‘Cellar Door:’ 16 Hidden Details And References In 'Donnie Darko'
![‘Cellar Door:’ 16 Hidden Details And References In 'Donnie Darko'](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/1/6/789816_320x180.jpg)
Donnie Darko is one of the most unique, thought-provoking, and downright weird films of the past 20 years. The movie tells the story of a troubled teenage boy who is plagued by visions of a giant rabbit named Frank. When Frank tells Donnie that the world will end in 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes, and 12 seconds, Donnie starts to believe him. He begins to follow Frank's instructions, which leads him down a dark path. As the days count down, Donnie tries to stop the world from ending, but he may be too late. The movie is full of twists and turns, and it will leave you questioning everything you thought you knew about time travel, fate, and alternate universes. Donnie Darko is a mind-bending film that will stay with you long after the credits have rolled.
Ever since Donnie Darko was released in 2001, fans have been obsessively analyzing the film for any and all clues they could find. Director Richard Kelly included a number of hidden details and references in the movie, many of which went over most viewers' heads. In this article, we'll take a look at some of the most interesting ones. So if you're ready to have your mind blown, keep reading!
![EASTER EGGSTRA REFERENCES AND MEANINGS Donnie Darko American football Those intention energy beams were inspired by the NFL. Director Richard Kelly said that, while watching game clips where broadcasters would pause the footage and draw lines to show where the players were going to move he got the idea of people's movement through space being predestined. A football game is also on the TV when Donnie's beam first appears. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/3/3/789833.jpg)
Source: Dazed
![EASTER EGGSTRA REFERENCES AND MEANINGS DOnnie Darko IT SHINER During the opening scene where we're introduced to Donnie's family, his mother is reading Stephen King's IT - a book about a small town soon revealed to have been built on childhood trauma, and a book that also questions the nature of the universe. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/3/2/789832.jpg)
![EASTER EGGSTRA REFERENCES AND MEANINGS DOnnie Darko Stanley Kubrick's Lolita Elizabeth Darko's costume at the party is modeled after the character Vivian Darkbloom in the 1962 movie. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/3/1/789831.jpg)
Source: Cinema Garmonbozia
![EASTER EGGSTRA REFERENCES AND MEANINGS DOnnie Darko Grandma Death The character was based on a real person from director Richard Kelly's hometown. The old lady would stand by the road and wave at cars driving by, and Kelly's brother and his friends would steal her mailbox so she won't go outside and get hit by a car. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/3/0/789830.jpg)
Source: Cinema Garmonbozia
![EASTER EGGSTRA REFERENCES AND MEANINGS DOnnie Darko Watership Down The director credits his design of Frank and that creepy bunny suit to his love for the 1978 classic animation. In the director's cut of the movie, Drew Barrymore's character also shows the movie to her class. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/2/9/789829.jpg)
Source: EW
![EASTER EGGSTRA REFERENCES AND MEANINGS DOnnie Darko Comic books inspiration Director Richard Kelly said in the commentary that much of the way they filmed the movie was inspired by comics, as was the intention beams that flowed out from characters' chests. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/2/8/789828.jpg)
Source: DVD Commentary
![EASTER EGGSTRA REFERENCES AND MEANINGS DOnnie Darko Donnie's voice Jake Gyllenhaal explained that he chose to talk to Frank in a childlike voice because he saw Frank as not only friend a but also a comfort blanket. He decided Donnie should speak to Frank like a child would speak to its blankie. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/2/7/789827.jpg)
Source: The Guardian
![EASTER EGGSTRA REFERENCES AND MEANINGS DOnnie Darko A Place in the Sun In the commentary track, Kelly said that Montgomery Clift's intro in the 1951 movie inspired the intro for his film where the main character is standing next to the road, getting his hero introduction. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/2/4/789824.jpg)
Source: Cinema Garmonbozia
![EASTER EGGSTRA REFERENCES AND MEANINGS DOnnie Darko Director drawings. Richard Kelly revealed on Twitter that all the drawings and illustrations in the movie were his, and that a lot of his childhood art pieces hung in the Darko home. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/2/6/789826.jpg)
Source: Richard Kelly's Twitter
![EASTER EGGSTRA REFERENCES AND MEANINGS DOnnie Darko A Surrealist's photograph When Donnie dreams about the school flooding, the surreal-looking scene was based on artist Scott Mutter's photograph, A More Perfect World. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/2/1/789821.jpg)
Sources: Photography Museum, Cinema Garmonbozia
![EASTER EGGSTRA REFERENCES AND MEANINGS DOnnie Darko Frank makes an appearance right at the beginning of the film. He's inside the red Trans Am that drives by Donnie after dropping off Elizabeth at home. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/2/5/789825.jpg)
Source: Video clip
![EASTER EGGSTRA REFERENCES AND MEANINGS Through DOnnie Darko the Looking-Glass Donnie talking to Frank through a liquid mirror is reminiscent of how Alice connects to her wonderland. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/2/0/789820.jpg)
![EASTER EGGSTRA REFERENCES AND MEANINGS DOnnie Darko Middlesex HALLOW'S EVE PROVED MIDDLESEX HALLOWEEN CARNIVAL OCT. 26 th- -30th SPONSORED BY MIDDLESEX M.A.D.D. Donnie's town and school name is a wink to his character's dealings and confusions about puberty in the movie. He finds himself somewhere between childhood innocence and being post-pubescent. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/2/2/789822.jpg)
Source: Roger Ebert
![EASTER EGGSTRA REFERENCES AND MEANINGS DOnnie Darko The opening question is Where Donnie? In the beginning of the film we see Donnie travel and arrive home. He walks into the kitchen where he reads the question on the little whiteboard: Where is Donnie? It's the question of the entire movie, and immediately sets the existential and metaphysical tone of the film. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/1/9/789819.jpg)
![EASTER EGGSTRA REFERENCES AND MEANINGS DOnnie Darko The connection with The Dark Knight. GRA FREENE 'T FUCTORS In Donnie Darko, the class discusses Graham Greene's The Destructors which features a scene where children burn money because, as Donnie says they just want to see what happens when they turn the world apart. Christopher Nolan was a champion of the movie, and Joker uses the line in The Dark Knight, saying that he wants to see the world burn. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/2/3/789823.jpg)
Sources: Cinemablend, Video clip
![EASTER EGGSTRA REFERENCES AND MEANINGS Bunnies, DOnnie Darko Where. The most obvious one comes in the form of the famous song in the movie, The Killing Moon by Echo & The Bunnymen. At one point a Volkswagen Rabbit drives by at a bus stop, and Donnie's sister Elizabeth has a stuffed rabbit where she sleeps. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/1/8/789818.jpg)
Source: The Wrap