Cartoon Theories Are Dumb.

[@LSMark]

Your browser is holding you back. Level up with Opera here: opr.as/Opera-browser-LSMark

[@enix9455]

Hello

[@SlatyRamen]

Hi LSD Mark

[@Manruz-z1k]

Spinklederp

[@PeacockLover127]

i dont like opera it's stupid

[@Randomdude112]

Fitst

[@redjirachi1]

I love the irony that people used the "Finn is in a coma" theory because its dark only for the actual Adventure Time canon to be incredibly dark for a kid's show

[@joshraid1550]

Like so many of these theories are obviously wrong because if they were true they'd be addressed. Like you don't make an important character in your story a magical creature in a show about magic only to never bring it up even once.

[@ThePapaja1996]

Did you know that The brothers lejonheart has that plotpoint.

[@lunalesombras1150]

​@@joshraid1550I will note that if you're going to use Jorgan as your counterexample to "all fairies have pupils..." my dude, Jorgan isn't exactly a standard fairy. For all we know he could have been a human with a particular bond to the fae, similar to Movie!Timmy.

[@Constantine_Cvl8]

"Before there was time, before there was anything, there was nothing. And before there was nothing... there were *_monsters_* ." - The Lich, The Last Scholar of Golb

[@Crabgar]

Usually, saying "they didn't even watch the show" is hyperbole, but there's no excuse here other than literally only knowing Adventure Time as a "random quirky kid's show". Man, i wish Finn was only in a coma, bro went through so much emotional trauma, he developed a conscious repression mechanism. He lived multiple full lives as a teenager, is aware that he is a reincarnation, lost an arm because his dad abandoned him (again), it's a testament to his character arc that he ended up a normal-ish person. Not to mention the nuclear apocalypse and the lich, genocidal scholar of the god of chaos, Simon and Marceline's story, Bubblegum literally being a german speaking dictator that built her own surveillance state and _the deer_ .

[@rainbowditto9033]

What kills me is that the 'adventure time is a coma' theory blew up right before the show revealed that it literally takes place in a post nuclear apocalypse planet. Like, these 'theorists' were 1 childrens cartoon dark twist stereotype away from predicting the show.

[@edenengland1883]

everyone already knew that it was a post apocalyptic world though, that wasnt really something that had yo be theorized about, i mean one of the first things you see in every episode is a nuclear missile shell it isnt hard to put 2 and 2 together

[@jesusramirezromo2037]

Pretty sure like the 3D episode showed a flooded city

[@se.224]

I'm pretty sure they made a joke about it in the show

[@leoultimaupgraded9914]

Weirdly enough, the nuclear apocalypse isn’t what created the magic. Sure, the Lich came from it, but magic existed before the nuclear apocalypse, as shown with the Elementals this isnt relevant to the theory at all but i couldnt stop myself from ranting, sorry

[@crimsoneclipse0618]

​@@leoultimaupgraded9914It kinda reminds me of how in the Ash is in a Coma theory, the Pokemons are still a real thing in the world.

[@ZerosBrainMushHouse]

I heard someone say that they hate these theories and decided to do the opposite, which is to take dark shows and say that they're just children with wild imaginations or something. Like the Walking Dead is just kids playing zombies, Breaking Bad is just Walter White's students writing fanfics about him and Game of Thrones just being a D&D game

[@rudevoices9204]

Wait that Breaking Bad one is actually good idk I'm kinda into that

[@jojogottagogo9234]

Yep lol that was a Tumblr post

[@chimp4225]

Breaking Bad is just Hal from Malcolm in the Middle having a VERY long nightmare

[@syppy7416]

John Wick is just a kid making a spy game to cope with the loss of his dog, and everyone joins in on the game

[@cevatkokbudak6414]

Cool! Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool

[@FlabbsandBabbish]

I love how every cartoon theory is just: *"this character is in a COMA!" *"this character is INSANE!" *"everyone is DEAD!" *"this character is on DRUGS!" *"this character has (INSERT MENTAL ILLNESS HERE)!" with NO variation.

[@Mistressofthelostones]

Yep

[@TheBlueguy-yg8vu]

Literally and it annoys me

[@SugarbirdyOvO]

Anything fantasy is probably going to have at least one person going 'I bet it's all imaginary' and like. Yes it is. That's... literally what fantasy is. That's why it's so unrealistic. It isn't because Finn is in a coma, this is just the genre.

[@GoldenGrenadier]

IKR? Why can't there be a funny one like the children in Edd, Ed, and Eddy actually being aliens trying to study human behavior except all of them are from different planets and they dont know that everyone else is also an alien. That one could be an actual show

[@SugarbirdyOvO]

@@GoldenGrenadier Holy shit that's such a good idea :O

[@MathematicalVoid]

I hate how small child characters can't have active imaginations without so many people chalking it up to schizophrenia and not, y'know, small children having the imaginations of small children.

[@EngineerMonkeyBTD6]

I like your profile picture!

[@Wiziliz]

Reminds me of that one South Park episode with Butters getting treated for his other personalities when it's really him playing pretend

[@benceszarvas5464]

That episode was cool even revealing to the public who actually has multiple personalities.

[@aguyinyourwalls6946]

In this comment we can see MatgematicalVoid must be scitzophrenic because they dont belive that the rugrats all take place inside reptars head after going into a dinosaur coma

[@thedarter]

Theory crafters are getting so... "imaginative" with their reasoning for these theories that one could accuse THEM of being schizophrenic, and it would make about as much sense.

[@snoopsq.527]

To be honest, I find the “Andy’s Mom from Toy Story is divorced” actually compelling as a theory. Practically speaking the real reason the dad isn’t present is because it was incredibly difficult to render CGI humans and strictly from a writing standpoint you only really need ONE parent for Andy. But I find that unlike other cartoon theories this actually adds a certain amount of depth to the film when you watch it with that in mind.

[@Doug_Edwards99]

What makes that an actually decent theory is that it doesn’t invalidate the actual events of the movie(s). Like it’s not some theory on how the Toys aren’t truly coming to life and it’s just Andy’s imagination. Instead that theory allows the events of the story to happen, and can add an interesting layer, if we theorize that Woody was a toy that Andy’s dad gave to him, hence why he’s Andy’s favorite.

[@morganorwhatever]

This is the kind of theory I can get behind. It was probably not intended by the creators, but it’s plausible enough and adds meaningfully to the story

[@Forcommentingpurposes]

I thought Jimmy Two Shoes was explicitly in hell???? I do not remember him NOT being in hell. Interesting

[@Kaisona2017]

I remember a video talking about how one of the film’s writers had this idea that Andy’s Dad had Polio, and that Woody, Mr Potato Head, and Slinky Dog used to be his Dad’s toys, before he died. It also has an entire backstory movie’s worth of ideas, that I can’t fully explain in one comment, so instead I’ll recommend you watch the full video by Super Carlin Brothers.

[@toasterifclj9974]

To add on to this one there also moving could be to a smaller house to deal with the loss of the fathers money

[@MariotheMastermind]

I love how Adventure Time has some of the most intricate, detailed, and creative world-building of any cartoon, and people are like: "What if it's all just Finn in a coma?"

[@reddeadspartan]

It's also funny because the series does have a dark twist, that the world actually set after an apocalypse, so why try to add another twist by saying Fin is in a coma?

[@MmeCShadow]

This theory might have had more credence if it was Ice King (rather, Simon Petrikov) in a coma. The Ice Crown didn't make him crazy, it was an undiagnosed brain tumor. After a dangerous episode Betty was forced to have him hospitalized and put into a medical coma, making him feel 'cold' as his heartbeat and body temperature lowered. He imagine the powers of the Ice Crown, and the Mushroom War, and all of Ooo is a reflection of his deteriorating and fractured mind with fragments of lucidity, experienced as separating from the Ice Crown and returning his human state, where he also subconsciously realizes that he's dying. Finn is a reflection of his childhood self, a boy who longed for adventure (which ties in to him becoming an antiquarian pursuing ancient artifacts) and Jake his beloved dog, both viewed from a physical distance in the way that adults may view their own childhoods as though they were different people; Marceline is the daughter he one day hoped to have with Betty. And Gunther, of course, represents penguins.

[@UltimatePerfection]

That's just a huge ripoff of the Ash coma theory.

[@literallygrass1328]

​@@UltimatePerfectionyeah but its not retarded

[@dracocrusher]

@@reddeadspartan Yeah, that's what I was thinking! The world is ALREADY a dark internet fan theory, but it's real! That's way more interesting than this boring thoughtless nonsense!

[@thelagnificentleader]

“The Pokémon anime changes tone after Ash gets hit by lightning!” My brother in Christ that was the FIRST EPISODE

[@AnoushPinkfox]

Fair, but even the tone of the first episode was shockingly different before the strike

[@ourgoldenspires]

@@AnoushPinkfox "shockingly" HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[@AnoushPinkfox]

@@ourgoldenspires oh dang I didn't even realize I did that lmfao

[@donrol93]

​@@AnoushPinkfoxThe sheer example of "No pun intended." 😂

[@AnoushPinkfox]

@@donrol93 😂

[@eduardoflores1503]

I heard once, a theory of Winnie-the-Pooh that was actually nice. That reason why Tigger states "the wonderful thing about Tigge's, is that I'm the only one" is because Tigger is homemade. That Christopher Robin's mom made Tigger as a gift for him. While Pooh and the others were store bought plush toys. That being Tigger having a sping in his tail, being something the mom put in as a little play feature. Or how some of the stripes on his belly and muzzle go over like stitching in a plushie.

[@CompSomAnichi]

Aw i love that

[@Cherrytangela]

I like that theory cause its not dark.

[@justaghostinthesea]

That's actually adorable

[@muzicalassassin2901]

Canon

[@General..Grievous]

I choose to believe this bc of how it fits with the wholesomeness of Winnie the Pooh

[@Light_Dies_07]

I love how Regular Show has a coma theory even though it's the only show in this video that you could reasonably apply an "on drugs" theory to 😭

[@RoninCatholic]

Considering In The AM PM as one of the prototypes, "Mordecai and Rigby were trying to get stoned but accidentally took other drugs with their weed and hallucinated. Also they gave some of their 'candy' to their boss Benson without him knowing it was drugged until he started tripping out." would be a pretty reasonable theory, if a boring one compared to "Nah, all this stuff is real bro".

[@skybison4481]

@@RoninCatholicI was just abt to comment this, it’s such an interesting piece of regular show info

[@ChicoStopMotion]

That is literally what I was thinking. I am 100% sure the whole show is like an acid trip.

[@StarSlayer02]

​@RoninCatholic bro it wasn't Rigby in that short it was Benson and mordecai as if you watched it entirely the guy turns into a bird and the other guy turns into a gumball machine

[@fawkewe]

Lets be real, Mordecai, Rigby, and Benson all do Drugs. Not sure about the others (Muscle Man and Fives seem like the type that just drinks) but those guys probably would atleast smoke a joint if you gave them one. They also have a relatively easy job. Not at all out of the possibility they’re just high the whole time.

[@mythcat1273]

Butch Hartman is the closest any real human being will get to the uncanny valley

[@infinityquartz4744]

Zucc is

[@itzs0weezee]

Simon Cowell. They look the same too 💀

[@TheScrunker]

Jerma

[@toekneemart5597]

​@@infinityquartz4744he said real _human_

[@toekneemart5597]

​@@TheScrunkerhe said _real_ human

[@littleblueclovers]

I used to love theories because it would give me an interesting perspective on a show I already enjoy, like “Gosh, you’re right! The Krusty Krab IS a crab trap! The secret ingredient is seafood!” But then I started seeing all these boring, repetitive theories like the coma one or the mental illnesses, and I got really tired of it. Recently I’ve been more interested in the “wholesome theories” just because the theories tend to be more original. I remember really liking the “Courage is a small dog so he interprets his rural home to be in the middle of nowhere and find outsiders scary” theory and it made me smile. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time until the wholesome ones also get repetitive, but in the meantime I’ll enjoy it while I can :)

[@Candy-md1uk]

The only dark theory i liked when i was a kid was the “adventure time happens after a nuclear war”because the writers turned around and said “you know what? Yeah” and it became an important part of the plot

[@jackcouch8322]

I always thought that was always the idea from the start

[@Thatkid_one]

@@jackcouch8322I feel like adventure time wasn’t supposed to be like that at the beggining and some writers during season 3 went absolutely buck wild

[@thewindshecriesmary]

They actually went with it while they were producing season 1, which is why you can see a lot of the nuclear bomb stuff even in the earliest intro

[@guccifer764]

@@jackcouch8322 It wasn’t originally, but early in season 1 they did an episode where they unfreeze a bunch of business men who are clearly from modern times. One of the writers of the episode joked that this made AT post-apocalyptic, and the creator of the show liked the idea and made it canon. So while it wasn’t always a post-apocalypse, it was by the time the show hit the air.

[@Candy-md1uk]

@@guccifer764 I didn’t know that! That’s really cool. I thought it became a thing in later seasons when they started really exploring it

[@HatKidTime]

Let’s be honest the most original cartoon theory is the one where the main character is in a coma and is just imagining the entire series

[@SlatyRamen]

I really hate that theory everybody can just pull up that excuse

[@prageruwu69]

that one's my least favorite

[@ipostrandomclips]

Thats legit every show eve rif ya think about it

[@MadMax-ii8gq]

That’s the most popular Walking Dead theory actually and it’s still really dumb there too.

[@Gabriel-doodle]

@@SlatyRamen Theory: Princess Giselle from Disney’s Enchanted is in a coma and all the live action movies are from her.

[@valliniumguy2878]

"Steven after not surviving" is genuinely fucking hilarious I don't know how anyone could take such a masterwork of comedy seriously

[@rosemary3029]

Lol i didn't know it was meant to be satire

[@godwin972]

and then toby hit us with the "spamton after not surviving"

[@bobtheball5384]

As a kid the joke went over my head

[@deesnyder8201]

I was 7 okay

[@_Tzer]

i mean ness is sans existed...

[@CuteLittleInvisibleSouls]

Back when adventure time was still in it's earlier seasons, there was theories about the cartoon taking place in a post-apocalyptic world. That was one of the few old theories that were ACTUALLY right.

[@guy.animations2935]

Granted there was actual evidence of that being the case unlike the sponge bob world is the result of nuclear bombs

[@goodmusic4673]

I mean it was kinda obvious from the start xD

[@Oh-Ben]

The "theory" was based off the pilot which showed the earth as destroyed.

[@Alex-RavensPeak]

Yeah its obvious as hell lmao. That's like me making a toy story theory that all the toys are actually alive. Like huh

[@CuteLittleInvisibleSouls]

@@Alex-RavensPeak to be fair I was really young at that time so my little child mind wasn't processing the idea that the cartoon was taking place in a post apocalyptic world at all xD

[@NurseValentineSG]

"Spongebob is on shrooms because imagination" is just the worst. Why are there so many people out there thinking that you cannot have a wild imagination without drugs?

[@mikethegoo]

Maybe it's because they're boring and never had a creative thought in their life so they can't imagine doing that without being on drugs. Nice Valentine PFP, BTW

[@angel_of_rust]

blame the druggies for making everyone else associate imagination with weed

[@Acorn905]

Agreed i've got a big imagination and from what i know i'm not in a coma or on drugs '•3•

[@olakpasa6486]

Let be honest , no one can be as chill as Patrick without some of that devil grass , other than that the theory is trash

[@syppy7416]

true that yo@@olakpasa6486

[@kecleonfan7495]

The restraint to not bring up Film Theory even once is astounding. Hats off to you, Mark.

[@crimsoneclipse0618]

I think Film Theory's pretty safe from that since it at leaat presents it as just a fun theory, while some of these tiktoks are so serious about it, like they're discussing it the same way you would real life issues it's bizarre.

[@roatedmarshmellow240]

The one small detail what saves FT, it's his main line by the end "But hey! It's just a theory!" Like he knows what this all isn't serious.

[@crimsoneclipse0618]

@@roatedmarshmellow240 Especially when you watch his GTLive streams where he's clearly just having fun with it and not taking them too seriously. I do miss his more science and math focused theories though, always preferred those to the lore theories.

[@ahmadmalaki8364]

Yeah his shit content is all that I know he is a nice guy But I still think his content is awful he build a whole channel out of lies Will theories is fun to make you should still be aware that they are not true despite how much believe in them

[@ahmadmalaki8364]

@@roatedmarshmellow240it wouldn’t stop me from hating some of his theories Like Mega man is evil doctor willy is a good guy seriously

[@LadyDarkHatter]

One thing I will say about Winnie the Pooh is that the "all the characters are mental illness" theory goes a bit further in the original literature. The original book was written shortly after WW1 and in a university course on children's literature I took, there was a prevailing thought that the characters were meant to represent different aspects that coincide with PTSD and teach children how to properly interact with adults suffering from those symptoms. But that's just a theory- A LITERARY THEORY

[@jorymo4964]

Interestingly, in Kingdom Hearts, the Hundred Acre Wood is used to represent adolescence, childhood interests, and the idea of having to maintain a connection with one's inner child.

[@beepbeeplettuce5890]

people were barely aware of ptsd at time though, it wasnt even called ptsd, it was called shell shock, people forget how little awareness of mental healtg existed at the time, so that "theory" is impossible

[@smeeghead]

werent all the winnie the pooh characters just based off the author's son's childhood stuffed animals? idk if im phrasing that right but you get what im saying

[@TheGuyInTheCheapSeats]

​@@beepbeeplettuce5890Did you ever hear George Carlin's bit about shell shock vs. Ptsd?

[@wolfetteplays8894]

That’s actually pretty damn cool

[@ButterFlyGardenBlossom]

An example of a good “dark” cartoon theory that I could think of is the now confirmed Bluey theory that her mother Chilli had a miscarriage. It actually had some good clues and evidence in the show, like a moment during her a play about her life that her kids put on for her. Plus, it did add something interesting, sad and heartwarming to the canon when it was proven true.

[@isaacisaacson8967]

cool omori/sunny pfp

[@rosemary3029]

To add more on is the fact that bluey is probably a rainbow baby(a baby that's born after the parents have a pregnancy loss.)

[@rammix131]

Guys: Mark is actually in a coma. My proof is that .

[@CouliousJason]

Can't argue with those points

[@leviticusprime4904]

@@CouliousJasontruly compelling evidence

[@Loscxxo]

​@@CouliousJasonliterally

[@dominothealphaandomega5512]

@@leviticusprime4904Those 6 Hours of Reading were totally worth It! #SaveLSMark

[@Satellaview1889]

@@CouliousJason It's really only one point. "Points" implies that there are multiple points in space, rather than the single one he has.

[@TomTheyy]

It's pretty funny to think Phineas and Ferb would be this immensely sad dramatical story of a sister coping with the loss of her baby brother when in reality it's the show that gave us Squirrels in my Pants.

[@GippyHappy]

S I M P SQUIRRELS IN MY PANTS

[@ZbJeeBies]

_step right over and watch her put it downnnnn_

[@pkmntrainermark8881]

Squirrels, squirrels!

[@jessicapinkman-hd4bw]

it's the show that gave us the word simp

[@Hamilfan31]

@@pkmntrainermark8881 step right over and watch me put it s to the I to the m to the p

[@toganium4175]

The theory of “Doofenshmirtz is Phineas’s dad” is quite literally disproved by the episode used as evidence.

[@KaijuofSteel]

I hate how popular that theory is, when even Dan Povenmire himself has refuted it several times.

[@smt64productions40]

And the freakin creator said "It is not the case" and people try to say the creator is wrong

[@Drax69420]

I remember when some guy on Twitter made a theory that Pinhead Pieare was actually Phineas's dad, and the dude actually provided some evidence. So even that's more accurate then Doofenshmritz being Phineas's papa.

[@ジハ-u5k]

literally the next scene after that disprooved it lmfao

[@GordanTheToad]

I remeber Doofensmirtz litterally said in an episode that they only dated for a single day. I mean he COULD still be the father, but I don't think that's the kind of direction they want to take the series.

[@mrvaldemar66]

The Ash coma one is so dumb. "He lives out his ideal Pokémon master adventure in his dream". Ash kept eating shit until the last seasons.

[@ninjafrog6966]

why would he be dreaming himself losing all the time?

[@mrvaldemar66]

@@ninjafrog6966 that's my point.

[@puhskinti9358]

Game theory: Ash loves eating shit??

[@demi-femme4821]

Like, I don't know if Ash's psyche would really generate such happenings as "fuck you, Tobias has Ubers" and "fuck you, lose Hawlucha to a random full para against the guy with 3 Pokémon quad weak to Fighting."

[@keelanbarron928]

Duh, it's because of darkrai.

[@VagabondRetro]

My main issue with these "Theories" is that they are often less of an actual dissection of the property and more akin to a glorified fan-fic.

[@NRG349]

My fan theory is "it was all just a dream". Explanation: "None of this shit can happen in real life". And boom, that's it, no need to speak gibberish for 15 minutes.

[@pastelquartz6857]

​@@NRG349Some people can't just see fiction as fiction. Besides, it's so dull to know that everything in a cartoon is "too unrealistic". Like yeah? It's a cartoon! THATS THE POINT! I feel like these theories are just made to be edgy.

[@NRG349]

@@pastelquartz6857 precisely

[@thereallocke8065]

​@@NRG349 the "it was all a dream" thing is frustrating. Like yeah I know this isn't real but I want to explore and engage with the possibilities presented by the world and the people in it. It just pulls the weight from whatever happened. We saw some hero save the world fall in love lose a close friend have a final showdown and redemption with the rival turned villainous no 2. And it's just a dream. It's now even less real than the cartoon or book or whatever it was before

[@JrIcify]

We should just normalize fanfiction already. Creepypasta had me feeling the same way a lot of the time. Nothing against any of the writers but it's like they don't know they're allowed to write a fanfic, which can even be horror themed without needing to be a "lost episode creepypasta."

[@_ThoughtlessHour_]

Character: Being creative and imaginative Random redditor: He's on drugs

[@Fluffypinkdragon1984]

Seems like the average reddit user has no imagination

[@pamfilipinas9102]

​@@Fluffypinkdragon1984Indeed and there a chance some of them might be parentless

[@louisduarte8763]

or "He has autism/some other mental disorder".

[@valhatan3907]

Even Tumblr people are more creative than them

[@ECKohns]

The one Phineas and Ferb theory that interests me is that the Mom is fully aware of Phineas and Ferb’s projects.

[@RoninCatholic]

She clearly eventually _becomes_ aware by the time they're adults with their own children as shown in one time travel episode, but also very clearly _not_ aware at least at the start of the summer as shown in another where a dystopian timeline branch is created by Candace successfully getting her to see the roller coaster from the first episode. So the question isn't _if_ so much as _when_ she becomes aware.

[@bouel2709]

@@RoninCatholic the father is awere and almost all the city is awere, I am pretty sure that someone has told her sometime something like "ey, when your kids are gonna build another beach?"

[@justalula7151]

​@@bouel2709She probably laughed it off and thought it was just a joke. Since the universe itself seems to like step in to stop her from finding out.I remember there was this one ep where Candace asked one of their neighbors to tell Linda about it, then that person ended up getting arrested before she was able to tell her ....

[@SubtotalStar850-uh8pg]

That's not a theory though that's just canon

[@syppy7416]

that is actually a good theory NGL I mean Laurence just straight up knows, so why not Linda?

[@aneonfoxtribute]

It's kind of funny how many of the purgatory theories inevitably have "she was raped and murdered". Kids Next Door, Ed Edd and Eddy, there's no reason for it, they just threw it in there to be edgy.

[@rebekahscheu4245]

It's hilarious how they try to peg Timmy as being the only one who imagines Cosmo and Wanda, when there are scenes that are clearly from his parents perspectives as they are being affected by Timmy's wishes

[@andreasmeelie1889]

I was thinking the same exact thing!😂😅

[@cellanimation]

The big twist of the entire show is that Timmy is a 40 year old man who wished to be a child forever meaning the world is stuck in a time loop. Another episode had a christmas time loop which affected everyone too. It's just a cartoon, which to me makes mundane explanations like it being imagination or a coma even more stupid. Why limit a fantastical world to real physics?

[@louisduarte8763]

@@cellanimation I've seen that Instagram Reel of that episode, and he said he made that wish to Cosmo... 50 years ago.

[@cellanimation]

@louisduarte8763 Oh yeah? Well I saw the FACEBOOK reel of it and he said it was SIXTY years ago. So I win.

[@sofiadominguezleon4106]

​@@cellanimationTimmy Turner at the age of 40 was locked up in a mental asylum for killing Vicky and Crocker was his psychiatrist trying to get him back into reality

[@Vailskibum]

KZbin isn't even a platform that really exists. It's a figment of our coma imagination.

[@Finical_Leo]

What are you even watching?

[@Spookyglue476]

Omg your right

[@Ducklolly]

My head is scrambled

[@harrygardner7257]

😂😂😂

[@samuel-the-italian]

oh Hey what are you doing here?

[@Jornag]

For the record, Dan Povenmire and Swampy Marsh (The creators of the show, for those unfamiliar), have disconfirmed the "Candace has schizophrenia" theory on multiple occasions, and actively ridiculed it.

[@bouel2709]

Now my headcanon is that the created the Zebra that calls Candace "Kevin" only to laugh of the theory

[@A_Real_Bloody_Vampire]

​@@foursidekmAlways hated death to the author it's so insulting to the creator of a book, movie or cartoon it's basically like saying "I know your creation better than you" it just feels so arrogant

[@nqk_0662]

@@foursidekm no screw that that’s a sad exuse to say awful and tasteless subject matter

[@foursidekm]

@@nqk_0662 I don't know what you mean exactly? Obviously these theories are shit lol. That doesn't invalidate death to the author

[@nqk_0662]

@@foursidekm no you don’t understand it’s the fact we even entered this crap cause the more people do it the more they treat it like fact and ignore the real story and message like imagine telling a story and people say “ yeah man 9/11 plays a role here “ it’s a like cancer !

[@jayonnaise6105]

In the 2010 My Little Pony cartoon, there was a theory in the early seasons that the parents of the character Applejack had died at some point before the show started. This was mainly because she lives on her family's farm with her grandmother, older brother & younger sister, while her parents were never seen and rarely mentioned. This theory was eventually confirmed, and led to a really good episode where the Apple siblings try to learn more about what their parents were like because they were too young to really remember them before they passed.

[@rudevoices9204]

Ok unironically thinking about it, i think the mayor being a fairy in disguise would be a cool little twist for how Timmy manages to get away with the entire town being changed and then no one caring about how everything changes back at the end. Hes like the damage control that Jorgen keeps specifically in Dimmsdale because of how problematic Timmy is. I don't actually _believe_ this and it's moreso everyone is too stupid to notice, but i can see the merit of this. Seriously why do they keep talking about Veronica when this one is just a goldmine waiting to be uncovered

[@rudevoices9204]

Combine this with the fact that every fairy aside from Jorgen is short and stubby and guess who else fits that description and...yeah I think I cracked something here (my mind)

[@TheBigSKE]

Jorgan is man turned fairy..? 👀

[@0b13F4st3]

@@rudevoices9204 - Couple that with him declaring himself to be "mayor for life" in the episode where Vicky was nice, and the theory actually holds some water.

[@smt64productions40]

Honestly, sounds better than a lot of these awful written (coma, dream, imagination, mental illness, drugs, etc) theories

[@skeletonskeleton9010]

Some of the very specific theories such as "Finn had a bad family life, his only friend was his dog, etc" make so many claims that are never established in the show to support itself that it's impossible not to call it fanfiction.

[@estebangutierrez160]

What doesn't make sense is the existence of Marceline, Princess Bubblegum, Ice King, the fictional Fionna and Cake, his arm getting cut off.

[@thebiolibrary5572]

Okay, it's generally implied that Finn's adoptive family was very good to him, but his mother was a non-entity thanks to his dad running away with him and his dad gives Buck Cluck a run for his money in terms of "horrid parent"ness, so the whole "bad family life" idea is almost accurate, until the point where he gets adopted by good parents.

[@blastortoise]

What theory channels are you watching? Normally people come up with stuff based on evidence in other episodes, not make shit up entirely.

[@MarcyTheKindaCoolWizard]

​@thebiolibrary5572 Not quite, Martin and Minnerva genuinely loved Finn and cared for him, the only reason why Martin went rogue is because he lsot Finn trying to escape the Human Citadel and got bonked in te head way too hard, they were very good parents who were thrown under very bad sotuations, in half because of Martin's bad habits, yes, but you have to be a bit dense to think he ddin't genuinely love Finn or Minerva back then

[@IcyDiamond]

It’s funny how so many people can’t accept cartoons are fantastical and it also has to be that the character is in a coma or they’re insane

[@SnrubSource]

i genuinely don't care, i will always love cartoon theories and welcome them with open arms because they remind me of old shitty creepypastas and it feels comfy

[@eternallyconfusedneveraware]

You know what's more interesting than a magical world filled with whimsical people and creatures, kids flighting evil adults with wacky inventions, or a world of super heroes and villains? If it was actually just the ordinary mundane world and the MC just imagined the entire thing so none of the story actually mattered. Obiously.

[@genericname2747]

It's so boring. I'm going to start making theories that are more insane than the show. Timmy Turner is a goldfish with human intelligence who is writing a story about goldfish who turn into fairies. Finn the human is actually Jake the dog, pretending to be a human. The Jake we see in the show is actually the Lich pretending to be a dog. Its all part of his plan to kill everyone. The smurfs are humans with a skin disorder and Gargamel is god. The whole show takes place in an alternate world where God made a world before our own, and was experimenting with creation. Spongebob is a kitchen sponge, not a wild sponge.

[@TheRealLegoDocOck]

@@genericname2747 You’re about to be the next Matpat!

[@genericname2747]

@@TheRealLegoDocOck no please god no have mercy please no

[@therealestcupheadonyt]

I have a theory that Ray William Johnson is a hamster.

[@johird9990]

Have you seen them in the same room?

[@creed8712]

I have a theory that he did your mom

[@Poopenfarden]

i have a theory that otis the cow in barnyard is a dragon!!

[@trexindominus8119]

​@@Poopenfarden I mean, dragons are known to be up in the sky and Otis has been up in the sky quite a bit. Coincidence?

[@KMD-o8x]

​@@trexindominus8119 I think not

[@loziclec.1295]

My favorite thing about the "Ash is in a coma" theory is that it says his coma was caused by the lightning from the first episode. Usually "it's all a dream" theories are used to explain the fantastical elements of a show, like the one for Adventure Time. But the Pokemon theory says the first episode still happened, so Pokemon are still real. It's just Ash's adventures that aren't real. What's even the point?

[@piretiris8223]

They use it to explain why Ash doesn't age past the age of 10

[@muzicalassassin2901]

@@piretiris8223but isn’t there already an explanation? He made a wish on Ho-Oh, right?

[@AHun-t]

@@muzicalassassin2901I’m personally a fan of the theory he did everything in a year max He’s just built different

[@bg8561]

It seem in Japan, He DID age, but the west didn't acknowledged it. (I was wrong)

[@marcoz6281]

@@piretiris8223or why he has a massive pokemon fight win-strake

[@cerebrummaximus3762]

Usually cartoon dark theories tended to be creative then slowly fell into the banal "they were all dead!" "Tis was but a coma dream" "The guy imagined it because he was depressed". The most creative one was a Loud House theory suggesting that Lincoln and Lucy were the only existing siblings and were depressed for some reason (I cant remember why, I think perhaps they were orphans or something) and the way they handled the depression is Lucy became a goth whilst Lincoln a schizophrenic and imagined up all those sisters. Then these theories begun going wild. Edit: I thought the Spongebob being an effect of radiation was confirmed by the creator, no? Bikini atoll is a real place.

[@chocolixo]

Mark forgot to mention that the show's stock explosions came from these nuclear tests, so there are 2 coincidences

[@fractiouslemon]

The Bikini Atoll theory wasn't confirmed, but Stephen Hillenberg jokingly said he wished he'd thought of it because it would fit the absolute goofiness of SpongeBob SquarePants.

[@cerebrummaximus3762]

@@fractiouslemon Oh that explains where I got that from, thanks :)

[@billyweed835]

While I don't like the schizophrenia thing, I actually do like the Winnie the Pooh one, but I interpret it as less of an edge thing and more of a neurodivergent support group thing. Eeyore's depressed, but his friends don't think any less of him for it. So it really just ends up reinforcing the positive vibes. They're all abnormal, but they're found acceptance and friendship in the 100 Acres and that feels kinda sweet.

[@TheGuyInTheCheapSeats]

It galls me he talks for ten minutes about SpongeBob SquarePants then calls Winnie the Pooh " a baby show."

[@grey_cybernetix.1299]

i actually love this interpretation so much i’m gonna think about this heavily for the next 5 days

[@stephaniesheep1147]

I like this, because instead of "oooh spookyyy it's all a mental illness allegory!" that most of these mental illness theories lean towards, it's a wholesome "yeah we may have this, but we're friends supporting each other despite it" (Also why is it almost always schizophrenia???)

[@guto5285]

I think is more probable that the Pooh adventure are Christopher Robin imagination since Pooh and his friends are plush toys. The stories are just Christopher Robin playing his toys See? Way less edgy and makes way more sense than the original one.

[@prageruwu69]

that's a nice spin on it

[@juicecakes]

I think the most fun thing about Adventure Time's coma theory is that it still isn't nearly as dark as the actual AT lore. Sure, it's dark, but it's fake dark.

[@ShadyRK9]

I remember when Butch Hartman said that the ghost in Danny Phantom ain't ghost but monsters. Years later after the show ended! 💀

[@ZH2Y]

Makes literally no sense ☠️😭

[@leviticusprime4904]

Well ghosts are technically a type of monster yes, but if they are only monster and not in any way tied to dead spirits then why is it that throughout the entire show they act as if these “monsters” are still ties directly to humans

[@micjimster4845]

Are you surprised? The dude bearly had anything to do with the show.

[@jankoleon3785]

Well, they never explicitly say heaven, hell, or purgatory in the show and substitute purgatory for the ghost zone. But, at the same time the ghost zone could just be interpreted as another dimension and not really an afterlife

[@jankoleon3785]

​@D7DE Well, they never explicitly say heaven, hell, or purgatory in the show and substitute purgatory for the ghost zone. But, at the same time the ghost zone could just be interpreted as another dimension and not really an afterlife.

[@caitlinb1657]

My biggest issue is that they often aren't dissections of the media or anything like that. They are just high thoughts that got passed around so much that they become "facts"

[@MasterOfViewership]

like urban legends

[@psychedelicpunk5031]

Welcome to america, where overr half the population is high on drugs there are no high thoughts, just mindless thoughts.

[@annaadams9706]

the idea of trixie wishing for a best friend that would love her for her and her fairy veronica turning into that friend would actually make a cool fan fic

[@korjira6404]

I find it funny that the actual story behind Adventure Time is darker than the coma theory. Literal nuclear war isn't dark enough for these people I guess.

[@swiftlyaswiftie]

As a person with OCD I find it so amusing how they relate clean & order = OCD when my room's a mess and I procrastinate so much till the last minute.

[@Kaitou1412Fangirl]

Exactly. Perfectionist or neat freak =/= OCD. I'm no psychologist, but I'm pretty sure they're *very* different.

[@swiftlyaswiftie]

@@Kaitou1412Fangirl exactly, I'm a perfectionist but that's seperate of my ocd and it's so frustrating trying to explain to people

[@TheStarsTwilight]

Part of the confusion may be because there's a different condition called OCPD - obsessive compulsive personality disorder - that IS defined by extreme cleanliness and perfectionism. However, OCD itself is a lot more related to anxiety disorders - it even used to be classed as one before the DSM-V. The compulsions it causes CAN be hygiene related - for instance, the need to excessively wash your hands is a pretty common one - but that's not a requirement. Pretty much any minor task that gets constantly repeated out of an underlying, irrational fear something will go wrong otherwise can be a compulsion. Sadly, like a lot of mental illnesses, OCD is severely misunderstood by the general populace.

[@TheGlooSniffer]

“But we still prefer to think that Christopher Robin had REAL talking animal friends” The whole point of Winnie the Pooh is that they aren’t real. He’s playing with stuffed animals.

[@cooliostarstache5474]

​@UrLocalGabe It's Marco Rubio Official

[@kyleellis1825]

except like half the time he's at school and they hav adventures without him.

[@HeftyYeti8764]

In adventure time they literally address the dream/coma theory. Jakes says “What if this is all a dream inside someone’s head? That would be pretty stupid.” Or something like that. I just thought that was a cheeky way to address these theories haha

[@princeire7486]

The Scooby Doo one is in the 1930s is so absurd, all of the major characters are completely of the late 60s and early 70s in how they act, speak, and dress.

[@Redvee_Ilikemen]

I have a theory that LS Mark is in a coma and all these videos are all in his head, but you guys arent ready for it.

[@Scott...]

Mark is in a coma and we’re all just inhabitants in his dream

[@NRG349]

Yeah, and it turns out that all of us viewers are all just imaginary friends to cope with some hardship or whatever!

[@lennypayne4241]

My childhood has been ruined. 😭😭😭😭😭

[@berto17]

its all in le head

[@Goinmach8]

I remember my brother telling me the candace is insane theory, saying he “ruined my childhood” and I then proceeded to spend the next hour researching it and proved him wrong

[@jordanbaird8681]

Excellent work. That's the kind of nerd spite we should aspire to

[@mrlaz9011]

I would just say "cool fanfic, bro!"

[@pallasdiana4206]

In regards to the Pokemon dream theory, the best way to debunk it would be to point out that Ash being hit by lightning, the point where he supposedly falls into a coma, was in the FIRST episode and really isn't that tonally different than the rest of show.

[@Chekmate-em3mc]

Bad show idea: the show starts off like a normal wacky adventure series, but randomly the main character wakes up from a coma, in a normal world as a kid who would imagine this, before getting hit by a truck and waking up again from another coma where he is a bored adult wishing he was a kid again. This goes on and on with him trying to find his original reality, before the season finale where it cuts to him in his actual coma just dying

[@meatloafer2762]

Correction: GOOD show idea

[@mateuszszulecki5206]

seems more fit for a (short?) film

[@UntitledNameGangIsTouringAmmos]

What I like about Alex Bales videos is that he uses the SpongeBob theory videos as a narrative device to tell his own story about a mysterious being forcing him to make those video. That may sound absurd but if you watch them all in order they tell their own sorta meta-story while still working as stand alone SpongeBob theory videos. Underrated creator.

[@yulee3266]

his stropngest and most possible theories are the tv and ms puff one

[@DaveInSnitchel]

Sounds like a nostalgia critic clone lol

[@shatteredlazuli8092]

@@DaveInSnitchel The Spongbob theory videos are just part of his arg Happy Meat Farms, he mainly works doing short horror films and series on youtube

[@stwbmc98]

@@DaveInSnitchelThe biggest difference between Alex Bale and NC is that Alex Bale actually understands filmmaking

[@Aaron64589]

​@@DaveInSnitchelNever, EVER, compare Alex to Nostalgia Critic. They don't even make the same type of comtent.

[@cheezbunni3530]

I feel really bad for people who made their careers off of theories because ultimately they’re kinda just trying to make a living. Matpat for example has a loving family at this point and while I understand that nobody is beyond criticism the amount of seething hatred for this regular guy just for some dumb internet videos is genuinely sad to watch

[@kingtiger3390]

To be honest MatPat as a person has rubbed me the wrong way for years already.

[@cheezbunni3530]

@@kingtiger3390i definitely get that but I don’t think it’s anything different from any other big youtube personality

[@Skullicgan]

​@@kingtiger3390can i ask you why?

[@SomeBsMovie]

mat has been transparent about how much of a business his ventures are and gives people the leeway to be more critical of his theory videos because their aim is purely profit-driven

[@SoraFan23]

His theories are not meant to be taken seriously. Gosh you people always find anything to be mad about.

[@Tpcool]

Just wanna say I love the chemistry Mark and the editor have. Mark's sense of humor just clicks with me and the visuals feel like a totally natural extension of that. Keep it up fellas

[@BinglesP]

Robot master pfp spotted

[@PearlBagelUwU]

​@@BinglesPTornado Man my beloved

[@giackthedemonandothermadne2863]

It's his fairy godparent

[@JoshuaIfidi]

Wow his editor is Simply Dad

[@DonDunno]

A really good video to bring up is Jacob Geller's "Every Zelda is the Darkest Zelda". All these theories are dumb because they promote really bad media literacy. Zelda games can definitely be dark, but even in the darkness Link and good still prevails. There's still humor, there's always a happy ending, there are always new places to explore. A world that's 100% dark and boring isn't a compelling world. Saying things like "everyone is in a coma because the show is too cheerful" doesn't make you sound any smarter, it just spits in the face of the artist's intentions.

[@ninjafrog6966]

the only real “darkest zelda game” is majora’s mask

[@jragonsouls1178]

My favorite one as a kid was the Courage The Cowardly Dog one. It works because it's all the perspective from a anxious dog who sees any of the visitors as monsters, but in reality it's just friends of Ustes and Muriel. There's lots of other things that back this theory up such as: They live in the middle of nowhere: Ustes and Muriel are too old to take Courage for walks often so they stay at home, thus courage believes they just live where there's no outside world nearby. Courage is abused and hurt by strange entities and Muriel does nothing: That's because it's just the strangers trying to pet Courage and he's yelling and yelping as if they're hurting him. Ustes scares and hurts courage: He's just a bit of a meaner/stricter owner than Muriel and thus the anxious lil dog thinks he's evil. The vet and that guy who keeps saying "Naughty" seem to be super evil and abuse him: Well dogs just don't like vets or groomers. I really liked this theory as a kid because I never liked seeing Courage get so physically hurt and so hearing that it was all just in his head because he's so naturally anxious made me feel a bit better when watching the show.

[@DogFishMane]

I think it’s valid but at the same time, Courage introduced me to horror so when I first heard it, it made me feel a little disappointed that those creepy things may not have been real.

[@milesmohrien8964]

⁠​⁠@@DogFishManei think i understand what your saying but im still confused. did you think the horror in the cartoon would happen in real life or just that it was real in the cartoon world. im also confused on how that would ruin the horror? i like the theory because i used to do the same as a kid, something strange would happen and i would make it way scarier. like when you see a shadow in the night and imagine an awful monster, that show perfectly represents that so watching as a kid thinking it was scary then learning the theory when i was older made the show even better for me

[@DogFishMane]

@@milesmohrien8964 obviously within the cartoon. It’s clever to think about it as being from the dog’s perspective but that theory kinda takes away the fantasy element of the show.

[@EntertainMeTV]

I’ve never seen ANYONE spell Eustace like that. That’s wild.

[@coolpizzacook]

@@DogFishMane You can have both. The show itself takes the situation as reality rather than Courage's imagination. But you can take it as that perspective if you want. Just make it a fun headcanon.

[@El_Descarriado]

LS Mark is actually the inane imaginings of a Vietnamese software developer who is stuck in a coma.

[@sberky98]

he heartedd it its canon chat

[@RoninCatholic]

"Butch Hartman has a particular way he sometimes likes to draw hair fringes, therefore these two otherwise dissimilar characters are the same person" This is a lot like "These two characters have the same voice actor, so they're actually the same character with Multiple Personality Disorder" I used to see all the time on TV Tropes. Inability to separate the character from the actor.

[@antoinedesgagnes9969]

15:37 Ok, the Angelica is hallucinating the other kids just killed me. I mean, in the early Rugrats seasons there were stories where Tommy was alone among adults (and teenagers in a specific case). Even afterwards where the perpetual presence of other kids was generalized, Angelica wasn't always there... because the main character was Tommy duh. It's not even funny, it's just too ridiculous for that. The "Jon Arbuckle" is schizophrenic doesn't hold together because there are many strips where isn't even there...but it still manages to be funny because were talking about 3 cases strips, not 10-minute-long animated segment. It's funny to mentally erase Garfield or look at strips whre Garfield got photoshopped out.

[@crimsoneclipse0618]

I'm sad you didn't mention the best part of the 'Ash Is In A Coma' theory, which is that in this theory, Pokemons are still real things in the world, which is bizarre.

[@Coolguyanimations1223]

in latin american community they say that ash's dog had died

[@Crow_Rising]

The thing about the Pokemon coma theory that never made sense to me is that the series is established right off the bat as taking place in this whimsical world full of magical and mysterious creatures that people catch inside of special spheres and train them to fight each other, and the theory takes place after this established setting is introduced. What would even be the point of introducing the viewer to this world, only to immediately rip them away from it in favor of a dream version for the rest of the series? It's almost like the tone shift is because the show is made to be child friendly and not because it's meant to imply something dark and morbid that most people wouldn't even pick up on anyway.

[@StudioHannah]

There’s a lot of dark stuff in Pokémon anyway when you look into the Pokédex entries and the canon lore. We don’t need fake theories for a dark twist, there are already so many existing twists in there lol

[@BinglesP]

Hello Zero

[@dataexpunged4784]

That's because Ash is actually in a DOUBLE COMA! A coma within a coma, Inception style!

[@invaderneo3227]

I remember seeing this Invader Zim theory that claimed Zim was actually a human the whole time and the pictures they used to back this up were all pictures of Dib.

[@irisius7551]

Zim made that post himself

[@mrlaz9011]

that's the only way you could make such a stupid post acceptable.

[@Nakia11798]

​@@irisius7551Definitely not. Why would Zim, a perfectly normal wormbaby, need to PROVE that he is human?

[@sberky98]

​@@irisius7551 ofc he did

[@hasty_rychu]

I think it is more plausible that when ash saw Ho-oh in that same episode, he wished to be able to be a pokemon trainer forever and that's why he doesn't age.

[@kyleellis1825]

Or that Mewtow/Mew reviving him from stone did it. Or any other legendary/mythical encounter or any of his weird energy episodes.

[@merchantziro4285]

​​​@@kyleellis1825 Honestly wirh the amount of times Ash has met Pokemon who are considered deities, I honestly can buy that. Like maybe one of them blessed him with eternal youth or something because they say potential in him due to his heroics?

[@kyleellis1825]

@@merchantziro4285 That's the Ho-Oh Theory. He saw Ho-Oh on his first day of adventure and wished to experience that feeling forver. So he's always 10/the world stays the same age even if time passes. Could Be him meeting all the Celebi, Could be that he died and mewtwo/Mew revived him and Ash is really just a clone and everyone forgot. Could have Been Lugia meeting him and triggering his Aura energy early so he's just got an extended life. Could Be Suicune and those powers. Could be the Unown, we saw them turn the other little girl into an adult. Could have been something Togepi did with metronome.

[@Gemnist98]

The only fan theories (for any media) that I like are the ones that actually enhance the story and characters. For example, I heard one that in the MCU, the reason why Spider-Man has seen a bunch of “very old” (80s) movies is because he used to watch them with Uncle Ben. It’s sweet, in-character, and not all that grand for the sake of being grand.

[@juannaym8488]

would also explain why Peter said in Far From Home that he loves AC/DC. He could've listened to them with his uncle

[@RoninCatholic]

That he has actually seen Saturday Night Fever and is able to respond to Star Lord asking if it's still the best movie ever by saying that it never was, I loved that for both of their characters. Even if it hadn't been a good movie (which it was), being one of Star Lord's few cultural ties to his life on Earth before being abducted by aliens would naturally inflate its quality in his memory, and him legitimately thinking it's the best movie ever wouldn't be wrong. Peter meanwhile definitely got to see many other movies, and at the time he'd have seen Saturday Night Fever he'd have already seen many other movies a boy his age would've gravitated towards more.

[@donovanfaust3227]

​@@RoninCatholicyou mean Footloose?

[@jessicapinkman-hd4bw]

that sounds tragic

[@RoninCatholic]

@@jessicapinkman-hd4bw Spider Man's life is always tragic, which is why he resonates so much with a wide audience of people who live in a tragic world.

[@Wince_Media]

Yknow what's funny? The spongebob bikini atol theory actually ended up being true when Spongebob's pitch Bible was leaked, and the introduction to bikini bottom is by stating it was underneath bikini atol

[@BinglesP]

Yeah, it’s the radioactive part that’s iffy

[@Analog_Jake]

​@BinglesP you'll never guess what happened at the bikini atol

[@asbestos464]

the sungerbob bible?

[@Mars-dw2zc]

@@asbestos464 fellow slav? sundjerbob kockalone?

[@Wince_Media]

@@asbestos464 a pitch Bible is basically a book showrunners make to convince executives to fund it

[@maddoxio]

The only one I genuinely believe is the Winnie the Pooh characters representing different personalities traits and emotions that the irl Christopher Robin would eventually experience/deal with, and they were used as a tool to help him understand them. Which is a better and more plausible take than the mental illness shit

[@lapiswolf2780]

28:47 The Great Depression theory doesn't work when they drive a 1970s-80s van.

[@maas1208]

There was actually an Economic Recession in the 1970s but it wasn't as severe as the Great Depression

[@ImmaLittlePip]

With creepypastas making a comeback it was inevitable that the theory sub genre would of made a comeback as well

[@kittykittybangbang9367]

Creepypastas are making a comeback?

[@C-Farsene_5]

I know analog horror is becoming more popular, but I didn't know creepypasta is too

[@EngineerRiff]

I didn’t know creepypastas were making a comeback

[@juannaym8488]

@@C-Farsene_5 I feel like people like me who were terrified by creepypastas ten years ago as kids are now into analog horror as young adults

[@C-Farsene_5]

@@juannaym8488 same lol, tho ngl some analog horror are based on a meme like the Russian chernobyl polar bear meme, why kinda has potential

[@sonicultimateyt1090]

I love how you used a peashooter as a metaphor for pea brained. Very creative of you.

[@mikethegoo]

Oh wow, that one went over my head!

[@78o90g]

So thats why it is

[@RVAdada]

@@mikethegooMine too

[@ericwilliamofficial]

shit didn't even notice that

[@TheStrangestLad]

It's funny that Mark mentioned the Alex Bale spongebob theories without pointing out the fact that there's a horror story mixed into the joke theories lol

[@pastaman7278]

honestly adventure time being a kids coma is way lighter than adventure times real story

[@tsunderecat413]

i think what's really interesting is when these theories turn out to be true, like how people were speculating that adventure time took place on a post-apocalyptic earth long after a major nuclear fallout, or how stan from gravity falls had a secret twin brother, with said brother being a potential candidate for the author of the journals. in both cases, the puzzle pieces were there from the beginning, they were just all but confirmed until a little later.

[@Alejandroigarabide]

I'd really like to watch a video on fan theories that turned out to be true and/or retconned as true.

[@socialgutbrain7774]

Another good one was Rose Quartz secretly being Pink Diamond, which was previously considered the quintessential crackpot theory that -obviously- couldn't be true, right guys? RQ=PD was even planned from the beginning of the show, and rewatching SU reveals a bunch of foreshadowing that's pretty obvious in hindsight.

[@Kyumifun]

​@@socialgutbrain7774 reminds me of the Club Penguin theory that turned out to be true that the mayor of the island was the leader of the secret agent organisation.

[@pedroff_1]

Don't forget Over the Garden Wall happening in purgatory, while Wirt and Greg almost drown unconscious, and even meet the souls of some of the people in the cemetery they were in

[@jeb791]

the opening of AT starts with a shot with multiple undetonated nuclear weapons' and a smashed tv so not shocking

[@fallen_arcane3211]

19:10 Pokémon nerd here! I remember this theory being tossed around quite a lot, but it tends to fall flat once you look at the grand scheme of things. There’s actually a scene in “Pokémon I choose you the movie” where Ash gets knocked out from a Pokémon attacking him, and he begins to have a dream where Pokémon never existed, and he lived in the world we do before being brought back to his reality from Pikachu begging him to wake up. So if going off the Pokémon lore, it’d make more sense to say that the world we’re in right now is all a coma induced hallucination, while the Pokémon world is the actual real world. Funniest part is, it’s true. You need to wake up, your family misses you. Wake up. WAKE UP

[@IrisXen]

um actually no i dont think i will sorry cia. Not today 😂😊

[@filmfreck]

One thing I'm kinda noticing with these theories is that a lot of them are kinda neat if summarized in 3 sentences. But then whomever write them decide take the ideas to far and it makes them fall apart completly. Like the Ed, Edd and Eddy purgatory one

[@Coolguyanimations1223]

that one is completely dumb

[@Ultra04channel]

"Steven After Not Surviving" Dang it Toby I never even caught that one during the Spamton sweepstakes. "Spamton After Not Surviving" was one of the items.

[@NoahhVazquez-fb9yl]

Steven universe is Undertale sans

[@PossumsAreNice]

As someone who grew up with the old Smurfs cartoons, I’ve always “smurfing” despised “that” theory. I remember watching all these “dark theory” videos and trying to find one for the Smurfs that was *literally anything other then **_that_** theory.* I could never find one though, and I always felt bad for liking my little blue guys after having that theory shoved into my face (and was the only time anyone ever talked about them). I remember 12 year old me making up my own “dark theory” for them that actually considered the show’s ✨lore✨. Looking back at it I’m actually proud of it because it wasn’t just a buzzword template and actually explained a question I had about the show.

[@samandom8772]

You cant just say you made a theory and NOT elaborate on the theory.

[@PossumsAreNice]

@@samandom8772 (note, this is talking solely about the cartoon, I didn’t really have access to the comics) Basically, I to this day have no idea why Papa Smurf was the oldest (aside from grandpa, but I didn’t see the episode he was introduced. He was always someone who just sort of appeared to me). He talks about growing up in a village of other smurfs, but he couldn’t have just left it to start his own village because he also says that there aren’t any other smurfs anymore. I can’t think of a reason he’d lie about either of these things, so I thought there must have been some major disaster that took all of the smurfs except Papa. But this theory is more specific then that. In one episode, Gargamel learns of some alchemy thing that turns lead into gold, and it requires someone to boil six smurfs. From that episode on, that becomes Gargamel’s motive. It used to be eating the smurfs, but I guess the producers thought being boiled alive was less scary for kids then being eaten. With this in mind, my theory was that Papa’s old village (and any other village) was basically hunted into almost extinction by alchemist who boiled then for gold. Papa and Grandpa were the only survivors. I can think of two potential holes, but they can be explained. The first hole is that in the cartoon, smurfs are commonly believed to just myths. You would think that a key ingredient to the formula that turns lead into gold would be considered “real” by the public at large. But the explanation for this involves how slowly smurfs age compared to humans. Basically, 10 years of aging for us, is 1 year of aging for a smurf. Which doesn’t seem like a lot, until you realize that a smurf with the mind similar to a human 10 year old, is _100 years old._ And if all this happen when Papa was a child (say 100-140-ish), and he’s canonically 546 (according to Google), that should leave plenty of time for people to grow up thinking that this supposedly extinct creature is just a myth. Adding to this, the formula for this spell is lost to time. People are actively trying to recreate it in the show by throwing stuff against the wall and seeing what works. If it’s even remembered that smurfs were a part of the formula, it they would probably feel even more like a myth. The other hole is that the smurfs make a handful of human friends throughout the show, and Papa is chill with it. But this has two explanations tbh. One, Papa through the show has been proven to be the type of guy to not hold every human on earth accountable for something like this. He’s saved Gargamel and Azrael’s life a few times. And while he does approach humans with a lot of caution, the ones the Smurfs are friends with have proven they’re trustworthy. Also maybe a human helped young Papa escape and that’s why he knows some humans are cool? Maybe both. But yeah

[@samandom8772]

@@PossumsAreNice wow. Its a Great theory considering you were 12 when you made it haha

[@PossumsAreNice]

@@samandom8772 Thank you!!

[@BriahnAznable]

My dad went on local public tv as a joke like 30 years ago to talk about a fake book he wrote about how Gilligan’s island is actually hell and it’s made apparent by how each one of the castaways represented one of the 7 sins Skipper: Wrath Gilligan: Gluttony Mr. Howell: Greed Mrs Howell: Sloth Ginger: Lust Mary Ann: Envy Professor: Pride Shit hasn’t changed at all, it’s amazing 😂

[@WinglessMoonstone]

I really hate the "It was all a dream" theories, because that's basically just saying, "Get this, every fictional story ever was... fiction." ...yeah, didn't need a depressing theory to know that, thanks for letting me know all this is unrealistic. XD

[@SPARKI404]

guys what if spongebob takes place underwater because the show is about sea creatures

[@MattTOB618]

The "only fairies have pupils" theory reminds me of when Steven Universe was airing, and I heard a theory that Jasper was a fusion for similar reasons (the majority of fusions in Season 1 had a pupil+iris combo instead of a simple colored pupil, and so did Jasper). But Stevonnie didn't, then basically every fusion from Season 2 onwards didn't as well, then Yellow Diamond _did,_ and eventually, Jasper poofed, proving she was a single gem.

[@guacamolegamer6370]

One theory I actually believe, is that Donkey from Shrek is one of those rebellious kids who got turned into donkeys from Pinocchio.

[@kittykittybangbang9367]

Especially considering that he's right behind Pinocchio

[@sonicfanboy3375]

You got that one from MatPat, didn't you?

[@lucasmatthiessen1570]

It’s confirmed in an interview that Donkey does have a father who is also a donkey.

[@billyweed835]

He's actually a Musicians of Bernham Wood reffence.

[@juannaym8488]

I actually believed that it was this way for years and years, like I could've sworn there was some line in the movies that confirmed this. But nah, it's just a theory, albeit a good one

[@SaveAwesomeMatt]

Back in the day they were actually kind of interesting. People got hooked on em and they got more and more out there because people ran out of good ideas. Just like creepypasta.

[@gothnerd887]

Yeah, I'd be impressed if they managed to come up with something for a show like Fat Slags.

[@somethingcraft3148]

Creepy pasta’s are great.

[@SaveAwesomeMatt]

@@somethingcraft3148 agreed but lately there’s a lot of repetition. Not a lot of new ideas in the shorter ones. The longer ones are still good.

[@JokingJames2]

I've cracked the code, the cartoons used as examples in this video represent the 7 sins: Sloth - Avatar: The Last Airbender - He uses clips from it multiple times without ever actually saying a theory related to it out loud. Slothful behavior. Lust - Fairly OddParents - LS Mark *loves* this show, maybe a little too much? Wrath - South Park - uhh cause the characters in that show get angry and stuff, you know? Envy - Pokemon - everyone wishes pokemon were real so they could be a pokemon trainer, we can't help but envy Ash Pride - Butch Hartman - he MADE Fairly OddParents obviously Greed - Spongebob Squarepants - it has Mr. Krabs in it who is famously greedy Gluttony - Adventure Time - the people of the candy kingdom are literally desserts??? you can't argue with that?? Now that I've proved that I am very smart, please leave only replies to this comment that agree with me and don't criticize my theory or prove it wrong I don't want to see any of that.

[@pkcell]

The issue with a lot of the mental illness theories is that they portray them as a way to make the story edgier when it's just as easy to go "hey I think this character might have this disorder because they show these signs" and have an interesting concept to think on that doesn't have nearly the problematic weight of "mental illness=eDgY." For example, Ace Attorney has a very popular theory that Miles Edgeworth has PTSD. It's not confirmed, but many points in the games make the theory extremely plausible, so it's a reasonable conclusion to make.

[@augustoof13]

I agree with you 100%. What I do is make all the characters I like autistic… because I am and I said so lol

[@TheChefBoo]

Isn't it practically confirmed that Miles has PTSD because of that one event in 1-4?

[@ruairicorrigan3582]

Wait, that's only a *theory*? I thought that was just a fact of the game. I mean, the whole turnabout seems like it hints that way, from the dreams, to his sudden reaction to earthquakes.

[@zerir.3726]

⁠@@TheChefBooright like he has panic attacks multiple times throughout the series they’re just not going to say it out loud lol

[@tjreardon8495]

Didn't he watch his dad get shot right infront of him how the hell do you not have ptsd

[@crystalqueen9711]

I imagine Matpat looks at some of the more deranged theories and just says: "Are you challenging me?"

[@rosemary3029]

He definitely has the most dumbest easily debunkable paw patrol theories

[@ahmadmalaki8364]

He will be like “I’m the king of retarded theories “

[@dialga236]

Hey Mark, Im currently studying to become a psychologist, and while don't take this as a proper diagnosis, but from watching your channel for a while I think you could struggle with a pretty strong case of Nöu Bétch'es Disorder. Hope this helps!

[@TyshaggyGaming]

I heard that's terminal

[@pastghoster]

What it is??

[@sophiarafferty]

@@pastghoster no b*tchs

[@ythegamerita]

​​@@pastghosterit can be easily mistaken for diz sindrome

[@pastghoster]

@@ythegamerita so what it is :/

[@comet-ribbon]

Cartoon: Does wacky, lighthearted stuff. Internet: It's all in a baby's coma.

[@SeamanTheGreat]

Theory: Mark is actually a kid just thinking up the Chanel in his imagination

[@BinglesP]

I also came to the conclusion that Chanel was imaginary this whole time. I mean, think about it, when was the last time you saw their fashion lines in stores? Spooky.

[@gigaj2368]

I been hearing the Pokémon, SpongeBob and Ed, Edd, n' Eddy theories all my life, but I love how the one about Ash being in a dream-like coma cause he got struck by lightning doesn't mentions how Ash got zapped by his Poke Pal literally 10 minutes into it, and it's why he wears rubber gloves as he pulls Pikachu around. But that would make too much sense Also, you should up all the theories about what is underneath Double D's (EEnE) hat. It's a fun ride

[@smt64productions40]

I am convinced the people making coma theories never seen the show they’re theorizing about

[@donovanfaust3227]

Double D definitely has a conjoined twin/fetus underneath his hat. That's why he's so smart, cause he's got two brains. Also jawbreakers are just heroi-

[@BinglesP]

To be fair, they actually liked to tease people with the Edd hat one in the show a few times. Most people point to the scene where his hat is stuck to the ceiling fan, but there's also an episode about them getting revenge on Kevin where Eddy blackmails Edd with revealing what's under it. It was even referenced in a "We'll be right back"/"We now return" bumper for the show during Cartoon Network's Powerhouse era. (Source: I've been obsessed with this show for a while now)

[@Smilephile]

"Why is it always drugs or mental illness?" This is the adult children's cartoon fandom were talking about lol.

[@Strawberry_Phox]

My favorite Spongebob theory is the one about him at some point being in the military, it wasn't like "he killed many people" or "his friend died in war" it was just a short yet sweet post on Tumblr pointing out that he follows some of the rules and ways of military personnel

[@davidgottschalt9178]

I don't think this is really a theory anyone talks about anymore but I really like the idea of the Pixar theory all being in one connected universe.

[@somari8591]

A theory i loved growing up is the Pixar Timeline theory. This sprawling theory that begins with Brave and ends with Monsters Inc as a bookend because apparently Boo is a time traveler who is responsible for the easter egg details to other Pixar films, and she discovered time travel in an attempt to find Sully, as the doors in that film project to the past where humans were still alive. As a kid i thought this was the coolest fucking way to tie everything together but as i got older it increasingly sounded more stupid and i just cant stand it cuz even to this day people attempt to rationalize why the theories still stand even though Pixar films just do whatever now, like how the fuck do you even fit Elemental into that lol

[@lucasmatthiessen1570]

Maybe the elements are aliens. Maybe they live in another dimension. Or maybe the main character is in a coma and….

[@artCharles]

Honestly, I still like the idea of the Pixar films being connected, but obviously not all of them can be. Plus, the Pixar theory already doesn't work well, since it wants *every* Pixar film to be connected, rather than just the ones that could possibly fit together.

[@BinglesP]

@@artCharles Right? Like, why can’t it just be _most_ of them?! Black-and-white marginalizations like that are so annoying.

[@Trecherousbeast]

Modern-day versions of the Pixar theory now have it so that some movies are movies within the Pixar universe. The Incredibles are one of the movies that are considered to be a movie within the Pixar universe instead of something that happens, which is why random kid in Finding Nemo owns a Mr. Incredible comic book. I like this new version of the theory because it makes more sense, but it also feels like a bit of a cop out. The whole draw was that EVERY movie was a part of the timeline!

[@bigchungus8287]

I love how this theory implies that humans somehow evolve to monsters, then elements, and somehow cars

[@jorymo4964]

I partially blame the show St. Elsewhere, which actually _did_ end with the reveal that the whole show was just the daydream of a kid looking at a snow globe. Interestingly, through a huge web of crossovers, this ends up kind of including a bunch of other shows like Law and Order, The X-Files, and even The Simpsons. Of course, I doubt that was actually the intention with all of these other shows

[@TheMGMfan]

That's also just a really common trope in general; that's not even the only famous example of it: Dallas retconned an entire season when one of the actors decided to return (His character was killed off at the end of the season prior due to his departure), Super Mario Bros. 2 likely ended that way to explain why it was so different from the first game, and I can even think of two pieces of media (Total Recall and Link's Awakening) which made it a major plot point and tied it to the story's themes. That said, I could see this being a reason why the dream theory in particular is so common. It probably also has a lot to do with how easy they are to make; you don't have to worry about evidence against your theory when it claims that said evidence isn't real to begin with. All you would need is a backstory to explain why they’re in a coma in the first place, and you're set.

[@BagOfMagicFood]

​@@TheMGMfan I heard Roseanne also retconned one of its last seasons as just a story within the show!

[@Jerecan_man]

I saw a fnaf theory that made me laugh out loud at Thanksgiving dinner. Basically it's about the opening to fnaf ruin when Cassie falls into the sewer. According to the theory, Cassie drowned in the sewer and the entire game is a manifestation of her loneliness. Some "evidence" is that the V.A.N.N.I. mask makes you go through walls, a lot of the V.A.N.N.I. hallucinations are about her loneliness like the note about her dad leaving and the cutouts of her party, and the ending leaving her with no friends. I was sneaking my phone under the table at Thanksgiving and just bursted out laughing, that was a two week grounding.

[@TheDigitalApple]

Cartoon theories are either “everyone or the main character is secretly dealing with cancer and the whole show is their fantasy” or “this character is dead”. Cartoon theories are boring.

[@rompevuevitos222]

There's some pretty fun ones. -There's a theory where most Pixar movies are interconnected that has a lot of proof behind it (altho it's probably just coincidences because same studio). It basically shows repeats of characters and locations across different movies and how many of the characters could very well be related. -In Adventure Time, "everything is a dream" has become more and more plausible with recent reveals of how the multiverse works. Technically the world could very much be a dream, just like Finn's pillow world was a world made out of a dream. It's not as unlikely as it sounds. -I like the "Ash is in a coma" one because it explains why A: every town has the same pokemon nurse and police officer. B: magic unexplainable healing powers during the movies C: Ash manages to go from 0 to Pokemon master in under a year Which is at least an attempt to what serves as a rather large plothole which is otherwise explained as "this is a cartoon so it doesn't have to make sense".

[@thanatoast]

13:57 It’s so strange that "Mental Illness" has basically become It’s own setting, like a fantasy world only edgier. You see it a lot in horror games too, it's not uncommon for the monster to be a representation of some vague undefined mental illness that causes them to hallucinate.

[@Ata.TeaGargler]

Did the guy who come up with that Adventure Time coma theory not watch Adventure Time? The things Finn went through in Ooo are far worse than being treated poorly by family members. Why would Finn's mind subconsciously escape there? The worse reality

[@estebangutierrez160]

I guess when they first saw the Lich they were like, "Oh so Finn is in a coma because the creepy skeleton guy represents Death himself, yup this boy is in a coma"

[@lightninjohn5651]

I remember hearing that theory when the show was still fairly new, so I don’t believe much of the horrible stuff had happened by the time the theory was first made

[@dylanhudec979]

@@lightninjohn5651 they always bring up that theory because of like talking animals or like fighting demons it’s not a coma that’s just what the writers wanted their shows to be I bet the writers are probably annoyed by these theories as well they’re not comas that’s just how they wrote them

[@chaoz7370]

​@@estebangutierrez160even though Death himself becomes a character in the show lol

[@foursidekm]

That theory and image is like super super early adventure time. They might have fought the lich when it was drawn maybe? But that's probably it