Disney is well known for hiding references to upcoming projects within its movies, but one Tumblr user believes they’ve found an easter egg that’s been hiding in plain sight for almost 25 years. In Beauty and the Beast, Belle describes the plot of her favorite book, which matches almost perfectly with the plot of Aladdin:
Belle goes onto explain to a group of animals, “Here’s where she meets Prince Charming, but she won’t discover that it’s him ’til chapter three”, another key plot point of the movie. So basically, Belle’s dream man is Aladdin.
Some fans are quick to point out that Belle is describing very common fairytale tropes and could be talking about literally any Disney movie, but it’s more than likely a direct reference. Beauty and the Beast was released in 1991 and Aladdin would be released just a year later in 1992.
Additionally, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Aladdin directors John Musker and Ron Clements admitted that they had worked on Beauty and the Beast before moving on to Aladdin.
So what is Belle’s favorite book? Well, the plot of Aladdin is loosely based on the story Aladdin’s Wonderful Lamp from a collection of Middle Eastern folktales called One Thousand and One Nights (although we still prefer the original, Bugs Bunny’s 1001 Rabbit Tales).
