We could spend all day and every day reading and listening to Disney theories — that’s how many there are. The things that fans come up with are unbelievable — well, not really unbelievable — and that’s kind of the point! Some are actually so convincing they have us questioning just about everything we thought we knew.
Was Genie actually a bad guy? Could Ursula have lived through that attack? Why was Moana that attached to water? All of these questions and more have been answered, sort of, thanks to Disney theories from all over the place. They explore Disney and give us a whole new way to look at some of our favorite Disney Princesses and characters. Trust, you will not be the same after reading these ones.
18. Belle’s Mother Cursed Beast
By now we’ve all seen Beauty and the Beast. It’s clear that Belle did not have a mama. She was stuck with her inventor father, a horse and her books. Ben of Super Carlin Brothers wanted to dig deeper. He scoured the original flick, the Broadway show and latest movie starring Emma Watson for answers about the identity of Belle’s mother. All of which leads us to believe she’s dead. But who was she? This theorist says a lot of things, but it’s his assumption that Belle’s mother was ACTUALLY the woman who put the curse on Beast. In the background of one scene, you can see a photo of Belle’s mother with roses in the picture at the cottage. Where else do roses come into play? Exactly — it’s the timer on the curse. Sure, it could just be a coincidence — but we know that Disney animators love sneaking clues in whenever possible.
17. Aladdin takes place in the post-apocalyptic future & Genie Caused it
One of the most interesting theories surrounding Aladdin is that it exists in a post-apocalyptic world. This theory is mainly based on Genie mentioning being in a lamp for 10,000 years (meaning the world is at least 10,300 at that point), and some other quotes scattered throughout the film including how certain technology has been lost.
Reddit user Spalerpus7 doesn’t think that’s the whole story, though. They speculate that it was Genie who actually caused a zombie apocalypse to occur — or at least one involving the undead. When you rub his lamp, Genie only has three rules: Genie can’t kill, he can’t make people fall in love, and lastly, he can’t bring anyone back from the dead. It’s the explanation to the last one that sparked Splaterpus7’s interest. They believe that Genie had to have done it, perhaps just once, and that single moment led to the end of the world as described when Genie himself says, “it’s NOT a pretty picture. I don’t like doing it.” Signifying he did at least once.
16. Frozen, Tarzan & Tangled Coexist
Fans with hawkeyes were able to spot Rapunzel and Flynn Rider in one of the scenes of Frozen. So that places them in the same universe, but Tarzan? How does a jungle boy play into these royal tales? Well the minds behind Frozen did a Reddit AMA and basically confirmed that Elsa and Anna’s parents wound up surviving that shipwreck, ending up on an island and having a baby boy. Sadly, they still eventually died, leaving their child to be raised by gorillas. Now let’s get a Frozen sequel where they meet their long-lost baby bro!
15. Rapunzel’s Crown Symbolizes Her Virginity
Can I just say I love when fans are this into their theories? So Monakaliza has one about Tangled that’s a little out there but not enough that we don’t think it’s plausible. The crown that Flynn wants to have all to himself is at the core of this. It’s the same one that Rapunzel has and uses as a bargaining tool. Mother Gothel also uses the crown as a tool to get the dudes at the bar on her side. This Disney theorist feels like the crown was a metaphor for Rapunzel’s virginity. Which, in those days, would’ve been a prize for any man. Gross, we know. Totally plausible as all of the men were eager to get the crown by any means. This Tumblr user also reminds us that Rapunzel said the following to Flynn during their lantern boat ride, “I was scared but now I’m ready to give this to you.” HMMM — that’s definitely suggestive.
14. Ursula is Alive
Screen Rant let us in on a handful of reasons and revelations on how some of our favorite Disney villains could still be alive. The most interesting and convincing one is probably surrounding Ursula from The Little Mermaid. Science backed up every claim. The evil Ursula was stabbed (likely in the heart) and then electrocuted. However, while that would almost certainly kill a human — lest we forget the sea witch was part-octopus. With that, octopuses have three hearts and can withstand a lot of pain. So that stabbing and electrocution likely didn’t put her down for good. Good news because we’ve always wanted a live-action Little Mermaid with Ursula front and center!
13. “Ariel’s Voice” Includes Her Written Words
Since we’re on the subject of The Little Mermaid, let’s keep it going with Ariel and an obvious complaint that most fans have with the logic in the movie. If she could sign her name on Ursula’s contract in the beginning, why couldn’t she write to Prince Eric and explain the sitch once she got on land? We’re not sure if The Nancy Pants Diaries has a law degree or not, but they were pretty convinced that their argument is fool-proof. The contract must have had a clause that made it so that writing was against the rules of the agreement, or Ariel’s “voice” must’ve included all forms of explicit communication. There you have it!
12. Emperor’s New Groove was Twisted
Lish_94 over on Reddit went viral when they posted about The Emperor’s New Groove. No, not that it is one of the most underrated Disney movies (it is), but about how dark parts of it can be. In a world where the only talking animals seemed to be formerly human, it gets a little twisted when you think about that the little bug screaming, “Help me!” … and the fact that he must’ve been a person at one time. It not only makes you wonder how many other people fell prey to Yzma’s terror, but also considering the bugs gruesome death, what the consequences of this spell truly were…
11. Louis is Human
Ultimateisultimate didn’t go into detail about their theory, but we can see where they were going. In The Princess and the Frog, Tiana, when she’s in amphibian form, runs into an alligator named Louis who can sing and dance. Perhaps she could hear him because she was an animal, as well, OR because he was cursed like she was. Ultimateisultimate thinks a curse definitely happened. Whether Mama Odie or the evils of The Shadow Man were to blame — it’s not too far-fetched to think that Louis could’ve once been a human. Like, how else could he play the frickin’ trumpet?
10. Calhoun Killed Her Man
Wreck-It-Ralph is one of those movies one cannot watch without shedding a few tears. All because of the little glitch-girl and Ralph becoming besties while learning it’s okay to be different. Now prepare yourself, because thanks to Reddit’s ItsGotToMakeSense, there’s a lot more to the story. They noted that the Cy-bugs transform into what they eat. With a few other examples that proved the point, they take us back to Calhoun’s backstory. Her wedding day involved a Cy-bug eating her groom — thus becoming him. Then she has to shoot the bug. She. Shoots. Her. Own. Groom. How sad is that?
9. Mufasa Almost Killed Everyone
CBR had a lot of great theories that were rather dark in this video, but head over to 7:20 for The Lion King one that is the most interesting. We all know how tragic it was when Mufasa fell to his death because Scar is a complete savage anda awful brother. Then we see Simba talking to his dead dad in the clouds. CBR notes how Mufasa ~in the clouds~ is key. When Scar takes over, a drought sets in. As soon as Simba defeats his evil uncle, BOOM, rain! Could it actually have been Mufasa using the power of a cloud to keep rain from everyone until his brother was taken down? It’s certainly possible…
8. Andy’s Mom Owned Jessie
Toy Story 2 is arguably not as great as the first and last, but we did get a few memorable moments from it. Jessie’s backstory included being lost by the little girl who played with her for years. That girl wore the same red hat that Andy does in the first flick. Many fans have put hat-and-hat together to assume that means Andy’s mom was that little girl that used to be Jessie’s owner! In case you’re wondering, Tom Hanks absolutely loves this theory.
7. Bing Bong is a Monster
Inside Out has been one of the most well-thought and invigorating Disney movies in recent years. It took us inside the mind of its characters, making emotions the star. We also got introduced to who we thought was Riley’s imaginary friend, Bing Bong. We also all cried like toddlers when Bing Bong sort of, well, died in her memories. Fear not though — because toferdelachris is here to save the day. What if Bing Bong wasn’t as much imaginary as he was one of the monsters from Monsters Inc.? So what Riley let fade away was indeed just a memory, not the actual Bing Bong, who’s still monstering around somewhere else. In reality, he’d just be making a new kid laugh cause she’d grown out of it. Phew!
6. Gaston Killed Bambi’s Mom
Simple as that. Slickbee2 asked, “What if Gaston was the one who killed Bambi’s mom?” Since Gaston from Beauty and the Beast was an awful person known for his taxidermy collection, we could see this being true. Doing a little research though, Gaston would have had to travel to North America on an excursion to do so since whitetail deer are native there, and Gaston was living in France.
5. Moana is a Demigod
The Film Theorists did their homework about Polynesian culture and folklore and got an A+ on this one. At first, I was on board with believing Moana was dead. Then the script was flipped and now I’m 100% convinced she is a demigod and Maui is her real dad. You will be a believer too once you watch the video. There are a lot of details as to why this is SO CLEARLY the case, but the main points are hinged on Moana’s ability to go to the underworld and the ocean being at her will whenever she needed it. That underworld realm with the shiny crab was a place humans should not have been able to survive in. Moana would’ve clearly perished if she was merely human. Also, the water was always saving her behind and taking orders. Remember the end when she split it like Moses? Yeah, the girl was not fully human and considering she could control the sea, she was certainly a demigod.
4. Cinderella’s Glass Slippers
For years we’ve all wondered about Cinderella’s glass slippers. Why didn’t they turn back into something or simply disappear when the spell wore off at midnight? Hannahbnannah explained it perfectly. She notes that Cinderella’s glass slippers were a new item that her Fairy Godmother created. Everything else was something basic laying around. So when the clock struck midnight, everything turned back into what it was… minus the slippers which were created from scratch and were made for Cinderella herself. Okay, that makes total sense — there was nothing for them to turn back into!
3. Marlin’s Stages of Grief
I had to go back to Super Carlin Brothers because this Finding Nemo theory was far too psychologically sound to ignore. In Finding Nemo, the titular character’s mother dies. We’re then introduced to Marlin – Nemo’s sort of neurotic father. These YouTubers feel like the whole movie is Marlin going through the stages of grief to get over that tragic loss of his wife. He floats through the days in denial, gets mad at Nemo for going off the reef (anger), bargains with himself that he can find his son, is depressed when they are in the whale and then finally finds acceptance when he accepts bad can happen and thinks he sees his son go down the drain. It’s only after he processes all of these emotions, that he’s able to reunite with his son. Pretty sound theory, no?!
2. The Deaths in The Nightmare Before Christmas
There is no doubt that we love The Nightmare Before Christmas. The Tim Burton movie has become a holiday staple for many. Is it a Halloween flick?
Is it made for Christmas? We don’t know and we don’t care. We’ve all watched it countless times year-round… but have any of us ever thought about how the characters of Halloween Town came to be? This Tumblr user gave it a bit of thought and gave us some answers. Jack was burned, Sally dismembered, Zero was electrocuted, and that’s just the start of it. Each character clearly displays signs of how they passed away. That means Halloween Town is more a grave underworld, right?
1. Peter Pan was an Angel — and kind of the grim reaper
With one image, CZbwoi turned Peter Pan into a very depressing story. What if Peter was simply an angel holding children’s hands as they ascended to heaven aka Neverland, and that’s why they never grew up? Were the Darling children ill? The movie is said to be set in early 1900 London. A quick Google search later and you’ll see there was an influenza outbreak in January 1900. Maybe the Darlings were on the brink of death, on their way to Neverland, and then recovered — thus returning home. If you want to go even further (and darker), if Neverland is death, then possibly Peter Pan is the usher to death AKA the grim reaper. Disney really isn’t all that fun when you break it down like that, huh?