Aladdin is that second most beloved 90’s
Disney film behind the Lion King and for the
most part it’s a straightforward retelling
of the original story.
Set in the supposedly ancient Middle East
questions have been raised about when and
where the story is ACTUALLY set.
It seems that a small group of die-hard Aladdin
fans have trolled the movie looking for clues
and evidence to support the idea that the
whole story takes place in a Mad Max style
post-apocalyptic wasteland, just without all
the car stunts.
But is there more evidence here to support
this outrageous claim or is just people making
the correlation between deserts and future
wastelands?
The Evidence
The lynchpin to these claims mainly revolves
around that the genie and his ability to impersonate
and reference 20th century Icons like Arnold
Schwarzenegger and Jack Nicholson.
So how can the genie possibly be able to do
this, it’s not like he is magic or anything
right?
But let’s say we give that magic Genie,
maybe he can see the future?
Well this gets more complicated when the Genie
says that Aladdin’s outfit is too 3rd century.
Well that settles it, must be the past but
wait hang on a second, when the genie is released
from the lamp he says he has been trapped
for 10,000 years!
So say the Genie was imprisoned at the latest
the 3rd century then it must be at least 10,003
AD.
And what about the historical city of Agrabah,
surely that is a city in the Middle East with
a rich history and cult—it doesn’t exist!
Yep it’s a made up word to be derivative
of Arabia but without giving it a real place
name for no real reason.
It’s not like Pocahontas is set in Americanico
or that Mulan is set Asiaria.
The argument further says that the Magical
Carpet isn’t magic at all but instead a
technological marvel created before the world
went to hell.
Maybe some evolution of Back to the Future’s
hover board that was given AI.
Oh and Iago, that wise cracking parrot well
he is definitely a left over genetically modified
super pet that must have survived the apocalypse
and lived for centuries.
But how did the world end?
Was there a world ending war between people
and modified parrots that sunk the planet
into a nuclear wasteland?
Well if we turn to the video game adaptations
from the early 90’s then we get a clearer
picture.
Both the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis versions
of the game feature Easter eggs that support
the theory.
There are stop signs buried in the sand just
sitting there with no context what so ever,
then there are bones of the dead…lots and
lots of bones…..from the nuclear fire!
And then there are the atomic bomb shaped
objects in the background of the cave system
that leads to the secret treasure chamber.
All of this leads to the shocking conclusion
that Aladdin is really story of a group of
nuclear holocaust survivors trying reconcile
the technological wonders and horrors that
have turned the world into a dessert.
Most likely the result of a terrible war with
the super intelligent genetically modified
parrots that human kind had created.
Could it be true?
Maybe but it’s a bit of a reach to make
it fit because the world of Aladdin clearly
involves magic.
Once magic is introduced and omnipotent characters
like the Genie than all logic and reason becomes
questionable.
Sure the Genie mentions both the 3rd and 20th
centuries but Magic explains that one away.
We can’t really be assured in what manner
the Genie sees the flow of time either, maybe
time runs differently inside the lamp?
The carpet and Iago are just ways to explain
away more magic and fantasy with Sci-Fi reasons
and the video games aren’t exactly canon
to the movie.
While it provides the best evidence the games
must be moved into a secondary category.
So I guess if you want to believe that Aladdin
is set in a dystopian like future then no
one can stop you, it’s just highly unlikely
and that this is just a kid’s film about
a magic lantern.
Either way it’s an awesome movie and the
fact that it could be so interesting to dissect
and theorise about just shows how interesting
the world of Agrabah is.
