Aladdin-Yet Another Version of God Save The Queen
Hey kids up for another version of “God Save The Queen?” or in this case King? Just as in The Lion King, Aladdin centers around evil works afoot inside a kingdom and dastardly villains attempting to usurp the rightful ruler of the land. Oh boy. There is, of course, a princess that must be saved a simple poor savage, so in this regard, Aladdin differs greatly from the Lion King which is strictly focused on royal linage. The story in short is that the Sultan is being controlled by an evil Sorcerer named Jafar. Princess Jasmin runs off and meets Aladdin, the poor peasant who finds the magic lamp. Poor Aladdin can’t use the Genie in the lamp to make Jasmin fall in love with him and she can only marry a prince–of course, so poor Aladdin is heart broken. In the end, while Aladdin doesn’t become a prince, the Sultan decides to let Princess Jasmin marry whomever she pleases due to his appreciation of Aladdin’s contribution in saving his hid from the evil Jafar (not Jar-Jar, Jafar). Yippe, Aladdin gets the princess. Obviously, this a completely fantasy in more ways than one, and perhaps the Genie is the most realistic part of the entire story.
Clearly I was not impressed with the story. The Disney version of Aladdin, not surprising bares little resemblance to the ancient story, however, most people are familiar with the story of the magic lamp and this name recognition and basic familiarity greatly assisted the film at the box office. The great animation, when coupled with the high-energy performance of Robin Williams as the Genie and the familiarity of the Genie in the bottle story, Aladdin was almost assured some level of box-office success.
Aladdin is not a bad film, it is simply an unfortunate film, as once again Disney turns to issues of royal lineage and the God Save the Queen theme. Wasn’t the Revolutionary War somehow having to do with NOT having to have a Queen? With all the available stories to tell both new and recycled from history and myth, it is indeed unfortunate that a highly warped version of Aladdin was chosen. As with many big-budgeted Hollywood films, Aladdin will do a great job babysitting your kids as long as you don’t the messages that come with the film.
Story D
Acting B
Visuals B+ (Solid animation throughout makes Aladdin visually very interesting.)
Originality/Innovation F
Enjoyability Grade D/C+ (Adult grade and youngster grade)
Home Theater/HD Factor B (Good overall eye candy for the young ones.)
Overall Grade D/C+ (Adult grade and youngster grade.)
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