Saturday, February 15, 2014

MCS #3: Aladdin

Aladdin (1992)

Aladdin (the street urchin) crosses paths in the square one day with Princess Jasmine (who is disguised as a peasant). They fall for each other, but Jasmine can only marry a prince. And Jafar, the sultan’s grand vizier, has his own plans for the “diamond in the rough” Aladdin.

Ah here we are, traditional Disney with a princess and a, well, almost prince—will be prince.

I love so much about this movie from the carpet to Iago to the music to Abu…

Seriously, who doesn’t love Abu?

I had just one problem with this film—the scene after “A Whole New World.” Jafar has Aladdin tied up, gagged, weighted down, and thrown in the lake. Right, k, issues much? And now he’s going to tell us he was happy about it.

“Ecstatic.”

Right, moving on.

Really, Jafar is pretty much a bastard, but he’s really good at being a bastard. It’s a shame he Blew It. Or maybe that’s not a shame.

Genie—win. Of course, Robin Williams is always win in animated movies. Did you know he also played the storyteller in the beginning?

Speaking of actors/actresses in multiple roles, Lea Salonga, the singing voice of Princess Jasmine, was also the singing voice of Disney’s Mulan years later.

Bonus Points: The Mini Series
The episodes were apparently meant to take place after the movie’s end point, you know, after Aladdin is officially engaged to Jasmine. Yet despite this, he is still wearing the street rat clothing. Maybe Jasmine liked seeing her boyfriend's glorious pecks?

Weight Lifter, small version (animated)

Anyway, there was one episode where Genie got split into the different parts of his personality. The villain in this show was Abis Mal (abysmal…clever, there). At one point, Abis Mal meets up with Genie’s fear and says the following.

“You, I like. You’re small, and you’re afraid of me.”

Double Bonus Points: It’s gonna be a Broadway musical!
See this post for more info, but yes, Disney is bringing another full-length, animated feature to the big stage. It’s currently in Seattle, and here’s a sneak peek.

Love that song.

Triple Bonus Points: The Video Game
Remember this from way back in the days of Sega Genesis? I know, the dark ages.

From the “escape the cave of Wonders” level, one could unlock the bonus carpet ride. If memory serves, you got one chance to get as far as you could. You had help, though. Genie would point (up, down, or center). At least he would at the beginning. After a while, he’d sometimes give a question mark, and Mary would say…

WTF

What the heck is this question mark?

And then Mary would promptly fail the level.

While speaking in third person.

Typical me. And gotta love that 8-bit music. No sarcasm here—I really do think the music is awesome. Lol

Writer’s Lockbox

Let’s talk about realism. I don’t mean accuracy to real life or the original story. We all know Disney doesn’t always keep true to the original. What I mean is realism within the story. At the end of this movie, the following exchange takes place.

Sultan: “It’s that law.” *grumbles*
Jasmine: “Father?”
Sultan: “Well, am I sultan, or am I sultan? From now on the princess will marry whoever she deems worthy.”
Jasmine: *runs into Aladdin’s arms* “Him, I choose…. “I choose you, Aladdin.”

Adorable, yeah. Also a “minor” logic issue. If you’re anything like me, you walk away from this scene thinking “aww” and then thinking “wait, if the sultan had undergone this ‘highly complex’ epiphany earlier in the movie….”

See what I’m getting at here?

If there’s an obvious, one word/sentence answer to your entire plot, it’s time to rethink. If the sultan had figured this out sooner, Jasmine could have married Aladdin when she first met him, achieved “the power to get rid of you,” and lived happily ever after.

Side Note: Why does Jasmine need to marry before she can be queen? Her father’s ruling single. Granted, he’s not the brightest bulb/isn’t doing the best job, but still.

Related posts
My Top 5 Disney Villains

Last week: A Goofy Movie

And join me next week for Aladdin II: Return of Jafar.

Thanks for reading.

Mary
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