“Welcome to Agrabah—city of mystery!” That’s the first line from the 1992 Disney animated movie Aladdin and it’s uttered by an arguably unimportant character—so unimportant in fact, he doesn’t even have a name. He’s simply referred to as “Peddler.” But wait, does the key to the entire tale lie in the Peddler’s hands?
We may have been wrong about Aladdin for all of this time, even though the movie’s first scene provided us with all of the clues that we needed.
The movie begins with the Peddler welcoming the viewer to Agrabah, the city of mystery, of enchantment. He introduces us to his camel and shows us his pop-up shop where he peddles knick-knacks and junky breakables.
But when we turn to go, he panics, chasing the camera. “Wait, don’t go!” he shouts. “I can see that you’re only interested in the exceptionally rare. I think then you will be most rewarded to consider this.”
Cue the magic lamp. The salesman holds up the infamous genie’s lamp, and then begins to regale us with the tale of Aladdin, Jasmine, Jafar, and the magic genie. Watch the full scene below:
Of course, if you’ve seen the movie at least once in your life, you know all of this already. But is there more to it than just that? Could it be that the entire tale of Aladdin is a made-up farce, just a grandeur attempt to get us to buy a lamp?
Some Disney theorists believe that the story of Aladdin is nothing but a ruse, thought to inspire a purchase from the peddler’s store. It may not have happened at all. There might never have been a princess named Jasmine or a street rat named Aladdin.
We’re not sure how we feel about it, but we have to say it’s pretty shocking to hear that one of our favorite Disney fables could have been a simple ploy.
What do you think about this Disney conspiracy theory? Leave your comments below!
