Aladdin | What most people missed in this incredible movie

^{Live-action Aladdin Movie Review}

The first time I came across and watched the movie Aladdin was over a decade ago and it was the animated version, which is considered the “original” as far as the film is concerned.

Recently, I came across the live-action remake of the 1992 animated Aladdin original and after a couple of days of skipping over it, I finally watched it 3 days ago. This review should have come in earlier but I've been really busy.

First off, I'll like to make it known that I'll not be reviewing this as a typical movie blogger would, and that also counts for any future reviews I'll be writing. And what I mean by this is that none of those “technical” highlights of what cup wasn't in the right position or anything similar that reviewers often talk about won't be mentioned here.

Neither will I necessarily highlight who wrote, directed or plays what role as that generally introduces a bias.

I watch movies to be entertained, I hardly will notice anything beyond the story being told unless it's painfully obvious.

With that said, I want to start my review off by saying that Aladdin was quite a refreshing watch, especially because I've pretty much forgotten most of what happened in the 1992 animated version and will as a result not make much references to it.

To most people, Aladdin, the movie, is a story about Aladdin and the magic lamp but to me it was more of a story about greed with lots of political themes.

Now I can't be sure if anyone anywhere has already noticed this and wrote about it because I am usually not in the habit of reading reviews on traditional blogs, I only look at ratings and make a choice of what to watch.

Though I expect that some people definitely did picked up on the underlying story in this fantasy masterpiece.

The truth is, Hive is the first place I've ever had to read movie reviews and I hope to find authentic opinions that are not a paraphrase of thoughts everyone else has put out on the internet.

Back to the story, I think the greed and power hungry aspect of the movie Aladdin should have been easy for anyone to notice.

^{Near opening scene where Aladdin meets Princess Jasmine}

Buried in the idea of wishes and desires, the genie was the first character to speak on this being dangerous when he told Aladdin to be “careful what he wishes for” because details mattered a lot and he added to not be carried away by greed.

Towards the end of the story, the consequences of greed were revealed when Jafar, the Royal Vizier to the Sultan and ruler of Agrabah and the villain in the story, wished to be the most powerful being in the universe, more powerful than even the genie.

The problem with this wish was that Jafar had to be a genie himself to be more powerful and he got what he wanted and lost autonomy in the process.

Now where does the political theme come in?

Jafar wanted the Sultan to invade the neighboring kingdom as opposed to building mutually beneficial relationships as he considered them weak.

The Sultan would not agree to this so Jafar had him under a spell to try to accomplish his mission of eventually dethroning him and invading the neighboring kingdom.

The daughter of the Sultan, Princess Jasmine, had her entire character built around feminism in the most beautiful way.

Jasmine’s solo anthem, “Speechless,” is a direct statement against patriarchal silencing, which is something that happened a lot in the movie as Jafar constantly reminded her that she's meant to be seen, not heard.

Jasmine wanted to be the Sultan as she cared about her people but given that it never happened before, her father was not initially welcoming of the idea until he saw her stand up for the kingdom in the face of the evil takeover by Jafar.

This scene particularly tells a story of why it's important to give people a chance to prove themselves. The Sultan became aware of his daughter's capabilities after he proved herself when the opportunity presented it, something she could have done either ways if he had given her a chance.

Where most people saw lighthearted fantasy about a poor boy, a princess and an evil guy trying to take over a kingdom, the underlying story was about power, greed, feminism and a subtle kick against the idea of invading weak neighboring countries.

Sincerely judging, this movie was less about Aladdin but more about the princess, Jasmine and the politics. Aladdin, the magic lamp and the genie therein were just a means to send the message.

It was truly the right combination of everything one would need to be entertained.

Rather than number-based ratings, I'll work with words and rate this a “perfect creation” for your entertainment, if you haven't already seen it.

^{Image sources: one, two.}