IntroWhen it comes to Disney movies, people usually fall into two groups: those who think
that the studio releases nothing but family-friendly adventures and important lessons, and those
who see suspicious jokes, messages, or meanings below the surface. The studio will never confirm
or deny just how many outlandish fan theories actually do have some truth to them, but the
ideas alone are worth investigating. Here are Screen Rant's 10 Movie Theories That Completely
Change Disney Films.
Toy Story
Most of the series is spent following the toys of Toy Story, but their owner, Andy,
is just as important. But the adventures he shares with his childhood toys - and the need
to give them up as he gets older - may run in his family. In Toy Story 2, fans found
out that Jessie was originally owned by a girl named Emily, before she was given away.
But some fans have claimed that Pixar makes it perfectly clear that Emily is really Andy's
mom. In the first story, Andy is playing with Woody while wearing Jessie's hat - the same
one Emily played with when she was younger. Since 30 years have passed since Emily gave
her up, it makes Andy's mom the right age, and delivers a happy ending to Jessie's story
that fans never even noticed.
Belle & Jane
It's obvious that the leading ladies of Beauty & The Beast and Tarzan have plenty in common:
their hair, fair features, love of the color yellow, and a knack for taming wild men. But
what if those similarities aren't just coincidence? When the gorillas are trashing Jane and her
father's camp, the teapot set from Beauty & The Beast is visible - the one that Mrs.
Potts and Chip were cursed to remain until The Beast was loved. So, did Jane bring a
French relative's china on her trip? Or is it all from a shared family set? The time
periods align, since the Eiffel Tower in Beauty & The Beast proves the movie is more modern
than you would think. If it isn't, could Jane be the grand daughter of Belle and the Beast?
We'll let the fans decide.
Aladdin
The tale of a prince in diguise and magical wishes is narrated by Genie, but what if the
story isn't set in Agrabah centuries in the past? What if it's actually set thousands
of years in the future? When he's first released, Genie claims that he's been imprisoned in
the lamp for thousands of years. So how does he know to make jokes about modern movies
and celebrities? Believe it or not, some fans believe Genie was trapped in our time, and
waited ten thousand years, as the world advanced, and a world-ending disaster set mankind back
by millennia. It's a wild theory, and there's no evidence, right? Well, the modern stop
signs buried in the sand of the companion video game might actually back this theory
up…
Brave Boo
There's no character more adorable than Boo, the little girl who refused to be scared by
the stars of Monsters, Inc. And even though she wound up back at home in the end, leaving
her best friend behind cut deep. So what if she refused to give up looking for him as
she got older? One fan theory asks if the teleporting-door technology used in Monsters,
Inc isn't just moving monsters through space - but time, as well. How Boo figured it out
is a mystery, but the theory claims that she picked up plenty of magic along the way, eventually
landing in the forest of Brave. There she grew old, carving pictures of Sully and the
Pizza Planet truck. When Merrida comes to ask for help, she escapes the only way she
knows how: by traveling across time and space using a simple door.
Up, Up, And Away
No Pixar fan will forget the opening scenes of Up, following Carl Fredericksen fall in
love, grow old, and eventually lose his wife. Living alone, it's only a matter of time until
Carl's temper gets him committed. But instead, he escapes to see the world using thousands
of balloons tied to his house. Or does he? It's too sad to believe, but some fans think
Carl actually died the night before he was headed to Shady Oaks, and the adventure is
his journey to the afterlife. We don't know if that's an even more poetic look at the
movie, or just doubling down on the tears.
Wreck-it Ralph
As entertaining as the classic game characters may be, it was Calhoun from Hero's Duty who
stole the show. And she came with a tragic backstory, too: seeing the man of her dreams
eaten by a Cy-bug just seconds before they would have been married. She's still a soldier,
and took her anger out on the bug right then and there. But wait - Cy-bugs become the
things they eat: whether it's a gun, candy, or an actual person. It didn't take long for
fans to realize that the Cy-bug that killed Calhoun's fiance actually became him seconds
later - forcing her to kill the twisted, insectoid murderer version of him. And that puts a completely
different spin on the rest of her story - not to mention a more satisfying ending.
Snow White Gets Tangled?
The Evil Queen's name says it all in Disney's classic Snow White, when her need to be the
most beautiful woman in her kingdom leads her up against the lovely Snow White. She
takes the form of an ugly old woman, and sets out to deceive the girl with false promises.
Once Disney fans realized that the Evil Queen actually looks a lot like Gothel from Tangled,
they also noticed that they're both obsessed with staying young and beautiful, and taking
advantage of young girls to make it happen. So what if they're the same woman? Having
failed to get the job done with one Disney princess, the Queen just moved onto the next?
It's not as exciting a theory as some, but helps link Disney's oldest movie to one of
its most recent hits.
Toy Story 3
Out of all the Disney theories, people claiming that Toy Story 3 is just one massive analogy
for the Nazi's treatment of Jewish citizens seems hard to believe. But even if the movie
isn't as clear a reference as some fans claim, the actual plot is hard to ignore. First,
the toys are abandoned by their guardians, then gathered up and sent to a horrible place
where they're regularly abused, and eventually wind up inches away from death - before allies
from a faraway land show up to literally pull them out of the fire. They even end up at
a new home, where toys like them are protected. That may just be a universal story lived through
by all kinds of people throughout history, but given the parallels, this theory isn't
going away any time soon.
The Lion King
When the Lion King was released, some people started pointing out that the similarities
with a popular Shakespeare story were too obvious. The Lion King would basically be
“Hamlet” with animals. If we look at the details, this theory starts making a lot of
sense. In Hamlet, the King is killed by Claudius, Hamlet’s uncle, but the circumstances of
his death are kept secret. Hamlet has two goofy friends named Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
and ends up getting revenge for his father’s death by stabbing his uncle and forcing him
to drink poisonous wine. Even if it’s heavily influenced by the play, The Lion King remains
one of the best animated films in history.
The Frozen Theory
Frozen is one of the most celebrated Disney films of the last 10 years and it’s filled
with references from other Disney movies. You probably heard about this one before since
we covered it in detail in our documentary entitled “The Secret Relations Between Disney
Movie Princesses”, but it’s worth mentioning again. The theory explores how Anna & Elsa
might be related to Rapunzel, Cinderella and Ariel to name a few, but the bombshell comes
when there is a possible link to another Disney character… When Anna and Elsa’s parents
leave on their ship and never come back, the creators of Frozen gave people a clue when
they said on Reddit that the parents shipwreck on an island and have a child that ends up
getting raised by gorillas… Tarzan, making him Anna & Elsa’s long lost brother... Make
sure you check out our documentary by clicking on the link for more details on this amazing
theory!
Those are some of our favorite theories about the real meaning of hit Disney movies, but
which ones have we missed? Let us know in the comments, and remember to subscribe for
more videos like this one. Thanks!