17 Fan Theories In Johnny Depp Movies That Have Hidden Depths

From Redditor u/siatabiri:

Those of us who are fans of the old series of Dark Shadows know that Laura Collins, David Collins's mother, is a Phoenix--a being who can replenish her youth and vitality by sacrificing herself and another in a fire. She is conniving and resourceful. The imagery of a phoenix could be beautifully done in something as visual as Tim Burton's Dark Shadows – a flaming spirit with vibrant reds and oranges.

Her actual appearance in the film? A swishy ghost. Months after watching the film, I realized why.

Laura Collins, in the film, was unable to continue her rejuvenation cycle. Angelique states that she had Laura die in a boating accident--probably devoid of flames--, and throughout the film, David chats with his mother's ghost. Her spirit lives on (as we know pretty much all spirits do in the world of Dark Shadows), but not as a Phoenix. This is why her telling David about her cyclical rejuvenation is not horrible--it might have helped her explain why she couldn't save herself.

From Redditor u/kamikazeads:

1. Lust is represented by Willy Wonka. This is pretty simple, Willy Wonka has [an extreme lust] for candy. Ever since he was a child he craved it [because he was not allowed to have it].
2. Gluttony is represented by Augustus Gloop. His excessive eating [makes this simple]. As seen in the film he constantly ate in most of his scenes, not even stopping [when he got sucked into a tube or got escorted out of the factory].
3. Greed is represented by Veruca Salt. She was rich and spoiled and literally wanted everything. She even mentioned the number of pets she had and still wanted a squirrel. After that [as they were leaving, she saw the flying glass elevator and] she said she wanted one.
4. Sloth is represented by Grandpa Joe. He never got out of bed until the time he saw something that interested him… [even as his family suffered].
5. Wrath is represented by Mike Teavee. This kid had strong anger [and authority] issues.
6. Envy is represented by Charlie Bucket. The kid is poor and is [kind], however, this doesn't mean he never got jealous of other children and their luxury. 
7. Pride represents Violet Beauregarde. Simple, she is a "Champion" and looks at herself extremely highly. She always shows off her bubblegum chewing awards and even said, "Because I'm a champion," when she stole the apple before Charlie.

From Redditor u/HauntedPlanterr26:

What exactly happened to Lord Barkus when the undead folk took him back to the underworld?

Some could say Barkus simply got beaten up, as the dead folks couldn't even lay a finger on him due to him being alive. It wasn't until after he accidentally killed himself with poison that the dead folk suddenly smile mischievously while approaching Lord BARKUS, some looking like they are about to salivate, Napoleon holding his sword like he's prepared to cut a steak, and Miss Plum holding up a fork saying 'new arrival' sinisterly before bringing him back to their world to do whatever the unspeakable punishment is......Think about it....why else would Lord Barkus be so terrified?

It's also noteworthy to see that there are no signs of any terrible people in the underworld. For the most part, every dead person that Victor encounters is very pleasant and extremely nice to him. They are also very neighborly to each other, almost like we are in an episode of Sesame Street rather than a world of the dead. Even two different groups of soldiers who probably battled in life are pleasant to each other. There aren't even any dungeons or prisons. So what happens to bad people that die? The answer is that the undead townsfolk have a justice system that the world of the living is not meant to see. There is a dark side to even the bright and colorful underworld.

The reason Emily ended up in this world is because she had unfinished business, making her a revenant, meaning the other people are revenants too. They all have unfinished business like Emily and were probably murdered, wronged, or unfulfilled in life. While they are waiting to be avenged, they also serve another purpose; they judge whoever passes over to their realm. If a person is good, they welcome them. If a person is bad, that person becomes their next meal. They rid people who were rotten in life by voluntarily feasting on them. Plus the only thing we ever see these dead people consume is alcoholic beverages. The closest thing to normal food we ever see is Miss Plum and the chefs baking a giant cake, most likely intended for their living friends and not them.

From Redditor u/PJRTCGY:

My theory was that the 5th ticket, which was declared to be a fake, was actually real. Wonka realized that an adult had found the ticket, [had it declared fake], and sent out the 6th ticket that Charlie found [in his own hometown so it would be found quickly].

From Redditor u/Kroizer21:

The Mad-Hatter has fallen ill after finding a blue paper hat that he made when he was young, because he believes that this means that his family is somehow improbably survived the massacre of Horunvedush day. The White Queen tells Alice that there might be a way to save them, and leads Alice to a very convenient doorway to meet Mr. Time. She herself could not help because if her past self met her present self, all time would fall apart. So Alice steals a time machine and travels to the day the Red Queen loses her temper, leading her father to announce the the White Queen will be the next ruler instead of the Red Queen.

After this moment, the White Queen randomly tells the Hatter's parents, in very specific detail, the exact day and time that changed everything for her sister, leading Alice to go back even further back in time to try and stop the Red Queen from falling and hitting her head (which caused her head to get swollen). Alice goes, and in an attempt to try and stop the Red Queen from getting hurt by crashing into an old wooden closet, she causes the Red Queen to bump her head at the base of a stone statue – thus causing her head to swell. This is the first and only effect that Alice has on the natural course of time. 

At this point, Alice understands that the hatter's family isn't dead at all, so she goes to save them. But… did Alice really need to go back in time for that? The Hatter's family were captured at Horunvedush day by the Red Queens card-soldiers, that if you recall from the last movie, renounced the red queens ways and then like joined the good side - couldn't one of them tell the white Queen that the Hatter's family aren’t dead and were in the hands of the Red Queen?

Messing around with the time continuum shouldn’t be the first course of action. Unless… the White Queen did know that Hatter's family were ok, but decided to use Alice to gain a bit of political advancement. It's not so far-fetched if you think about the fact the White Queen framed her sister for eating the tarts, and even though she knew it was her fault. She also knows that her sister is getting all one-sided-romantic with the embodiment of time, but lacks the brains to scheme something up with time manipulation. [However,] the White Queen doesn't take any unnecessary risks so she finds a way to a time machine and goes back to the time her sister is injured and she recognizes Alice - so she knows that Alice is supposed to make all this happen, but she can't just walk up to Alice and [tell her she is the cause of the Red Queen's suffering,] so she sets a plan in motion.

She went back in time, stole the blue paper hat that was left behind in Horunvedush day, plants the paper hat for the Mad-Hatter to find, probably gave him the idea that "if that paper hat survived, why not your family, right?" Then she waited for the Hatter to fall ill and sent Absalem to call Alice. Alice comes and they wait for her to mess around in time so they could keep their political superiority. If Alice wouldn't have gone back in time, the Red Queen would probably be okay, and then she wouldn't be evil, she wouldn't send her dragon to kill the mad-hatters family and all will be good with the exception that the White Queen wouldn't be in command.

From Redditor u/EquivalentInflation:

Evidence:

Grindelwald is meant to be a Nazi allegory. He spends all his time talking about the "superior race" of wizards and believes that all Muggles must live in servitude, or just be wiped out. Grindelwald was even an Austrian who later moved to Germany and set up his base there.

In The Crimes of Grindelwald he shows visions of massive armies of tanks, the Blitz on London, the bombing of Hiroshima, etc. All good evidence that humanity is evil... except for the fact that none of it happened yet. The movie takes place in the 1920s, decades before any of those things were even dreamed of. Either he could see the future with incredible accuracy (something even the most talented seers couldn't), or he knew what would happen because he was planning for it. 

There are some pretty clear details connecting Grindelwald to WWII Germany. He was defeated by Dumbledore in 1945, the same year the war ended. He was then imprisoned in Nuremgard (similar to Nuremberg). Additionally, who was he fighting? Where are the biggest wizarding schools located? England, the US, France, and Russia - aka, where Germany went to war. MACUSA was even sympathetic to his anti-muggle ideas, which may have been why the US took so long to get involved. 

Grindelwald lacked the resources and numbers he needed for his plan. However, by influencing a muggle government and helping the Nazis rise to power, he could start a brutal, bloody war that would exhaust both wizard and muggle governments, leaving them ripe for takeover. 

There's also the fact that wizards have no protection against muggle weapons. The bombing of civilian areas was relatively new in WWII, and wizards would be even more unprepared than muggles. Attacks like the Blitz could wipe out hundreds of wizards. In the Harry Potter books, almost every pureblood/half-blood wizard we see doesn't live in a city. [Meaning, those "types"] Wizarding families were the ones who would survive.