Did you know there’s a theory out there that postulates Aladdin takes place in a future, post-apocalyptic world? Frederator’s “Cartoon Conspiracy” takes a look at all the evidence in the above video and, rightly so, dismisses it as silly.
It’s not the first time something like this has happened, though. The Internet is full of questions like “what if Aladdin was set in a post-apocalyptic future?” that get spun out of control when they should just remain interesting questions. Because as a question, the “theory” opens up a lot of interesting avenues of exploration. Alternate Universe fan-fiction is rife with that kind of material, and people like good fan-fic for the opportunity to explore such interesting questions.
Of course, a person can believe whatever they want, and no one should ridicule them for that. But to call something a theory, you need evidence that stands up to scrutiny. The freedom of an audience to interpret a story however they want makes theorizing about fictional stories hard, but there are limits most of us can agree on — and this Aladdin “theory” goes beyond that limit.
I would read that fan-fic, though.
