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.
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.
Mena Mansour Massoud (Arabic: مينا منصور مسعود; born September 17, 1991) is an Egyptian-Canadian actor. He is known for playing the title character in the Disney fantasy film Aladdin (2019), which earned him nominations for a Teen Choice Award and two National Film & TV Awards.
Princess Jasmine: Indian or Arabian? Disney's HUGE Cultural Inaccuracy! | Cartoon Analysis
Is Jasmine Arabic or Indian?
Her country of origin, for example, has been frequently disputed. 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.
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.
So it may come as a surprise to many to learn that Aladdin and his princess might actually be Chinese. In the original story, Aladdin is born to a poor tailor in “the capital of one of China's vast and wealthy kingdoms”.
She is an independent, rebellious young princess from Agrabah, a Middle Eastern kingdom ruled by her father, the Sultan. As the future sultana, Jasmine has a strong sense of obligation to her country.
By choosing this colour, the creators of Disney's Aladdin hoped to make the character memorable and beloved in the history of animation. The colour blue helped the genie stand out on the screen and it quickly become a fan favourite.
Examples: The architecture is more Indian than Arabic in the movie. The large pointy domes and the elaborate carvings, it may be Islamic related architecture but it is also the type found in non Arabic states. And considering that Aladdin story supposedly set in the Arabic world this is not very accurate.
After receiving criticism last year, Disney is changing the way it addresses racism in its older animated films. On Oct. 15, Disney Plus introduced a new disclaimer that appears before older films like Dumbo (1941) and Aladdin (1992), warning viewers that the films include harmful stereotypes.
Nearly a year later, on Thursday, Disney said that after consulting with a council of organizations representing minorities, it's added a new disclaimer acknowledging the "harmful impact" of racist stereotypes in some of its older films.
Disney introduced its first non-white animated heroine in 1992's “Aladdin”: a Middle Eastern character named Jasmine. Three years later an American Indian princess appeared in “Pocahontas.” The creation of the Chinese heroine from “Mulan” came in 1998.
The Disney story, like most Disney stories, are based on original fairy tales. Aladdin is from the middle eastern story in One Thousand and One Nights a.k.a. the Arabian Nights. The original is set in Baghdad.
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.
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.
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.
Also, the fact that he is made out to be evil in the setting of an Arabic kingdom, his home country, is very ironic and insinuates a bad image towards Arabic men. Contrastingly, Disney tries to make the fact that Aladdin speaks Standard English in the movie, superior to Jafar's use of language, due to his dialect.
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.
