In fact, records show that the folktale on which Disney's Aladdin is based is originally set in China, and later mixed with a story set in Persia as told by a Syrian woman, then translated and added to 1001 Arabian Nights by a French man, adding to the layers of cultural conflation and Orientalism at play.
If Ritchie's film was based on the original story, the entire cast would be Chinese - apart from the sorcerer, who would be North African - but as it's said to be a faithful remake of Disney's animation, Aladdin and Princess Jasmine should really be Middle Eastern or South Asian, despite the film not being an authentic ...
In the Disney versions he's from the fictional country of Agrabah (Agrabian?) In Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp (1982) he's from an unnamed arabian country. In The Wonders of Aladdin (1961) like in most other retellings of the story he's from Baghdad.
Ironically, the Agrabah Sultan's palace also resembles the Taj Mahal in Agra, India, despite being supposedly based in an Arabian country. The original Arabic folk tale of Aladdin was originally set in China, specifically an Islamic city in China (most likely an Uyghur kingdom in the Xinjiang region).
Aladdin (2019) Genie appears in the 2019 live-action adaptation of Aladdin, the Genie is portrayed by Will Smith, with his appearance alternating between his classic blue-skin and a human form of African ancestry as a disguise to blend in.
Princess Jasmine: Indian or Arabian? Disney's HUGE Cultural Inaccuracy! | Cartoon Analysis
Is Aladdin Arab or Indian?
1. The original Aladdin was actually Chinese. While the true origins of the tale of Aladdin cannot be completely verified, the story is often attributed to French writer Antoine Galland, who claimed a Syrian told him about a boy and a genie in China.
While some claim Jasmine is Arab because the movie opens with a song called Arabian Nights, others believe that the architecture in Agrabah is clearly based on the Taj Mahal, making Jasmine Indian. It's a debate that has fueled speculation that in Hollywood, Indians and Arabs are interchangeable.
Jasmine, the adventurous princess from Aladdin, hails from the fictional city of Agrabah. While Agrabah doesn't exist on the map, it draws inspiration from various Middle Eastern cultures, creating a unique blend of Arabian splendour.
Princess Jasmine, a fictional character from Disney's animated film "Aladdin," is not explicitly identified as Indian in the movie. Instead, she is depicted as a resident of the fictional city of Agrabah, which is often seen as a blend of Middle Eastern and South Asian cultures and influences.
“Fantasy middle Eastern”. He is neither identifiably Persian nor Arab in fact, he is really just an orientalist pastiche of vaguely “Middle-Eastern” background.
He would be an Arabian in Disney. But he would be Chinese in the original story. How do you feel about Disney casting a half-Indian, half-white actress to play Jasmine in the live-action version of Aladdin?
If you mean American Indian, then that would be Pocahontas. The only other Disney character I know of close to India's Indian would be the Jasmine character but I believe she considered to be more a Middle eastern character. There is also Jungle Book which takes place in India, but there isn't really a princess in it.
3. Aladdin doesn't come from Agrabah. In the both Galland's text and Richard Burton's popular 1885 English translation, Aladdin lives “in a city of the cities in China.” Illustrations of the tales from the Victorian era depict the story and its characters as Chinese.
In fact, records show that the folktale on which Disney's Aladdin is based is originally set in China, and later mixed with a story set in Persia as told by a Syrian woman, then translated and added to 1001 Arabian Nights by a French man, adding to the layers of cultural conflation and Orientalism at play.
Moana as she appears in Moana (2016). Inspired by Polynesian mythology, Moana is depicted as the strong-willed daughter of a chief of a Polynesian village, who is chosen by the ocean itself to reunite a mystical relic with the goddess Te Fiti.
Princess Jasmine is the deuteragonist of Disney's 1992 animated feature film Aladdin. She is the independent and rebellious princess of Agrabah, a Middle Eastern kingdom ruled by her father, the Sultan. As the future Sultana, Jasmine has a strong sense of obligation to her kingdom.
Disney's Aladdin (the 1992 animated version, not the 2019 live action remake) is set in a fictional city called Agrabah, which is based off Baghdad, Iraq (which was supposed to be the setting of the film, but was changed to Agrabah during production due to the Gulf War of 1990–91 which involved the Iraqi invasion of ...
For instance, the ruler is referred to as "Sultan" rather than "Emperor", as in some retellings, and the people in the story are Muslims and their conversation is filled with Muslim platitudes. A Jewish merchant buys Aladdin's wares, but there is no mention of Buddhists, Daoists or Confucians.
She comes from the South Asian-inspired Kingdom of Sherabad, which Jafar wanted to conquer to expand Agrabah. She also is mentioned to have been the victim of murder, which caused her husband to keep their daughter inside the palace for protection.
Jasmine is a secular creation by a wealthy company. It is incidental that she is Arabic, and practically irrelevant that she is Muslim, as she has zero connection with Islam or actual Muslim women.
