We all have that one cartoon we’ve watched so many times, we know it inside out. But while you might know all the words to every episode and film, there are certainly things you don’t know about it. From far out theories to freaky facts, it’s time to take a look at even more cartoon secrets you won’t believe are true!
Syndrome Is Mr. Incredible's Son
In Pixar’s 2004 film The Incredibles, we meet the Parr family, led by father Bob, who is secretly Mr. Incredible. He faces off against the villain Syndrome, also known as Buddy Pine. As a child, Buddy was Mr. Incredible’s biggest fan and called himself Incrediboy. After Mr. Incredible dismisses him, Buddy becomes Syndrome, Mr. Incredible’s arch-nemesis, who seeks revenge on the entire Parr family to get back at Mr. Incredible.
One fan theory explains why Syndrome’s hatred runs so deep: he’s Mr. Incredible’s secret son. With their fair complexion, blue eyes, and substantial chins, there’s certainly a resemblance between the two, as well as between Buddy and Bob’s other son, Dash. But then, who is Buddy’s mother? Redditor, Spoodern, proposes that
it’s Psycwave. She’s not a major character, she’s one of the supers eliminated by Syndrome’s robot, but she does bare a mild resemblance to buddy. Maybe Mr Incredible had a relationship with this superhero? On The Incredibles bonus DVD, Psycwave reveals that she used her mind-control powers for seduction.
It’s possible that Psycwave also used her powers on a young Bob, resulting in Buddy’s birth. When Bob hands Incrediboy to the police, he says this:
The Incredibles - All Syndrome Scenes by Eric Danielsen It sounds like he knows Buddy’s mom. Also, Psycwave had exceptionally high intelligence, just like Syndrome. Though this also means that Syndrome used his robot to terminate his own mother, if that’s right, then that’s stone cold! But that’s not all. Spoodern theorized that as well as inheriting his mother’s intelligence, Syndrome may’ve also had unknown telepathic abilities. When he was sucked into a jet’s turbine, his powers kicked in, causing his mind to possess Jack-Jack. Remember that raccoon fight in the 2018 sequel, Incredibles 2? With its black eye mask, the raccoon could symbolize Syndrome, and its battle with the infant is symbolic of Jack-Jack’s internal struggle between himself and Syndrome, perhaps hinting at a future villain in The Incredibles 3!
Incredibles 2 Fight Scene in Full: Jack-Jack vs. Raccoon (Exclusive) by Entertainment Tonight Mr. Krabs & Pearl Theories
Let's dive under the sea to Bikini Bottom, where the whacky world of SpongeBob SquarePants is set! This cartoon first hit our screens in 1999, and the town is full of bizarre sea characters sparking various theories: from them being mutated by a nuclear bomb, to them wearing skin suits! But one of the most enduring mysteries involves Krusty Krab owner Mr. Krabs and his daughter, Pearl.
One is a crab and the other is a sperm whale. How this works is never explained, and the identity of Pearl’s mother has never been revealed, leading to several fan theories.
Theory number 1: Mr. Krabs married Pearl’s pregnant mother, who either passed away or left him after Pearl's birth. In the season 9 episode Jailbreak, we see a whale who resembles Pearl, perhaps this is her biological father, who abandoned the family for a life of crime?
SpongeBob Jailbreak! 4/5 by AbXdear Theory number 2: Mr Krabs is Pearl’s biological dad, and she just didn’t inherit any of his crabby genes. At all. This is sort of backed up by the SpongeBob SquarePants Trivia Book, published in 2000, which states that Pearl "takes after her mother."
Theory number 3: There’s been a scandalous suggestion that Mrs. Krabs got a bit too friendly with another whale behind Mr. Krab’s back, resulting in lovechild Pearl.
Theory number 4: A more bittersweet story tells of Krabs adopting baby Pearl. This fan-made cartoon in the image below shows him rescuing her after her mother was shot by whalers. Who thought SpongeBob could hit this hard? It also explains why Krabs is so scared of hooks. We’ll never know for sure, since SpongeBob creator Stephen Hillenburg refused to explain Pearl’s backstory. So, this still remains a whale of a secret!
Why Pikachu Never Evolved in Pokémon
In 1997, a Japanese cartoon based on a hit video game was unleashed upon the world, and it quickly became a global phenomenon: Pokémon! For some three decades, Ash has journeyed across the world, imprisoning animals, and forcing them to fight each other, controlling them, like puppets. That's surely a dark way to look at it.
In both the game and the TV show, Pokémon can evolve into more powerful forms as they level up. Ash’s companion, Pikachu, is a second evolution species, following the first incarnation, the adorable Pichu. Pikachu is then followed by a third stage, Raichu.
However, long-time viewers will have noticed that even after all the fights he’s been through, Pikachu still hasn’t evolved into Raichu. There’s a reason for this. In season 1, episode 14, Electric Shock Showdown, Ash and Pikachu enter a match against Lieutenant Surge and his Raichu. Surge and Raichu thrash Pikachu and mock Ash for not evolving him. Later in the episode, Pikachu is given the opportunity to evolve with a Thunder Stone, he refuses, choosing to rematch Surge and Raichu as himself.
Pikachu vs. Raichu! | Pokémon: Indigo League | Official Clip by The Official Pokémon YouTube channel In the game, there are certain moves a Pokémon can only learn before it evolves. This point was taken into the series, Surge evolved his Pikachu too quickly, and it couldn’t learn speed attack as Raichu, leading to its defeat. Of course, there's also a more cynical reason: as the iconic face of a billion-dollar franchise, altering Pikachu's appearance could potentially impact viewership and marketability. But actually, Pikachu initially intended to have a fourth evolution after Raichu: Gorochu.
© Be Amazed
In an
interview with Siliconera, Pokémon character designer Koji Nishino said these creatures "bared fangs and even had a pair of horns." Ultimately, the Pokémon powers that be decided to scrap the design due to what Nishino called "matters surrounding game balance." That sounds like he wasn’t cute enough.
Totoro Death God Theory
In 1988, Studio Ghibli released My Neighbor Totoro, an adorable animated film about two sisters, Satsuki and Mei, who move to the countryside to be closer to their hospitalized mother. There, they meet the forest spirit Totoro, who looks like a cuddly bear-cat-raccoon.
The film has beautiful animation, a catchy theme tune, and overall good vibes. But did you know that this delightful romp may hold a dark secret? Towards the film’s climax, the sisters’ mother has a health scare, causing the youngest, Mei, to run away in panic. Satsuki frantically searches for her and finds villagers who discover a shoe in a pond. To everyone’s relief, Satsuki says the shoe isn’t Mei’s. But what if Satsuki was mistaken, or even lying? According to one fan theory, the shoe is Mei’s, and she, drowned in the pond. The girls see Totoro because he’s actually a Shinigami, a god of death who appears to those about to pass.
© Be Amazed
When Totoro summons the Catbus, that’s a cat that’s also a bus, it’s actually taking Satsuki and Mei to the spirit world. Their mother glimpses the children from her hospital window because she too is near death and is thus able to see their spirits! Also, notice all these statues in the image below? They are Jizo, said to guide the spirits of children who never grew up; foreshadowing how Mei will become trapped in limbo. Who’d thought Totoro could be so creepy?
However, this theory has some inconsistencies. For one thing, Mei refers to Totoro as an obake, a shapeshifting spirit, not a Shinigami! Plus, this theory really goes down the drain when you see Mei and Satsuki meet up with the rest of the characters and they’re all alive.
Helen Kane & Betty Boop
Animators are brimming with creativity, with many cartoon characters plucked from the ether of their creator’s imagination. However, some characters are actually based on real people! For example, the iconic Little Mermaid villain Ursula wasn’t based on a real woman, but was actually inspired by a drag queen called Divine. But Ursula’s not the only cartoon character with a real-life inspiration. Let’s look at the 1930s star Betty Boop, famed for her jazz flapper look and scat-style catchphrase:
Betty Boop: Snow White (1933) HD by Kazoochachoo It’s often cited that the character was based on singer Helen Kane, who had the same short bob, spoke in a high-pitched baby voice, and used a suspiciously similar catchphrase:
Helen Kane Performing Do Something 1929 Boop-A-Doop originator by Alec Caprari With the rise of Betty’s popularity, Kane saw the likeness too and in 1932
sued the cartoon creators at Fleischer Studios for $250,000 for damages, that’s over $5.8 million today! She claimed that both her appearance and her "boop-boop-a-doop" catchphrase had been used without permission, with company owner Max Fleischer admitting he’d seen a live performance from Kane in 1930. However, he argued that interpolating nonsense words into songs was a common practice for scat singers, like Cab Calloway:
Cab Calloway - Kickin' The Gong Around by SbrPL Fleischer defenders can also point out that Betty had started life in 1930 as a French poodle, that evolved into a human with her droopy ears becoming earrings. Sadly for Kane, the judge ruled out her case due to lack of evidence.
Animated Movie Changes In Different Countries
To make sure films align with different cultural values, filmmakers will sometimes tweak certain scenes in international versions of their movies, but most people don’t know this, because they only tend to watch the version from their region.
For example, that scene in Toy Story 2 when Buzz gives an inspiring speech about rescuing Woody? In the original American version, there's a US flag in the background. Fearing that international audiences would feel left out, the filmmakers replaced the flag with a spinning globe for the rest of the world!
Toy Story 2 Buzz's Speech USA and UK Versions by LittleGreenAlien With Zootopia, different countries see different animals presenting the adorable animal news. Throughout most of the world, the news anchor is Peter Moosebridge, a moose voiced by Canadian news anchor Peter Mansbridge. But in the Japanese version, it’s a tanuki, a Japanese species of canid, prevalent in the country’s folklore. China has a panda, a national symbol, and Australia has a koala because, well, they’re Australian.
5 Cartoons That Look Different in Other Countries by #Mind Warehouse As a bonus fact, in most of Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa, the film is called Zootropolis. But Germany wins with the downright best title: Zoomania. When released in the UK, Disney claimed the name change was done to give the film a "unique title." However, others speculate that it was due to copyright issues, there’s a zoo called Zootopia in Givskud, Denmark that’s held the name's rights in Europe since 2010.
Paw Patrol Theories
For all you preschoolers out there, PAW Patrol is the show that really raises the woof! The series focuses on a young kid named Ryder, who leads a crew of talking, anthropomorphic, search and rescue pups called PAW Patrol. You may think this cartoon is a bit of harmless fun, but you’re wrong. The show leaves me with nothing but questions.
Let’s start with a simple question: who is funding PAW Patrol? Some users theorize that Ryder is a child billionaire, who, free from his parents who have either passed on or abandoned him, uses his vast fortune to genetically engineer hyper-intelligent dogs.
But then, why does Adventure Bay even hire the PAW Patrol? Dogs don’t seem like the most obvious choice for emergency services. The answer I am most convinced by is
from Reece de Ville, who believes that some tragic event eradicated all the emergency service workers. The cataclysm left Adventure Bay’s leader, Mayor Goodway, insane because you’d have to be to hire dogs to fulfil human roles. And her dead husband’s soul is in the body of Chickaletta, which sounds legit. Finally, how did these dogs become so intelligent? We’ve already had the genetically altered theory, but that wouldn’t explain how every dog in the PAW Patrol world learned to speak. Perhaps there was a human-dog war, with dogs emerging victorious and overthrowing society? Ryder isn’t the leader; he's a go-between and pet to Chase, the real leader. If dogs are now in charge of humans, it explains why all of Adventure Bay’s citizens are so clueless and childlike. So, PAW Patrol is actually set in a post-apocalyptic society?
Bugs Bunny Theories
You know when Bugs Bunny pokes his head out the ground, chomps on a carrot, and asks:
Hare Do (1949) Opening and Closing by Tom and jerry fan 001 So who exactly is the doctor, or doc, here? For that we’ll need to head back to the beginning, where Bugs’ classic catchphrase debuted in the 1940 short film A Wild Hare, directed by Looney Tunes creator Tex Avery. The animator claimed that in his native Texas during the 1920s, the term doc was the equivalent of dude. According to him, it would be common to walk through school and hear phrases like: "hey, doc!" and "what’s up, doc?" As for where that carrot-chomping came from, one explanation could be that Bugs was inspired by Clark Gable’s performance in the 1934 film It Happened One Night. In this movie, Gable plays a journalist with a penchant for munching carrots.
Lessons in Hitchhiking scene - It Happened One Night (1934) HD Clip by Movie Moments
If you’re into facts about carrots, then you’ll want to know that when recording Bugs’ lines, voice actor Mel Blanc had to bite down into a carrot to get that crunchy sound. They tried using other fruits and veg, like apples and celery, but none of them sounded enough like a carrot. Talking with a mouthful of carrot wasn’t easy, so he immediately spat it into a bucket and then carried on with the recording! This gave rise to speculations that Blanc was allergic to carrots, which he wasn’t. He just didn’t like them very much!
Pedlar At Beginning Of Aladdin Is The Genie
Let’s take a trip to Agrabah, the setting of the fantasy musical cartoon Aladdin, released by Walt Disney Animation in 1992. At the beginning of the film, we’re introduced to a mysterious pedlar who begins to tell us the story of Aladdin. But have you ever wondered why the film ends without ever mentioning him again?
A popular fan theory argued that the pedlar is actually the Genie in disguise. It makes sense since Robin Williams voices both characters, they both only have four digits on their hands, and share the same zany personalities. After years of rumor, in a 2015 interview with directors John Musker and Ron Clements, they finally confirmed the theory was true, stating that in the original draft, the story would end with the pedlar revealing his true form:
Aladdin Deleted Scene by christhegeek517 As Clements explained: "Through story changes and some editing, we lost the reveal at the end." That wasn’t the only fan theory the directors scrutinized. There has been long-held speculation that
Aladdin is set in a far-off post-apocalyptic society. Clements actually dismissed the idea that Aladdin was set in a far-flung future. In fact, the original setting for the film was Baghdad, Iraq. However, during production, the first Gulf War was raging, and the directors were told to change the setting. Clements took the name Baghdad, jumbled the letters around, and came up with the anagram Agrabah, a magically oriental city located somewhere not too specific in the Middle East.
How Disney Blacklisted Adriana Caselotti, Snow White's Voice
You might think that Ariel was the only Disney Princess to have her voice stolen, but the truth is, Snow White did too. We’ve all grown up with the 1937 film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the less-known story is that of the star who voiced the titular character, Adriana Caselotti, and how Walt Disney threw her under the bus.
Out of 150 different actresses, 18 year old Caselotti won the role of the titular character with her sweet soprano! Disney may have been one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, but when it came to paying his staff, he had short arms and deep pockets. Caselotti was paid just $20 a day, totalling $970, that’s just over $20,000 today. Which is peanuts considering the fortune the film has made the company over the past 80 years. None of the voice actors were credited, and Disney would not publicly acknowledge Caselotti’s contribution. At the time, entertainer Jack Benny wanted to have Adriana appear on his radio show, but Disney didn’t allow it. He said "I’m sorry, but that voice can’t be used anywhere. I don’t want to spoil the illusion of Snow White." There’s even been rumors that Disney made her sign a contract that forbid her from starring in any future projects, though we couldn’t find any documents to support this.
You can hear her voice in the 1939 musical The Wizard of Oz, and the 1946 Christmas classic, It’s a Wonderful Life! But Adriana never had a significant screen role afterwards and later pursued opera singing, real estate, and stock market investing. Disney’s possessive nature and refusal to let her promote herself as the voice of Snow White likely
damaged her acting career. The moral of the story? Never make a deal with Walt Disney!
The Connection Between Elsa, Anna & Rapunzel
If you read part 1, you might remember we discovered that Tarzan could be the secret brother of Frozen’s Elsa and Anna. Frozen’s Director, Chris Buck, has even confirmed the theory is true! No doubt because it’ll make for a cool crossover at some point in the future. However, he’s not the only sibling this family might’ve been kept hiding.
We know that Frozen and Tangled exist in the same universe because during Anna’s song "For The First Time In Forever" we actually see Rapunzel and Flynn Rider as they appear at the end of their film, Tangled! However, pre the hair-cutting incident, Rapunzel bears a pretty uncanny resemblance to both the sisters. Could she be a long-lost relative? A cousin? Maybe a sister? Well, the sister thing is pretty unlikely because Rapunzel’s parents are the King and Queen of Corona, and her real mother passed down the powers of a magic flower to Rapunzel, hence the whole hair healing magic thing. So she’s definitely her mother’s daughter, and her kidnapper, Mother Goethel, didn’t switch her out in any way. However, there’s a distinct possibility they could at least be cousins because their mothers look kind of similar, so they could absolutely be sisters! Even the Dad’s look fairly alike. And if you think that's already insane, it gets worse. Remember Wreck It Ralph 2, there’s a few scenes where all the Disney Princesses work together?
In almost all of them, the three sisters are always stood close to or next to one another, protecting each other. That's probably not a coincidence, and a Frozen, Tangled, Tarzan sequel could heal a lot of our childhood trauma!
Why Donald Duck Doesn’t Wear Pants
You may have heard this fun fact: the beloved Disney character Donald Duck was once banned in Finland due to concerns about his immodesty, since, as you can see, he doesn’t wear pants!
But that's not entirely true.
This rumor started in the 1970s when a Helsinki politician suggested cancelling the city’s subscription to Donald Duck comics for financial reasons, not because of Donald’s lack of trousers. But why does he go around half naked? Well, firstly, how would he even wear pants? Would they cover his tail or just his legs? Maybe Donald is actually wearing trousers, just white feathery ones that blend in with his upper half.
However, the cartoons show him being aware of his own nudity, pulling the plug on this theory. To put an end to this wild goose chase, let's go back to the 1934 short The Wise Little Hen, Donald’s first ever appearance:
The Wise Little Hen by Kalle Anka & C:o With his boathouse and love for bread, his "duckiness" is clearly on display. As animation historian Jerry Beck explained in an interview with Syfy Wire, in animation, every detail on a character serves a purpose. Ducks love water, so it makes sense that Donald sports a sailor hat and jacket. The animators probably left his tail feathers and orange duck legs on show to highlight his duck identity. Donald Duck can avoid rules of human decency because, well, he’s a duck. Plus, birds secrete oil from their uropygial gland on their butts to help them stay waterproof, so if he did wear pants, Donald would just get them greasy all time.
His One Rule
Everybody knows Batman, one of the most popular superheroes of all time! His superpower? Being rich! For over 80 years, Batman has bought the craziest gadgets money can buy to rage war on Gotham’s criminal underworld. And every fan knows that he only has one rule: he never takes a life.
But back when he was introduced in 1939, this actually wasn’t the case. In his debut Detective Comics number 27, he straight up punches a guy into a vat of acid, complete with the chilling line: "a fitting ending for his kind."
In 1940’s Batman number 1, the hero flies over two crooks about to commit a crime, admitting: "As much as I hate to take a human life, I’m afraid this time it’s necessary!" So, batman wasn’t too torn up about homicide, but all this changed when new editor Whitney Ellsworth stepped in. Parental groups, concerned about their children reading these violent comics pressured Ellsworth to put an end to Batman handing out this extreme punishment. Co-creators Bill Finger and Bob Kane had different feelings about the change. Kane hated it, but Finger didn’t really like Batman executing in the first place. This character trait has continued in subsequent adaptations and has become a core part of the character. The whole psychology behind his rule was explored further in Darwyn Cooke’s 2000 comic Batman: Ego. Here, Batman admits that if he gave into his darkest urges, he would be unable to stop and no longer be a crimefighting hero, but a vicious monster. You’d hope he’d use at least some of that money to get professional help, though I’m not sure the kids would be lining up to buy "Batman Goes To Therapy"!
If you were amazed at these cartoon secrets, you might want to read
part 1. Thanks for reading!
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