Aladdin

**1️⃣8️⃣MOVIES FOR THE FIRST 18 YEARS OF MY LIFE —————————————————— Part 2️⃣ ~ “Aladdin” 🧞‍♂️🕌🐒⏳⚱️🐍 Age: 1-3** 2️⃣ Disney is the literal representation of my chialdhood. I grew up watching almost all Disney movies on repeat. Rare were the days when i wouldn’t watch AT LEAST two Disney movies. Unfortunately i couldn’t include all the Disney movies that made me who i am on this list, since it’s only 18 movies long, but i included the most important one. And Aladdin is THE place to start. 2️⃣ Aladdin was my fav movie for a long time during my chialdhood. I can’t even put all the reasons i love it so much into words, but i’ll try. 2️⃣ Firslty, Aladdin was my favorite character. He still means the world to me, and he’s always been my favorite prince (closely followed by Eric). I can’t explain why 1 yo me loved him so much, but he just did. A huge reason was that this film shows a male friendship (which are always underrepresented in media), between Aladdin and the Genie, making Aladdin a much more human and kind character, as we also see him interact with friends, not just with a love interest. Another reason why i loved him so much was because he was the main character of the movie. Don’t get me wrong, i ADORE the disney princesses, but i was a bit confused why there weren’t many Disney movies where the prince is the main character. And i loved Aladdin for it. Also, Aladdin was my sexual awakening, i had (and still have) the biggest crush on him. He was my first crush. He is and will always be my sweet Al. 2️⃣ I also love all the other characters. Jafar was my fav villain growing up, i knew all his lines by heart (this doesn’t really say much since i used to memorize entire movie scripts). I found him so creepy and i loves him for it (yes, i was a villains kid). Because of him my favorite animal was the snake for a long time. I loved him so much i even tried to make a diy Jafar scepter when i was around 7-8 yo (yes i gave up soon after i started it). In a weird way, i think i somewhat loved Jafar more than Aladdin himself. Now i’m disgusted by his misogyny, but i didn’t understand that when i was a baby. 2️⃣ Jasmine was also one of my favorite princesses (along Belle and Ariel). I still love her, but i’m a bit sad that there’s so much more merch and representation for Jasmine than for Aladdin (especially since the movie having a male lead was such an important thing for me growing up), but that’s not Jasmine’s fault. 2️⃣ And of course i love the Genie. Always adored his pop culture references. And the Genie, Abu, Carpet trio might be my fav disney side characters trio. 2️⃣ Aladdin and Jasmine’s relationship is SOO CUTE. They have so much chemistry, they instantly get along and they even complete each other’s sentences. I will not hear anybody who doesn’t like them together cuz Aladdin lies to her. Or anyone who doesn’t like Al because he lies. I’ll protect him at all cost, i don’t even what to start discussing this topic. 2️⃣ Many years later i discovered and fell in love with Howard Ashman’s work. But that’s a topic for another time. What i will say though is that i’m still sad they cut so many of his songs from the final version of the film. “Humiliate the boy” was the villain song this movie needs. And the “Arabian nights” reprises would’ve also been a nice addition (though the final reprise is included in the third movie, thank god). But the most beautiful and heartbreaking cut song is “Proud of your boy”. I know this song wouldn’t have really worked with the plotline they decided to go for, but it still holds a place in the heart of every fan who knows about it. 2️⃣ I will say that “A whole new world” is SUCH SUCH an amazing song, even though it’s not written by Howard. 2️⃣ I think i love this movie too much to complain about the fact Disney completely changed the original story Howard wrote, but i stand by the fact the live action remake SHOULD HAVE FOLLOWED THAT PLOT! And it should have included some of the cut songs! 2️⃣ I’m still impressed by Alan Menken’s talent. Yes, he’s an EGOT winner; yes, i’ve known his scores by heart since i was a child, but i still get chills during the overture of Aladdin. Though all his scores are outstanding, Aladdin truly is one of his best works. 2️⃣ I briefly mentioned before the sequels, which i also liked quite a lot as a kid. Obvi not as much as the original, but i did enjoy them more than the general audience. Especially the second one (did i forget to mention how much i loved Jafar?). I still believe the soundtrack of Return of Jafar is incredibly underrated. And i loved to play the video games that were included on the sequels DVDs. 2️⃣ This movie also created the interest i have now for middle eastern culture. Unfortunately i’m not that… cultured about it, but i would love to visit that part of the world at some point. 2️⃣ Now, it turnes out that Aladdin wasn’t my favorite Disney movie when i was 9 yo anymore, cuz i recently discovered a Disney movies ranking i did back then and Aladdin was nr 10 (first spot was Beauty and the Beast). But anyways, Aladdin had the most impact on me and it will always be the Disney movie that means the most to me. And Al will always always be my boy. you’ll always be a prince to me.>>*