During the park scene in the beginning Gru from Despicable Me (2010) is seen walking his dog Kyle in the background.
The first film to open over $100 million in the United States that is not a sequel nor based on previously published material.
The leader of the Flushed Pets is named Snowball. The Flushed Pets hate humans because of past mistreatment. In George Orwell's Animal Farm, Snowball is one of the two pigs who lead the revolution on the farm against humans who have mistreated animals.
When Max and Duke are escaping from the animal gang, a turtle starts bouncing around ahead of them knocking animals out of the way with the video game sound effect of the turtle-like Koopa Troopas that kill enemies in the Super Mario Brothers video games.