'Aladdin' Directors Confirm This Genie Theory

In a very kind gesture to everyone who has had a childhood, the directors of Aladdin confirmed a fan theory that has been held dearly in the hearts of many adult Disney fans. Do you remember the peddler who initially sells Aladdin the magical lamp? Fans have long wondered whether that peddler is supposed to be the Genie in disguise. Their reasoning? The peddler is also voiced by Robin Williams, who voiced the Genie, and both have four fingers and seem to share an affinity for a particular shade of blue. In an interview with E!, director Ron Clements shared that this was totally intentional:

I saw something that speculates that the peddler at the beginning of Aladdin is the Genie. That's true! 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.

This is an exciting moment for those who made the connection, but less exciting for those who saw sexual or apocalyptic messages in the movie — those theories were debunked. There are quite a few similarly out-there Disney conspiracies that are less likely to receive official confirmation. Here are some of the crazier ones.

1. Frozen and Tarzan Share Some Characters

Because the Frozen director Chris Buck revealed that Elsa and Anna's parents had ended up in a jungle, some fans thought that that meant they gave birth to the titular character of one of his other films. It's actually kind of plausible, but it was debunked by Buck himself.

2. The Incredibles Is Atlas Shrugged

Some people think that Brad Bird based The Incredibles on Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. It's not true. Why would it be?

3. The Up Adventures Never Happened

This blogger thinks that the implausible journey of Up is actually the old man's journey into the afterlife, in case Up wasn't sad enough already.

4. Nemo Was Dead The Whole Time

One very sad theory about Finding Nemo is that Marlin spends the whole movie coping with the loss of his wife and all of his children, and Nemo is a figment of his imagination.

5. The Little Mermaid Has A Hidden...Surprise

Because some people seem really into finding sexual messages in Disney movies, some people think there's an erection in The Little Mermaid. Unlike some sexual Disney moments, this is very clearly a knee, not anything else.

6. Boo From Monsters Inc Is The Witch In Brave

Because she had to use magic to get Sully back and... travelled back in time and moved to Scotland? IDK.

Who knows? Maybe the Pixar world is all interconnected, but I wouldn't expect to find any confirmation of these rumors any time soon.

Image: Buena Vista Pictures