The original story of 'Aladdin' is, maybe surprisingly, set in China. In the earliest versions of the story, Aladdin is Chinese. He's also not an orphaned street urchin but a lazy boy living at home with his mother. All the characters in the tale are also Chinese apart from the wicked magician who is from North Africa.
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). As revealed in "Do the Rat Thing", the Sultan rarely leaves the palace.
The origin of Aladdin is disputed amongst historians, but many believe that the story first appeared in One Thousand and One Nights, a collection of stories that originated in the early 9th century.
In 1957 Na Xun published the first Chinese translation of One Thousand and One Nights based on an Arabic manuscript that commenced the line of several more revisions.
Disney's movie Aladdin is no exception. Hopefully, you don't need a map to determine that Aladdin And Jasmine's Agrabah doesn't actually exist. But, dialogue and visuals suggest that Aladdin's Agrabah may be based on an amalgamation of Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
Aladdin was Chinese: The Magical Lamp story | Myth Stories
Is Jasmine from Aladdin Chinese?
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 ...
Aladdin and Jasmine end their carpet ride watching a firework show in China. After traveling through a few different countries on their magic carpet ride, Aladdin and Jasmine watch a firework show in what appears to be China. The setting is similar to the Imperial Palace featured in "Mulan."
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.
Some have suggested that the intended setting may be Turkestan (encompassing Central Asia and the modern-day Chinese autonomous region of Xinjiang in Western 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.
Aladdin is a 1992 American animated musical fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is based on the Arabic folktale "Aladdin" from One Thousand and One Nights.
In the original story, Aladdin is born to a poor tailor in “the capital of one of China's vast and wealthy kingdoms”. The Chinese setting of the story, however, has in most recent iterations, notably the Disney animated film of 1992, been almost entirely rewritten.
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.
The association between a genie and a lamp is rooted in the story of Aladdin, a character from "One Thousand and One Nights," also known as "Arabian Nights," a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales.
Aladdin's father's name is either Mustapha or Kaseem. His mother is not named, but in the traditional pantomime version of Aladdin, she is known as the Widow Twankey. His father's name is Cassim , he is featured prominently in Aladdin and the King of Thieves. His mother's name was Zena .
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.
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?
Finally, as it been revealed that Aladdin is not a prince, he can't marry Jasmine because of the law. He could use the last wish, but he already promised to use the third to release the genie free.
She asks her father again for his consent, and he grants it! Aladdin and Jasmine can now be married, and live happily ever after ("A Whole New World – Reprise"). There is much rejoicing in Agrabah as the curtain falls ("Friend Like Me – Reprise").
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.
When Aladdin revealed that Jafar was controlling the Sultan through his magic snake staff, Jasmine's hatred grew stronger for what he was doing to her father. Later, after Jafar successfully took over Agrabah, he made Jasmine his slave and wanted her to become his queen, much to her utter horror, anger and disgust.
