Walt Disney’s Final Dream: Legacy of Utopia (The EPCOT that never came to be Pt.3)

A Tribute to 95 Years of the Walt Disney Company

(Note: This is the final part of a 3-part post. You can find Part 1 HERE and Part 2 HERE.)

“Walt Disney World is a tribute to the philosophy and life of Walter Elias Disney… and to the talents, the dedication, and the loyalty of the entire Disney organization that made Walt Disney’s dream come true. May Walt Disney World bring joy and inspiration and new knowledge to all who come to this happy place … a Magic Kingdom where the young at heart of all ages can laugh and play and learn together.”

Roy O. Disney, Walt Disney’s brother and lifelong partner, stood in front of dozens of cameras on October 25^th, 1971 as he dedicated the Walt Disney World Resort. Roy had always been camera shy, and it wasn’t easy for him to be the center of attention. That was always Walt’s thing. But now Walt Disney was gone. Roy had lost his best friend and business partner five years earlier, and although half a decade had passed, Roy still missed him terribly. It just wasn’t the same without Walt.To honor his brother, Roy, then acting as CEO of the Walt Disney Company, had decided to officially rename Disney World as Walt Disney World; a small but powerful change that reminds the world who it was that started the Disney magic in their hearts. Roy decided to do everything he could to ensure that his brother’s final dream came to be. If Roy had anything to say about it, EPCOT, Walt’s final dream for a utopian city, would come true. He would make it a reality, no matter how much the board protested.

But sadly, it was not to be. A mere two months after he gave the dedication for Walt Disney World, Roy passed away. On December 20^th, 1971, Roy Disney died at age 78, and the Walt Disney Company was left without the stable leadership of either of its founders.Due to this, EPCOT would sadly never come to be. But that does not mean that all the ideas which came with it had to die. In fact, although we will probably never get to see Walt Disney’s final dream come to fruition, we can still see sparks of it in the final design of what became Walt Disney World.

3: Revisiting Utopia

It wasn’t as if nobody tried to make Walt Disney’s dream of EPCOT a reality. Even after Roy’s death, members of the board who believed in Walt’s dream still championed the cause. In the late 1970’s Card Walker, Disney’s CEO at the time, even tried to get the board interested in the concept again. But every time the concept was brought up, it was shot down as too risky. Perhaps it was risky without the guiding vision of Walt Disney. With Walt Disney, nothing had seemed impossible. But after his death, the company was thrown in to turmoil, functioning on a “what would Walt do” philosophy, but without the actual vision and endless enthusiasm that the man himself had. It was a rough time for the company.

The result of this philosophy led to a sort of compromise. The Disney Board would allow the Walt Disney World resort to expand and add another theme park in honor the idea of EPCOT, but they would not actually build the city. So, the Imagineers, many of whom had known Walt Disney personally, decided to pour their hearts and souls into this ‘new’ EPCOT. Even if it wasn’t going to be the dream that Walt had in mind, they were determined to pay tribute to it as much as possible.

A team of dedicated artists and craftsmen poured over the plans for EPCOT, trying to see what they could keep from the concepts and what would have to be removed. They settled upon the seemingly opposite concepts of technological innovation and honoring world culture. On one side of the park, Walt’s idea to show off the latest technology to visitors around the globe was repurposed as Future World. On the other side of the park, Walt’s idea of having a common place where the history and culture of every country could be honored and practiced came to be reimagined as World Showcase.

The Monorail went on to become the major transportation system for the entire Walt Disney World Resort, even if it wasn’t used quite the same way it was originally planned. The PeopleMover sadly never became the traffic-eliminating system that it was intended to be for future cities, but it was beautifully realized in the Magic Kingdom where guests can still get a taste for Walt’s vision for ease-of-access transportation today.

Even EPCOT’s major means of funding was derived from Walt’s original plans. Partnerships with the world’s leading corporations, and even with the governments of the countries that the Imagineers would honor, led to the creation of a sort of permanent world’s fair and helped make sure that EPCOT would have the money it needed to get started. The leaders of industry from around the world would make sure that EPCOT would be up-to-date with the latest technological wonders and attractions, just like Walt had planned for the homes of his original concept.

It’s hard to tell if EPCOT as it was originally intended would have been a success, but Walt Disney proved time and again that he was a man who could accomplish the “impossible”. It would have been fascinating to find out if that would have been the case in this instance. Even though EPCOT evolved into something different from what Walt originally planned, it doesn’t mean that it isn’t good! In fact, EPCOT was a resounding success and a phenomenal park; proof that the spirit of Walt Disney lived on in the hearts and minds of those who knew him. So, next time you visit the park, take a moment to stop and imagine what might have been, and allow yourself to be inspired by Walt Disney’s final dream. (<<PREVIOUS PAGE) (<FIRST PAGE>)

roy 2 — Lifelong best friends, partners, and brothers Walt and Roy Disney pose with child actress Margie Gay for a publicity shot in 1925; a mere 2 years after founding their company.

Walt Disney’s Final Dream: Living in Utopia (the EPCOT that never came to be Pt. 2)

A Tribute to 95 Years of the Walt Disney Company

(Note: this is part 2 of a 3-part post. You can find Part 1 HERE, and Part 3 HERE)

The one and only Walt Disney stands in front of a giant map covered in a circular design, a broad smile forms on his face as he gushes with excitement over his newest and greatest dream. Once more, he addresses the audience as if they were an old friend.

“EPCOT will take its cues from the new ideas and new technologies that are now emerging from the creative centers of American industry. It will be a community of tomorrow that will never be completed but will always be introducing, and testing, and demonstrating new materials and new systems. And EPCOT will always be a showcase to the world for the ingenuity of American free enterprise.”

He wanders back to the chair that has been prepared for him by his staff. In hindsight, one might realize that Walt’s health had already been waning as he grasps for the chair and sits down heavily; but at that time, very few people knew how sick he really was. Regardless of how sick Mr. Disney was, he always had time to share his dreams with the world, and that fact never changed. He continued;

“I don’t believe there’s a challenge anywhere in the world that’s more important to people everywhere than finding solutions to the problems of our cities. But where do we begin? How do we start answering this great challenge? Well, we’re convinced that we must start with the public need. And the need is not just procuring the old ills of old cities. We think the need is for starting from scratch on virgin land and building a special kind of new community.”

You can see it in his eyes, the joy and the eagerness to make EPCOT become a reality, and although Walt passed away before it could be realized, the plans still exist. We can still see what he had planned for the culture of his final dream.

2: Inspiring Day-to-Day Life

Every resident of EPCOT would be required to work on Disney property, at either the theme park, or somewhere in the city itself. There would be absolutely no difference between the living conditions of apartments and homes, save for the fact that the homes would be reserved for workers with families. Both would have access to the same amenities, and they would both have the same high-quality city transportation.

Speaking of transportation, EPCOT would have had the most innovative transportation system in the western hemisphere. Everything would be connected by the highly efficient, quiet, and clean Monorail system. The line would start at the Transportation Hub located right outside the city airport, travel through all of the outlying areas of EPCOT, through the city center, all away around the surrounding land, and then circle back to the Transportation Hub. All areas of EPCOT would be easily accessible and connected by Monorail. But it doesn’t even stop there!

Residents wouldn’t even have to walk to the monorail if they didn’t want to. Each house would be located only a few yards from the unobtrusive PeopleMover line, a system of continuous carriages chained together and looping on a track without stopping. It was specifically designed by Imagineers to eliminate noise and traffic. It’s a similar concept to the conveyor belt walkways you find at the airport that never step moving, allowing passengers to simply step on at their leisure. Both the Monorail and the PeopleMover would be utilized at a much smaller scale in the Walt Disney World that exists today.

The transportation system was supposed to be so comprehensive as to eliminate the need for automobiles entirely! In fact, you would never see one in EPCOT; as the cars of tourists, and even the trucks used for transporting goods into EPCOT would only be utilized underground! That’s right, EPCOT was supposed to be built on the second level of the city! To keep pedestrians safe, and to keep “backstage” out of guest’s view, all outside transportation would take place under the very streets of EPCOT’s homes!

As Walt Disney stated in that fateful EPCOT film, his city was meant to be at the cutting edge of technology; testing new ideas in a safe and friendly environment. To this end, Walt intended to partner with the world’s leading industries to constantly update the homes and apartments of EPCOT’s residents. They would always have first access to the latest home appliances and amenities, for no additional charge! It was quite possible for a resident to come home from work to find a brand-new stove installed in their house.

EPCOT would be a symbiotic relationship between the Disney Company, other American corporations, and the residents that lived there. In return for helping fund the building of the city, leaders of industry would receive Disney’s financial help and a free platform to test their newest products on the open market; all for a reduced manufacturing cost. The new products would then be tested by the very people who helped make them, EPCOT’s own residents; allowing the first users of a new product to be the ones that were most deserving of it. All these elements would work together to form a sort of BETA testing ground to find out what would or would not work for the rest of the world.

Everything would be connected, not being able to survive apart, but functioning strongly as a unit. Everyone in EPCOT would belong there. It may not have been a perfect utopia, but at least it would be relatively comfortable and efficient for everyone! No one would be in EPCOT unless they were needed.

So, it’s sad to see that none of this came to be after Walt’s untimely passing. It would have been amazing to see whether EPCOT could be accomplished the way it was intended. For now, the original EPCOT is a simply a dream that we can be inspired by. If anybody could have done it, it would have been Walt Disney!

But as most people know, a good idea never dies at Disney; it waits for an opportunity to be revisited and reimagined in new ways. So, what happened to the ideas of EPCOT? Next week we tackle what became of this idea and how elements from Walt’s City of Tomorrow can be glimpsed, even if just for a moment, in what became known as Walt Disney World! (NEXT PAGE>>) (<<PREVIOUS PAGE)

Walt Disney’s Final Dream: Utopia Lost (the EPCOT that never came to be)

A tribute to 95 years of the Walt Disney Company

(Note: This is Part 1 of a 3-Part Post. You can find Part 2 HERE, and Part 3 HERE)

“And now, here is Walt Disney.” The narrator says as the camera focuses on an older gentleman sitting on a desk amidst concepts and artwork.

Walt Disney, the famous dreamer and architect of fantasy, warmly welcomes everyone during a special television program on October 27^th, 1966; proceeding to explain what he’s been planning next. His eyes sparkle and a childish smile sneaks onto his lips. He’s filming this program to tell the world about his newest and greatest vision; the Florida Project, also known as Walt Disney World. With enthusiasm that is infectious, Mr. Disney points to a large map of Disney World and addresses the audience.

“But the most exciting, and by far the most important part of our Florida Project, in fact the heart of everything we’ll be doing in Disney World, will be our Experimental Prototype City of Tomorrow. We call it EPCOT.”

He points to the top of the map, to an area of land that makes Disneyland look like a small garden by comparison. It’s a massive area of land, miles across, and it so happens to be Walt Disney’s greatest dream; a utopia of innovation and inspiration. It’s a new project dedicated to making the world a better place, something that Mr. Disney always wanted to do. You can also tell by the look of pure joy on his face that it is something which he cannot wait to accomplish…

But sadly, he never had the chance.

Walt Disney passed away a month and a half later.

On December 15^th, 1966, the world was shocked by the loss of one of America’s most beloved icons, a mere ten days after his 65^th birthday. It was sudden and unexpected, and the world was not ready for such a loss. The people grieved, and the dream of EPCOT never came to be…at least, not how it was originally intended.

newspaper depicting the mourning of Walt

But what was the original intention for this ‘City of Tomorrow’? Why did it never come to be?

To celebrate 95 years of the Walt Disney Company, we will be uncovering the mysteries of this final Disney dream!

1: The Revolutionary Design:

In the 1960’s, after the enormous success of Disneyland, Walt wanted to take his ‘Imagineering’ to the next level. After seeing the sleazy motels, businesses, and tourism that popped up around Disneyland because of its popularity, Walt became dissatisfied with the chaos of the city. He desired a place where living and working were safe, comfortable, and beneficial to all. Thus, the idea for Disney World was born; a place for people to live and work that would have enough space for Walt to dream up anything that he could possibly imagine…and keep the chaos of the outside world from encroaching on it. It would be his own little world for people to work, live, and play. There would be a real Disney city in Disney World, not just a new theme park!

Walt’s city would be a futuristic, carefully planned, well-organized, and beautiful near-utopia…at least, as close to utopia as imperfect humans could get; even Walt knew that they would make plenty of mistakes and that his city would be far from perfect, but that didn’t stop him from trying. He was determined to at least make it cleaner and more organized than similar American cities at the time; meticulously designed to provide ease-of-access to its citizens. This City of the future soon became known as EPCOT, The Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow.

Inspired by revolutionary designs in city planning, specifically the garden city movement started by Ebenezer Howard in his book ‘Garden Cities of To-morrow’, Walt tasked his Imagineers with the careful and meticulous planning that EPCOT would require. The city design may have seemed simple at first glance, but each facet of the project had a million details that needed to be attended to.

The concept of EPCOT was for a radial city; a series of interconnected rings that could be built outward from the circular city center. This would theoretically keep the city connected and organized, preventing overcrowding and minimizing frustration with transportation and living conditions.

The City Center would contain the downtown and commercial areas of EPCOT. It would be here that the Cosmopolitan Hotel/Convention Center would be built; grounding EPCOT at the geographical center of the city as the tallest structure for miles around. This area would be surrounded by shops and restaurants themed to different nations and countries from around the world; catering to foreign residents and the multi-cultural audiences that wished to experience EPCOT; a concept that would eventually inspire the World Showcase section of the current EPCOT theme park. In addition, the city center was to be completely enclosed by a transparent dome to protect it from outside weather conditions and pollution.

The second ring, referred to as the Green Belt, would contain the city’s public services, such as pools, libraries, parks, post offices, stadiums, and schools. The Green Belt would then connect to the third ring, which would contain the low-residential areas. This suburb-style area would be divided into petal shaped loops. In a green area in the center of the petals, there would be recreational spaces for the residents, with the houses and amenities circling them.

The final ring of the city, the rim of EPCOT, was to hold the high-density apartment housing and would also be EPCOT’s tourist hub; all incoming visitors would arrive at EPCOT’s airport located near this area. Walt didn’t just want EPCOT to be an isolated city, but rather an example to the rest of the world of how cities could be in the future. He wanted it to inspire visitors from around the globe to return home and make their own cities better.

And indeed, the planned culture and lifestyle of EPCOT was very inspiring! You can read how in Part 2 HERE! Or, if you want to learn what eventually happened to the EPCOT concept, you can just move on to Part 3 HERE!

We’re sorry that we must divide this up into multiple parts! We promise that we’d be putting them all in one if there wasn’t so much to talk about! There’s FAR too much information to properly cover in a single post and we didn’t want to try and cram it in all at once. Thank you for your patience!

The Lost Land of Disney’s Animal Kingdom

The Lost Land of Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Disney’s Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort has always been one of the most fascinating theme parks in the world. However, Animal Kingdom was originally supposed to be even more fascinating than it already is. It was supposed have three separate types of animals featured in the parks; The animals of today, the animals of days gone by, and the animals of fantasy. Obviously, two of these can be found readily enough across the park, with the acres of live-animal habitats and a whole land devoted to Dinosaurs. But what about the animals of fantasy? It turns out that Imagineers had planned plenty of fantasy in the park, but most of it never came to be. However, one of these scrapped concepts was particularly intriguing; the legendary plans for a realm called Beastly Kingdom.

Unsurprisingly, Disney had originally planned for mythical creatures to be a larger presence in the park; intending them to be the centerpiece of Animal Kingdom’s first major expansion in the years following its opening. It certainly made sense for Disney, a company associated with myth and fantasy, to play to their strengths. So naturally, a massive amount of concept art and development was directed to the creation of a large and intricately themed land based on humanity’s greatest legends.

Divided into two opposing sections, the concept for the land called Beastly kingdom was intended to be an immersive world surrounding the creatures of mythology. The ‘Dark Side’, located to the left of the entrance, would showcase more heart-thumping thrills, while the ‘Light Side’ on the right would focus more on family attractions.

The Dark Side opened with a twisted path leading through a dark and brooding forest that exited into a large Stonehenge-styled courtyard. There, guests would enter a medieval village that sat under the looming shadow of a crumbling castle tower. Inside the tower, the first of Beastly Kingdom’s E-Ticket attractions would reside; The Dragon’s Tower!

Guests entered the decrepit fortress to find a roller-coaster/Dark Ride hybrid that would bring them face to face with a fire-breathing animatronic dragon. The guests would board ‘bats’ that flew on a coaster track in a mission to steal back the gold that had been hoarded by a mighty dragon deep within the bowels of the ancient castle; witnessing a supposedly immersive interior filled with grand halls, battered armor, old swords, and piles of endless gold. It was intended to end in a very close and personal encounter with the dragon itself before guests narrowly escaped certain doom. Located in a sub-section of this land, there was going to be shops and eateries surrounding the lagoon of a giant sea-serpent.

To the right of the entrance, an entirely different path awaited the young at heart; a land of goodness and light. The ‘Light Side’ of Beastly Kingdom would stand in stark contrast to its darker neighbor, supposedly beginning with a path through peaceful woods that opened onto Olympian architecture and Greek statues of an area called ‘Fantasia Gardens’. Here, a tranquil boat ride for the whole family would take you into the mythical world of Disney’s Fantasia (1940) letting you drift past musical scenes from the film, in a visually fantasy of the Disneyland ‘Small World’ variety.

But Fantasia Gardens, however cute, was simply meant as secondary experience to compliment Beastly Kingdom’s second E-Ticket attraction; Quest for the Unicorn. This walk-through attraction would allow the guests to go on a journey into their most beautiful dreams. Designed as a maze/interactive adventure attraction, Quest for the Unicorn would allow guests to travel through a hedge labyrinth, and past breathtaking sets designed to transport you into a child’s storybook. While there, guests would attempt to locate hidden statues which gave them clues to make it to the center of the maze. Once guests successfully navigated the steps to the center, they would be rewarded with a beautiful chamber of bubbling pools and glittering caves. And there in the center of it all, would be a beautiful animatronic unicorn.

All in all, Beastly Kingdom was to be a feat of Imagineering that would require all of their vast skills. So, what happened to this enchanted realm of Unicorns and Dragons?

Sadly, at the time Beastly Kingdom was in development, Disney was not ready to commit to the large sum needed for its construction. Due to unforeseen complications at Disney’s overseas parks, the company was not yet willing to risk so much money on an expansion to a park that was already successful, and thus Beastly Kingdom was put on hold. However, Disney would keep delaying the project due to bad luck, and it never really had the time to take off. However, Joe Rohde, the Imagineer in charge of Beastly Kingdom, would continue to hold onto those concepts even through the tough times; eventually spinning them off into new projects like Expedition Everest.

But finally, with Director James Cameron’s support, and the acquisition of the rights for a popular movie called Avatar, an elaborate new land would finally have the financial backing that it needed. Joe Rohde took the old ride concepts for Beastly Kingdom, and reworked them into the amazing new land called Pandora: The World of Avatar and subsequently built Avatar Flight of Passage (using concepts from Dragon’s Tower) and Na’vi River Journey (using both Fantasia Gardens and Quest of the Unicorn).

Sadly, the legendary Beastly Kingdom will probably never be built the way it was originally intended. However, there is now a new world full of mythical creatures and immersive environments that you can visit. Even though it’s not the same as Beastly Kingdom, the spirit of adventure and escapism remains through the talented designs of Imagineers that worked on the original Beastly Kingdom. As for us, we are more than happy to have an alien world filled with floating mountains and otherworldly creatures! Believe us; The World of Avatar is worth it!

Thor Related to Hercules?!?

Thor Related to Hercules?!?

A short, strange spotlight on the Mighty Avenger

Like many Marvel fans, we like to go back over some of the comics related to our favorite Marvel characters and refresh our memories on their backstories. In so doing, we came across something wild in Marvel canon that we had almost forgotten. Thor is a relative of Hercules! No joke!

a48 — the general reaction we get when we say this!

How do we know this? We recently read the Thor entry to the 80’s version of the Essential Handbook of the Marvel Universe; an encyclopedic series breaking down every Marvel character’s powers, story, and appearance in meticulous detail. In this series, they list the known relatives of every hero in the Marvel universe, and under Thor, it lists his mother as…Gaea?

thor copy_LI — a scan to prove it; the info is circled! a more up-to-date version is below!

For those of you who don’t know, Gaea (also spelled as Gaia, Giah, etc.) is a primordial Greek Goddess (in Marvel canon: a powerful alien being that originates from an alternate dimension), and is the mother of the Greek Titan Kronos, as well as the grandmother of Zeus! And we are pretty sure that everyone knows who Zeus’s son was… Hercules! Thor has a unique relationship with the extremely powerful Gaea in the Marvel universe for a specific reason; Marvel wanted Thor to have a reasonable reason for being the most powerful Asgardian besides Odin, and they wanted to bind the Asgardian and Olympian mythologies together for a more cohesive Marvel lore.

Obviously, in the original myth of Thor, Frigga is Thor’s real mother, and this seems to be the route they’re taking in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (but who knows, maybe Frigga will be revealed to be Thor’s step-mother). However, Marvel’s version of the Thor story presents us with a fascinating family tree that the original myth does not! We did some checking to make sure that this familial relationship is still canon (after all we were looking at the outdated 80’s version of this encyclopedia for nostalgic reasons) and we confirmed that it remains canon in the Marvel timeline…at least for now. So, what does this mean for Thor?

It means that, as of now, Thor is the brother of the Titan Kronos, and the Uncle of Zeus…making him the Great Uncle of Hercules!

***

Now, because this blog’s usual audience are often Disney fans and may not be familiar with the intricacies of the Marvel universe, we must present a disclaimer: the Hercules Thor is related to is NOT the same one from Disney’s animated film, but rather a lesser-known Marvel character that we will show below…

Unfortunately for you Disney nuts out there, this dashes the hopes of there being a definitive Disney/Marvel Universe crossover…unless you count Big Hero 6. Some people will be relieved and some will be disappointed…it just depends on what kind of pop-culture fan you are.

Of course, Disney’s animated film Hercules is just a different interpretation (or point of view) of the same mythology shown in Marvel. If the enterprising fan wanted a headcanon/fan-theory excuse, they could say that Disney’s Hercules is the human’s legend of Hercules, and not what really happened (which could be the events of Marvel’s Hercules)? After all, humans did accidentally mistake the Asgardians and Olympians for Gods in Marvel, so it’s possible that they could have exaggerated the myths a little from what really happened.

You can take that theory as far as you like, but we just find it fascinating that Thor is related to both the Asgardians and Olympians in Marvel continuity; a Son of Odin and an Uncle of Zeus!

a10 — our reaction to this glimmer of false nerd hope.

One last thought for crossover junkies: There’s even a theory floating around that connects Ariel’s family to Hercules’ through Ariel’s father Triton! It’s not our theory, but we do think it makes perfect sense and has a lot of evidence, so maybe we’ll cover the theory someday if you really want to know about it. But for now, just be satisfied to know that Thor could be a distant relation of Ariel! Marvel mythology presents such an interconnected family tree that it makes our heads spin to think about it! Who knows; maybe Disney Animation and Marvel might be connected by more ways than just business/ownership. What do you think Disney should do about this?

If you’re still scrolling, and you haven’t clicked away yet (we love you random viewer!), we wanted to let you know that this post which you’re reading was chosen by YOU!

Also, have request or idea that you want us to cover? Leave comments with your requests and thoughts (keep it family friendly please; we have parents who read these posts with their kids!) here. We may even feature your comment on one of our blog posts! Regardless of whether your comment gets used or not, we want to let you know that your opinion matters a lot to us and we LOVE hearing from you!

Anakin’s Not the Chosen One?

Anakin’s Not the Chosen One?

[Want more theories? Check This out!]

Recently there’s been some argument among Star Wars fans about one of the central themes in the Star Wars Universe; the concept of the Chosen One. Specifically, there has been some confusion about who the Chosen One really is because of a line in the TV show ‘Star Wars Rebels’. Some say that the Chosen One may be somebody else besides Anakin Skywalker… It might be Luke Skywalker instead! What in the world, crazy… right?!

Fortunately, a definitive answer to this conundrum has been given to us by Disney. They have confirmed that Anakin is still the Chosen One. However, why would fans think that Luke is the Chosen One instead? Is there enough evidence to support that conclusion? That’s what we want to talk about today! Even though the Chosen One is confirmed to be Anakin, we want to analyze this theory and see if it even makes sense!

ANAKIN:

The prophecy of the Chosen One is very ambiguous. We know that the Chosen One was supposed to destroy the Sith and bring balance to the Force. There are three separate theories as to what the prophecy means by ‘bringing balance to the Force’. Some people believe that bringing balance to the Force refers to the Sith and Jedi being balanced (I.E. equal in number). Others speculate that ‘balance’ is referring to more of a ‘peace’ in the galaxy through the Force. Then there’s a third group that says that ‘balance’ refers to something in-between the Light and the Dark Side of the Force (Gray Jedi).

Regardless of which is the ‘real’ interpretation of ‘balance’, Anakin fulfilled all of them anyways. Anakin accomplished the first interpretation in a roundabout way by turning to the Dark Side. He brought ‘balance’ to the Force by destroying the Jedi until there were only two remaining Jedi to match the two Sith, he accomplished ‘peace’ by ushering in a new era through the defeat of the Empire, and he also accomplished the ‘Gray Jedi’ status by converting between both the Dark and the Light Side. Finally, Anakin completes the first half of the prophecy (destroying the Sith) when he turns back to the Light Side and kills his master to save Luke.

However, this begs the question; regardless of which ‘balance’ theory is correct, aren’t they all undone? If ‘balance’ is created by making the Sith and Jedi equal in number (two of each), then wouldn’t it be undone when Anakin kills Sidious? Wouldn’t that leave one Jedi and no Sith?

What about the second theory, the one about ‘peace’ in the universe? Wouldn’t the continued conflict with the First Order in ‘The Force Awakens’ make that null and void? If there’s ‘balance’ in the galaxy, why is there still so much conflict? Even the ‘Gray Jedi’ interpretation has the problem of Anakin coming back to the Light Side with his subsequent death. He has no chance to forge a new path between the Light and Dark sides!

Some people may argue that, once the prophecy is fulfilled, it doesn’t necessarily have to stay fulfilled for long. While this could be true, we also see that Luke may fix these apparent problems permanently. Making him a possible candidate for ‘The Chosen One’ if Disney decides to go that route!

LUKE:

Most of the confusion over who the Chosen One is stems from a line in the show ‘Star Wars Rebels’ when Obi-Wan himself literally calls Luke the Chosen One. The show’s writers clarified that this is simply Obi-Wan’s perspective. However, if Disney had chosen to make this statement literal, there is a surprising amount of evidence to support this idea.

First of all, one could argue that Luke was the very reason his father destroyed Emperor Sidious in the first place. Making Luke, in a roundabout way, also responsible for destroying the Sith.

consider Luke’s role in the new films. Luke tries to start a new Jedi Order and fails when Ben Solo falls to the Dark Side under Snoke and becomes Kylo Ren. However, there’s a new hope when Rey comes to Luke in order to learn the ways of the Jedi. This could all potentially combine to fix the first interpretation of the prophecy; the balance between two Dark Side users (Snoke and Kylo), and two Light Side Users (Luke and Rey). Then the ‘destroy the Sith’ part would still be valid because Disney confirmed that Snoke and Kylo aren’t Sith, but something new!

The second interpretation of galactic ‘peace’ could be fixed if Luke has a major hand in the downfall of the First Order. It looks like he might, if only by training Rey and inspiring her to do it for him, but only time will tell. Finally, the ‘Gray Jedi’ idea might be fixed by Luke as well! In the first trailer for ‘The Last Jedi’ Luke says, “it’s time for the Jedi to end”, it hints that he might be going down the path of a Gray Jedi and forging a new order between the Light and Dark Sides. This line is probably just marketing to spark debate and make fans anxious to see the truth for themselves. It’s most likely pure misdirection to gain publicity, however There’s no denying it’s still a possible explanation that might fix the holes in the third interpretation of the Chosen One prophecy.

In the end, we understand why some fans may be confused about who the Chosen One is. There’s obviously quite a bit of evidence supporting Luke Skywalker as a candidate. Anakin remains the canonical Chosen One for now, but Disney could plausibly change it to Luke if they wanted to do so. With new Star Wars lore becoming canon every day, who knows what the future holds for things like this? To quote Yoda “hard to see, the future is.”

Theory: Genie is Putting on an Act!

Theory: Genie is Putting on an Act!

[Note: Keep in mind that these are theories; sometimes it’s just fun to imagine the possibilities. Check out our next theory post HERE]

Have you ever wondered why, after 10,000 years of being stuck in a lamp, Genie is so happy? He seems pretty chipper for a guy that must endure an eternity of servitude! That’s why we’re trying something different today from what we normally post on this blog; a possible theory for why Genie is so joyful, even in such awful circumstances. The theory is that the Genie is putting on an act!

Let us explain this a little more. When we meet Genie for the first time, he comes out of the lamp giving the impression of immense power, just before surprising us with a joke about a crick in his neck and the subverted expectations that come with it. It’s clear from his very first appearance that Genie is not your average being with phenomenal cosmic power. For one that can theoretically do anything, he doesn’t seem like the all-powerful presence we would expect him to be. So, what’s the reason for this unexpected personality, or his unusual sense of humor?

We believe that Genie is in fact an entertainer; an actor or performer of some kind. He does impressions of celebrities, makes constant jokes, changes his appearance constantly, and he even has two whole songs devoted to ‘showing off’ his skills as an entertainer. ‘Friend Like Me’ is a show of what the Genie can do for Aladdin, and ‘Prince Ali’ is about the Genie showing off Prince Ali to the people! Everything he does seems to revolve around putting on a show or an act; to entertain constantly.

Most of this personality is due to Robin William’s amazing performance; he’s such an amazing entertainer himself! However, we also believe that this is an intrinsic part of Genie’s character regardless. This explains why Genie is so ‘happy’ even after being trapped for 10,000 years; he finally has an audience to perform for! Of course, Genie does not like being trapped in a lamp for thousands of years, but he hides his anguish under the mask of an act; pretending to be happy and joyful like an actor pretends to be a character that is their opposite. We start to see the ‘real’ Genie show up from time to time in the film, but only when something significant causes him to break his act. As he becomes better friends with Aladdin, he occasionally says something that feels real and deep; like his hurt feelings when Aladdin initially says he can’t free him, or when he talks to him at the end about giving up that same wish. He also ‘breaks the act’ when he sees that Jafar is his new master; acting depressed when he moves the Sultan’s palace to the top of the mountain.

These moments seem strangely out of character for such a crazy guy; everything else he does in the film is hilarious and flamboyant. These deeper moments seem strange because they are different from the ‘act’ he puts on most of the time. Now, please understand, we aren’t saying that the Genie is trying to deceive people, or that he isn’t a happy and joyful person outside of this ‘act’; we are just saying that sometimes he hides his true feelings about being a slave by relying on his ability to perform. Once he was freed, he was truly able to enjoy entertaining, but while he was a slave, he had to pretend to be a happy entertainer all the time to hide his true feelings. It’s like the ‘show must go on’ mentality for actors; where, regardless of how an actor feels, he must continue with his job anyway.

This would also explain why Aladdin’s wish to become a prince is so debated. Everyone assumes that Genie took the wish literally and was supposed to make Aladdin a real prince. Therefore, they are confused when the wish seems so flexible. But it would all make sense if Genie, who is an entertainer, interpreted the wish through his own personality; making Aladdin a prince to an audience, but not to himself. In this way, Aladdin is a prince, but only so far as he would appear to other people (an audience) and for anyone who goes ‘behind the scenes’ (Whoever finds out the truth of Genie’s manipulation), the illusion would be broken because it is a ‘show’ or ‘act’ to Genie.

The same thing wouldn’t work on Jafar, because Jafar has shown that he does not care for Genie’s performances, and probably sees right through them; Jafar would force genie to fulfill his wishes in the literal sense. Aladdin, on the other hand, is a nice guy and he probably wouldn’t care too much about technicalities; especially when he was already guilty of manipulating Genie in a similar way back at the Cave of Wonders! In fact, at the end, when Genie offers to let Aladdin wish ‘to be a prince again’ he’s probably offering to do it literally the second time around!

If this is all true, then Genie’s freedom would be even more meaningful; it means that he can use his own phenomenal cosmic power in any way he sees fit! He can entertain the way he wants to, without any masters or wishes to keep his performances hindered.

Enjoy this Theory? Like and share! Stay tuned for more Disney Magic weekly! We want to know; what’s your favorite Genie moment?

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