10 dark Disney theories that change your favourite movies
Although Disney has been entertaining us with family-friendly cartoons since 1937, children and adults alike know the House of Mouse can be a dark place when it tries. Everyone from Bambi’s mum to Mufasa has fallen before the credits roll, with the main lesson seemingly being “don’t have kids” if you live in the Disneyverse.
Away from orphaned kids, the franchise’s various villains tend to die in a variety of gruesome ways (actually, come to think of it, they always die the same way) to teach us that good usually triumphs over evil.
Even then, the misery doesn’t stop there. Just when you think things can’t get any more depressing, here are 11 dark Disney theories that will forever change your favourite movies.
1. Carl was dead all along – Up
Up tugged at our heartstrings more than most thanks to its opening scene titled "Married Life". After watching Ellie and Carl’s life together, it was easier to see why Mr Fredrickson had become a grumpy loner in his later years. This was all turned around by the arrival of the joyous Russell...or was it?
There is an emotional theory that Carl is dead all along and his trip to Paradise Falls (*PARADISE* Falls) is his move into the afterlife. Going with this, Russell is an angel trying to earn his wings (Wilderness Explorer badge). Elsewhere, Charles Muntz is a fallen angel hellbent on dragging Carl to the underworld with his hellhounds.
2. Aladdin’s post-apocalyptic future – Aladdin
Is Aladdin set in a desolate wasteland after a catastrophic nuclear war? The post-apocalyptic theory comes from the Genie’s reference to Aladdin’s Third-century fashion and how he’s been trapped in his lamp for 10,000 years. That dates Aladdin to the year 10,300 at the earliest.
There's also Genie's references to the 20th century, and while it’s a bit of a stretch, the SEGA Genesis Aladdin game from 1993 also features an unexploded atomic bomb and tattered stop sign. Directors Ron Clements and John Musker told E! News they’d never heard that one, and no, Agrabah definitely isn’t some American Horror Story: Apocalypse scenario.
3. Kristoff’s morbid wardrobe – Frozen
Despite Frozen already being a pretty dark entry into the world of Disney movies, there’s a twisted theory that Kristoff is wearing the skinned pelt of Sven’s mother. It’s cold in the frozen expanse of Arendelle, so you can’t blame Kristoff for wrapping up. Examining his winter wardrobe, it definitely looks like he’s wearing reindeer skin.
Considering Sven’s mum seems like a bit of a Bambi situation, it’s entirely possible the ice harvesters dressed the orphaned Kristoff in her hide so he didn’t freeze. Maybe the dim-witted reindeer is too oblivious to notice, or maybe audiences are looking a little too hard for a darker meaning?
4. Andy’s mum is Toy Story’s real villain – Toy Story 2
One of the most emotional scenes from the critically acclaimed Toy Story 2 featured Joan Cusack’s Jessie and that tear-jerking 'When She Loved Me' montage. We don’t learn what happened to Jessie’s owner after she abandoned the cowgirl, leading to some theories that the cold-hearted Emily is, in fact, Andy's mum.
Notice that Andy has worn a human-sized version of Jessie’s hat since the first movie – which is strange considering Jessie didn’t arrive until Toy Story 2. Evidence over the years points to the strange mystery surrounding the real name of "Andy’s Mom". The ages also match up, but we’ll have to wait and see whether this one is FINALLY confirmed or debunked in Toy Story 4.
5. Captain Hook murdered Ariel’s mum – The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Beginning
Captain Hook was already the big bad of Peter Pan, but is the pillaging pirate also a major villain of The Little Mermaid as well? With The Little Mermaid coming out in 1989, it was some 19 years before there were any answers to where Ariel’s mother was.
The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Beginning gave us some classic Disney heartache when it revealed Queen Athena had been killed by pirates. Remembering Peter Pan, there was a red-headed mermaid that looked a lot like Ariel cavorting in a lagoon. The mermaids were scared of Hook and he definitely has the right gear on his hand to gut the helpless Athena.
6. Mother Gothel is Snow White's Evil Queen – Tangled
Some think Tangled is actually a sequel to Snow White and that OG Disney villain the Evil Queen survived her ‘crushing’ defeat in 1937. We’ve seen how the Evil Queen used her magic to appear as an old hag, while Mother Gothel used a magical flower to stay young.
Disney has a lot of connections, and aside from old Evil Queen and old Gothel looking eerily similar, the kingdom of Corona shares plenty of visual similarities with the Evil Queen's castle. Proponents of this theory guess the Evil Queen faked her death in Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, going with that old soap-opera mantra – if you don’t see the body they’ve probably survived.
7. Cars killed the human race – Cars
Pixar fans will know that grand theory that the slate of computer-animated movies are connected in one big Pixar web. There is a slight problem with this when it comes to the world of Cars and an Earth devoid of humans. This wild theory takes us way into the future – beyond even Wall-E – where the human race has been wiped out (possibly by murderous motors) and cars have gained sentience.
Worryingly, this one is all but confirmed thanks to an interview between Cars’ Creative Director Jay Ward and ScreenCrush. Ward theorised that the cars took over with their advanced AI and then adopted the personalities of their previous owners.
8. Calhoun killed her husband – Wreck-It Ralph
Glee’s Jane Lynch had a memorable role as the rough-and-ready Sergeant Calhoun in Wreck-It Ralph. However, the savvy Calhoun could also be a fiancée-murdering soldier suffering from PTSD.
We explored Calhoun's tormented past where her wedding day was ruined by a Cy-Bug attack. The groom (Brad) was eaten by a Cy-Bug, but given that the creatures turn into what they eat, Calhoun’s attack on the beast means she was technically killing her husband-to-be. It’s pretty dark, but given we don’t see who/what Calhoun was firing at, it could have easily been A Cy-Bug with Brad’s face.
Sweet mother of monkey-milk.
9. The even darker death of Anna and Elsa’s parents – Tarzan
When Anna and Elsa weren’t building snowmen in Frozen, they were left pining over the tragic loss of their parents at sea. However, what about a world where their parents lived to fight another day and ended up lost in the jungles of Tarzan to start a new family?
As the director of Frozen, Chris Buck told MTV that he’d always imagined Tarzan was the little brother of Anna and Elsa. Although it’s great news that the King and Queen of Arendelle survived their watery graves, they had the equally grim demise of being devoured by leopards – talk about an unlucky streak.
10. Peter Pan is the angel of death – Peter Pan
If you’ve ever wondered why the Lost Boys don’t grow up, maybe it’s because they’re already dead and Neverland is some form of afterlife? Peter Pan isn’t the ultimate villain in this – we’d guess it’s Hook as some sort of devil – but the young redhead could be an angel of death.
Author JM Barrie’s brother died at the age of 13, leading some to think this is where Barrie's idea of never growing up comes from. The theory also ties with the famous line, "To die would be an awfully big adventure”. Suddenly it isn’t all and parties and pixie dust.
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