Disney fans have been trying to solve a few very puzzling mysteries regarding some of Disney’s best-kept secrets!
Magic Kingdom
And while we can’t seem to make heads or tails of some of these outrageous ideas, we figured we’d tell you all about a few schools of thought that are floating around at the moment and let YOU be the judge!
First of all, one of the biggest conspiracies dates way back to Walt Disney’s untimely passing. As much as we hate to bring up such a sad subject it’s an important element in the first theory we’ll be discussing — so bear with us!
Conspiracy 1: Frozen Was a Cover-Up!
When Walt Disney passed away on December 15, 1966, the rumor mill started churnin’. Somehow, people got the rather odd notion that Walt had himself cryogenically frozen so that one day he could be brought back to life. There’s absolutely no evidence to support this claim and it’s a pretty upsetting subject for folks who love Disney to linger on.
From left to right: Donn Tatum, Card Walker, Harrison “Buzz” Price, John Kelsey, Thornton Ladd with Walt Disney © CalArts
But we mention it today because some fans have theorized the uber-popular movie Frozen had an ulterior motive. Sure Disney wanted it to become a smash box office hit, but the theory claims it served another purpose — burying the ugly gossip of Walt Disney’s supposed cryogenesis.
Think about it from this angle — Disney is intensely protective of their family-friendly brand and the company has borrowed a lot of its stories from classic fairy tales such as Pinocchio, Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid — the list goes on and on. Frozen is based on a story by Hans Christian Anderson called, “The Snow Queen.” So why isn’t the movie called that?
©Disney Frozen
Many fans think Disney called the movie Frozen to divert attention from the cryogenesis tittle-tattle that had been circulating for decades by this point. Disney could have called the film anything, but they settled on Frozen. Now when you Google search the words “Frozen” and “Disney,” all you get is page after page of Anna, Elsa, and a singing snowman named Olaf! Even if it wasn’t done intentionally, Disney successfully buried the speculation that had been swirling around Walt Disney’s death.
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Conspiracy 2: Could Anna, Elsa, and TARZAN Be Related?!?
Using Frozen as a touchpoint for our next Disney conspiracy, it seems MANY Disney characters might actually be blood relatives! Frozen co-director Chris Buck revealed during a Reddit Q & A that Anna and Elsa’s parents might have also had a son! Ah, hold up — we don’t remember Anna and Elsa having a BROTHER?!
Tarzan ©Disney
He also revealed the King and Queen of Arendelle, as well as their newborn “baby boy,” did not actually die after being shipwrecked. Instead, he stated they “washed up on the shore of a deserted island” and “BUILT A TREEHOUSE before being eaten by a leopard.” We could be wrong, but that sounds exactly like the plot to Disney’s Tarzan!
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Since Buck made these remarks before Frozen 2 came out in theaters, it’s pretty obvious he was joking, but to this day some fans still believe the rumor is TRUE!
Conspiracy 3: Is Jane the Great Great Great Grand-Daughter of Belle?
Tug on one thread and the whole thing starts to unravel! There’s also an interesting theory around that Jane from Tarzan and Belle from Beauty and the Beast are related! Both of them love to wear yellow dresses, have eccentric dads — they even look a great deal alike!
Beauty and the Beast ©Disney
Oh — and that tea set we see briefly at the camp before Turk destroys the place? It looks just like Mrs. Potts and Chip from Beauty and the Beast! But what if it doesn’t just LOOK like them — what if it IS THEM? Well, in that case, Jane would actually be related to the Beast and not Belle since he’s in possession of the tea set — but still…we’re talkin’ some serious “things that make you go hmm” territory here!
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Conspiracy 4: Umm…Ariel and Hercules are Actually Cousins!
Oh, but it gets so much WEIRDER! Here’s one for you mythology buffs — Hercules’ father is Zeus; Zeus’ brother is Poseidon; Poseidon’s son is Triton; and Triton’s daughter is Ariel! That means Ariel from The Little Mermaid and Hercules are…like second cousins…or first cousins once removed…you genealogists can help us out here!
©Disney Hercules
Wanna go even further down the rabbit hole (wait, wrong movie!). King Triton was once married to Ariel’s mom the Queen and they had seven daughters — Attina, Alana, Adella, Aquata, Arista, Andrina, and of course, Ariel.
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©Disney The Little Mermaid
In The Little Mermaid prequels, we learn that the Queen was killed by humans, hence King Triton’s general hatred of them. But some people believe the Queen once lived in Neverland’s Mermaid Lagoon and was killed by…Captain Hook! All of this is based off of the red-haired mermaid seen briefly in Peter Pan — seems a bit fishy if you ask us!
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Conspiracy 5: Mother Gothel IS The Evil Queen
The Evil Queen from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is one of the meanest Disney villains of them all! Not too many people we know shed a tear when she gets it at the end of the movie — or does she?
© Disney Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
The Evil Queen bears a striking resemblance to Mother Gothel from Tangled. In fact, Mother Gothel even keeps a suspiciously familiar-looking dagger in her drawer! That’s lent many fans to suspect the Evil Queen didn’t actually die at the end of Snow White! Maybe she moved away and started a horrible new life instead!
Click here to find out where you can meet the Evil Queen at Disney World!
©Disney Tangled
When Mother Gothel turns old at the end of Tangled she looks a lot like the Old Hag who the Evil Queen portrayed herself as when tricking Snow White with the apple. Even if they’re not one and the same, they could definitely be sisters!
Now, before you get angry — like we said — these are all just stories that some Disney fans believe to varying degrees! We’re printing them as a bit of fun and a point of interest, but rest assured there are a LOT of people thinking a LOT about Disney characters out there… .
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Do you believe in any unusual Disney conspiracy theories? Share them with us in the comments below!
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“Mrs. Potts and Chip from Beauty and the Beast! But what if it doesn’t just LOOK like them — what if it IS THEM? Well, in that case, Jane would actually be related to the Beast and not Belle since he’s in possession of the tea set — but still…we’re talkin’ some serious “things that make you go hmm” territory here!” Technically if Jane is her great great great granddaughter that would mean Belle and Adam (the beast) reproduced, and the tea set would indeed be Belles too. Just saying. Jane would be related to both.
But at the end of the movie Mrs. Potts and Chip turned back into PEOPLE! That would preclude their being Jane’s tea set.
How are made up animated people related- what a dumb article. Is the Easter bunny related to the tooth fairy?
Well that was a super fun romp through Conspiracy Land. Now where can I buy a pair of Conspiracy Land Mickey ears and special edition Dole Whip? LOL
Well, we know the answer to the “Frozen” name…Disney didn’t want parents to think the movie was “just for girls,” thereby limiting the movie’s earning potential.
This was a great read and an interesting one. I know we all want to believe in something, which is what makes us thrive. Disney is thought provoking at times, brakes down barriers at others, find friendships of unlikely characters, and team up to protect the greater good. In all movies we try to find clues, make sense of the unrecognizable and Easter eggs put there by Imagineers. It’s all nostalgia because we love them and try to make sense of them. Many have to be pointed out or can only be seen when pausing and zooming in on a frame. I too love the parallels and like the ones I didn’t find or connect before now. Thanks.
Kate, I hear they’re third cousins, four times removed. 😉
Somebody has been drinking around the EPCOT world too many times…
According to The Little Mermaid tv series, Neptune is actually Triton’s dad. Of course, Neptune and Poseidon are seemingly the same God with different names 🤷♀️
I do believe in one that is tied to another studio franchise. I’ve heard people say that the donkey in Shrek is actually one of the boys from Pleasure Island. There is some evidence in Shrek the Third as well as Donkey’s friendless background that makes sense.
it should be obvious to everyone that similar appearances are due to being drawn by the same group of animators that work together.
A leopard on a deserted island?! I don’t think so. What did the leopard eat the rest of the time?! It takes a sizable ecosystem to support an apex predator!