Four-Year-Old Girl Calling Out Disney's Aladdin Goes Viral
The live-action adaptation of Aladdin is currently dominating the box office, bringing the iconic [...]
The live-action adaptation of Aladdin is currently dominating the box office, bringing the iconic Disney tale to a whole new generation. As one viral video has recently proved, the remake has also brought on some pretty interesting discourse. A video of four-year-old Madison Jade recently gained traction online, in which she critiques one of the tropes most commonly associated with the original Aladdin. In the video, which you can check out below, Madison questions why Jasmine needs Aladdin to show her the world, seeing as she's more than capable of exploring it herself.
"Jasmine needs to go see the world by herself because Aladdin needs to just stay there and Jasmine can just go by herself," Jade remarks, before adding that "there is not enough space on the carpet" for the both of them. Later in the video, she argues that "a princess doesn't need a prince to rescue her, [because] she can rescue herself."
The video has gone viral on both Instagram and Twitter over the past week, even earning a shout-out on The Today Show. Considering the almost two decades since the original film debuted, it's hard to deny there should be a conversation about how the iconic princess is represented onscreen.
To an extent, this notion of updating Jasmine's storyline for a modern era factored into the Aladdin remake, with her getting a more independent story arc -- and a new song, "Speechless", which was specifically written for the film.
"First of all, it's a timely thing that everyone could relate to," Naomi Scott, who plays the fan-favorite character, said of the song in a recent interview. "She has Jafar and she's got her father for different reasons telling her she should just be quiet basically. She goes through this journey to realize her actions do matter and what she says does matter. She's going speak out against injustice. That song is going to be that focal point. In the movie, she makes that decision."
"It is quite emotional as well," Scott continued. "I think it's very relatable to all young girls and many adults who has been shut down at some point. Your voice matters. It is a great message to tell kids to be speaking out against injustice even if you're not going to win. Honestly, it's incredible to have this in the movie. It's pretty special."
"In the first movie we felt like she didn't have enough of a goal, it was really just to meet a guy," producer Dan Lin previously explained. "And here she wants to do more, she wants to save her world of Agrabah, she wants to play her part in leading her kingdom."
What do you think of Jade's viral take on Aladdin's tropes? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
Disney's Aladdin is in theaters now.
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