The other night, a bunch of my friends and I were sat in my living room, imbibing in…well, let’s not get specific, while we were watching the Disney Channel. The substances, and the TV gave birth to some very interesting questions that, to our surprise, has been asked by the internet community before.
We scoured various forums and sources to find the questions to some Disney films that don’t actually get asked very often, but still linger on in a lot of viewer’s minds. You’re welcome, internet.
What Kind of Fish is Flounder from The Little Mermaid?
Here’s a shock: Flounder from The Little Mermaid isn’t actually a Flounder: he’s an unspecified type of tropical fish that Disney has yet to actually identify. We already know the names of The Little Mermaid’s sisters, but Flounder? There’s not a lot of background information about him. In fact, all we know about him is his name, and yet, even that is a lie. Yes, despite his very clear-cut and identifiable name, Flounder is actually very much unlike his name: real flounders are flat, bottom-dwelling fish that come in a wide array of colors like grey and more grey.
Little Mermaid’s Flounder, on the other hand, freely swims around the ocean, is brightly colored, and is a fairly medium-sized fish. It’s like the difference between a siren and a mermaid, and Flounder is definitely not a flounder fish.
But what exactly is Flounder? Well, many internet experts believe he’s some sort of Blue Angelfish, which doesn’t make sense considering those are found in Bermuda while Denmark, where The Little Mermaid is set, is a few thousand miles away from its natural habitat. I know, it doesn’t actually impact the story of the movie in any way, shape, or form, but dammit, I need to know!
What are you, Flounder?! What specie of fish are you?!
Are Tarzan and Elsa Related?
Here’s a fairly new conspiracy theory: Tarzan is actually Elsa and Anna’s brother. The wild connection between the characters was made because of Tarzan’s mysterious origins, and the tragic end of the King and Queen of Arendelle.
In Frozen, we learn that Elsa’s parents passed away after their ship is lost in a massive storm. But the theory goes that the parents survived and were washed up in Africa, where they get serious jungle fever and produce Tarzan before actually passing away. Also, their ship serves as the backdrop of Ariel’s looting in The Little Mermaid, and they were actually on their way to Flynn and Rapunzel’s wedding.
It all makes sense, really, but sadly, Frozen II’s release pretty much debunked everything: turns out, the royal Arendelle ship wasn’t lost at sea on its way south, but was rather grounded further up north in a secret search for the source of magic. A bit of a bummer, but hey, at least we actually do see Flynn and Rapunzel at the end of Frozen I.
Besides, these are Disney movies, they’re not exactly a great place to make all these weird conspiracy theories anyway, like how the Meeska Mooska thing from Mickey Mouse Club is actually a chant that pacifies Mickey Mouse’s dad’s soul in purgatory. Speaking of which…
Does Mickey Mouse Have Parents?
Yes, Mickey Mouse has parents, but we never find out their names, nor are they ever referenced, or seen, or heard from. However, Mickey Mouse does have a lot of extended family:
Felicity Fieldmouse
Felicity Fieldmouse, maiden name Mouse, is Mickey’s sister and the mother of his nephews. She initially appeared as a random, older, and unrelated character in 1932, but was retconned to becoming his sister from 2000 to 2008.
Melinda Mouse
Mickey and Felicity’s aunt, Melinda Mouse first appeared in the Italian-written story The Chirikawa Necklace in 1963. She was brought back as a recurring character in 2004, and has since become a regular character in the Italian version of Disney comics.
Morty and Ferdie
Mickey’s nephews and Felicity’s children, Morty and Ferdie were first introduced in 1932 during the Mickey Mouse Sunday page storyline. Originally, Ferdie was written out of the comics because writer Floyd Gottfredson said the pair were ‘too alike’. However, he never got around to that, and the two nephews have been regulars in the comics since.
Oswald the Rabbit
Oswald the Rabbit was a character developed way back in 1927 and was featured in several animated shorts until 1938. It wasn’t until the 2010 videogame Epic Mickey was released, however, that he was given a short storyline. He actually predates Mickey Mouse by 1 year, and while him and Mickey aren’t exactly blood brothers (what with him being a rabbit and all), the videogame character Yen Sid (a clever reference to Walt Disney) wishes that the two would treat each other like brothers anyway.
