffs “Chicken Run” (2000)
Top 10 Things Only Adults Notice in Kids' Movies
Quite possibly the greatest line in this entire move is one uttered by Fowler.( To be honest, most of the best dialogue in “Chicken Run” comes from Fowler, but we digress.) In the scene where Rocky announces that he’s from America, Fowler has this to say: [SB: "Poppycock! Pushy Americans, always showing up late for every war. Overpaid, oversexed, and over here!"]. In case you’re not one for history, the wisecrack here is about World War II and the United States’ relatively late involvement. And the second half of the jibe? Well, that one’s definitely not for the kiddos!
#3: The Cold Hard Truth “Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie” (2017)
Top 10 Things Only Adults Notice in Teen Movies
When George and Harold end up in Mr. Krupp’s office, the room is put on lockdown with his new, state-of-the-art door, and Krupp mentions that it was worth canceling the arts and music program in order to obtain it. Whereas we doubt this is the case for most principals of schools, it isn’t uncommon to hear about higher ups pocketing already limited school funding, or spending it in ways that don’t actually benefit students. Plus, when it comes to budgeting, the arts are always hit the hardest. This is arguably a joke meant more for teenagers in high school, who might have experienced this kind of thing firsthand, but anyone aware of this sad reality will definitely get a kick out of it too.
#2: Almost Caught “The Road To El Dorado” (2000)
Top 10 Things Only Adults Notice in Animated Movies
How this even made it to the final cut, we have no idea. This completely went over our heads when we were younger but, watching the scene back as adults is a lot more telling. Chel sends Miguel off to explore the city, meanwhile she and Tulio get up to a little flirting. Things must have escalated though, because, a little while later, they end up on the floor together, just out of frame. What sounds like kissing noises can be heard, but when Chel rises, it seems as though she was positioned rather low on Tulio’s body. What’s more, if Tulio’s expression doesn’t give him away, we don’t know what will! Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. “Kiss My Ar…tichoke” “Wallace & Gromit: The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit” (2005) Sarcasm Sounds Like… “Trolls” (2016) Frankincense, Myrrh, & Something Else, We’re Sure “Shrek The Third” (2007)
#1: Little Farquaad “Shrek” (2001)
Top 10 Things Only Adults Notice in Pixar Movies
There are a lot of adult jokes in Shrek, but here are a few of our faves. The first has to be when Shrek and Donkey arrive at Lord Farquaad’s ginormous castle. Shrek muses over whether Farquaad might be compensating for something. The brilliance of this quip is that there’s one for kids–Farquaad’s height–and another for the adults. There are also a few racier examples, one of them being in Robin Hood’s ballad. Grownups understand what the real lyric was supposed to be, while kids are none the wiser. The other gag is a reference to Snow White’s living conditions, where Lord Farquaad’s mirror says “she isn’t easy”. This was a 2001 movie, so we suppose we’ll let it slide… this time.
