Agrabah is the central location of the 1992 Disney animated feature film, Aladdin. It is a glimmering, bustling Arabian desert kingdom, currently under the rule of a kind-hearted Sultan and his daughter, Princess Jasmine.
The setting is moved from China to the fictional Arabian city of Agrabah, and the structure of the plot is simplified. The Return of Jafar (1994), the first direct-to-video sequel to the 1992 Walt Disney movie.
The reason we think of the story as one of the true-born Arabian Nights is that many of the characters in the tale of Aladdin are Arabian Muslims with Arabic names. But Aladdin is Chinese … at least, he is if you go back to the known origins of the story.
The palace is located at the end of Agrabah, and can be seen from anywhere in the town. The palace itself is surrounded by high walls, with a main gate granting entrance. A small area on the wall is outfitted for the Sultan to make speeches and announcements to the people.
The streets and markets of Agrabah is where the story of Aladdin starts, as it is the place where Aladdin and the disguised Princess Jasmine met (and fell in love) for the first time.
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.
What's fascinating about the origins of this tale is that, even though 1001 Nights has been traditionally translated in English as Arabian Nights, the original story was set not in the Arab world, but in China. Early 19th and 20th-century versions of the story clearly show Aladdin as culturally Asian.
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.
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.
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. The new message replaces the one that came with the original launch of Disney Plus late last year.
In the newest film adaptation, the design of the Sultan's palace is inspired by a Burmese temple. Galland's Aladdin story is explicitly set in China, but the world it describes doesn't seem to match up with the real place. “The characters live in a society defined by Muslim practices,” says Horta.
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.
She is the sixth Disney Princess and the franchise's first non-European member, as well as its first West Asian princess. Due to this, the character is credited with introducing racial diversity to Disney's princess genre.
In the collection of tales recorded around the 15th century in Arabic, and which comprise "The Thousand and One Nights" or "Arabian Nights," Aladdin and Jasmine were actually residents of Baghdad, Iraq, a city widely considered a center for Arab culture and civilization.
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.
During the interview, Musker said that the movie's composers, Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, had originally decided Aladdin would be set in Baghdad, Iraq, but they were forced to change that. “We kept it Baghdad in our first treatment, and then the Gulf War happened — the first Gulf War.
Mena Massoud played a live-action version of the character in a live action adaptation of the 1992 film. When Aladdin is initially introduced, he is an 18-year-old man.
Final Verdict. With everything we have to go off of, Aladdin is set in the 15th century in the Ottoman Empire. With Agrabah seemingly being in a desert, I initially set this movie in 1521 after the conquest of Cairo and the areas of Arabia that bordered the Red Sea.
Most of Aladdin was filmed at Longcross Studios in Surrey (the UK) and Arborfield Studios near Reading. However, the scenes in the desert were actually shot in the stunning Wadi Rum area in Jordan. What is this?
