Deep Dive Disney: Wes Looks at Aladdin

Welcome Everyone to the latest installment of Deep Dive Disney. I’m very excited for this one people. I've had something of a complicated history with the first two films in the Disney Renaissance, but that is not the case here. Aladdin is a film that I have loved from the moment I first saw it and one I have revisited frequently over the years. It also happens to be the first film I remember seeing in theaters so for that reason it has always held a very special place in my heart. So, here’s what we’re looking at. In the far off land of Agrabah, we meet our title character, Aladdin, a streetwise beggar who is forced to steal food simply to survive. Aladdin gets by as best he can, but he still hopes for a better life despite having a hard time seeing his own worth. In the royal palace, we meet Princess Jasmine, a girl frustrated by her father, the Sultan, constantly trying to marry her off and longs for a freedom that she cannot find inside the palace walls. While all this is going on, Jafar, the Sultan’s scheming royal advisor, has found the location of the legendary Cave of Wonders, said to contain untold riches, including a magic lamp. The problem is, only one enter the cave, the fabled “Diamond in the Rough.” When Jafar learns that Aladdin may be this “Diamond in the Rough” he tricks him into entering the cave on his behalf. After a double-cross by Jafar, Aladdin ends up trapped in the Cave of Wonders but manages to hang onto the lamp which turns out to contain a magical Genie. Aladdin befriends the Genie and uses one of his wishes to be transformed into a prince so he can win the heart of Princess Jasmine. It’s a fun movie with plenty of action and a lot of laughs. So let us waste no more time and dive right into a whole new world with Aladdin.

Main Character:

When we first meet Aladdin he’s as I said, a poor beggar on the streets of Agrabah stealing what he needs to survive. He’s clever and really good at evading the palace guards or talking his way out of a sticky situation or two but still laments his life situation and longs for a better life. At the very beginning of the film we learn almost everything we need to know about Aladdin. He’s smart, quick witted, athletically capable and he cares about others as evidenced by how he gives his stolen loaf of bread to two starving children and later stands in the way when an asshole prince tries to whip those same children for the crime of standing in his way. However, it is in this scene where we also see that Aladdin hates the idea of being called worthless, as we see in his reaction to the prince’s insult. This is the first time in the entire film that we genuinely see Aladdin’s confidence shaken. Aladdin’s problem seems to be an inability to recognize his own value. He wants people to see more in him but believes that he cannot be respected as a lowly commoner. It is this line of thought that leads Aladdin to implore the Genie to create the Prince Ali persona for him. However, what very quickly becomes apparent is that when Aladdin attempts impress Princess Jasmine as Prince Ali, it all blows up in his face. However, when he loosens up and acts more like himself he ends up winning Jasmine over. It is also his skills of persuasion and trickery, skills that he did not need a Genie wish to develop, that allow him to ultimately defeat Jafar. Aladdin is up there with my favorite protagonists Disney has ever produced and I found his story very engaging and relatable, especially as someone who firmly believes in always being who you are and not trying to be something you're not.

Villain:

What’s the first image that comes to mind when someone says the words “Disney Villain?” I imagine for most of you, it looks something like Jafar. Another franchise Disney Villain, Jafar is pretty much the template for any baddie in one of these films. He’s scary looking, has some kind of magical powers and is hatching some variety of evil scheme to gain ultimate power. That’s kind of the reason he ended up at number eleven on my much-discussed Top 20 Disney Villains Countdown. Smack dab in the middle, a jumping off point for more interesting villains to grow from. This is not to say that Jafar is by any means a bad or poorly written character, just rather stock as far as Disney Villains go. It’s ironic that one of the themes of this film is how not everything is as it seems since with Jafar, what you see is pretty much what you get. He looks like a power-hungry villain and surprise-surprise, he IS a power-hungry villain. I should mention for those of you playing the Disney Renaissance drinking game, Jafar here is yet another character who was originally supposed to be voiced by Patrick Stewart. Take a shot! As curious as I would be to see Stewart’s interpretation, I can’t imagine anyone other than Jonathan Freeman. Every word out of his mouth just oozes villainy. Jafar is rarely seen without his irritable parrot sidekick Iago, voiced hilariously by Gilbert Gottfried. The two play off one another really well. Jafar’s main motivator is a hatred of being second. No matter how much power Jafar acquires, as long as there is someone above him, any power he acquires will not be enough for him. In a twisted sort of way, Jafar is a lot like Ariel in that neither can ever truly be satisfied. As far as Jafar is concerned, you're either the most powerful man in the room, or you're nothing. Think about it, Jafar has more power than any man could ever ask for. Since the Sultan is a bit of a naïve moron, one could argue that Jafar is essentially the one who’s actually running the kingdom (insert your own Dick Cheney joke here). However, no matter how much power Jafar acquires the Sultan’s power will always supersede his own, and it drives him nuts. He can even use hypnosis to make the Sultan his mind-controlled puppet, but as long as the Sultan is recognized by the people as his superior, he can’t stand it and will go to any lengths necessary to change that, and once he does it’s a nightmare. This lust for power also has a tendency to make Jafar short-sighted. An example of this is how he tries to kill Aladdin once he has the lamp. Side note: why did Jafar even bother with a disguise in that scene? Aladdin was already in the dungeon, all he had to do was go up to Aladdin and say, “Do this task for me and you’ll be free to go and well compensated for your service.” Hell, that’s pretty much how it went down in the remake. Getting back on track, if Jafar had helped Aladdin up from the side of the cliff and sent him on his way with adequate compensation, Jafar would have probably gotten the lamp and Agrabah would be screwed. This short-sightedness and blind lust for power ultimately proves to be Jafar’s undoing as Aladdin tricks him into wishing himself into a Genie, complete with phenomenal cosmic powers and an itty-bitty living space. Corrupt, terrifying and obsessed with acquiring power, Jafar is certainly one of the great Disney Villains for a reason.

Side Characters:

I don’t really have anything to say about Abu, I just wanted to briefly wanted to spotlight the incredible talent of voice acting legend Frank Welker. If you’ve ever heard an animal noise in an animated movie or television show, odds are it’s Mr. Welker. Another one of Welker’s more noteworthy roles includes Bronx from Gargoyles, so naturally I had to give the man a shoutout.

The Sultan is an interesting character. Douglas Seale does a great job playing someone who means well but is also gullible, misguided and not especially bright. I do appreciate that his wish to see his daughter married isn’t just about some antiquated law but also because he realizes he’s getting on in years and doesn’t want his daughter to be alone after he’s gone.

That leads us nicely into Princess Jasmine. Jasmine is not your typical Disney Princess. Sure, she has several of the traits associated with the princess crowd like wanting more than the life of a princess, wanting to marry for love and all that jazz. However, unlike many of her contemporaries, Jasmine is actually shown to be pretty tough and remarkably clever, making her a great match for Aladdin. She’s actually pretty quick on the uptake, shown with how she catches on to some of Aladdin’s plans without a word. She also doesn’t take crap, sicking her pet tiger, Raja, on any would-be suitor and being the only one with the guts to call out Jafar when he does something shady. While Aladdin dreams of a life of luxury, Jasmine sees the life Aladdin dreams of as little more than a gilded cage and refuses to endure a life that is lived for her by others. The whole reason she falls for Aladdin in the first place is because he actually treats her as a person and not a prize to be won like so many before. They actually do have really great and believable chemistry, making the two one of my favorite Disney couples ever. And yeah, someone on Twitter pointed out that Jasmine is supposed to be sixteen years old and therefore underage. And, yeah, that’s a touch on the problematic side, but since Aladdin is clearly meant to be around the same age it doesn’t really bother me here. Don’t forget, we still have two more movies and a full animated series to get through before Aladdin and Jasmine officially tie the knot. You could totally argue that they’re both eighteen or older by that point. Trust me, when it comes to creepy underage Disney romances we have much bigger fish to fry coming up. Hell, Jasmine doesn’t even say she loves Aladdin until after he’s saved her life from a giant cobra and restored order to her kingdom, so, at that point he’s probably earned it.

But now, let’s talk about the character that this movie is best known for, The Genie, played by the eternally great Robin Williams. What can I even say about this character? He’s one of Williams’ most iconic roles and one of my favorites alongside his performances in films like Mrs. Doubtfire, Good Morning Vietnam and Death to Smoochy. It’s no secret that Williams improvised most of his dialogue and, since Williams was a master of improv comedy, the Genie is especially hilarious. Remember what I said back in The Great Mouse Detective about how Basil always seemed to be bouncing around the room with seemingly unlimited energy while everyone else struggles to keep up. Well multiply that by ten thousand for the Genie. If you’ve ever seen Williams’ old standup, you’ll know that the guy can talk a mile a minute and Robin brings that same energy to the role of Genie. Supposedly, there were some scenes where they’d just put Robin in a room full of random objects and just let him go. However, it’s not all comedy with the Genie. Much like Aladdin and Jasmine, the Genie is also looking for a better life, in this case, one where he’s not forced into a life of servitude. You can tell he comes to genuinely care about Aladdin and doesn’t want to see Aladdin become corrupted by the temptations of the wishes like many likely have before. I love the friendship that they forge and I especially appreciate that in the end, Aladdin does follow through on his promise to set him free. The Genie is the gold standard to which all other Disney comic relief characters are held and one of the many reasons this movie is awesome.

Songs:

While not necessarily as consistent as Beauty and The Beast, this film is still full of beloved musical numbers.

The opening song, Arabian Nights, is actually pretty awesome. While Little Mermaid and Beauty & The Beast established their settings as happy and whimsical, this song has a bit more edge to it and tells us that Agrabah is a rougher place than we may be used to from Disney films. A great way to introduce us to this world.

One Jump Ahead is one that doesn’t seem to get as much love as some of the other great songs in this movie. It’s a great introduction to Aladdin as a character, it gives us a fun chase scene and on top of all that, the song is catchy as all hell.

Friend Like Me is an absolute blast. Seeing the Genie show off is a lot of fun and Robin Williams sings the song wonderfully. How can you not get up and dance to that opening riff.

And finally, there’s the big one, the now iconic, A Whole New World. The song is beautiful and it’s great seeing Aladdin show Jasmine all these different exotic places. It makes me wonder just how fast the carpet is if it can get to all these places in such a short time. The song is on par with Tale as Old as Time in terms of being one of the great Disney love songs and I absolutely love it.

Memorable Scenes:

Honestly, my favorite scene in the movie is the one where Aladdin and Jasmine first meet. Aladdin saves Jasmine from an angry merchant who's looking to chop off her hand when she doesn't pay for an apple. I actually love Aladdin trying to convince the merchant that she’s crazy. This also shows that Jasmine is pretty quick as she catches on to Aladdin’s plan right away and acts accordingly. She actually plays crazy a little too well as she bows before Abu claiming he’s the Sultan. The glazed-over look in her eyes when she pretends to mistake a camel for a doctor always gets a laugh out of me. Later, when they actually sit down and get to know one another, we can see the beginnings of their incredible chemistry as both inadvertently admit that they long for one another’s lives. It’s a sweet scene between two really likable characters.

Story:

I think by now, the messages of the story should be fairly obvious. The themes of things being more than what they seem, recognizing one’s own worth and longing to change one’s situation are all over this film. They are all competently presented, if not sometimes heavy-handedly so. My favorite amongst these themes is the theme of being yourself. As I said, it is only when Aladdin drops the Prince Ali façade that he is able to woo Princess Jasmine and ultimately defeat Jafar. By the end, Aladdin realizes that having everything you ever wanted is not worth it if you cannot enjoy it as your true self, a lesson I can personally relate to and I'm sure one that many others can as well.

The Dark Disney Factor:

There’s plenty of dark stuff to go around in this one. The introductory song that mentions how Agrabah is place where they might cut off your ear if they don't like your face. It's barbaric, but hey, it sets the tone quite nicely and establishes Agrabah as a much rougher place than we’re used to at this point.. I mean hell, a merchant tries to chop off Jasmine’s hand for handling his merchandise. Jesus! Everywhere you look there are thieves stealing to survive or palace guards after your head. I also used to think the Cave of Wonders was pretty frightening. The gigantic CGI Tiger head is pretty unsettling to a small child and the scene where the treasure melts and the cave closes in is particularly intense. Finally, there’s Jafar’s reign of terror. It starts the first time you see The Genie under Jafar’s command where he looks bigger and scarier. You spent so much time laughing at this character’s antics that you forget that this is a super being of near unlimited power. Then there’s what Jafar does once he achieves ultimate power. He banishes Aladdin to the ends of the earth, humiliates the Sultan and has the Parrot force-feeds him crackers, turns Jasmine into his doting slave and did I mention he turns into an enormous terrifying cobra! Jesus, I hope no one watching this movie is afraid of snakes.

Final Thoughts:

Aladdin is a great movie full of great action, likable and memorable characters, wonderful songs and some surprisingly relatable themes. It’s one of my all-time favorites and one I revisit frequently. Well, our next movie in The Disney Renaissance is The Lion King, but before that, I got a special Christmas present for you guys. Since I started this project, there’s one movie that’s been endlessly requested and next time we’ll finally be looking at it. Until next time, Happy Halloween!