Also, Aladdin the big hero of the story is a young and very attractive man. He has light skin, large eyes, and is very muscular. Little kids looks up to him, and small boys want to be him. But how good is that? Looks aside, Aladdin is a common theif, who lies his way through life, and depends on a genie to do everything challenging for him. Disney makes the crowd actually cheer for Aladdin when he is being chased by the vendors that he stole from. Why wouldn't the vendors be mad that a street rat stole from them yet again? This is just showing children that it is ok to steal what they want. Even in the song he sings that he is broke, and he has to "steal what he cant afford, and that is everything." Aladdin does not have a job, nor is it ever brought up as to why he dosn't have one. The song blames his parents, but if he is old enough to marry the princess he is old enough for a job. But in the story he is a common theif that we are made to feel bad for because he is to lazy to get a job.
Jasmine is the stereotypical Disney princess. She is flawlessly beautiful and all men in the story ogle at her. When she is in the market place and Aladdin sees her for the first time he supposedly instantly falls in love with her. But he merely finds her attractive. Little girls look up to Jasmine, and they are being told if they aren’t as attractive as Jasmine, men will never fall in love with them. Although she is shown as being a beautiful girl that everyone loves, she is a strong female character. She stands up for what she believes and won’t give in to what she doesn’t believe in. You can see that Disney is trying to make their damsels in distress less helpless, but it doesn’t counteract all the other negative aspects.
Another staple of any Disney movie is the clueless, helpless parent. If there is a parent around they are on most occasions shown as stupid, and silly. They don’t have anything to do with the plot and a lot of the time is the reason for something getting messed up. In Aladdin, Jasmines father is a short, jolly, roly poly old man. He hardly knows what to do with his daughter on most occasions, and listens only to Jafar his right hand man. For this reason Jafar ends up with power and becomes the biggest obstacle. So in true Disney spirit we yet again see a ridiculously stupid and scatterbrained parent figure. I am fairly sure that Jasmine and Belle from The Beauty and the Beast have the same father. Both characters have the same personality, stature, and facial expressions. It is abundantly clear that Disney had issues with his own parents. This is a horrible thing to incorporate into a children’s story though. Children will them associate the fictional parents to their own and believe they do not need their parents for anything, and could possibly become defiant to them. Is this a good message to give to young, vunurable children?
The end of Aladdin, like all Disney movies has Jasmine and Aladdin marrying. They have known each other for a very short time, and Jasmine hardly knows Aladdin for who he is not the lies he told, yet they marry. The act of marrying someone you hardly know is evident in almost every Disney movie. The characters fall in love and everything is peaches and cream. I believe this gives children a false sense of reality. If a child was reared with Disney movies as their only basis of the world, what happens when something horrible happens? What happens after the happily ever after? In real life, everything isn’t always perfect. The villains aren’t always caught and put away or killed. Marriages don’t always last forever. How are you supposed to explain divorce to a little girl that is used to seeing the prince and princess in love forever?
Disney movies are supposed to be just for entertainment, and sure a more mature child can accept that as true. But a child of four or five can not always understand that what they see on the television and real world aren’t the same thing. Little girls want to be beautiful princesses, they want to be swept off on a white horse, or take a magic carpet ride. Little boys want to be the strong handsome prince that saves the day and gets the insanely beautiful princess. But they won’t, because they are only fairy tales. Disney should start making movies that encourage girls to be happy with who they are, and show them becoming something great with their lives and not rushing into marriage with a handsome prince. They should show boys growing up and becoming something their parents can be proud of, and not just getting by on good looks and charm.
I hope this gives you some insite on the real message that Disney gives to young children. Maybe next time we see a little kid sat in front of the television, glued to the screen in awe, watching the brave hero with the rippling biceps saving the day, and the beautiful princess fall into his arms, you will think twice, before it's too late.
