Disney Confirmed The First Aladdin Fan Theory About The Genie
In contrast to many fan theories that remain simply theories, Disney has recently confirmed a popular theory around the Genie from Aladdin. Released in 1992, Aladdin tells the story of a thief who finds a magic lamp and must use it to both win the love of his life and help save her kingdom. Cementing its status as a classic almost instantly, the movie has been continually revisited by subsequent generations, resulting in extensive speculation about both its production and plot.
In addition to the central roles of Aladdin and Princess Jasmine, the major character in the story is the Genie. Famously voiced by Robin Williams, the Genie was a fan-favorite due to his humor, energy, and heart. Despite his great power, the Genie was confined to his lamp and longed for freedom. After a tumultuous final battle with the nefarious Royal Vizier Jafar, Genie finally received his freedom when Aladdin used his third wish to release him.
Despite Genie's integral role to the plot, Aladdin does not begin with the character on screen. Instead, the movie opens with a mysterious merchant, voiced by Robin Williams, who tells Aladdin’s story to explain the importance of a simple lamp. While the Peddler does not appear in any other portion of the movie, he is integral to one, now proven, fan theory. Although these characters may seem unconnected, viewers theorized that the Peddler was actually the Genie in disguise. Decades after this theory surfaced, one of the co-directors of Aladdin, Ron Clements, actually confirmed the idea. In an interview (via E! News), Clements explained that they had originally intended to make them the same character and even had a scene “at the end of the movie, where [the Peddler] would reveal himself to be the Genie.” Due to viewers noticing the similar character designs for the Peddler and the Genie, this plan for Aladdin was uncovered and even proved years later when Disney released early storyboards for the final scene.
Viewers based this theory on not only the characters’ shared voice actor, but the numerous physical similarities between the Peddler and the Genie. While the Genie is blue with a red band around his waist, the Peddler wears blue clothing with a matching red band. Both characters also have beards with tight curls at the end. Lastly, the Genie and the Peddler are the only characters in Aladdin who have four fingers on each hand instead of five.
Given that Clements had already confirmed this theory, Disney later decided to release some of the storyboards for the original final scene in Aladdin. Initially, Aladdin’s creators had planned to end the movie by showing the Peddler jump off his camel and use a whirlwind to transform into the Genie. However, they cut this sequence due to production and aesthetic constraints. Without viewers’ careful analysis of Aladdin and development of this fan theory, audiences might have never been able to enjoy the art that proved that the mysterious Peddler was also the magical Genie.
Source: Screenrant
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