Films always come with a myriad of theories. Fans just can’t help but dig deeper into the meanings and hidden Easter Eggs within their favorite movies and Disney films produce their fair share.
For example, there is a theory that Toy Story 3 is actually about the Holocaust. It has been rumoured that when Andy leaves for college and abandons the toys, it is reminiscent of the Allies leaving behind the Jews.
Think about it, Buzz suggests finding safety by hiding in the attic (hello Anne Frank) and they are then put to work in a toy based camp (Sunnyside) with conspiring guards and mutilating experiments’. To top it off, the toys are thrown into an incinerator but managing to escape and find a new homeland. It’s not the most unrealistic theory out there.
Or what about the theory that Carl, the lead in Up, actually died at the start of the film and his journey to Paradise falls is actually his journey to heaven? Russell plays the part of his guardian angel working to gain his wings (or final badge) and he is in the form of a child due to the couples’ desire to have children earlier in the film. As if Up wasn’t emotionally distressing as it was!
But many of these theories go on resolved and unconfirmed, however, one has now had the nod of approval from the filmmakers. This urban legend has been revealed as being fact but what is the theory?
Well, legend has it that in the popular Disney animation Aladdin, the pedlar at the beginning of the film who acts as a narrator to introduce us to the film is actually the genie. It is a fair assumption to jump to, given that Robin Williams voices both characters and that the pedlar has the same number of fingers (4) as the genie.
Directors John Muskar and Ron Clements have claimed that this was always the intention and that originally the end of the film involved a ‘reveal’ where the pedlar turned into the genie, but this got changed during the production and development process. This is much more believable than the theory that the film is set in a post-apocalyptic future.
This may not be the most in-depth, thought through theory in the world, but it’s nice to know that the fans are paying attention.
