Aladdin is the kind of film viewers can watch countless times and recognize new details and ideas every time. Set in the fictional city of Agrabah and featuring sorcery and a wish-granting Genie (Robin Williams), there are plenty of Easter eggs and references to other Disney projects and pop culture. However, viewers have long wondered if there is more hidden in Aladdin than just Easter eggs.

The film has long been a source of unique fan theories, mainly because its sorcery and magical entities make the possibilities nearly endless. One fan theory goes beyond fun or intriguing and, if true, would change viewers' entire perspective of Aladdin and the story it's telling.

Aladdin follows the adventures of street urchin Aladdin (Scott Weinger), whose dream of marrying Princess Jasmine (Linda Larkin) sends him on a wild journey involving a magical lamp and the evil Grand Vizier Jafar (Jonathan Freeman). Once Aladdin gets hold of the lamp, he frees the Genie, who grants him three wishes. His ultimate goal is to end up with Jasmine despite the differences in their social status. Although he can't wish her to be in love with him, For part of the movie, he goes by Prince Ali before Jasmine discovers his true identity.

However, one aspect that bothered one Redditor was that Aladdin seemed to switch between being a prince and not. Once he wished to be made a prince, he should've retained his royal title throughout the film. It shouldn't have disappeared just because Jasmine discovered Prince Ali and Aladdin were the same person. Yet, by the film's end, he still needs Jasmine's father, the Sultan (Douglas Seale), to change his mind about his daughter's dating and accept Aladdin even if he's not royalty. However, Aladdin then begins a relationship with Jasmine, leading to him officially being a prince. Hence, .

It's a tricky concept, but the Redditor perfectly breaks it down. The whole theory starts with how Aladdin frames his wish. He doesn't ask to "be" a Prince, he says, "I wish for you to make me a Prince." So, everything that follows this moment is the Genie making Aladdin into a Prince. The easiest way to officially make him a Prince would be for him to marry into royalty, so the Genie sets in motion the film events to ensure the pair end up together.

For Aladdin to become a Prince, a few conditions must be met. The most significant necessity is to remove Jafar from the picture, since he's also vying for Jasmine's hand to gain power. Additionally, something drastic would be necessary to change the Sultan's perspective of Aladdin., knowing the ensuing conflict will cause Jafar's downfall and paint Aladdin as a hero, as well as traumatize the Sultan enough to erase his expectation that Jasmine marry someone of her social status. So, Jafar was never in control or a threat at all. His wishes and scheme were all part of the Genie's plan, making him little more than a puppet.

The Redditor adds another layer of complexity by suggesting that Aladdin knew what the Genie was up to. Aladdin's primary goal is to be with Jasmine, but he knows the Genie prohibits wishes to make someone fall in love with someone else. Hence, he needed to find a roundabout way to get this goal without directly wishing for it. He succeeded by cleverly wanting to be a Prince, knowing that the most logical journey to make him Prince would be to marry royalty, with Jasmine being the nearest and most available Princess. In this theory, it seems like the Genie is playing everyone,

The theory that most of Aladdin is the Genie fulfilling one wish makes quite a bit of sense and fixes the problem of the Genie not initially fulfilling Aladdin's wish. The Genie giving Aladdin a makeover and parade doesn't make him a prince unless he also gives him a real kingdom or makes his father a king. There's no way to explain why he doesn't fulfill this wish unless, as the fan theory suggests, it's something he's slowly working toward throughout the film. It also aligns more with Aladdin's depiction of the Genie as an extremely powerful being, giving him near-omniscience and omnipotence.

However, there are also a few problems with the theory. For one, Aladdin doesn't become a Prince by the movie's end. He and Jasmine begin dating, but aren't married until the third movie, Aladdin and the King of Thieves. So, , which raises questions about whether the sequels' events were also orchestrated and foreseen by the Genie. Additionally, when Jafar wishes to become a Sultan, the Genie grants it instantly, making it strange he wouldn't have done the same for Aladdin, unless the Genie did it because he knew of Jafar's impending downfall.

There's also the fact that the Genie suggested Aladdin use his final wish to become a prince again at the end of Aladdin, suggesting that he was officially a prince, but his status was somehow revoked. It's possible that Jafar used his magic to revert Aladdin to his former status as a street urchin when he zaps him into his old clothes while singing "Prince Ali." Lastly, the assumption that the Genie can see into or strongly predict the future creates many problems as it raises scrutiny for every action and statement in which he genuinely doesn't seem to know the outcome or his impending freedom.

Despite a few problems, the wish fulfillment theory is one fan theory with a surprisingly strong argument and one that has the power to change one's perspective of Aladdin completely. One commenter on the theory pointed out how it's a fairly refreshing perspective because most fan theories center on the idea of the protagonists being played the fool. However, this one switches things around by suggesting that Aladdin ultimately pulled one over on the Genie, although the Genie was also quite a master manipulator. It also works out quite well because despite his lack of social status.

The theory also helps elevate the Genie and fulfill its label as one of the most potent beings in the universe with cosmic power. The idea that he failed to make or retain Aladdin's royalty makes him appear weak. However, the idea that he was all-knowing and all-powerful, manipulating events and playing Jafar, redeems him and his power significantly.

One of the best aspects of the mind-blowing theory is that there's pretty much no limit to how deep viewers can go with it. There are two more films with reveals and story elements that viewers could try to tie to the Genie's plan, especially since Aladdin doesn't officially become a prince until the third movie. So, The Genie is presumed free after Aladdin and appears less powerful. However, his powers aren't wholly erased, meaning he still could have a hidden influence on the events of the sequels.

In particular, Aladdin and the King of Thieves raises interesting questions because it reveals that Aladdin's father, Cassim (John Rhys-Davies), is the titular King. So, technically, Aladdin is an honorary prince because of his father's title, making him a prince without even marrying Jasmine. One can't help but wonder if Aladdin's father was always a king, if this development occurred when the Genie made Aladdin a Prince, or if it was a backup plan from the Genie. Ultimately, the omnipotence and omniscience theory, along with the idea of two characters trying to one-up the other in manipulation and schemes, gives viewers an entirely new perspective on Aladdin, its characters, and the entire point of the story.