From: rcook@sdcc13.ucsd.edu (Robert Cook)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.disney
Subject: Aladdin unoriginal?
Date: 3 Jan 1993 15:56:15 GMT
Organization: University of California, San Diego
NNTP-Posting-Host: sdcc13.ucsd.edu

Possible spoilers ahead....
























In article <1992Dec30.205846.14477@cbnewsh.cb.att.com> jch@cbnewsh.cb.att.com (jeffrey.c.halle) writes:
>From article <1hsftcINN152@network.ucsd.edu>, by rcook@sdcc13.ucsd.edu (Robert Cook):
>> While I'm at it, here are a few of the many, shall we say, similarities
>> between Aladdin and The Little Mermaid films:
>
>> 1.  The princess's father stands in the way of her love life.
>> 2.  After that, as I've mentioned above, her father has a change of
>> heart.
>> 3.  The evil villain attempts to steal the throne by using the
>> princess.  Jafar tries to marry Jasmine just like Ursula tries to
>> marry Eric, although the circumstances were different.
>> 4.  Aladdin takes Jasmine on a tour of the world, just Eric like took
>> Ariel on a tour of his kingdom.
>> 5.  In the battle near the end of Aladdin, Jafar boasts about all
>> the power he's just received, and swells to an enormous size to toy
>> with the heros.
>
>Points 1 through 5 are nearly universal among fairy tales, myths, and other
>assorted stories, such as 1001 Arabian Nights.  So the fact that the two
>stories have plot similarities is almost a certainty.

These points aren't quite *universal*.  Among Disney fairy tale
features, I can't find another with all these points--and two recent
movies share them (there are more points).  The fairy tale features,
by the apparent popular definition, are Snow White, Cinderella,
Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin.
Here are the features matched to the above concepts:

1.  Snow White - Evil Queen does not directly interfere with SW's
love life.
    Cinderella - Stepmother does stand in the way, but for indirect
reasons (try slavery)
This is very popular with fairy tales, but the situations in TLM
and Aladdin are both very direct and similar--this may be opinion,
but it is pretty obvious.

And don't anyone dare start a thread on some kind of Oedipus complex
in Beauty and the Beast.  Disney wisely eliminated Belle's acceptable
suitors, giving Belle a reason to hang out with Dear Ol' Dad. :-)

2.  (father's change of heart)  This is not really a separate point,
but only TLM and Aladdin seem to share it.  In Snow White and
Cinderella (Disney's version), there is definitely no "change of
heart."

3.  (evil villain tries to use princess to steal throne)
Once again, where else can you find this but in TLM and Aladdin?

4.  (guy takes gal on tour)
Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Beauty and the Beast--
all of Disney's fairy tales except for you-know-which-two--do NOT use
this idea.

5.  (evil villain grows in size and boasts of absolute power)
Nothing like that in the other fairy tales, except for Sleeping
Beauty, in which Maleficent becomes a dragon.  Then again, she
didn't steal or wish or otherwise get her powers from anyone, like
in BOTH TLM AND ALADDIN.

TLM and Aladdin have a lot (probably too much) in common.  I speak
from a "Disney" perspective; that is, I'm considering Disney fairy
tales, but not necessarily all fairy tales.  It's very easy (and
rather lazy) for a company to reuse most of one movie for another.
It seems annoying, IMHO, that they have made them so close to one
another time-wise.  General ideas, especially ones involving romance
and fairy tales, seem to span all of entertainment.  But when two
movies have similar *specifics*, it becomes unoriginal.  How 'bout
one more example:

6.  Notice how Jasmine hums to herself in her bedroom.  Does that
remind anyone of a certain little mermaid?  You know, when Ariel bumps
into Triton, says "Morning, Daddy," and puts a flower in his hair.

And another point for doubters:

7.  None of the 6 points above can be found in either of the
ORIGINAL fairy tales!  If you don't believe me, then read them--I
read them before writing this.  The similarities are Disney's doing.

Is anyone at Disney taking the time to read this?  I really do love
you guys and all, but please try to be original.  At least try to
plagiarize old, forgotten films rather than your own. ;-)


- Robert Cook

P.S.  This is not Aladdin-bashing--were TLM and Aladdin the same
movies they are now, but released in reverse order, I'd be more
critical of TLM.