And Disney’s attempts at retelling this classic for a perhaps more precocious generation of young ladies, is painfully ham-handed.īut times have changed. We all also grew up secretly wishing for a fairy godmother who could conjure a whole new wardrobe out of thin air for our first date with the dashing Prince.īut Jasmine is no Elsa. It was where many of us saw a three tiered wedding cake for the first time and drooled over glass slippers. The candy coloured world of Disney Princesses was that magical place where we could be safe from the terror of Math problems, power cuts and harsh summers. It was out-and-out fantasy but one that worked. But all roads eventually lead to a happily ever after, gazing into the eyes of their Prince Charming. Except, in the case of Jasmine, her feminist politics seem mere fan service a force fit in a tale that has never been about the gorgeous girl in the palace.įor generations of little girls, Disney has been synonymous with princesses with luminous eyes and lustrous hair, who are armed with the occasional rebellious streak that lands them in trouble. It’s evident that Jasmine has been taking notes from the contemporary avatars of the Disney Princesses – Belle who loves her books more than the admiration of men or Moana, who defies her father to explore the world beyond her kingdom. In Guy Ritchie’s Agrabah, we look at Princess Jasmine through the prism of a feminist gaze: The Sultan’s daughter has serious problems accepting the law of the land that says she can never claim the throne and has to marry a prince, who will be the Sultan by default. In the original Disney tale, the spirited Princess Jasmine of Agrabah was hardly bothered about her place in the lineage or her claim to the throne. This scene, just like the reimagination of Jasmine, exists in the film to convey just one thing: Disney ’s earnest attempts at a progressive rebranding. Yet curiously, that song and her efforts at making her presence felt at a crucial juncture in the story amounts to nothing in the larger narrative of the story. Tired of being told that women like her are “best seen and not heard,” Jasmine finally decides that enough is enough and sings a song about empowerment and freedom. T here is a breakout scene in Guy Ritchie’s Aladdin in which Princess Jasmine finds her voice.
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