17 May 2024 , 14:22
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When you're rewatching your favourite children's movies again as an adult, you may see some of the themes in a completely new light — whether they be adult jokes or something more sinister.
That's exactly what happened when social media user Rob Anderson decided to rewatch the 1994 animated musical adaptation of Thumbelina by Hans Christian Andersen. The plot follows the life of a thumb-sized girl who yearns for companionship or romance with someone her own size.
Like any other fairytale romance, her life is changed forever after she meets and falls in love with Cornelius, a fairy prince. But there are some twists and turns along the way - including her being kidnapped by toads, hit on by creepy insects and almost led down the aisle to marry a mole.
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People are looking at the 1994 film Thumbelina in a completely new light (Disney)On the surface, it may seem like any other damsel in distress children's story. However, Rob has a wild theory that the movie is giving the audience an eerie warning about human trafficking.
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In a video, which has gained more than 640,000 likes, he explained: "We need to talk about Thumbelina. This animated movie where a tiny girl is trafficked." He went on to explain how Thumbelina met the prince after longing to know someone the same size.
However, things start to unravel after she is heard singing with he beloved. He added: "The Spanish frogs like her singing voice, so they abduct her while she's sleeping. Did this frog family traffic her into the entertainment industry and this is how they get her to comply?"
He then showed the clip of the mother frog stamping on Thumbelina's foot to make her perform with them. Thankfully, she manages to escape the frogs but it continues to get worse for her.
Rob added: "She gets away on a lily pad, which is the only way to escape frogs, and she runs into this beetle. He wants her to perform at the Beetle Ball, so he kidnaps her.
"This girl cannot catch a break from all the trafficking. The Beetle Ball is a huge production. They dress her up as a beetle to sing for everyone, but then her costume gets knocked off. So then the audience starts calling her disgusting and then they start body shaming her and they beat her with a stick."
Couldn't get much worse, could it? Well, before her prince manages to find her again, she is almost pushed into marrying a mole because Mrs Field Mouse believes she can entertain him with her singing.
The plot of the fairytale sees the thumb-sized girl kidnapped, beaten and made to sing for various villains (Disney)Rob continued his bonkers theory, adding: "Thumbelina somehow ends up underground, where she is forced to perform for moles, constantly making her perform under duress. What kind of conservatorship is this? Then she's forced to marry the mole!"
And he wasn't the only one to notice it as many other TikTok users took to the comments in agreement. One user said: The “marry the mole” song HAUNTS me to this day."
Another added: "Thumbelina was one of my childhood favs why would you do this," while a third wrote: "This movie felt like a fever dream." However, some users remained sceptical as they thought Rob was "overthinking it."
Warner Bros. has been contacted for comment.
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