Aladdin: Darker Side of Agrabah

Hello, Fanaticals! Today we will be going back into the desert to look into the darker side of Aladdin. Last time we dove into Agrabah, we talked about when it took place-if it ever took place at all! Today, we are going to take a deeper look into some of the darker themes.

There can be a lot of questions surrounding Aladdin and the events that happened around him. "It's just Genie magic!" But is it really? Those of us who watch shows that involve magic always hear some variation of the phrase "All magic comes with a price!" We also know that Genie magic is trickier than normal magic, though not as complicated as someone like Rumpelstiltskin's. The proof in this is when Jafar asked to be the most powerful being, but ignored the fact that he would now be housed in a lamp. Let's take a look at today's theories!

Genie Caused an Apocalypse

If you remember during our last Aladdin post talking about the timelines, I mentioned the theory that Aladdin takes place in a post-apocalyptic world. If this turned out to be true, alongside when you consider how old Genie supposedly is, there is actually a chance that Genie, himself, caused the apocalypse!

While laying down the rules to Aladdin when they are still in the Cave of Wonders, Genie tells him he can't bring back the dead. Directly after that he makes the comment about how it's not pretty and he doesn't like doing it; this implies that he HAS done it. Funny enough, he also turns himself into a headless zombie when he says it.

If they are living in a post-apocalyptic world, what is the chance based on that comment that Genie accidentally caused a zombie apocalypse? We've talked about the world being post-apocalyptic but not what kind. However, Genie admitting that he has brought someone back from the dead and won't do it again makes you wonder if he is the one who caused it.

Also, when you think of the number of rules he lays down... What ELSE has Genie accidentally caused in the time of his existence?

Aladdin's First Wish

Conveniently, many-my significant other included-seem to forget that Aladdin's first wish was not actually getting out of the Cave of Wonders. In both the live action and the animated, Aladdin tricked Genie into getting them out of there which caused the new rule of not tricking the Genie anymore and he had to use the words "I wish" which caused some problems when he went to "grant" the "second wish" when he went to save him.

The funny thing about his first wish, though, is that when you think about it, the wish was not granted in a conventical way. There are actually two theories of how the granting of this wish went, and neither of them include actually giving Aladdin a kingdom; something I bet most of you didn't realize! While Genie gave Aladdin a NAME of a kingdom that he ruled over and may have imprinted it onto a map so he could show Jasmine, the kingdom itself did not exist.

The first theory is that he didn't actually make him a Prince but allowed him to become one naturally. Genie gave Aladdin a costume, and an entourage, but no real kingdom to actually rule over. If Genie had made him a true Prince, Jafar would have never been able to expose him as a commoner.

Grant it, Aladdin was able to think on his feet and claim that he was doing the same thing Jasmine had been by trying to bend in and get a feel for the area; but if he had been made a real Prince then even that wouldn't have been necessary considering Genie could have given more proof (giving him Viziers of his own) or altered memories to bring about the real existence of Ababwa. Instead, he gave him a costume and entourage and allowed Jasmine to fall in love with him so that he could become. Prince in a natural way.

The second theory is that when Genie granted his wish to be a Prince, he made Aladdin’s father the King of Thieves, which then lead to the creation of the movie bringing his father into the fold. By making his father the King of Thieves, he made Aladdin a Prince as his father had expected him to take over after they met. This would then grant the wish by creating a King, and giving Aladdin the succession.

Jafar and Aladdin

This theory is that Jafar and Aladdin are the same person, just alter egos of a sort. The thought that they are the same person brings us around to when people say that your choices are what create your path in life. Hafar is what Aladdin would become if he didn’t have is conscious, which could be represented by the Genie who, in a way, is his own personal Jimmy Cricket.

In the live action version, we discover a part of Jafar’s history that we don’t really know about in the animated version: Jamar himself was once a “street rat”. However, Jafar found a place of power and basically got drunk on power, trying to find a way to become the Sultan so that he never would find himself in that vulnerable position again.

Aladdin is not out for love, he’s out for power; but finding love is part of what prevented him from becoming Iafar. In the end though, Aladdin wanted love, Jafar wanted to not be vulnerable. Having the Genie by his side is what prevented him from turning into Jafar. However, if he had not had that little conscious type form around him, he might have gone strictly for power, which is why you see the two of them is the same person just alter ego one drunk with power, and one drunk with love.

What do you think about this year or Jafar and Aladdin the same person? Did the Gemie cause the apocalypse by accident? Come join our community and tell us! Keep on theorizing, Fanaticals!