The film theory that suggests that ‘Aladdin’ is set in an apocalyptic universe
Earlier this week, we took a look at a wild theory surrounding the beloved Pixar animated classic Up that suggested that the protagonist Carl was already dead at the start of the film. Now, we’ve stumbled across another theory surrounding Disney’s iconic Aladdin.
However, this new theory is not the widely referred to theory in which it is posited that the merchant from the film’s very first scene is, in fact, the Genie in human form. The reason for this is that Robin Williams voices both characters and also that the merchant is in possession of the exact same lamp as the Genie.
Rather, this theory concerns the very universe in which Aladdin is set, suggesting that the film, based on the Arab folktale of Aladdin and the magic lamp depicted in One Thousand and One Nights, does not actually take place in the past but rather, in the distant post-apocalyptic future, where only a handful of countries in the Arab world survive.
For instance, in one scene, the Genie says that Aladdin’s clothes are “so last century”. However, it is common knowledge within the world of the film that the Genie had been trapped in the magic lamp for the last 10,000 years, so it is unlikely (unless the Genie is lying) that he could have known about the fashion of the past century. Although, he is a genie after all…as such, the year must be at least 10,300 AD.
The theory further posits that in the post-apocalyptic world in which Aladdin is set, only the Arabic and a small amount of the Greek languages have survived, although so much time has passed that “Arabia” is now termed “Agrabah”. There are no mosques in the world, nor Imams, or prayer mats, although the people of “Agrabah” still give praise to Allah during times of happiness.
The flying carpets and parrots that cannot just imitate human language but understand it too are all considered within the theory to be examples of technology left behind by the previous civilization. The Genie also makes impressions of celebrities from our own time, including Jack Nicholson and Groucho Marx.
The Aladdin video game furthered these claims, and players can find a contemporary “stop sign” buried in the sand as well as an atomic bomb. However, arguments against the theory suggest that the Genie is an omnipotent being who can experience the future as well as the past. Regardless the idea makes for an exciting insight into a long-loved film.
