Is Aladdin set in a post-apocalyptic future?

Released on November 25, 1992, “Aladdin” introduced lovers of animated stories from the disneythe young title of the film that lived on petty theft until it managed to free the genie from the lamp and have its wishes fulfilled — or almost that.

The plot that became a studio classic was soon transformed into a franchise, since in addition to animation, Prince Ali also starred in his own games, in addition to appearing in his first live-action adventure in 2019, a film that featured the stars Will Smith, Naomi Scott and Mena Massoud in the cast.

The truth is that the story has conquered many fans over the years, those who even created a theory about the time in which the plot takes place, through analysis of game scenes and feature films, reached the conclusion that ‘ Aladdin’ is set in a post-apocalyptic future.

THE THEORY

The theory takes on meaning the moment the Genie is freed from the lamp. This is because, when the blue being left the object, he revealed that he was imprisoned for 10,000 years and when reviewing the Magic Carpet, he says that the two had not seen each other “for a few millennia”. Soon after, the Genie says that Aladdin’s clothes are “very 3rd century”.

If the Genie was trapped for so long, how does he know what the 3rd century fashion and style references were? The theory explains that for this, Genius was imprisoned at the beginning of the third century, that is, if he spent 10,000 years in the lamp, it must be at least 10,300 after Christ when he came out.

With this proof that the film is set in the future, fans dug deeper to prove that the plot takes place after the world almost ended. For this, the theory argues that there was a third world war, where two atomic bombs would have exploded, almost exterminating human life.

In this catastrophe, only the Arabs (and some Greeks) survived, rebuilding the world based on their culture. However, with the passage of time, the name “Baghdad” ended up being corrupted, then gaining time for “Agrabah”.

Furthermore, the years that followed after the world conflict would also explain the existence of flying carpets and the powers of the Genie. That’s because, over time, technology evolved, so the blue being had no magical abilities, but could only control new technological advances.

Proofs for this theory are stages of the game Aladdin for Mega Drive, where two atomic bombs appear, as well as a ‘Stop’ sign, indicating that there was a war on Earth and that there were places that humans could no longer access.

Another argument used by theorists on duty is that at certain moments in the film, the Genie imitates old celebrities, such as Jack Nicholson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Groucho Marx and Arsenio Hall, in addition to which, it can also transform into modern objects. “How could he do all this if he hadn’t lived during that period of time?

IT’S REAL?

The explanation can be found in Arab mythology, since in this culture, genius is a supernatural entity that can govern the destiny of someone or some place. In addition, they are omnipotent beings who can assume different forms, as well as being above the conceptions of time and space, in addition to having infinite knowledge, which justifies the powers and mentions of different times in history made by the blue being seen in ‘Aladdin ‘.

In addition, the possibility of the film being set in a post-apocalyptic future was denied by the directors of the feature, Ron Clements and john musker. In an interview with E! News, musker laughed and asked: “Far in the future?”. “I didn’t even hear that one,” he added.

In addition, the filmmaker said that the animation, originally, would take place in Baghdad, Iraq. However, with the outbreak of the Gulf War, which lasted from 1990 to 1991, they saw fit to change the name.

We held Baghdad in our first treatment, and then the Gulf War happened – the first Gulf War. Roy Disney said, ‘This can’t be Baghdad.’ So, I took letters and made a confusing anagram and created Agrabah”, he explained. “We created some alternatives. But no, we never thought it was post-apocalyptic, futuristic or some other time.”

In the same interview, the two confirmed yet another theory, that the street vendor who sells the lamp to Aladdin is actually the Genie himself, so much so that the two characters are voiced by the same actor, robin williams.

It’s true!” says Clements, “That was the intention, originally. We even had that at the end of the movie where he would reveal himself to be Genie, and of course Robin. [Williams] made the voice of the merchant. It’s just that with the story changes and editing, we’ve lost the reveal at the end. So this is an urban legend that really is true.”