A Whole New World

Princess Jasmine is the only princess that isn't the center of the film she's in. But she's definitely not forgettable. She has the whole "princesses love animals" thing going on because her pet and best friend is a tiger. That's extreme.


Unlike some of the other princesses, she was born into royalty, but she's not happy with being a princess. She only gets happiness from the freedom she finds with Aladdin. Good on her for not letting anyone tell her who to marry and for at least trying to find her own happiness. I'm not saying it's the best idea to run away from a home, but at least she tried.


The other reason she's memorable is that seduction scene with Jafar. Try getting the other princesses to do that. She even kisses him, which is one of the most disgusting moments in Disney animation history.





EEEEEEEEWWWWW I hate hate hate that scene. I don't agree with it at all, but in the circumstances, it did make sense. I mean, what else was she going to do to distract Jafar and stop him from seeing Aladdin.


Anyway . . .


Like the other fairy tales, social position is generally ignored. She values Aladdin's life and knows believes it was cruel for him to have been killed. (It bothers me that they never reverse that law.) She knows that just because someone's a prince, doesn't mean he's charming. In fact, she's not even truly interested in Prince Ali Ababwa until she discovers that he's Aladdin (even though she thinks he's a prince).


And it's good that Aladdin finally learns that he has to be himself and NOT LIE. He steals because he feels he has no other choice because he's not rich. He wants to be though; every night he looks at the palace and says, "Someday, Abu, things are going to change. We'll be rich. Live in a palace and never have any problems at all." We know that he's more than a street rat because he helps two poor children who need the bread he steals more than he does. And he knows that he's more than a "street rat" but feels "trapped" in his life as he tells Jasmine. And he truly doesn't see himself as more than a street rat ("a diamond in the rough" to be exact) until his love for Jasmine brings out his courage and true potential. If you notice, he tells Jasmine the truth after he's saved the day, when he's comfortable with himself and knows for sure that Jasmine loves him without the title. (The first time he was going to tell her the truth, he struggled with the decision.) At first he says to himself, "She was the princess. I must have sounded so stupid to her" and he thought that she would go for him when he was a prince. That's why he was still lying to her after their duet. He still thought she wouldn't care for him if she knew his true social status. Some may say that this makes Jasmine a simple conduit in a male-dominated story whose characters is only defined by the men around her. One thing is for sure, it is a male-dominated story: Aladdin is the title character after all. But at the same time, Jasmine very much has a personality and spirit all her own which she never loses in the film. Furthermore, she plays a major role in the story because without her love, Aladdin would never have really been a redeemed hero. Without her, Aladdin does not reach his potential and his story is not complete. And Aladdin does reach his dream of being rich and living in a palace. But even if he had been able to do this without Jasmine, his life would not have been complete; he would have found that riches alone do not fulfill one's life or heart.


I saw an ultra simplified board-book version of the story. "Princess Jasmine has dreams . . . Aladdin has dreams . . . The genie helps make their dreams come true." I guess that's what it's all about. Dreams coming true for both Aladdin and Jasmine.


And come on, who doesn't love "A Whole New World"? It's one of the best Disney songs.





A word on the sequels: The Return of Jafar is horrible, and the songs are awful. Filmmakers shouldn't attempt to make a sequel when the original voice of an important and funny sidekick isn't the same. In fact, Jasmine isn't even played by the same actress either. I mean, come on, people. Get serious about filmmaking. Don't treat our precious characters this way. Have a heart. Don't even get me started on how bad Aladdin and Jasmine's duet is. As for Aladdin and the King of Thieves, I always held a soft spot for it since I enjoyed it as a child. However, now that I saw it for the second time, I realize it's not that great. However, it is definitely much better than than the second movie, and Jasmine and Aladdin have a much better song. At least Robin Williams is back. But it's not as great as the first one.


Conclusion: Jasmine is one of the more independent princesses, and she's really cool because of that. She's not the main character, but she stands out.

Beauty and the Beast

"Once upon a time, in a faraway land, a young prince lived in a shining castle. Although he had everything his heart desired, the prince was spoiled, selfish, and unkind. But then, one winter's night, an old beggar woman came to the castle and offered him a single rose in return for shelter from the bitter cold. Repulsed by her haggard appearance, the prince sneered at the gift and turned the old woman away. But she warned him not to be deceived by appearances, for beauty is found within. And when he dismissed her again, the old woman's ugliness melted away to reveal a beautiful enchantress. The prince tried to apologize, but it was too late, for she had seen that there was no love in his heart. And as punishment, she transformed him into a hideous beast and placed a powerful spell on the castle and all who lived there. Ashamed of his monstrous form, the beast concealed himself inside his castle, with a magic mirror as his only window to the outside world. The rose she had offered was truly an enchanted rose, which would bloom until his 21st year. If he could learn to love another, and earn her love in return by the time the last petal fell, then the spell would be broken. If not, he would be doomed to remain a beast for all time. As the years passed, he fell into despair and lost all hope. For who could ever learn to love a beast?"

Beauty and the Beast has always freaked me out just a bit. I mean, Beauty fell in love with a beast . . . how was that relationship going to work? Unless she knows that he is really a man under a spell . . . but she doesn't, does she? So was it platonic love? Or . . . . let's not go there.

Anyway, Disney's version is absolutely beautiful. And what I love about it is the fact that we actually get to know the prince, and we get to see the couple fall in love. The prince actually shows his love for Belle and says he loves her, which hadn't happened in the previous princess films. That's awesome.

I can't remember what I thought about the film when I was a kid. But I do remember seeing it on ice and thinking it was marvelous. And I really enjoy the live show at Disney's Hollywood Studios (video below--hopefully it won't be taken down). It's the closest I'll ever get to the Broadway show, which closed.

While watching this film, my sister told me, "Do you notice that she wants adventure 'in the great wide somewhere' and she just ends up getting married and living in a castle and not having an adventure?"

But what's funny is that the adventure that she wanted was the one that she got. At the beginning of the movie, we find out that she loves reading fairy tales and that her favorite book has "far-off places, daring sword fights, magic spells, a prince in disguise." And let's not forget the line, "Isn't this amazing? It's my favorite part because you see, here's where she meets Prince Charming but she won't discover that it's him till chapter three."

She ends up living the life that she dreamed about . . . except there are no swords in the final fight between the prince and Gaston. And if falling in love is the greatest adventure, it's especially so for Belle. Plus, I'm sure she and Adam had adventures after they got married. Knowing Belle, they probably decided to travel.

Belle is kind and dearly loves her father. She looks for the good in the Beast, but fights back when he is rude to her.

And there is an emphasis on her mind. She is portrayed as mentally superior to the man who wants to woo her and spends her time reading. One of the best parts is when Gaston says, "How can you read this? There are no pictures!" and Belle answers, "Well, some people use their imagination." And Gaston considers thinking a dangerous pastime and also believes that women shouldn't read because they start getting ideas and thinking, which shows just how primeval he is as Belle says.

I also like the masculinity contrast between Beast and Gaston. Gaston is the epitome of stereotypical masculinity, yet his selfishness and conceit make us hate him to the core. On the other hand, Beast's sensivity is portrayed as the ideal masculinity. Although the prince looks like a beast, inside, he is not. Gaston is the true beast because although he is good looking, inside he is ugly. As Belle says, "He's not monster, Gaston. You are."

It may be just me, but I think the animators didn't make the prince "traditionally" handsome like the previous princes. In fact, I didn't think he was at first, but after a few more viewings, I changed my mind.

Also, Belle and Beast probably have the best kiss because it creates a firework!

The best thing about Beauty and the Beast is the message about judging people by what's inside. And knowing that people can change. "Finding you can change . . . learning you were wrong." The prince redeems himself by sacrificing himself for Belle. He puts her happiness above his by letting her go to her father when he is sick. I'd like to think that Belle would have returned when her father got well if it weren't for that nasty mob out to kill him.

Some people complain that Belle falls in love with her captor. But with a closer look, it's clear that Belle is not a victim. First of all, she gives her word that she will be the Beast's prisoner in place of her father. But she doesn't put up with his mistreatment. When he tells her he can't have dinner, she goes downstairs to eat anyway. When he tells her that the West Wing is prohibited, she goes there anyway. And when he yells at her for being there, she runs away, deciding she can't stay there anymore. Yet, she is so kind that she cannot bring herself to leave him to die in the snow, so she takes care of him and even thanks him for saving her life. But when he yells at her, she yells back at him, only accepting him when he speaks kindly. This helps the Beast see that he isn't going to gain her love by being mean to her. And that's when he starts to change. Belle brings out the best in him, and he learns to conquer himself. His change culminates in the scene where he decides to spare Gaston's life. Beast's change is probably the most dynamic character development in the princess movies even more so than Flynn's and Aladdin's. What's really cool is that this changed is foreshadowed in the film's first stained glass window. Look closely and you will see a sentence in Latin: Vincit qui se vincit. This means, "He conquers who conquers himself." Beast wins the greatest battle of all: the battle over oneself and one's worst tendencies. Belle is the catalyst to this change and her love eventually wins over Beast, helping him to become a better person.

By the way, the music is amazing. I love, love, love it, especially the theme song. The pop version is okay, but the Jump5 version is awful. Jordin Sparks did an okay job, but I still don't see the point of remaking Disney classics when they were perfectly wonderful to begin with.

And I also don't see the point of the sequels. I can't talk about Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas because we didn't watch that one (I can't watch Christmas movies when it's not Christmas.) But Belle's Magical World is absolutely awful. I mean, really, why? Why? Why? That's the only thing I was thinking while I was watching it. And it was so boring that I know I spaced out there somewhere. Besides, no one can voice Mrs. Potts like Angela Lansbury.

There's something really cool about how the castle transforms from a dank, spooky, gargoyle-guarded place to a beautiful, bright, angel-filled castle.

And I guess the people in the final scene are all the servants who are now human again? I've always wondered where they came from.

Belle should be my favorite princess because of the results of a quiz I took on Disney.com.

What's cool is that that's really me! But I love all the princesses, so I can't really decide on a favorite.

Conclusion: Beauty and the Beast is a beautiful story of change and second chances.

Part of Your World

Hans Christian Andersen must have been kind of depressed. He wrote The Ugly Duckling, The Steadfast Tin Soldier, The Little Mermaid, and Thumbelina. The first is about bullying; the second is about sacrifice; the third is about redeeming love; the fourth is about . . . . well, living happily ever after I guess.

The Little Mermaid is my sister's favorite princess, so she has a bunch of Ariel pins and she's seen the movie a lot. I on the other hand came out of the theater crying when I first watched it. At least that's what my parents tell me. I must've blocked out that memory because I haven't the foggiest about it. Although now when I see the scene in which Ursula grows to a gigantic horrendous size, I'm sure that did scare me when I was a kid.

Anyway, I discovered the original version of the Little Mermaid in sixth grade. There was a bookshelf in homeroom and there was a book about the Little Mermaid. I grew up knowing the Disney version and another happy-ending version in my fairy tale book, so when I read about how the prince chose another girl, and the little mermaid had a chance to stab his heart and spread his blood on her legs to become a mermaid again, I was traumatized. But the other day, I was thinking how beautiful it really is that she couldn't kill him because she loved him too much. She would die and see him happy than return to his old life and see him dead. And for her selfless act, she is rewarded.



But thanks to Disney, we don't have to suffer through the Little Mermaid's death. :) Even so, the theme of redeeming love is in the Disney version.

Although Ariel is a headstrong girl, we never have any doubt that she loves her father. She wishes that he could understand why she loves the human world so much. And when he breaks her heart by destorying her collection of human objects, she rebels, seeking the advice the sea witch. In doing this, she "makes a pact with the devil," who pretends to care about her, but really just wants ultimate power (every bad guy's dream). What's interesting is that for the first time I noticed that Urusla says she used to live in the palace. What? What was she? Some kind of noblewoman? Like Yzma in The Emperor's New Groove?

Eventually, her father takes her place in the contract, showing his love for her. And in the end, he gives her legs because it's what will make her happiest even though she won't be with him anymore. Everytime I see that scene, I go, "Man, that was sooo easy. If only they could've resolved their differences before Ariel went to Ursula." Of course, there wouldn't be much of a movie. Ariel sacrifices her life for Eric and then her father sacrifices his life for Ariel. It all comes together, and it's beautiful.

I think it'd be funny if someone at Disney had said, "Wait. Why don't we make Eric a merman?" That would've been cool, right? But it just wouldn't have been the same.

Prince Eric is really cool, and I love how he comes to the rescue in the end. No matter how mean spirited people may be about this creating a whole "damsel in distress" thing, keep in mind that he has to do everything he can to save Ariel. I mean, come on. If he just swam around like an idiot, we'd hate him.

The Little Mermaid's popularity must be growing because Disney has created new attractions based on it. I think this is a little much. I mean, surely there has to be something more to expand on?

But still, I love Voyage of the Little Mermaid at Disney World.



A note on the sequels: They suck. But it's interesting to see how Ariel's daughter almost exactly follows her mother's path. And I find it a little creepy that Ariel's mom in the third film looks waaay too much like Ariel.

Conclusion: The Little Mermaid is one of Disney's best movies, and the music is incredible.