March 14, 2015 by Vinnie Leduc
2014 was another year rife with amazing stingers for moviegoers savvy enough to stick around for the credits when the time was right. Sometimes movie credits are a great place to simply throw in some extra scenes or outtakes. While many of the comedies listed in our honorable mentions fit this description exactly, we’re giving some extra love to the following honorable mentions before jumping right into our top 15.
Honorable Mentions: The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Bears, Chef, Horrible Bosses 2, Million Dollar Arm, Moms’ Night Out, Muppets Most Wanted, Neighbors, Planes: Fire & Rescue, Tammy, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Think Like A Man Too, What If, When the Game Stands Tall
Now, in honor of the new year, we present to you 15 of the finest ones and choose the best of the best from 2014.
22 Jump Street
American Sniper
Big Hero 6
The Boxtrolls
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Dumb and Dumber To
Earth to Echo
Guardians of the Galaxy
Hercules
Let’s Be Cops
A Million Ways to Die in the West
Penguins of Madagascar
That Awkward Moment
X-Men: Days of Future Past
We can also appreciate when the credits provide us with additional information that’s relevant to the last couple of hours we’ve just invested, so we couldn’t ignore the insightful illustrations that revealed some of the truth behind the lore of Hercules, which surprisingly was the fourth-highest user-rated extra of 2014. We were also stirred by the reverent and touching way that Clint Eastwood wrapped up American Sniper.
Another stinger that provided some closure regarding the fate of a character was the one found in Penguins of Madagascar. But some of the very best stingers are just the opposite and instead tease possible sequels. This was the case after the credits of Earth to Echo, while audiences were truly teased by an interesting extra after the credits of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.
It’s no surprise that Marvel flicks dominate our annual list of best movie stingers because they’ve helped spark, if not been the primary impetus of, the growing surge seen in the last decade. 2014 was no different, as the top two user-voted stingers were for Big Hero 6 and Guardians of the Galaxy. We were also treated to typical water-cooler extra scenes in Captain America: The Winter Soldier and X-Men: Days of Future Past.
While 2013 seemed to be a launchpad for new stingers included with the unrated versions of video releases, 2014 may have been the year of the cameo when it comes to stingers. In addition to some of the ones already mentioned above, last year featured some great cameos during and/or after the credits of Dumb and Dumber To, A Million Ways to Die in the West, and That Awkward Moment.
However, we’ll ultimately remember 2014’s stingers for going meta. The Boxtrolls did so in an amusing way that also incorporated a behind-the-scenes look at the stop-motion animation, but another movie beat this nifty stinger and every other one from 2014.
22 Jump Street wasn’t just one of the best sequels of 2014, a year loaded with many worthy revisits to blockbuster franchises; 22 Jump Street was arguably one of the funniest comedies, sequel or not, to grace the silver screen. A big reason why was the continuous scattering of meta jokes and self-aware commentary on the industry’s current state, so it was all too appropriate that for the credits this time around, instead of doing “the same thing as last time (to make) everyone happy”, directors Phil Lord & Christopher Miller went full meta and delivered quite possibly the best movie stinger of all time.
Viewers who didn’t leave early were treated to four full minutes of non-stop tongue-in-cheek hilarity that included sneak peeks at 22 more possible sequels, an animated television series, video game footage, more tie-in merchandise, a villain revival, and cameos that were either relevant (featuring other comedic actors, most notably Seth Rogan as a one-time replacement for Jonah Hill due to a “contract dispute”) or reverent (featuring cast members from the original show that started it all). Not only does the energetic display of extra scenes maintain a Skynet level of self-awareness throughout the movie itself, but it also includes additional layers of gags for the eagle-eyed in the form of taglines on many of the future sequels’ movie posters. There’s even a little easter egg near the very end of the sequence hidden in a quickly cut montage. For a more detailed description of this gem and the entire stinger overall, read our original post here.
A short extra scene after the credits tops it all off, but the take on the nearly double-dozen (likely fake) sequels is the highlight. They tease us in every sense of the word, especially with the recent news that 23 Jump Street is indeed a high possibility. And with those leaked Sony emails suggesting a crossover with Men in Black, we’re really not sure what to expect next… just that they’ll have a helluva hard time outdoing themselves here. 22 Jump Street wins MediaStinger’s Best Movie Stinger of 2014.
