One of the best (and worst) things about fan theories is they are quickly disputed. Until the proper person — author, production company, creator, etc. — confirms or denies the theory, speculation is fair game.

Yesterday (February 9), the Internet exploded after Tumblr user petitetiaras claimed the book Belle describes at the beginning of Beauty and the Beast sounds strangely similar to Aladdin.

Seems totally plausible, right? Not to Reddit user comatoseduck, who shared their own theory on Wednesday (February 10) about which story Belle was referring to as her favorite book — and it wasn't Aladdin.

Instead, comatoseduck believes Belle was describing Sleeping Beauty. For starters, the theory includes a "prince in disguise," but, as the Reddit user deftly points out, "Aladdin was not a prince in disguise, he was disguised as a prince." Strike one.

Far off places

While the castle/kingdom isn't nearly as far away as Agrabah, it's still a far off place compared to Princess Aurora's little cottage hidden in the forest.

Daring sword fights

Prince Phillip fought off Maleficent-as-dragon with a sword.

Magic spells

Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather all use magic in the movie. And, you know, so does Maleficent. She's the reason the story happened in the first place.

A prince in disguise

Aurora doesn't know Phillip is a prince when the two first meet in the forest.

But wait, there's more!

Comatoseduck brought up an interesting fact that definitely gives their theory more credibility. "In Disney World, you can go into Belle's cottage for the attraction 'Enchanted Tales with Belle,'" the Reddit user claimed. "In their cottage, there is a book open on a table. That book is not Aladdin. It is a well-worn copy of Sleeping Beauty (in French)."

Apparently, all we had to do was just ask Belle herself what her favorite book was, at least, that's what Emma of the blog A Pinch of Pixie Dust did — back in 2013. After sharing a snap of the book, Emma wrote, "Here is Belle's favorite book, Sleeping Beauty (I once asked her, so I know)," presumably meaning she asked the face character playing Belle this million dollar question.

Of course, Belle's description is still super vague, and Reddit user awesomeness0232 made a good point about the fan theory overall. "This general plot description fits in pretty accurately with a lot of prince/princess fairy tales, especially a lot of the ones that Disney has adapted into movies."

Personally, I completely agree with awesomeness0232, more so because while researching this particular fan theory, I learned people have been postulating other book titles over the years. One person thought it was The Princess Bride, another assumed it was one of the King Arthur stories, while others guessed it was The Count of Monte Cristo (even though there's no magic in that book).

But until Beauty and the Beast directors Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise give us a solid, definitive answer to what Belle's favorite book actually is, we'll still be at speculation station.

H/T Reddit