Aladdin


It was quite interesting to watch this movie after watching the first seven or so Disney feature films - this is a film that grabs you from the beginning and holds your attention until the end. The opening number Arabian Nights sets up the story perfectly. It's a tune that really sticks in your head, which is true of the other great number, prince Ali. The plot is really well paced and there's no slow moments in the film, characters really work well together and all of their motivations are clear. It's clear by this time, Disney Studios had the financial resources to put money into the production of its films, and they were the best at what they did when this film was released. Obviously, I enjoyed the film, but I think there are parts that just didn't hold up. The first time I watched it I thought Robin Williams's performance as the genie was hilarious, but it contains a lot of references that audiences, today would have trouble understanding. For example, there's a reference to Ed Sullivan and Rodney Dangerfield. My kids did not understand these references at all - but what they really found funny was the character of Iago. I have to say that makes sense because the comedy connected to this character is more timeless - it's basically an irritable old man - and everyone knows at least one of those. The animation at times is clearly CGI from the era, and it looks dated. There is also the fact that the evil characters are portrayed in a more stereotypically Arab way whereas the main characters are portrayed in a more stereotypically American way, even though these characters live in the same area. I think this is mostly in regard to the character of Jafar, who was designed independently of the rest of the characters and resembles what a human version of Scar from The Lion King would look like. So that's a bit racist - but it's not racist in the same way Song of the South is racist. It's racist in a way that all the people who created this movie are not from this culture, and you're making a movie about characters that are from this culture, so you're applying your kind of own standards of what is good and bad and what looks good and bad. The other thing is that because the movie flows along so quickly the main characters meet and fall in love within about 2 minutes which is a little bit unrealistic, but I prefer that than a slow paced movie. The characters of Aladdin and Jasmine are also interesting, there's real character development there. Jasmine gets to make choices, and she's portrayed as being a real person. I would definitely recommend this movie to anyone who wants to see the best of Disney. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Race to Witch Mountain

 While this film is not a great or even a good movie, it is still much better than the first two parts of this franchise. Those films take the idea of aliens with superpowers visiting the Earth and presents it in a monumentally boring way. This film sticks to a formula of an alien or two aliens out to do good, but being pursued by nefarious government agents. Dwayne The Rock Johnson does a good job in this movie as a character who is down on his luck, but with a big heart. He is, of course, full of charisma and this movie came out before both his body and his ego ballooned. He does lose fights in this movie. The special effects in the first two films were bad, but they were made around 40 years ago. The special effects in this movie are also bad, and it's only 11 years old. I think perhaps they wanted to release it in 3D, or they did release it in 3D and now the version we watch has very bad effects. This is a forgettable film with a few nice scenes, so it's probably a movie to...
Read more

Scout's Honor: The Secret Files of the Boy Scouts of America

 This is not a particularly well done documentary, but I think it is a very important story. It's the story of how the Boy Scouts of America hid abuse from parents and the authorities. It's also the story of how an immensely powerful organization is using bankruptcy proceedings to evade justice. It's also the story of how an organization can claim on the one hand that it doesn't have any problems with abuse and on the other blame any problems it does have on homosexuals. Because, the logic goes, if they can keep homosexuals out of the organization, they can keep abusers out. But that does not make any sense whatsoever. Just think about the logic of that argument for one second, and you'll see how flimsy it is. It's an important story, as I have said, but I think the history of it is much better detailed in a podcast serious called behind the bastards. So if you want it better understanding of this topic you would do better to listen to that podcast about the fou...
Read more

The Pez Outlaw

 This is one of those rare documentaries that would actually be better told as a fictional movie than a documentary. It's the story of Steve Glew who made millions of dollars smuggling Pez dispensers into the United States. Steve's story is interesting because he grew up very poor, and he discovered something which would ultimately make him wealthy, but then he got bored with doing that, and he wanted to be more creative, and then he crossed a line which he was unable to come back from. Also interesting is how Steve's nemesis is presented as this arrogant villain, but in actual fact everything that Steve was doing was technically illegal. So you feel kind of bad for him because he seems to be a sweet, good-natured individual, but on the other hand it was a completely predictable failure. So an interesting watch
Read more