A diamond in the rough? - Aladdin

31 – Aladdin

As these movies get newer and newer, I'm starting to find that the ideas in them are also getting more and more modern. With the past few, I really feel like we've gotten to real modern ideas about society and movie making in general. 1992's Aladdin definitely continues that trend.

The story begins with the Grand Vizier of Agrabah, Jafar, trying to find someone to enter the Cave of Wonders to obtain a magic lamp. This person, he finds, is a poor boy named Aladdin who steals to try to get by in life. Aladdin dreams of a better life and wants to become rich so he doesn't have to resort to stealing for food. He ends up meeting the Princess, Jasmine, who also wishes to escape her life. In her case, she is constantly being controlled and is even being forced to choose a Prince to marry. Jafar manages to capture and use Aladdin to find the lamp which contains a magic Genie. Aladdin gets trapped in the Cave but keeps the lamp and is granted 3 wishes by the Genie. His first wish, after he tricks Genie into freeing them from the cave, is to become a prince so he can marry Jasmine. Meanwhile, Jafar hatches a plan to force Jasmine into marriage so he can become the Sultan.

Aladdin is a poor “street rat” who does whatever he can to get by in life. This usually leads to stealing but it's the only way he can continue living. He uses very clever tricks like when he rescues Jasmine from a merchant by acting like she's his crazy sister. He is also very kind offering to free the trapped Genie with his final of three wishes. He is, however, also very insecure once he finds out who Jasmine really is. He is totally convinced that she could never be with a person like him. Once he becomes a prince, he continues to lie to her because he thinks she won't be able to stay with him. Of course, this makes him feel really guilty. He's interesting compared to other Disney heroes as a poor thief. It's almost like he was made as an anti-prince. He even gets compared directly to other princes in the story and comes out on top because it's more important that he is a good person.

Jasmine also feels trapped in her life. She hates being controlled and acts rebellious, rejecting any suitor her father finds for her. She isn't interested in self obsessed princes and wants to fall in love with someone who is actually a good person. Her only friend in the world is her pet Tiger Rajah. Like Ariel and Belle before her, she continues the trend of a heroine that acts for herself instead of simply reacting to situations. It's great that she got sick of her life and tried to run away, even though it ends up getting her in some trouble. Her father, the Sultan, is a really weird character. He likes to play with animal toys and is a bit weak willed and silly. Despite this, he only really wants the best for Jasmine and only wants her to marry so she is taken care of.

Aladdin is definitely not alone in his quest for a better life. Abu is Aladdin's monkey/elephant best friend who is a bit greedy but has a good heart. He makes a few mistakes in the story but tries to make up for it. They find a magic carpet in the Cave of Wonders who bonds with Aladdin immediately and wants to help him. Finally, they also find Genie who is trapped in a lamp and forced to serve his masters until one of them uses one of their precious wishes to free him. Despite his sad story, he's a very fun character. He steals the show every time he's on the screen with his crazy fast talking and modern pop culture references. Some of the references got to be a bit too much but it gives the story an interesting quality because Aladdin couldn't possibly know what those references are.

Jafar is the main villain of the story. He is obsessed with power and tries to obtain the lamp but doesn't give up when he loses it. His parrot, Iago, gives him the idea to force Jasmine to marry him so he can become the Sultan. I wondered for awhile why he would even keep the fairly annoying Iago around but they do have an interesting relationship and Iago has some good ideas every now and then. Jafar himself is very calm and collected most of the time but gets overconfident when he has the upper hand. His desire for power is dangerous, as well as being his biggest weakness. Iago provides some good comic relief for the mostly serious Jafar.

The setting of the story is definitely interesting. It's something we haven't seen in a Disney movie yet. The imagery of the sand and castles is very different from the western fantasy stuff in past movies. The tone of the story is less dark than Beauty and the Beast with much more humor. Despite that, the humor never detracts from the excitement or emotion of what they're trying to convey. Personally, I liked the style of Beauty and the Beast more, but I think that's just my personal preference. The animation is still fantastic with the romantic carpet ride scene and the escape from the Cave of Wonders really standing out. The music is still fantastic. There seems to be a bit less than Beauty and the Beast but they still keep the story moving and making the characters more interesting. The action in the movie is also really great. They really stack the odds against Aladdin at the end and it gets really tense.

I really appreciated the themes they chose for this movie too. It really helped make this movie feel a bit more modern than the ones before it. Aladdin, Jasmine and Genie all feel trapped in their lives and wish for more. Aladdin keeps trying to be someone he's not so he can be with Jasmine. Jasmine, however, doesn't want what he's become. She wants the person he really is and he finds that he needs to tell the truth, even if it might mean they can't be together. The best thing about this movie is that the movie isn't even really about Aladdin and Jasmine falling in love. At least, it's not so much of a “will they or won't they?” type story like we've seen before. The story is more about Aladdin accepting who he really is.

The movie overall was just fantastic. Beauty and the Beast edges it out for me, personally but I really liked the humor and all the characters. I really feel like the Disney Renaissance is starting to get off the ground now after the fumble with The Rescuers Down Under.

31 down. 22 to go.