Obviously, a huge part of the action here revolves around a magical genie and the idea that this spiritual being, who’s held captive in a lamp, springs forth with nearly unlimited power when he’s summoned by someone rubbing it. And Genie gets his wish to become a normal human, which enables him to marry and raise a family after being trapped in a lamp for thousands of years. Ultimately, several people make selfless, sacrificial choices. As he’s caught up in that deceptive masquerade, Genie points out that his lies will increasingly box him in: “ The more you gain by pretending, the less you actually gonna have,” Aladdin’s blue friend earnestly tells him. He’s forced to face his fears of telling Jasmine the truth about who he really is after posing (with Genie’s help) as a wealthy prince. But it’s not so much a song about claiming power as it is a tune focused on using one’s influence to do the right thing, to serve others and do right by them.Īladdin, for his part, is described as a “diamond in the rough.” Despite his difficult circumstances (and his sense that he must steal to survive), Aladdin is ultimately shown to be a person of real character, too. And that’s the sort of thing that motivates her to someday follow in her father’s footsteps as sultan: not for the sake of power but to make wise and compassionate choices on behalf of those she would rule.Īfter being told to stay quiet and keep her opinions to herself, Jasmine pushes back with a song called “Speechless” that declares why she won’t be silent about what she believes. Jasmine, for instance, repeats her mother’s belief that, as royalty, “We can only be as happy as our least happy subject.” She dresses up in disguise and hands out food to hungry children in the streets. On the other hand, being wise and caring for others is a fulfilling endeavor, the movie tells us. (And those ends are, of course, the very things Jafar yearns for with all of his wicked heart.) Such self-serving pursuits are defined as a trap that will keep a person ensnared in them, endlessly seeking after more and more. The film makes it clear that seeking solely after wealth and power can be-in fact, almost always will be-a destructive path to take. If Jafar got his hands on the lamp, well, there’s no telling what horrible things that man might do. He’s the power-hungry sorcerer who sent Aladdin crawling into a cave seeking out the magic lamp in the first place. Aladdin just needs to be careful about his choices, about how he uses the potent magic wishes that the genie bestows.īut his plan faces one major obstacle: Jafar, the wicked vizier to the Sultan. And the genie warns that there are certain things-such as causing someone to fall in love or raising the dead-that are outside the purview of even his great big cosmic powers.īut there may yet be a way. Of course, a meager thief can’t hope to woo the daughter of a sultan, no matter how charming he may be. A moment together with no boundaries of class. But what they both found was a little unexpected romance: A smile. Princess Jasmine was there in disguise, seeking insight into the people of her kingdom. He was there seeking a little sustenance for the day. You see, Aladdin had serendipitously met the Sultan’s beautiful daughter, Jasmine, quite by accident in the city marketplace. What he wants more than anything is the love of a princess. “There’s never enough,” the wispy blue giant says as he puffs forth from the lamp’s spout. But even the genie himself warns that drinking from that cup is never fulfilling. I mean, he could wish to be wealthy beyond measure. So when Aladdin gets his hands on a magic lamp and finds that it’s inhabited by a huge blue genie that will give him almost anything he wants, he has to think about things a bit. But trust me, having a monkey as your only parental authority (as Aladdin wryly observes) is no picnic. Well, that and a little monkey sidekick named Abu. After losing his parents as a boy, he’s had only his wits and his pickpocket skills to call his own. That’s a pretty big question, especially for a guy like Aladdin. What would you do with three wishes granted by a genie?
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