I don’t remember the first time I saw Disney’s Aladdin. It just seems like it’s always been in my life. It became my favorite Disney movie, after The Little Mermaid, and it remained so even after I outgrew The Little Mermaid. I don’t even know why it’s my favorite!
Of course, the Genie was a big part of it, as any Disney fan knows. Robin Williams’ spastic comedy stylings won him a place in the hearts of many children after seeing Aladdin. The lovable Genie, with his big personality and desire for self-determination, was the heart and soul of the original film. “To be my own master! Such a thing would be greater than all the Magic and all the treasures in all the world!” But he believes he’ll never be free, until one true friend gives him what he desires most.
The friendship of Aladdin and the Genie is the heart of the movie. It’s never about just the magic, it’s about the friendship that forms between these two radically different individuals. They are both willing to sacrifice for the sake of the other, which is something that I treasure in my fictional characters.
I learned later that Genie’s behavior was atypical of traditional jinni. I no longer take Disney’s word for matters of folklore, as they are notorious for sanitizing and bowler-izing folktales, just as they sanitized the entirety of Aladdin. Did you know that in the original story, Aladdin kidnaps Princess Jasmine? True story! And Jasmine’s original name is Badroulbadour. It means “full moon of full moons,” which is lovely, but can you imagine trying to print that on a doll box?
After Aladdin’s rousing success, Disney set out to make a franchise surrounding the characters, creating two direct-to-video sequels, The Return of Jafar (1994) and Aladdin and the King of Thieves (1996), along with a very successful animated series. This ran from 1994 to 1995, with reruns playing on Toon Disney (now Disney XD) into the early 2000s. According to the Disney Wiki, it continues to be played on Disney channels around the world, and was actually quite popular in the Arabic world, more than likely because of the series’ heavier reliance on folkloric tropes common to the Arabic world.
In Aladdin the Series, we meet another genie, a green genie by the name of Eden. She belongs to a young homeless girl named Dhandi, who at first dreams small. She wants a sandwich, the poor little thing! When Eden prompts her to ask for an end to her hunger for the rest of her life, Genie is impressed with Eden’s generosity. Genie and Eden fall in love with each other and dream of a life together. When an ill-spoken wish keeps them apart, Genie and Eden promise to be true to each other. In Disney Descendants, Aladdin fans meet their daughter, Jordan, who loves to cook, design clothes, and plan parties, just like Mom and Dad! Jordan’s origins aren’t as obvious as the other kids, since she prefers gold and purple to blue and green, but you can see a nod in her ponytail and the blue gem in her head chain.
Princess Jasmine spoke to me on some level, and to this day I appreciate her compassion and bravery. Jasmine doesn’t want a man, doesn’t need a man, really. She wants adventure. She wants to see the world beyond her castle walls, she wants to do more and be more than the daughter of a sultan. In the later Aladdin franchise entries, Jasmine encounters more adventure than she bargains for. In episodes of Aladdin the Series like “Do the Rat Thing” and “Bad Mood Rising”, she explores how the other side lives and learns about how privileged she is. After these adventures, she devotes her time to the betterment of her people, though she already knows that as a Princess it is up to her to seek the good of others before herself. On several occasions, Jasmine is referenced to by her people as the beloved princess, and constantly thinking of ways to help them. Jasmine’s drive to see the good in everyone is one of her most positive traits.
Outright villainy in Aladdin the Series was represented by the wizard Mozenrath. Most of Aladdin’s other foes were more of annoyances, easily outsmarted and outmaneuvered. Not so much with Mozenrath. He was clever and calculating. He was willing to do literally anything for magical power. On Mozenrath’s right hand, he wears a leather gauntlet which is infused with magic; it’s the source of his powers, but it has a very ugly side effect. Under that gauntlet is nothing but bone! The magic Mozenrath so relies on has been eating away at his humanity and flesh for years, and soon, the series predicts, there’ll be nothing left of him. Pretty heavy for a Saturday morning cartoon show! It’s a pretty graphic metaphor for greed and power-lust that has stuck with me all this time.
My favorite episode of the series, though, was “Garden of Evil.” In this episode, it is explained that the Sultan took the most beloved flower of an ill-tempered nature wizard named Arbutus (the voice of Ron Perlman, one of my favorite actors) intending to give it to his bride. They came to an understanding, however: in twenty years, the wizard would come and claim something dear to the Sultan in exchange for the flower. Arbutus claims Jasmine as his prize, because he loved the flower just as much as the Sultan loves Jasmine. This exchange follows:
Jasmine: I’m not one of your creations! I’m not a thing!
Arbutus: A thing!? How typical!
Jasmine: Arbutus, I’m not a flower you can keep in your garden! I need my family and friends.
Arbutus: Ah, yes, human needs. Like you need to hack down my gorgeous trees and chop them into lumber!
Jasmine: It’s not that simple!
Arbutus: Indeed! You burn them for warmth creating smoke to block our life-giving sun!
Jasmine: We don’t do that on purpose!
Arbutus: Is it an accident when you rip and pluck my flowers, condemning them to a slow death in a vase!?
Jasmine: Slow death?
Arbutus: Your kind! You’re all the same! You treat my beautiful, living creations as things! Why should I treat you any differently?
Jasmine: Arbutus, I… I think I understand. *
The presumption of humans on his territory was what drove Arbutus to demand such a high price from the Sultan. Jasmine reiterates during the inevitable battle that the wizard won’t hurt them if they don’t hurt him. Jasmine’s understanding would have won the day, if both sides had stopped to listen to each other – a classic series of rash actions played out before my young eyes that resulted in tragedy, and told of the importance of communication and understanding of others. The final line from this episode is now Jasmine’s quote from the “Dream Big Princess” ad campaign, “If you look hard enough, you can see how much we’re all alike.”
Aladdin: A simple movie that had a deep impact on me. I can safely say that I wouldn’t be the writer I am today without it. The humor, heart, and fantasy has inspired me in more ways than one and helped me find an escape hatch when things were stressful. When I was a child, Jasmine inspired me to be brave and curious. As an adult, I was inspired to create a world for children and teens similar to Aladdin and other Disney movies I loved. Giving children a place to explore and have adventures is important to me, and Aladdin was one of the biggest in my life. I only hope I can fill those mighty big shoes.
* Special thanks to Heather H. at AladdinCentral.org for the transcription from “Garden of Evil.”