Mean Girls 2024’s 9 Easter Eggs & References To The 2004 Movie

Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Mean Girls 2024.

Mean Girls 2024 isn’t a direct adaptation of the 2004 movie of the same name, but it features many Easter eggs and references to the classic film that adds a sense of nostalgia for viewers 20 years later. Mean Girls is an adaption of the 2017 Broadway musical, both of which were based on the 2004 Tina Fey film. The musical movie’s Rotten Tomatoes score doesn’t beat the 2004 version, but Mean Girls 2024 has received positive reviews and has established itself as its own film outside the source material while simultaneously honoring it.

The slogan for Mean Girls 2024 is “not your mother’s Mean Girls,” but there are plenty of callbacks that add to the viewing experience for those who grew up on the 2004 film. The movies follow the same plots with some changes made to update the material for modern audiences, such as the inclusion of social media and the removal of some jokes from Mean Girls 2004 that didn’t age well. With the addition of musical numbers, Mean Girls 2024 instantly set itself apart, but it never forgot where it came from and what made the original film so popular in the first place.

Tim Meadows Photo

Mr. Duvall’s office had a hidden Easter egg

Only two of the actors from the original 2004 film reprised their roles in the movie musical, though Mean Girls 2024 did have a fun surprise cameo for viewers. Tina Fey returned to play the supporting role of Ms. Norbury and Tim Meadows once again took on the role of the overworked principal of North Shore High, Principal Duvall. In the updated version, some more backstory was added to Principal Duvall’s character that could have been a product of the 20 years between the films, though Mean Girls 2024 is not a sequel.

In Mean Girls 2024, Mr. Duvall has a master’s degree that was missing in the original film, and he is married to Ms. Norbury. They had danced together at the end of the 2004 film, but it was never confirmed whether they were together or not. Hanging in his office along with his degrees is a picture of Meadows from Mean Girls 2004 as a small Easter egg. The still from the movie is unmistakable and is another hint that Mean Girls 2024’s Ms. Norbury and Principal Duvall lived through the events of the first movie.

Fetch

Gretchen is still trying to make fetch happen

While Gretchen was never able to make “fetch” happen, Mean Girls 2004 made it an iconic movie line. Though Gretchen clearly made up the word, she claimed it was slang from an old British movie. Fetch made a reappearance in Mean Girls 2024 as slang from an old movie, possibly Juno, which came out three years after the original film. This line both reminds viewers just how much time has passed since Mean Girls 2004 and is a wink at the idea that Gretchen had somehow seen the film she was in. She was met with the same response from Regina in both versions, “stop trying to make fetch happen!”

Regina’s Cut-Out Bra Shirt

Janis, Damian, and Cady still carry out their plot to ruin Regina’s life in Mean Girls 2024, but some of their methods change. In Mean Girls 2004, Janis cut holes in Regina’s shirt, forcing her to attend gym class with her bra visible. It backfired on them when Regina wore it with confidence and it soon became a trend. In Mean Girls 2024, Janis turned on the sprinklers when Regina was named homecoming queen, allowing her to “bring back the wet look” and inspire others to do the same on social media, including famous rapper Megan Thee Stallion.

Despite the change, Regina’s cut-out bra shirt still makes an appearance in Mean Girls. When Karen is trying on different outfits for the Halloween party during the song “Sexy,” she holds up the shirt from the original film. It’s a brief moment, but it shows that the look from Mean Girls 2004 is so iconic that it can even be a Halloween costume.

Get In Loser

One of the most iconic lines from Mean Girls comes when Cady hangs out with The Plastics for the first time. Regina pulls up in her convertible and tells her, “get in loser, we’re going shopping.” The line has become so heavily quoted that it had to be in Mean Girls 2024, though there was a slight alteration made. Since the mall isn’t as popular with teenagers as it was 20 years ago, the line was changed to simply “get in loser,” and the girls headed straight to Regina’s house instead. While Rachel McAdams delivered the Mean Girls line as a command, Reneé Rapp’s interpretation sounded more teasing than barking.

The Mathlete Tie

The limit does not exist

When Cady and the North Shore Mathletes competed at States, there was a familiar face hosting the event. Original Cady, Lindsay Lohan, made a cameo as the unnamed character, making the role much more memorable than it had been in the original Mean Girls. Through her cameo, Lohan got to share the screen with Angourie Rice, the actress who brought a new version of Cady to the screen in the movie musical.

At the end of the competition, when they had to go to a tiebreaker, Lohan’s character said that there had only been one tie in the history of States. This was a sly reference to the tie that also appears in Mean Girls 2024, where Lindsay Lohan correctly answered, “the limit does not exist.” Not giving Lohan’s character a name leaves the door open for some more theories about the connections between the two Mean Girls films.

Ms. Norbury’s Shirt

As the writer of the movie and the musical, it was only right for Tina Fey to reprise her role as Mrs. Norbury in the movie musical version of Mean Girls. Though some of her scenes were cut in the new film, she was also given additional dialogue and a new romantic storyline with Principal Duvall. One of Ms. Norbury’s biggest moments is during the assembly, where she wears a polka dot blouse. Much of the fashion in Mean Girls 2024 was changed to reflect the times, but she wears an almost identical blouse to the one she originally wore.

It’s October 3rd

The line “It’s October 3rd” became so iconic that it’s now known as Mean Girls Day, so it’s no surprise that it appeared in the 2024 film as well. Because Mean Girls 2024 is a movie musical, the line was delivered with a twist. In both versions, Aaron asks Cady what day it is, to which she replies, “it’s October 3rd.” However, in Mean Girls 2024, the line is then echoed by a group of singing students.

Having the line sung emphasizes it as a nod to its relevance and brings in the element of surrealism present in most musicals. Mean Girls 2024 doesn’t shy away from being a musical, even in its dialogue. There are a few key references that show the characters know that they’re in a musical, such as the students actually playing instruments in the background and a line about one of the girls “dragging” during a previous musical number.

Regina’s Dramatic Shirt

Though none of Regina’s outfits were recreated for Mean Girls 2024 the way Ms. Norbury’s shirt was, Rapp wore a shirt clearly inspired by one of Regina’s. When Cady hung out with The Plastics for the first time in Mean Girls 2004, Regina wore a tank top that said “a little bit dramatic” with pink lettering and a pink cardigan on top because it was a Wednesday, and “on Wednesdays we were pink.” Regina opts for a different pink outfit in the new movie, but later in the film, she wears a shirt that says “dramatic” as an homage to the original.

Principal Duvall’s Cast

Another outfit Easter egg in Mean Girls 2024 is Principal Duvall’s cast. He wears one in the first film because his carpal tunnel came back over the summer before school started. While the principal doesn’t offer a reason for his splint in the Mean Girls movie musical, it can be assumed that it’s for the same reason. Meadows may be 20 years older than he was when he originally played the role, but Principal Duvall’s look largely remained the same for Mean Girls 2024.