"Better a fallen rocket than never a burst of light."
~ Tom Stoppard, The Invention of Love

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Relationship Spotlight: Jasmine & Aladdin (Aladdin)


Mena Massoud was in the news recently, talking about how being the star of a billion-dollar live-action Disney remake hasn’t translated into increased opportunities for him in his career, and while 1) it made me sigh and shake my fist yet again at Hollywood, it also 2) reminded me how much I enjoyed him in Aladdin. As I said in my review of the remake, he and Naomi Scott as Aladdin and Jasmine are the best reasons for the movie’s existence. Anyway, all this got me thinking about Aladdin, Jasmine, and Aladdin/Jasmine again, and I decided to write about them (note: I’ll be drawing from both the original animated film and the live-action version for this post.)

That marketplace meetcute tells us so much about both Aladdin and Jasmine as characters. It showcases Aladdin’s penchant for risking his own neck for the sake of helping out this young woman in trouble, and he uses his fast-talking street smarts to get her out of a jam. Meanwhile, although Jasmine is naïve about how the world operates outside the palace, she’s a quick study and immediately plays along with the ruse Aladdin concocts to extricate her from the situation. It doesn’t wind up working (not their fault, though – Abu,) and they have to run for their lives, where again we see both Aladdin’s care of Jasmine and her ability to keep up with him. I know I’ve mentioned it before, but I love the scene where Aladdin pole-vaults from one rooftop to another and then, while he’s laying down a board for Jasmine to walk across, she makes the jump herself.

From there, we move to Aladdin’s pad, where he and Jasmine bond over how immutable they feel their lives are. I really like this, that even though they move in entirely different circles, they have the same feeling of being trapped in their circumstances. They don’t quite realize they’re on the same wavelength, because Jasmine is pretending to be an urchin at the time, and while she chafes under palace life, Aladdin fantasizes about how great it must be. And yet, both of them feel stuck. Jasmine is royal and privileged, yes, but she also feels like her whole life is mapped out for her and struggles with the parade of suitors her father keeps bringing to her, insistent on her getting married. Before sneaking out, she’s never even been outside the palace walls. In contrast, just everyday survival is a grind for Aladdin, between stealing enough to eat and evading the palace guards. In the remake, he talks about how his place in society feels fixed, that, no matter what he does, there’s no way for him to advance and improve his lot.

That first meeting puts together all the ingredients for Jasmine and Aladdin’s love story, so the movie needs to set up road blocks to keep them from hitting their happily-ever-after too soon. Externally, there’s of course the whole “the princess must marry a prince” thing, which Aladdin tries to get around by having the Genie turn him into Prince Ali. But even more than the law, what keeps them apart so long is Aladdin’s insecurities. When he thinks Jasmine is poor like him, he has no problem being charming, caring, and open with her, and the sparks fly like crazy. But as soon as he steps foot inside the palace and starts pretending to be a prince, he tries to put on this persona of what he thinks a prince is. He tries to play the sultan’s game, to “win” Jasmine by virtue of being wealthy and royal, which is of course everything Jasmine hates. “I am not a prize to be won,” anyone?

Anybody can see that the way to Jasmine’s heart isn’t by, first, pretending to be someone he’s not, and second, lying to her, but Aladdin can’t let himself do that. It’s not out of any attempt to trick her, though. It’s because, despite the easy confidence with which he carries himself through the marketplace, Aladdin doesn’t think he’s good enough when stacked up next to her, and he very nearly loses her because of it. Even when she figures out that he’s the young man she met in the market (‘cause she’s a smart cookie,) Aladdin still can’t bring himself to be honest with her. It’s not until everything is finally out in the open that the path is cleared for them.

Also, it’s a little thing, but when Aladdin is first telling the Genie about Jasmine, I love he doesn’t mention her beauty until the Genie prompts him, instead talking about how smart and fun she is. Good boy, Aladdin!

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