Aladdin

PLOT:

The film begins with a peddler singing Arabian Nightswhile riding a camel and tells about the story of Aladdin. On a dark night, when Jafar, the Grand Vizier to the Sultan of Agrabah, attempts to access the Cave of Wonders, a magical cave which holds treasures beyond the wildest belief — above all is a magical oil lamp containing a genie is hidden. He and his talking parrot, Iago, learn that the only one who can enter the Cave of Wonders is the metaphorical “Diamond in the Rough”.

Meanwhile, in the palace of Agrabah, Jasmine, the beautiful teenage daughter of the Sultan, must be married before her upcoming birthday, but she rejects every prince she meets, as she wants to be married for true love and not merely for wealth. Later, Jasmine, frustrated with “having her life lived for her,” climbs over the palace walls, and sees the marketplace for the first time, where she meets the street urchin Aladdin and his monkey, Abu, and the two young people are seen to be falling for each other. Jafar uses a machine to see that the “diamond in the rough” is Aladdin. Jafar sends a group of guards to capture Aladdin while Jasmine is still with him. Jasmine tells Jafar to release him, but Jafar lies and tells her he is already dead.

Jafar, disguised as an elderly man, releases Aladdin from prison and leads him to the Cave of Wonders. They are told by the tiger-shaped head of the cave to touch nothing but the lamp. Aladdin enters the cave and encounters a magic carpet before finding the lamp. Abu tries to steal a ruby and causes the cave to start collapsing, but the carpet helps them to the entrance. Jafar takes the lamp from them and tries to kill them but Abu takes the lamp back and bites his arm, causing him to knock Abu back into the cave just as it collapses.

When Aladdin awakens, Abu gives him the lamp which he had snatched from Jafar. After rubbing it, a genie is unleashed, revealing that he will grant Aladdin three wishes. Aladdin dupes the genie into freeing them from the cave without using up a wish. Jafar, having lost the lamp, plans to trick the Sultan into marrying him forcefully to Jasmine, then kill off both of them.

While contemplating his wishes, Aladdin asks for the genie’s opinion. The genie admits he would wish for freedom, since he is a prisoner to his lamp and must follow the orders of the lamp’s master. Aladdin promises to wish him free with his last wish. Happily, the genie grants Aladdin his first wish: making him a prince so he can marry Jasmine. They parade to the Sultan’s palace, much to Jafar’s dismay, but Jasmine initially rejects “Prince Ali” considering him a buffoon like all the others before him. Later that night, Aladdin meets Jasmine, and takes her on a magic carpet ride through the sky. She soon realizes that he is the same boy she met in the streets and that he has lied to her. Aladdin comes up with a story that he sometimes dressed as a “commoner” to escape the pressures of palace life, and she believes him. Aladdin returns her home and they kiss.

Jafar sends the guards, who slap Aladdin in chains and throw him off a cliff into the ocean. The lamp falls from inside his turban, and rubs against his limp hands luckily releasing the genie, who then rescues Aladdin as the second wish after liberally interpreting Aladdin’s nodding head. Aladdin returns to the palace, smashing Jafar’s staff and revealing the vizier’s plot to Jasmine and the Sultan. Jafar realises Aladdin’s identity, and escapes. Surprised by Aladdin’s bravery, the Sultan decides that Aladdin should be King. This made Aladdin stuck in a dilemma as he needs it to use his final wish to become king, but resulting in breaking his promise that he made to Genie to free him. Iago later steals the genie’s lamp and brings it to Jafar, who becomes the genie’s new master and uses his first wish to become sultan. Jafar then wishes to become a powerful sorcerer and turns Aladdin back to rags, sending him to a blizzard-swept, far-off place.

Aladdin uses the magic carpet to return to Agrabah, where Jafar is keeping the Sultan, the Genie, and Jasmine as his slaves. He offers Jasmine a place as his queen and wife, but she refuses. Jasmine then notices Aladdin coming in the palace, who was about to get the lamp. She tries to make a diversion by tricking Jafar into believing that she’s desperately in love with him. Jasmine gives Jafaran extremely passionate kiss, but he sees Aladdin’s reflection in her tiara. Aladdin fights Jafar as he transforms into a giant cobra. When Jafar boasts that he is “the most powerful being on Earth,”Aladdin tells him that he isn’t as powerful as the genie. Jafar uses his final wish to become a Genie and tries to gain control of the universe with his powers – but he forgets that genies are not their own master, they are bound to their lamps and are slaves to the bearer of the lamp. Jafar is instantly sucked into his new black lamp, dragging Iago with him. The genie then flicks the lamp into the Cave of Wonders, to presumably remain undiscovered for ten thousand years.

Aladdin and Jasmine say goodbye to each other now that Aladdin is not a prince so they cannot be married. Aladdin wishes for the genie’s freedom, much to the genie’s surprise and happiness. Since Jasmine loves Aladdin, the Sultan changes the law so that Jasmine can marry anyone she chooses and she chooses Aladdin. The genie then leaves to explore the world while Aladdin and Jasmine celebrate their engagement.

REVIEW:

This is one of my all time favorite Disney films. I remember when it first came out. I was stoked that there was actually a male hero, and I think that may be why I love this film so much…aside from the music.

Remembering that this was released in 1992, one must look at the graphics and backgrounds as state of the art, especially for the cave of wonders. However, you release this film today and some would say it looks homemade. Irregardless, it is cutting edge.

Jafar is one of the evilest villains in the Disney universe. The animators chose to give him the stereotypical villain design, i.e. tall, dark, skinny, deep voice, goatee, shifty eyes, magical powers, etc. I just wish they would have included a bit more of his power and evil, but the way he was portrayed for 99% of the film works just fine. I wasn’t too crazy about the way they watered him down after he became a genie. This continues in The Return of Jafar and the Aladdin cartoon series.

Jasmine is the hottest Disney princess, as I’ve stated before in my post Defending the Disney Princesses. While there are those that say she was too much of the damsel in distress, I actually liked her that way. This film was more to give the guys someone to cheer for, and having a damsel in distress works better.

Robin Williams gives one of his most memorable performances as the Genie, including the memorable showstopping song, “Friend Like Me”.

Speaking of the music, each of the songs is memorable. It’s a shame that this was one of Alan Menken’s last scores before his passing. His collaborations with Howard Ashman and Tim Rice really defined the Disney film of the late 80s and early 90s.

This is a Disney film, need I say more? Of course you should see it, especially since this is one of the best and has something for everyone, action, comedy, a love story, good plot. Check it out!

5 out of 5 stars