You might think your fondly remembered entertainment was just as innocent as you were, but just leave it to the internet to ruin that for you. With hidden links to way darker shows and overlooked details that can convince you that your favourite mascot was actually a serial killer.
Here are 21 of the most twisted fan theories that will totally ruin your childhood. Check out the sources at the bottom for even more!
Inspector Claw
GiphyIn Inspector Gadget, the Inspector we know is actually the second Inspector, built as a completely-robotic replacement after the first was lost in action.
Upon returning from whatever disaster caused his bosses to give up on him he discovers this replacement living his life. He disavows everything he once knew and loved, even going so far as to take a new name... DOCTOR CLAW!
zaphod_85
Finding Closure
GiphyIn the beginning of Finding Nemo, the father imagines one son survived when in reality his whole family was destroyed.
The movie is an allegory of the father's journey through the stages of grief. Almost everyone in the story tells the father he has to "let go" of his son. His travels takes him to the Land Down Under (aka Underworld). The movie ends with him saying goodbye as his son visually disappears into the void. And the kicker? "Nemo" means "nobody" in Latin.
[Deleted]
That's Smurfed Up, Man
GiphyThe Smurfs are a thinly veiled parable about white supremacy. All of the smurfs wear white hats that resembled KKK hoods, except for the Grand Wizard of the smurfs, Papa Smurf, who wears a red hood.
_DiscoNinja_
Scooby Dooby Dodge
GiphyScooby Doo seems fairly innocent, unless you see it as taking place in the real world of America in 1969 (the year it debuted). How did four mismatched kids wind up living in their van while on an endless cross-country road trip? After all, the show never really bothered to tell us where they were driving all that time.
The answer? It's 1969, the Vietnam War is at its height, and millions of directionless young people are desperate to avoid being drafted into military service. Hence, they're on the road to Canada to dodge the draft.
All of the mysteries that we see in the course of the show are just diversions that the kids encounter on the road to freedom in Canada.
themightyheptagon
The Real Prize
GiphyWilly Wonka knew those children would die in his factory. After Augustus gets sucked up the shoot, they all hop on board the boat through the tunnel of doom. The boat doesn't have two extra vacant seats though. It was designed with prior knowledge that they would lose two participants before that point. Later they drive a cream spewing car with only four seats. Did they have another car waiting in the garage in case the others made it? Of course not. Willy Wonka uses children to make candy.
neverbinkles
The Cat's Out of the Bag
GiphyGarfield is actually a feral cat dying of starvation. His obsession with food stems from this, and he imagines a life with the man he often sees walking his dog. Jon and Odie. There was a reference to this in a Halloween themed comic. Garfield woke up in a condemned and abandoned house. He calls out for Odie and Jon, but there is no answer. He then wills the illusion back on himself, and continues his delusions about his 'family'.
lusciouslou
What's in That Fairy Dust?
GiphyPeter Pan was actually the villain of Neverland all along. The Lost Boys are his own private army that he keeps under control by murdering anyone who becomes old enough to question his leadership.
Captain Hook was the hero who survived Peter's cult and became an adult. The children he rescued with him became his crew and they're trying to liberate the rest.
roughbeard368
A Little Magic Goes A Long Way...
GiphyAfter the events seen in the movies and books Matilda goes on living with Ms. Honey and going to Crunchem Hall. Slowly students begin to forget about Matilda's powers, as she hadn't used them in years. Matilda and many of her friends go their separate ways during middle school and she is left a quiet nerdy girl who loves to read. Kids begin to pick on her constantly, and without Ms. Honey running this new school, the bullying just escalates. Eventually Matilda gets fed up and kills one of the bullies. Enough people saw it happen that Ms. Honey thinks that it is best for Matilda to leave town and go under an assumed name. She sends Matilda to live with one of her cousins in Maine.
Thus kicking off the plot of Carrie.
daniel_hlfrd
Phoning Long Distance
GiphyE.T. was a Jedi escaping Order 66. During the Senate vote for no-confidence scene in the Phantom Menace you'll see a cutaway to species that looks identical to the E.T. The Extraterrestrial species.
This explains E.T.'s extraordinary powers of levitation and healing, he's actually using the force. All he needs is a lightsaber and he's ready to cut.
marcelius
Happier Days.
Giphy"That 70's Show," is a vague sequel to "Happy Days". At the end of Happy days, Richie and Ralph go off to the Korean war (or at least they are training for it). Fonzie stays behind. At this point you must remember that the Fonz was always the person who kept Richie 'cool'.
Flash Forward 20 years, Richie, (now 'Red') Has become bitter after the war, and without the catalyst that was Arthur Fonzerelli, his friendship with fool neighbor, Bob (Ralph) has fallen apart.
Happy Days was made in the 70s and set in the 50s. That 70's Show was in the 90s and set in the 70s.
gulsado
Fallout: Bikini Bottom
GiphyThe existence of Spongebob and his strange friends is the result of radiation from nuclear arms testing that was performed on the Bikini Atoll in the late 40's and early 50's. Since they live under the atoll, the town is known as 'Bikini Bottom'.
Capmaster
Fresh Prince of the Pearly Gates
GiphyWill was murdered in that fight on the basketball court in West Philly. The taxi driver who picked him up is actually God (that's why we felt that the cab was different or "rare")
The Fresh Prince of Bel Air is his own version of heaven. Where he lives in a mansion with his wealthy aunt and uncle and slowly works out the issues and hardships that he never got to resolve in life.
attyx6427
There's Always a Cynic...
GiphyIn Care Bears Grumpy Bear was originally 'Genius Bear'. He's been turned extremely cynical because at some point he realized that none of the other bears gave a crap about being reasonable, rational, logical or sensible and only cared about feeling good.
MostlyIrrelephant
All Blowed Up
GiphyIn the Rugrats episode where they think the world will end, they make a shelter and plan to survive. Except there's only enough room for 4, not 5. So, they have to pick between Tommy, Chuckie, Angelica, Phil and Lil.
They actually make a logical choice for repopulating the earth. You would take both girls. Chuckie has different family from either girl, so he's accepted. The choice would be between Tommy and Phil. Phil has redundant DNA with Lil, Tommy, while a cousin of Angelica, still brings more diversity. Leaving Phil out was the logical choice, if they truly had to. It's not broken down this way in the show, but they still reach the same result.
shatonamime
Great Scott!
GiphyThe Doc is ready to kill himself along with Marty in that parking lot during the first time travel scene in Back to the Future. Not only has he never tested the time machine, but he claims that many of his inventions have been failures.
So during the moment when he's about to find out if his life's work was a huge success, or a complete waste, he not only drives the Delorian towards himself, but grabs onto Marty when he tries to run away.
If that first time travel test was a failure, they both would have been killed. Which is exactly what Doc wanted had the experiment been a failure.
mcjesse
Mystery Solved!
GiphyThe original Scooby Doo series is set after a horrible economic depression. Everything is abandoned and falling apart, and all of the villains are people who would normally be really respected (professors, museum curators, celebrities) who have fallen into hard times just like everyone else.
Think about it this way. How many times have the gang helped someone NOT go out of business?
[deleted]
Gotta Catch 'Em All!
GiphyPokemon are actually bred for combat, and the world is just recovering from a major World War. Most of the men were killed, which is why most of the protagonists in Pokemon only have a mother and why most of the people you fight on the road are kids. Lt. Surge also slightly verifies this when he talks about how Pokemon saved him in the war.
Pasalacqua87
Yabba Dabba Dystopia
GiphyThe Jetsons and the Flintstones are two portions of the same society. The people living in Bedrock are actually a lower caste of humans that live on the surface and are forced to mine minerals for the upper-class.
This explains the talking animals: They're just synthetic creations. As well as the fact that everyone in The Jetsons lives in sky towers: The surface has been polluted and is reserved for the lower class.
Steeze_McQueen
SpoOOoOOooky.
GiphyIn the Haunted Mansion at Disney World/Disneyland, "you" commit suicide during the course of the ride and become a ghost.
At the beginning of the ride the ghost host (the narrator) says the only way to escape the mansion is to die, and he shows that he hanged himself. Near the end of the ride there's a moment where the ride vehicle turns around backwards and you go off a balcony, which according to this theory represents you jumping to your death.
Before this part of the ride the ghosts are all trying to scare you, but afterwards they sing excitedly and invite you to party with them. (The Grim Grinnin' Ghosts song.) The only human character in the ride, a groundskeeper, appears after the balcony drop. He faces toward the riders and seems terrified of you.
[deleted]
That Football Keeps Moving Farther...
GiphyAn explanation for why Charlie Brown in Peanuts is bald is that he's dying of cancer. The whole school seems to revolve around him because they're trying to be inclusive before he kicks the bucket.
This is why he's so constantly depressed about his life and feels like a failure.
Ducknish
I'm Not Even Surprised
GiphyMy Neighbour Totoro was set in a place in Japan where there was a case of murdering of two sisters which happened in the 60s. This event took place on May 1st, while the sister's names are Satsuki (May in Japanese) and Mei (May in English). In the real life case, the younger sister was missing first and the older sister was seen to be looking for her frantically. Next day, the younger sister's body was found in the forest. The older sister was in such a state of shock and kept rambling ambiguous words about seeing a "cat monster", "great big racoon monster" etc to the police.
amazzingamanda
Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.
Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?
But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.
It would be so great to be sure there is something else.
But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.
Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:
"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"
Sensations
Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."
PeachesnPain
Recovery
"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."
"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."
"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."
good_golly99
Take Me Back
"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."
"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."
rayrayrayray
Free
The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."
TooReDTooHigh
This is why I hate surgery.
You just never know.
Shocked
Giphy"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."
Admirable_Buyer6528
The SOB
"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."
"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”
1-cupcake-at-a-time
Colors
"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"
Hannah_LL7
"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"
huntokarrr
The Fog
"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."
"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."
Fluffy-Hotel-5184
Through the Walls
"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."
"She's quite alive and well today."
Hot-Refrigerator6583
Well let's all be happy to be alive.
It seems to be all we have.
Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.
The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.
Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.
Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:
"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"
Redditors didn't see these coming.
Shiver Me Timbers
"I’m always cold now!"
– Telrom_1
"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."
– r7ndom
"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."
– mr_remy
Drawing Concern
"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."
– dee-fondy
"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"
"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."
– LizardofDeath
Unleashing Insults
"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”
"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."
– alanamablamaspama
Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight
"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."
– KeltarCentauri
"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."
– KatMagic1977
"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."
– Jaew96
These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.
Shopping
"I can buy clothes in any store I want."
– WaySavvyD
"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."
– ganache98012
No More Symptoms
"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."
– colleennicole93
Expanding Capabilities
"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."
– Ramblonius
People Change Their Tune
"How much nicer people are to you."
"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"
– LiZZygsu
"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"
"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"
– awholedamngarden
It's gonna take some getting used to.
Bones Everywhere
"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."
– Princess-Pancake-97
"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."
– bekastrange
Knee Pillow
"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."
– snic2030
"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."
– Strongbad23
More Mobility
"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."
"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."
– dma1965
People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.
But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.
That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.