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Does the latest live-action Aladdin movie right the wrongs of the original story and recent retellings? In some aspects, yes, but in others, no.

Fairytale worlds are boundless utopias of imagination and possibility. Whether our beloved heroes dwell under the sea or in an enchanted forest, the excitement associated with escaping reality and transporting to the magical unknown is warmly welcomed by viewers and readers of fairy tales. Such feelings of fascination are particularly present when the story is set in a foreign or exotic setting, such as in Aladdin where desert-colored palaces, minarets, and arches paint the seaside city of Agrabah.

In these magical fairytale worlds, real-world problems seem nonexistent, almost as if sucked out by a vacuum or never there to begin with. Even in Agrabah, where silks, spices, and embroidered carpets are in excess, it is hard to imagine much wrong beyond the occasional rip in a magic carpet or wish on a magic lamp gone awry. Yet the fairytale, like many others, reveals much about social constructs and beliefs of the time it was written.

The story unfolds as a rags-to-riches tale of a poor tailor who rises to wealth and royalty using his wits and the help of a magical genie. However, as the phrase “Aladdin Syndrome” suggests, the story’s power extends beyond the pages. It serves as a cultural force, influencing readers’ perspectives of Middle Eastern people, values, and norms. Therefore, it is consequential that the original story condones and promotes slavery, racism, and patriarchy.

This narrow portrayal of the Middle East defines Edward Said’s theory of Orientalism. Palestinian-American professor and scholar, Said argues that Orientalism is a form of exotism used to portray Asia and the Middle East as “bizarre, regressive, and innately opaque and impossible to understand” (Romano). Such ideas advance the colonial perspective that Asia is a “mystic fantasy land” inherently primitive compared to the Western world.

Aladdin (1992) was Disney’s first film representation of the Aladdin story and therefore, its first endeavor to rectify or solidify Middle Eastern stereotypes. As the highest-grossing film of 1992, the movie generated 500 million dollars and was acclaimed for breaking cultural ground by diversifying Disney’s previously entirely Caucasian princess lineup. While the movie modernized the story of Aladdin, particularly revising perspectives on slavery and racism, it ultimately still conforms to Said’s theory of Orientalism, misrepresenting Middle Eastern culture and presenting the Eastern world as inferior.

Critic Samantha Heydt highlights the similarities between the movie and the concurrent Gulf War, claiming the film “weaved together racial politics and capitalistic dogma.” She argues the ideas of American exceptionalism and “white is right” are still pushed into the eyes and ears of its audience. Professor Dianne Sachko Macleod echoes these sentiments, arguing that the movie “plays up stereotypes of the Orientalist Other…by privileging the American myths of freedom and innocence at a time of nationalist fervor…” Both scholars agree the movie had racial underpinnings, revealing how Disney’s choices regarding the representation of characters, culture, and morals are intentional in its film development process.

But to what extent were the creators of the 2019 movie effective in rectifying the negative messages depicted in the original story? Was there an active push to redress these stereotypes? Building off Edward Said’s theory of Orientalism, I argue that the movie offers a limiting perspective on racism and Middle Eastern culture. Additionally, while the movie is a more accurate representation of feminism in the Middle East, I argue that it does not do enough to provide viewers with a strong female role model. And finally, while there has been limited literature on the topics thus far, I find that the film defaults to the restrictive trope of the protagonist being “the chosen one.” These cinematic choices reveal how, while social constructs have shifted, underlying prejudices and biases remain ingrained in media and culture.

Although such findings may appear inconsequential, Professor Dorothy L. Hurley finds that children watching these movies begin to internalize racism. A study she cites by Elizabeth Yeoman finds that even when children read fairy tales with leads as people of color, they “almost invariably drew White characters no matter what color they were themselves.” Specifically, one child said that while she imagined the protagonist as dark, she drew her blond, explaining “‘she was good, so I wanted to make her pretty’” (Brode et al. 67). Thus, cinematic representation of skin color influences viewers’ definition of happiness, beauty, even goodness, painting a black-and-white picture of who can be a hero and who can be an enemy.

Aladdin and Genie have deep conversations about relationships, honesty, and pride, and at the end of the movie, Aladdin uses his final wish to set Genie free. The movie recognizes the power differences between Aladdin and Genie, identifies them as immoral, and rectifies them by the end of the film. I find these plot choices effective because they preserve the storyline while presenting an egalitarian view of each character. Ultimately, this helps refute the notion that exploiting others is an acceptable means of obtaining success.

Thus, while the film’s representation of race has improved, decisions made behind the scenes continue to reflect hints of implicit bias that stem from the people in power.

The movie presents a similarly conflicted depiction of Middle Eastern culture. To expand upon Edward Said’s theory of Orientalism, he claims that when portraying a culture, “there is no such thing as a delivered presence, but a re-presence, or a representation.” Literature professor Christiane Staninger elaborates that this representation is a “Western image of the culture, not the culture itself” (72). And as both scholars agree, the East becomes a “reflecting pond” for the Occidental (West) onto the Orient (East). The value of the Eastern world is relegated to how well it compares to the West. And as a result, Said argues the Orient becomes the Other, “vacillat[ing] between the West’s contempt for what is familiar and the shivers of delight in– or fear of– novelty.”

These ideas may help frame the questionable cultural choices made by the directors of the 2019 movie. As Heydt notes, the movie is set in Agrabah, which translates in Arabic to “most strange.” In the book, Aladdin: A New Translation, editor Paulo Lemos Horta points out that Princess Jasmine’s original name, “Badr al-Budur,” was changed to be easier to pronounce. Furthermore, Heydt finds that while Aladdin, Jasmine, and Genie have American accents, Jafar, the villain, has an Arabic accent.

Such subtleties continue to align the Western world with enlightenment and righteousness while associating the Eastern world with obscurity and backwardness.

Another aspect of Said’s argument is that when the value of the Eastern world is always dependent on that of the West, the Eastern world’s own identity and values are belittled. Such is the case in Aladdin (2019), where elements of different cultures are taken for one. As Smith and Wongso point out, in the same scene, different characters are shown to wear Mongolian, Tunisian, Sikh, South Asian, and Moroccan-style clothing.

One Pakistani Muslim viewer revealed, “It sounds silly but I was insulted that they would forego real traditional clothes for some cheesy fake costumes that look an awful [lot] like a cheap deal from Party City. Our clothes are beautiful, so it was sad to see them erased.” In grouping Eastern cultures together, the directors of the 2019 movie hinted at an ignorance towards different identities in the Eastern world. And in doing so, they not only missed an opportunity to showcase the beauty of Arab culture but disparaged viewers with a Middle Eastern background.

While these corrections tape over the mistakes of the previous movie, they ultimately do not step beyond that. The movie continues to lack substantial cultural representation and, as a result, forgoes viewer empowerment. But did the creators of the 2019 movie have the responsibility to convey these messages? I argue that they did. In “The Thief of Buena Vista: Disney’s Aladdin and Orientalism,” writer Leslie Felperin asserts that because “fictional representations of the Orient are so scarce, this delightful land of fantasy might become the only way the West can imagine the Orient.” In other words, Aladdin is one of the few– if not the only– popular culture media source to represent the Middle East. As a result, it is at the forefront of what much of the world defines and views as the Middle East. Therefore, simply name-dropping cultural elements or placing them in the background is not sufficient to counteract grounded stereotypical beliefs of the Middle East that are deeply rooted in Orientalism.

The 2019 movie somewhat subverts this stereotype but can not be characterized as fully feminist. Misbah notes that in the “One Jump Ahead” song sequence in the 1992 film, girls in a harem– a Muslim household for the wives of a polygamous male– gush lovingly around Aladdin. Whereas in the 2019 film, the harem is replaced with a classroom. Misbah argues that replacing concubines with schoolgirls “empowers their presence rather than sexualizing it.” I agree with Misbah’s reasoning. Valuing women for their knowledge and identities rather than marital status provides a more feminist interpretation.

However, female empowerment in Aladdin seems to end here. As Islam and Akter point out, Princess Jasmine is portrayed as a “powerless, voiceless, [and] dependent” woman. I am in alignment with the scholars’ views. While Aladdin is shown as funny, clever, and street-smart, Jasmine lacks any skill or power of her own. Bismah notes a key example of this: in the marketplace scene, Jasmine is powerless against the store owner, and Aladdin shrewdly swoops in to rescue her.

Scenes like this reinforce the damsel in distress trope, promoting the idea that men can be charismatic quick-thinkers and problem-solvers while women can not.

These plot choices reveal how the director’s efforts at making the film feminist were, as Pal calls it, “ham-handed,” and as Islam and Akter view it, as “old rum in the new bottle.” By failing to create a princess with her own prowess and capability, Aladdin (2019) falls short of being a feminist film.

Vdovychenko’s observations reveal how women and marriage consistently come hand-in-hand in films. That’s not to say the institution of marriage is inherently anti-feminist, but rather when the idea is pushed to impressionable young girls movie after movie, they are falsely conditioned to think that marriage is the ultimate source of satisfaction and accomplishment.

And sure enough, the movie ends with a sequence of Jasmine and Aladdin’s wedding.

If the director’s true aim with Aladdin was to push a feminist narrative, I argue a more progressive ending would be ending the movie with Jasmine on her throne, Aladdin standing supportingly beside her– the idea of marriage left out altogether. Nevertheless, in making minimal changes to Jasmine’s character and storyline, the directors reveal, as Pal suggests, the movie was simply Disney’s attempts at “progressive rebranding” rather than an earnest effort to push uplifting feminist narratives to young female audiences.

The Chosen One trope traces back to the original story of Aladdin. In the 1889 version, the magician seeks out Aladdin because he is the only one that can enter the cave due to his family heritage. Similarly, in the movie, even though Aladdin is born poor, he is referred to as the “diamond in the rough” for being the only one who can enter the cave. Perhaps a clearer example of this singling out is Aladdin’s transformation into Prince Ali. In this scene, his rags are replaced with gold and white robes and a majestic turban.

The Youtube video titled “Top 20 Ugly Duckling Transformations in Movies” speaks well to this subject:

The video showcases twenty characters from popular movies (including Cinderella) who transformed into “better” versions of themselves. It speaks to how the transformation/Special One trope has become a staple of teenage dramas and romantic comedies. But does the trope’s prevalence necessarily speak to how well audiences receive it? I argue that it does not. The most upvoted comment on the video reads:

The comment as over two thousand likes and many replies including “I have no choice, I really have to wear glasses” and “same with curly hair.” Evidently, many viewers are speaking up about how these scenes have negatively impacted their self-esteem and narrowed their definition of beauty.

As someone who also grew up watching many of these movies, I remember feeling similarly. Specifically, one of my favorite movies was The Princess Diaries. However, when watching the movie, I remember thinking if only I didn’t have glasses and my hair was straight instead of curly, I could be just like Princess Mia.

Much like me, while many Disney viewers love a ‘fairy godmother moment,’ scenes like this perpetuate the stereotype that those most attractive or special will be most fortunate and those not so remarkable will not share those experiences. Aladdin (2019) only solidifies this misconception by glorifying Aladdin and his transformation into a prince. Overall, the notion of being the Chosen One stratifies the characters as better or distinctive beings, ultimately weakening the connection those characters form with real-life viewers.

When viewers hold companies responsible and demand better representation, we work towards a world where people feel proud to have their culture represented on screen and all viewers feel resilient and empowered after watching films. Until these changes are made, these films remain a testament to the fact that real-world problems do seep into imaginary lands and that what lies inside the magic lamp is no less problematic than what clouds the outside.

Ayres, Brenda, and Dianne Sachko Macleod. “The Politics of Vision: Disney, Aladdin, and the Gulf War.” The Emperor’s Old Groove: Decolonizing Disney’s Magic Kingdom, P. Lang, New York, NY, 2013, pp. 179–193.

Felperin, Leslie. “The Thief of Buena Vista: Disney’s Aladdin and Orientalism.” A Reader in Animation Studies, edited by Jayne Pilling, John Libbey, Sydney, 2000, pp. 137–142.

Heydt, Samantha. “Cinematic Essentialism, Political Agendas: Walt Disney’s Aladdin.” Debating Disney: Pedagogical Perspectives on Commercial Cinema, edited by Douglas Brode and Shea T. Brode, Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham, MD, 2016, pp. 145–150.

Horta, Paulo Lemos, and Yasmine Seale. Aladdin: A New Translation. Liveright Publishing Corporation, 2019.

Hurley, Dorothy L., et al. “Seeing White: Children of Color and the Disney Fairy-Tale Princess.” Debating Disney: Pedagogical Perspectives on Commercial Cinema, Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham, 2016, pp. 65–77.

Ritchie, Guy, director. Aladdin. Disney, 24 May 2019, Accessed 2 Oct. 2022.

Romano, Aja. “The Fraught Cultural Politics of Disney’s New Aladdin Remake.” Vox, Vox, 24 May 2019, https://www.vox.com/2019/5/24/1863589 6/disney-live-action-aladdin-controversy-history.

Said, Edward W. Orientalism. Pantheon Books, 1978.

Staninger, Christiane. “Disney’s Magic Carpet Ride: Aladdin and Women in Islam .” The Emperor’s Old Groove: Decolonizing Disney’s Magic Kingdom, Lang, New York Etc., 2003, pp. 65–79.

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