Cultural WI: Darker and Edgier Aladdin

I was talking about movies with a friend of mine and he said Aladdin wasn't particularly realistic because the Sultan doesn't have a harem and consequently more kids.

(This was in response my pointing out that the Sultan imprisoning Aladdin's dad in the third movie because Agrabah doesn't have the death penalty was unrealistic, both historically and in continuity with the first two films)

However, part of the rags-to-riches story is that Aladdin, by virtue of marrying Jasmine, is now the future Sultan of Agrabah.

How might things be different if the Sultan had a son as well, but who was killed as part of Jafar's machinations? Jafar, after all, wanted to marry Jasmine himself to ensure he would be Sultan after the current one (who he intended to kill at some point) died.

Non-villain character deaths are a bit dark for Disney, but in Mulan, Mulan's military boyfriend's dad is killed offscreen by the Huns, so they're not unheard of.
 
I was talking about movies with a friend of mine and he said Aladdin wasn't particularly realistic because the Sultan doesn't have a harem and consequently more kids.

(This was in response my pointing out that the Sultan imprisoning Aladdin's dad in the third movie because Agrabah doesn't have the death penalty was unrealistic, both historically and in continuity with the first two films)

However, part of the rags-to-riches story is that Aladdin, by virtue of marrying Jasmine, is now the future Sultan of Agrabah.

How might things be different if the Sultan had a son as well, but who was killed as part of Jafar's machinations? Jafar, after all, wanted to marry Jasmine himself to ensure he would be Sultan after the current one (who he intended to kill at some point) died.

Non-villain character deaths are a bit dark for Disney, but in Mulan, Mulan's military boyfriend's dad is killed offscreen by the Huns, so they're not unheard of.

There was more than one?:p

More seriously, it might be interesting to see Jasmine's relations with the younger members of her father's Harem, possibly younger than she, or her reactions to Aladdin's Harem. Realistically, she would probably think nothing of it, but with Disney...
 
There was more than one?:p

More seriously, it might be interesting to see Jasmine's relations with the younger members of her father's Harem, possibly younger than she, or her reactions to Aladdin's Harem. Realistically, she would probably think nothing of it, but with Disney...

There were two direct to video sequels. I don't recall them really contradicting each other story-wise and you could even claim the death-penalty issue wasn't a discontinuity (given how Aladdin nearly gets the chop in the second film, perhaps the Sultan abolished the death penalty to avoid future accidents).

Be glad at least they haven't reached "Land Before Time" levels of sequelitis. :)

As far as Aladdin himself, Suleiman the Magnificant ignored his other concubines in favor of Roxalana (sp?), so Aladdin being so besotted with Jasmine he decides not to have a harem isn't totally unrealistic.

Jasmine's dad having concubines younger than his daughter would probably raise questions too awkward for a kid's movie.
 
There's actually another animated version of Aladdin, much closer to the original stories than the Disney version. It was made in Japan, in the 80s I think. I can't remember if the Sultan had a harem in that version, but I do remember that it featured the moving/teleporting palace.
 
ASB.

This is DISNEY making these films.

Look at Pocahontas to see how badly Disney will lobotomize history to make it fit its formula.

Disney Executive: Never Mind the Fact that Pocahontas was NINE YEARS AT the Time, or that we are falling right into Smith's own propaganda of time.
Disney Marketer: Heh. The Indians themselves are seeing red all over this story.
Disney Executive: Who cares? It's the same story, with songs, a princess (one that's vaguely historical) and a hero. And we can make a big old song about savages, when it is really Smith who was chaining people to trees for stealing oatmeal.
Disney Animator: Let's throw in some minions and call it a day.

---

If you want a Darker, Edgier Aladdin, just get it made as a live action movie from someone who is NOT DISNEY. Make the Sultan interested in trading his daughter away for profit, make Jafar the obvious choice; perhaps being a wealthy figure in his own right.

CGI the Genie to look awesome.

This could work pretty well. If you've seen the TV Version of Scheherazade's 1001 Arabian Nights, you can get a feel for what I have in mind.
 
There's actually another animated version of Aladdin, much closer to the original stories than the Disney version. It was made in Japan, in the 80s I think. I can't remember if the Sultan had a harem in that version, but I do remember that it featured the moving/teleporting palace.

Is that the one about the magic golden balls?
 
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