There’s A Conspiracy Theory That Connects ‘Shrek’ to ‘Pinocchio’

Let’s peel back all the layers of this onion.

Everyone loves a good conspiracy theory. The Internet is a Golden Corral for these theories and we eat them up like it’s a weekday special. I’ve heard a few convincing conspiracy theories, but nothing tops the list like the one from Redditor YeremyV. Forget the one connecting JonBenét Ramsey to Katy Perry— I’m talking about one that actually makes sense.

By now, we’ve all seen the classic films “Shrek” and “Pinocchio.” If not, don’t worry — I’m here to fill you in without spoiling too much of the films’ plots.

In “Pinocchio,” we see the title character go to Pleasure Island, a place where kids can do whatever the hell they want. It’s obviously a bad idea, because we have a group of young boys smoking cigars and drinking beer like it’s nothing. Since all bad behavior has consequences (in Disney films at least), the boys get turned into mute donkeys and are sold to salt miners. There is an exception, however: If a donkey still talks, it won’t get sold.

The film doesn’t give us much clarification, though. What happens to the donkey-boys who can still talk? Where do they go? Keep these questions in mind as we dive into “Shrek.”

The characters of the Shrek franchise are set in a fairytale world similar to Disney. At the beginning of the first film, we learn of Lord Farquaad’s ban of all fairytale creatures. This includes everything from the three blind mice to the three little pigs.

When we first get introduced to Donkey, he’s with an old woman trying to turn him in for 10 shillings. The woman promises the captain of the guards that he is the “talkingest damn thing,” but a scared Donkey refuses to speak. He stays quiet until a sprinkle of Tinker Bell’s pixie dust levitates him into the air where he finally proclaims, “I can fly!”

There’s one key character a part of this scene which connects our two films: our puppet pal, Pinocchio. Could Donkey possibly be one of the donkey-boys from Pleasure Island, just all grown up?

Here’s the convincing evidence:

1. Donkey doesn’t come from any commonly-known story. “Pinocchio” is the only fairytale that features talking donkeys, so it would give our Donkey a plausible backstory.
2. Since Donkey and Pinocchio are both getting turned in during the same scene, this means they exist in the same world. (More evidence to support the first point.)
3. Donkey makes a comment in “Shrek the Third” about having haunting flashbacks of swirlies and wedgies. (Maybe he was a real boy at one point in his life?)
4. In the same film, when Puss and Donkey switch bodies, Puss can’t seem to stop hee-hawing. Donkey then explains “You’ll learn to control that.” This scene resembles a part in Pinocchio where our puppet pal begins laughing so much, he begins to hee-haw.

I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty convinced. What do you think? YeremyV’s theory has since been deleted from Reddit, but you know what they say: the truth is out there. *cue ‘X Files’ music*