Fan Theories About Disney’s 'Aladdin' That Will Rock Your Magic Carpet
Aladdin is a true Disney treasure that never gets old. Seriously, you can watch the movie 100 times in a row and still find something new. "A Whole New World!" The adorable sultan! That damn parrot! It's all so iconic. If you don't enjoy this film, you officially have no soul.
But like all Disney films, Aladdin is rampant with fan theories on the Web about its characters, setting and possible connections to other Disney worlds. Some of these stories have been confirmed (and others denied). However, the jury is still out on a few of them--and we hope it stays that way. What's the fun in a discredited cartoon theory? Let us dream! Here are the six craziest fan-concocted hypotheses we found on the Internet. Let us know if you believe them in the comments below.
The merchant is the genie.
Fans have long hypothesized the mysterious merchant we meet at the beginning of the film is the genie in human form. In October 2015, this was confirmed by Aladdin directors Ron Clements and John Musker. “I saw something that speculates that the peddler at the beginning of Aladdin is the Genie. That’s true!” Ron told E!. “That was the whole intention, originally. We even had that at the end of the movie, where he would reveal himself to be the Genie, and of course Robin did the voice of the peddler. Just through story changes and some editing, we lost the reveal at the end. So, that’s an urban legend that actually is true.” *Cue "I told you so!" dances from the entire Reddit community.*
Aladdin is set in the future.
One popular theory asserts Aladdin takes place in the distant future. And this has merit, if you examine closely. First, the genie claims he was trapped in his lamp for 10,000 years. And then the genie scoffs that Aladdin's threads are “so third century,” which would have to place the flick in 10,300 at the very least. (The only rebuttal to this, however, is that time didn't start until 1 AD.) Listen, if there aren't robots, we don't believe it's the future.
Jafar is the good guy. And Aladdin is the villain.
The stans behind the clip above seem to think the well-dressed, psychopathic Jafar isn't bad at all, simply misunderstood. He merely wants the best for Agrabah and feels the sultan is too childish and reckless with his spending--he bought Jasmine a literal tiger--to restore the city's economy. Like any good Samaritan, Jafar is fed up with the palace living in splendor while children in the city beg for food, so he takes matters into his own hands. He wants to marry Jasmine so he can help get Agrabah back on track. This same theory positions Aladdin--a slacker, thief and self-admitting con artist who robs other poor people--as the villain. Which makes sense, given his entire reason for wanting the sultan gig is so a rich girl will fall in love with him. Where's the altruism?!
Aladdin and Jasmine make an appearance in Hercules.
Worlds colliding! According to TheJongasm, the purple "shooting star" you see in Hercules during the seminal classic "Go the Distance" could be Jasmine and Aladdin flying on their magic carpet. It works, because 1. The carpet is purple. 2. Jasmine and Aladdin travel at a supersonic speed around the world (including Greece), so anyone who sees them in the sky would think it was just a passing meteor. 3. Both stories--if you discredit the second theory on this list--take place around the same time. How cute is this?
Aladdin is completely made up.
One Reddit user theorizes Aladdin's tale is nothing but a sales pitch from the aforementioned merchant to persuade us, the viewers, to buy the lamp. That means everything you see in the film is just the merchant's fabricated story and not really happening. It's all a LIE. (You can take or leave this theory, to be honest.)
The movie has this subliminal message: "Good teenagers take off their clothes."
If you listen closely in the scene above, Aladdin says to Jasmine's tiger, "Good kitty, take off and go." However, the twisted peeps on the Internet hear something different: "Good teenagers take off their clothes." It does sound like he's saying that, yes, but we have to go to the receipts. The screenplay lists the former phrase verbatim, so it appears this is just a beyond creepy misinterpretation. However, it was enough for Disney to change the original line to “Down, kitty” for the 2004 DVD release.