The Cuphead Show has returned to Netflix with a wild second season that provided fans with plenty more hijinks and laughs from Cuphead and Mugman. The show and the game it was based on have a huge number of references to the history of animation.
However, it would be very easy to miss some of those and some references to the source material for viewers that aren’t familiar with the frustrating, 1920s-inspired video game. For this reason, it is likely that there are a few Cuphead Easter Eggs and references that viewers have missed out on from the second season.
The Disney References
Nobody is bigger in the animation game than Disney, and from the video game onwards, Cuphead hasn’t been afraid to make a few references and poke some fun at the House of Mouse. From a house shaped like Mrs. Potts from Beauty and the Beast to a short character resembling Goofy, there is no shortage of moments where Cuphead Season 2 poked and prodded Disney with references.
There are also references in prison to classic Disney characters like Pete the dog and Julius the Cat, and the Mugman scene with a mermaid is incredibly reminiscent of The Little Mermaid in several ways. These references don’t directly link to the Cuphead game but are all about the history of animation that the game was initially built to represent.
Hilda Berg
An infamously annoying and obnoxiously difficult boss from the Cuphead game, Hilda Berg is seen briefly by Cuphead, Mugman, and Ms. Chalice as they are driving. While she is only seen briefly in the show, this reference was a deep dive for anybody who had previously played the game and struggled at this particular boss level.
Hilda Berg wasn’t actually a villain in the game so much as an anti-hero. She fought Cuphead and Mugman to try and save her soul from the devil but wasn’t actually evil at all. She was deliriously difficult to beat though, as were most of the punishing levels from the Cuphead game.
Legendary Chalice
Another brief but significantly familiar reference to players of the Cuphead game, when Ms. Chalice becomes a ghost in the second season of The Cuphead Show it is a reference to the ghostly version of her character that appeared in the Cuphead game.
This alternative version of Chalice was known as Legendary Chalice, and she had a penchant for getting trapped by local ghosts while searching mausoleum levels for artifacts. She would always have a piece of super art ready if the players managed to free her though. It was in the Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course DLC for the game that Legendary Chalice was replaced by Ms. Chalice as a playable character.
Ribby & Croaks
If a certain pair of frogs showing up looked familiar to any viewers of The Cuphead Show season 2, it was because they were also infamous bosses from the Cuphead game. While not as difficult as Hilda Berg, Ribby and Croaks were a tenacious duo.
With their boss fight in Isle 1 being one of the strangest and more irritating early boss fights in the game, players often cite this one as being the first of a number of dark and increasingly difficult boss fights featured in the game. Ribby and Croaks might not be any less annoying in the show, but they certainly don’t pack as much of a punch to the viewer as they did to the players.
Lucien?
One of the more difficult deep dives is that the light bulb guy in The Cuphead Show Season 2 could be the very same as an NPC met in the Cuphead game called Lucien. This light bulb wore a blue University cap which isn’t featured in the show, but, nevertheless, the characters may well be one and the same.
This character provided helpful tips when spoken to in the game, and while there is no definitive proof that the light bulb guy from the show is Lucien, there can’t be all that many anthropomorphic light bulbs running around the same world.
Funhouse Frazzle
One level from the second isle of the Cuphead game is called Funhouse Frazzle. The level is in a run ‘n’ gun style and was a fun if short-lived level. However, it is also referenced in The Cuphead Show season 2 on the front of a comic book that Cuphead is reading.
On the front cover of the comic book is the car that appeared in Funhouse Frazzle. This level had previously been referenced in the show by the eyes that watch players during the level appearing in season 1.
Captain Brineybeard/Cala Maria
This was a more obvious reference, but it was still one specifically for fans of the Cuphead video game. Captain Brineybeard is another irritating boss from the game that showed up to help Cuphead and Mugman with their dreams of going on a pirate adventure. Brineybeard’s fight in-game is known for being particularly frustrating due to the many elements, including the Captain, his ship, and multiple sea creatures all attacking the player simultaneously.
Even more surprising was the nature of the adventure he took them on, bringing the duo as a backup in his attempts to find and win the heart of Cala Maria. This was yet another boss from the game, one who was notable for her difficulty due to a massive health bar. Her boss fight is one of the most beloved as well, however, being a wonderfully animated sequence that had a lot of uniqueness to it.