The most notorious fan theory suggests that Sandy is in fact dying throughout the movie and the story only plays out in her imagination. Arguably one of the most famous movie theories of all time, it offers a completely different perspective on the movie's otherwise mostly upbeat tone, adding darkness to the musical's joyous light. And while the theory has its detractors, it remains incredibly popular, because it is tied to the film's strangest mystery: what its end really means. It is precisely because of that ending's weirdness and one particularly pertinent line from Grease's first big musical number - "Summer Nights" that a fan theory suggested a grim undercurrent to the classical musical including a dying teenage girl living her last moments "down in the sand". The fantasy sequences of "Greased Lightnin'" and "Beauty School Dropout", which very much play out in the imaginations of the characters singing those songs. The former is the T-Birds imagining their triumphs and how well the car will boost their boyish boasts of machismo, while the latter is Didi Conn's Frenchy imagining the bleakness of her future if her dream fails. Both are very much tied to dreams, but that makes the final sequence of Grease all the more confusing, because when Danny and Sandy fly off from the carnival in Greased Lightnin' it happens in real-time in the real world. Sandy's shock is nothing compared to that of the audience, who have just watched a fairly conventional high-school musical that operates within normal rules of reality end with a car literally flying off into the distance. In that respect, it was no wonder that there was an opportunity for a fan theory to fill in the gap in logic. The starting point of the theory, which was initially posted on Reddit, is one of the lines in "Summer Night" dedicated Sandy and Danny telling each of their listening audiences what happened during their holiday romance at the beach. While the Grease prequel, 'Summer Lovin', will tell the actual story of what happened during that tryst, the only account the audience can trust is the mention of the young couple bowling in the arcade, holding hands, and drinking lemonade. Crucially, the lyrics suggest that Danny and Sandy met when she got a cramp while swimming and Danny saved her from drowning, before showing off "splashing around". While it might sound like empty bragging, the theory suggests that Sandy actually did drown and everything that follows is Sandy fantasizing about what her life could have been as she dies. From the prolog onwards, every event that happens plays out in Sandy's mind, and the reason everything wraps up so perfectly for every character, despite all of the conflict on the way to the finale is that it's all Sandy's tragic wish fulfillment. As a newcomer to Rydell High, Sandy would have been an outsider, but her reality plays out just as a dream would; she is immediately accepted by the coolest group (the Pink Ladies), meets the boy of her dreams (again), and overcomes every issue. And it's not just her: Rizzo's pregnancy scare, the dance competition that Danny wins (albeit with Cha-Cha), the drag race on Thunder Road Everything ends with a happy ending, no matter what the seeming obstacles. It's all a little too convenient and then when Greased Lightnin' takes off for its maiden flight, the reason becomes clear. It's all a fantasy. The theory also suggests that Sandy's mournful reprise of "Look At Me, I'm Sandra Dee" and the final two lines "Take a deep breath and sigh, Goodbye to Sandra Dee..." specifically secretly confirm that Sandy lost her battle to live. In that respect, the image of Greased Lightnin' flying off with Danny alongside Sandy at the end of Grease is actually symbolic of her ascending to the afterlife and her transformation is not one of self-realization, but of death. That metaphorical rise, then, is her rising to heaven in the final moments of her life eking out with her final breaths on the sand. It's tragic and dark, but there is a hint of beauty to it. The theory gained enough attention that stars John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John both commented on it. The former called it fun, though told USA Today that he knew "the writers of Grease, and I was around in the original days. I can't take it too far." Sandy's actor, Olivia Newton-John herself called it "hilarious" and reveled in the idea of Grease being the first ever zombie musical. Unfortunately for fans of the theory, the most notable respondent to the theory was Grease creator Jim Jacobs, who wasn't as big a fan and poured water on the idea of Sandy being dead. He told TMZ that "Whoever made up the theory must have been on acid. Sandy was very much alive." But then, it's rare that the wishes of the creator are taken into account when fans come up with theories, and this one in particular actually does improve the Grease viewing experience, true or not.
The Reader - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
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Uprising 2001
Jews rise up in the Warsaw Ghetto against the Nazis in 1943.
Uprising features uplifting, captivating, serious, rough and bleak style.
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Black Book 2006
In the Nazi-occupied Netherlands during World War II a Jewish singer infiltrates the regional Gestapo headquarters for the Dutch resistance.
Black Book features tense, psychological, epic, emotional and twists and turns style.
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The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler 2009
Irena Sendler is a Catholic social worker who has sympathized with the Jews since her childhood when her physician father died of typhus contracted while treating poor Jewish patients. When she initially proposes saving Jewish children from the ...
The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler features realistic, serious, emotional, suspense and tense style.
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The Diary of Anne Frank 1980
The story of a 13-year-old Jewish girl and her family who are forced into hiding by the Nazis during World War II.
The Diary of Anne Frank features serious, realistic, captivating, uplifting and emotional style.
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The Zookeepers Wife 2017
The account of keepers of the Warsaw Zoo Jan and Antonina Zabinski who helped save hundreds of people and animals during the Nazi invasion.
The Zookeepers Wife features factual, rough, tense, disturbing and suspenseful style.
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Triumph of the Spirit 1989
Fact based story about a former Greek Olympic boxer who was taken as a prisoner during World war II and placed in the Auschwitz prison camp. There he was permitted to survive as long as he fought for the amusement of his captors. His father and ...
Triumph of the Spirit features tense, bleak, suspenseful, realistic and serious
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Downfall 2004
In April of 1945 Germany stands at the brink of defeat with the Russian Army closing in from the east and the Allied Expeditionary Force attacking from the west. In Berlin capital of the Third Reich Adolf Hitler proclaims that Germany will still ...
Downfall features psychological, bleak, disturbing, serious and thought provoking style.
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Hotel Rwanda 2004
Inspired by true events this film takes place in Rwanda in the 1990s when more than a million Tutsis were killed in a genocide that went mostly unnoticed by the rest of the world. Hotel owner Paul Rusesabagina houses over a thousand refuges in his ...
Hotel Rwanda features emotional, thought provoking, rough, uplifting and contemplative style.
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Madagascar 2005
Alex the lion is the king of the urban jungle the main attraction at New Yorks Central Park Zoo. He and his best friends -- Marty the zebra Melman the giraffe and Gloria the hippo -- have spent their whole lives in blissful captivity before ...
Madagascar features feel good, humorous, entertaining, funny and not serious style.
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Horton Hears a Who! 2008
One day Horton the elephant hears a cry from help coming from a speck of dust. Even though he cant see anyone on the speck he decides to help it. As it turns out the speck of dust is home to the Whos who live in their city of Whoville. ...
Horton Hears a Who! features feel good, light, funny, colourful and humorous style.
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The Croods 2013
The Croods is a prehistoric comedy adventure that follows the worlds first family as they embark on a journey of a lifetime when the cave that has always shielded them from danger is destroyed. Traveling across a spectacular landscape the ...
The Croods features humorous, feel good, exciting, touching and entertaining style.
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Shrek 2001
It aint easy bein green -- especially if youre a likable albeit smelly ogre named Shrek. On a mission to retrieve a gorgeous princess from the clutches of a fire-breathing dragon Shrek teams up with an unlikely compatriot -- a ...
Shrek features fairy tale, feel good, witty, surprise ending and funny style.
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Penguins of Madagascar 2014
Skipper Kowalski Rico and Private join forces with undercover organization The North Wind to stop the villainous Dr. Octavius Brine from destroying the world as we know it.
Penguins of Madagascar features humorous, feel good, not serious, light and entertaining style.
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Open Season 2006
Boog a domesticated 900lb. Grizzly bear finds himself stranded in the woods 3 days before Open Season. Forced to rely on Elliot a fast-talking mule deer the two form an unlikely friendship and must quickly rally other forest animals if they are ...
Open Season features funny, humorous, buddy comedy, not serious and entertaining style.
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How to Train Your Dragon 2010
As the son of a Viking leader on the cusp of manhood shy Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III faces a rite of passage he must kill a dragon to prove his warrior mettle. But after downing a feared dragon he realizes that he no longer wants to destroy it ...
How to Train Your Dragon features feel good, exciting, atmospheric, touching and humorous style.
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Dinosaur 2000
An orphaned dinosaur raised by lemurs joins an arduous trek to a sancturary after a meteorite shower destroys his family home.
Dinosaur features touching, feel good, entertaining, scenic and serious style.
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Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron 2002
As a wild stallion travels across the frontiers of the Old West he befriends a young human and finds true love with a mare.
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron features touching, inspirational, feel good, exciting and sentimental style.
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The Good Dinosaur 2015
An epic journey into the world of dinosaurs where an Apatosaurus named Arlo makes an unlikely human friend.
The Good Dinosaur features exciting, humorous, touching, scenic and emotional style.
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Kung Fu Panda 2 2011
Po is now living his dream as The Dragon Warrior protecting the Valley of Peace alongside his friends and fellow kung fu masters The Furious Five - Tigress Crane Mantis Viper and Monkey. But Pos new life of awesomeness is threatened by the ...
Kung Fu Panda 2 features exciting, humorous, semi serious, surprise ending and psychotronic style.
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Rio 2011
Captured by smugglers when he was just a hatchling a macaw named Blu never learned to fly and lives a happily domesticated life in Minnesota with his human friend Linda. Blu is thought to be the last of his kind but when word comes that Jewel a ...
Rio features exciting, humorous, touching, colourful and entertaining style.
The Reader - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Reader - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Reader - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Reader - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Reader - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Reader - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Reader - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Reader - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Reader - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Reader - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Reader - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Reader - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Reader - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Reader - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Reader - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Reader - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Reader - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Reader - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Reader - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Reader - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
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