Aladdin Central Messageboard

Calluna · Posted: Thu Sep 30, 2004 3:53 pm Post subject: DVD review - LA City Beat

http://www.lacitybeat.com/article.php?id=1279&IssueNum=69

First of all, kudos to them for having the courage to say that TLK was formulaic and risking the ire of certain of its rabid fans. Laughing

So, now we know who's going to be on the audio commentaries for certain. I'm glad to see Will Finn on the list. I'll bet anything he annoys the rest of the animators with his Gilbert Gottfried impression. Twisted Evil

It's pretty sad that no one can mention Aladdin without bringing up current events. It's a fairy tale, people, it has as much to do with the real Arabia -- past or present -- as Sleeping Beauty had to do with the real Europe. Although the who-the-characters-would-vote-for question is interesting on its own merits....

AladdinsGenie · Posted: Thu Sep 30, 2004 4:09 pm Post subject: Re: DVD review - LA City Beat

Calluna · Posted: Thu Sep 30, 2004 4:12 pm Post subject:

If I could find a list of all the complaints I would *so* write an essay about that. Just for fun, which shows how much of a geek I am. Rolling Eyes

AladdinsGenie · Posted: Thu Sep 30, 2004 4:44 pm Post subject:

Oh you have no idea. I started typing my paper and it ened up being about 5 pages. It's only supposed to be 2. I narrowed it down to about 2 and a third. I had to take out my gripes about how Jasmine, Jafar and Rasoul were seen and just kept Aladdin and Farooq because you know how the "American looking" Arab characters was shown as good and the more "Arab looking" characters were shown as evil Rolling Eyes

It's amazing how this: The film’s light-skinned lead characters, Aladdin and Jasmine, have Anglicized features and Anglo-American accents. This is in contract to the other characters who are dark-skinned, swarthy and villainous-cruel palace guards or greedy merchants with Arabic accents and grotesque facial features.
sparked a whole paper.

Calluna · Posted: Thu Sep 30, 2004 5:08 pm Post subject:

I'd have to dig out some screenshots, but off the top of my head, Rasoul is about the same skin tone as Al and Jas, Fazal is darker, and Hakim is lighter. The rest of the guards are about the same as Al, Jas, and Rasoul.

As for the facial features, I don't see how Disney could *win* with these guys. Make them too normal looking and they're "too American". Make them too cartoony, and they're "grotesque" stereotypes. Repeat after me: Al and Jas are the good guys, therefore they are drawn more realisticly. Farouk is a minor character and a villain, therefore he is drawn in an exaggerated style. Seen the English in Pocahontas? Some pretty grotesquese faces in that bunch, for the same reasons.

As far as the accents, I don't see where they're getting that. The only characters with Arabic-ish accents are minor characters, and the only "evil" one is Farouk. Jafar's is British. Iago's is New York. Rasoul sounds Midwestern to me; he could be my next-door neighbor!

Farouk -- I should write an essay just on him; I'd have a lot to say. Long story short: anyone who's seen the TV series knows that he's not representative of Agrabanians, he's just a greedy and takes the law into his own hands (pun intended). I need to make an icon of him: stop being in my fandom, you're making it look bad!

xfkirsten · Posted: Thu Sep 30, 2004 6:14 pm Post subject:

Yeah, it was a solid review, right to the point where he started relating it to politics and then it's just a waste of reading. If he wants to drag the current political situation into a movie made 12 years ago like that, well, he's lost my respect for his writing.
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AladdinsGenie · Posted: Thu Sep 30, 2004 7:05 pm Post subject:

Salukfan · Posted: Sun Oct 03, 2004 9:37 am Post subject:

A late response to the topic I've been meaning to respond to.

I was also going to write my paper on this very same topic. Of course, my teacher said I couldn't because no one cares about it. I like my teacher less now. Anyway...

I don't know if it's just my paranoia speaking, but I do fear that there could be some more controversy coming from the DVD release. I really hope not, considering the arguments are well, stupid, but with the culture the way it is now (so eager to jump over anything that may slightly disagree with personal thought), I'm dreading.

I think people just need to learn how to seperate stereotype from characterization. I don't get the Farouk arguement. I mean, the protestors or whatever claim he painted the Arabs as vile, sneaky, and what not. But Aladdin/Jasmine were Arab characters, both good, noble, and kind to those around them. Sultan was a loveable guy in comparsion to Jafar's evil. But then they complain that Aladdin/Jasmine/Sultan aren't Arab looking enough? I mean, come on. That's just looking for an excuse to bitch.

I'm still, after all this time, upset that they changed the Arabian Nights line. The original line sounded better and flowed better. To go back to the Pocahontas thing Heather mentioned, I'm not going to boycott the film because it has a line that says "Pale face is a demon", which might be strewn as a stereotype. But boy, did "Dirty redskin devils" get protested. *Bangs head against the wall*
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