If you’re not familiar with this conspiracy theory surrounding Mr. Walt Disney, here it goes: Back in the ‘70s, a few years after Disney’s death, rumors started swirling that he’d been cryogenically frozen, a process that supposedly freezes a person using temperatures below -130 degrees Celcius to preserve brain function and allow a future “revival,” or, because we’re talking about Disney, “reanimation.” It’s wacky.
The emphasis is on supposedly, though -- the technology for said revival doesn’t exist yet, so no, people aren’t coming back to life.
Disney, during his lifetime, had allegedly expressed interest in the science. According to Los Angeles Magazine, former President of the Cryonics Society of California, Bob Nelson, commented in 1972 about Disney talking about cryonics -- and asserted that he isn’t, in fact, frozen.
“Walt Disney wanted to be frozen, [but he] missed out. He never specified it in writing, and when he died the family didn’t go for it. They had him cremated. I personally have seen his ashes,” he said. “Two weeks later we froze the first man, [James Bedford]. If Disney had been the first, it would have made headlines around the world and been a real shot in the arm for cryonics. But that’s the way it goes.”
Disney’s daughter has also confirmed as much.
Nevertheless, conspirators don’t rest, and the legend is pretty commonplace these days that one day, Walt Disney will...thaw...and create more magic.
While plenty of other conspiracies surround the Disney conglomerate, most revolve around the films: There’s the confirmed theory that all the Pixar movies are related, as well as other unconfirmed ones concerning things like the afterlife of Carl from “Up” and whether or not Snow White’s Evil Queen and Mother Gothel are the same person. The theory about Walt’s status is by far the weirdest.
Now, there’s an argument making the rounds that 2013’s “Frozen,” full of sing-a-long worthy tunes and tropes spun on their head, was created and named so in order to stop people from stumbling upon this creepy urban legend. Or to hide the truth, says Screen Rant.
Prior to the release of “Frozen,” Google searches for “Disney frozen” churned out results detailing how and why Walt could potentially be chillin’ (sorry) somewhere, waiting for science to bring him back. Now, the same search brings you a slew of kid-friendly, cheeky animation content.
Did the Disney corporation name one of their biggest-hitting films “Frozen” on purpose in order to bury the long-standing legend of Walt’s frozen head? I mean, it makes sense from a marketing perspective, and the company has gone to lengths to protect his image and their family-friendly brand in the past.
Now that I think about it, “Frozen II” does look pretty dark...