It’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for. That epic Disney fan theory has been confirmed! (Well, sort of ). Chris Buck, Co-Director of Frozen, as well as many other Disney classics, has finally answered our questions about the ties between the winter 2013 hit and Tarzan.
During a Reddit AMA (ask me anything) last year, Buck blew our minds when he hinted that Elsa and Anna’s parents -The King and Queen of Arendelle – didn’t die at sea like the film suggested. Instead they were washed up on an island shore with their “new born baby boy” (implying the Queen was pregnant when they boarded the ship) and built a treehouse before eventually being eaten by a leopard.
As Disney-lovers will know, this is also the exact storyline to the opening of Tarzan, so of course everyone made the possible connection that he is Elsa and Anna’s long lost brother. The fact that the King and Queen of Arendelle looked suspiously like Tarzan’s mother and father also added fuel to the fire.
But were these ‘hints’ actually facts? Or was Buck just toying with our emotions? Turns out it’s a bit of both: “When you’re working on a feature, you have a lot of time to think about stuff because it takes four years to make one,” Buck told MTV News “in my little head, Anna and Elsa’s brother is Tarzan – but on the other side of that island are surfing penguins, to tie in a non-Disney movie, ’Surf’s Up.’ That’s my fun little world.”
In honour of this HUGE revelation, here are a few more Disney fan theories that will make you look at your favourite animated movies in a whole new light.
The King and Queen of Arendelle were on their way to Rapunzel’s wedding when they became lost at sea
Another popular Frozen fan theory that is yet to be proven or disproven is that the ship Elsa and Anna’s parents were on was travelling to Rapunzel and Flynn’s wedding when it sank. Co-Director and Screenwriter Jennifer Lee stated that the pair were on their way to a wedding, and since Rapunzel was released three years before Frozen the timing would have been right, as well as the estimated distance/travel time of two weeks it takes to get from Norway to Germany and back via boat. Flynn and Rapunzel are also briefly caught in the crowd attending Elsa’s coronation towards the beginning of the movie, meaning they must at least be acquaintances of the Frozen clan, though some have suggested due to the similarities in appearance and powers Rapunzel may in fact be Elsa and Anna’s cousin.
Jane from Tarzan is a direct descendent of Belle from Beauty and The Beast
Not only do they look a lot alike, have a thing for the colour yellow and both love hairy guys, but they also share the same taste in eating utensils. In a scene from Tarzan, Turk is seen playing the drums on Jane’s teaset, which just happens to be an exact replica of Mrs Potts and Co from Beauty and the Beast. This has led some to think it’s a family heirloom, passed down to Jane from French relatives, AKA Belle.
Mother Gothel from Tangled is the same person as the Evil Queen in Snow White
Well, first of all they look pretty similar – big nose, wrinkly, has a penchant for black cloaks, etc. Secondly, they both have an obsession with staying young and beautiful, and Mother Gothel owns a box with a dagger that is very similar to the one the Evil Queen gives to the huntsman to murder Snow White.
Aladdin takes place in a far off future
Rather than being set in the 800 AD, like many estimate due to the predominant historical influences in the movie, some have suggested that Aladdin is in fact a part of a far distant future. This is mainly down to the genie, as when he is first released he complains “10,000 years will give you such a crick in the neck!” and makes multiple contemporary pop culture references that the rest of the cast don’t seem to get, including impressions of Jack Nicholson and Arnold Scharznegger. Therefore, the only possible answer is that Aladdin is not set in the past, but is actually occurring 10,000 years into the future.
Which Disney fan theories will you just not ‘let it go’ over?
