The Twisted Tales series are a perfect example of reimagining fairy tale stories. Their focus is to look at well-known Disney movies and ask ‘what if?’. What if this had happened? What if this person wasn’t there? etc. The first one I read was the Aladdin based one, which asked: what if Aladdin never kept the lamp?
In this version Aladdin retrieves the lamp from the Cave of Wonders, but Abu doesn’t get the opportunity to steal it off the disguised Jafar before he traps them underground. It takes Aladdin, Abu and the magic carpet three days to dig their way to the surface.
I was surprised by how dark this version is, considering the book is meant for children. Jafar takes over Agrabah while Aladdin is still trapped in the Cave of Wonders. He kills the Sultan by shoving him off the balcony. He keeps Jasmine imprisoned, wanting to find a way to break magic’s taboo law of forcing people to love and raising the dead.
It’s later revealed that Jafar sacrificed Iago in order to work the spell that identified Aladdin as the diamond in the rough. If you’re not a genie then magic can’t come from nothing and has a price. This idea is explored throughout the story, when they realise Jafar at first is offering food and money to the citizens to win their favour, but later begins rationing it, only handing it out to those who swear loyalty. There is also an inflation issue with the money, which makes Aladdin wonder if something similar has happened before, and the treasures sealed on the Cave of Wonders were the by-product.
Jafar has golems patrolling the city, keeping people in line. He even starts to brand citizens, using his cobra staff to determine whose truly loyal to him and burns a brand into their skin.
Eventually Jafar finds a book, enabling him to raise an army of dead ghouls. He also captures the magic carpet and cuts it into pieces, using them to make himself and some ghouls able to fly. Jafar’s actions are truly horrific in this version of the story, especially the torture and death of the magic carpet. Yet Jafar also mentions he was sold as a slave by his own mother and had to fight for everything he has gained.
The other characters are also morally questioned. Aladdin is a thief. In this version he has two childhood friends, Duban and Morgiana. They fell out years ago because his friends steal more than just food to survive. Aladdin feels he’s morally superior for this reason, but Morgiana challenges him, because they steal to help those who can’t help themselves, and also teach others how to survive life on the streets. Aladdin later admits to himself that, although he doesn’t approve of Morgiana’s ways, it’s her army of street rats/thieves that help save Agrabah. If she’d chosen a different life they wouldn’t have the chance to fight back. He questions what that means about the moral implications of everything.
Aladdin accidentally causes the death of Rasoul, who is crushed under a pillar while Jasmine and Aladdin escape the palace. Rasoul is just performing his duty and trying to protect his men from Jafar’s wrath. He is later turned into a ghoul, forced to obey Jafar and hurt the citizens he used to protect.
Aladdin is also seen to resent his parents. His father Cassim left to seek riches and never returned, while his mother always believed Cassim would return, no matter how she suffered and struggled to survive.
Aladdin may seem a little arrogant in this version, but he never lies about his identity. He is always honest about who he is, and so his relationship with Jasmine develops with no pretence involved. It’s more natural. Aladdin is also never tempted with power. When they discuss what to do with the book of magic once they steal it, he immediately wants to destroy it so no one can use its dark magic. Jasmine wants to keep it, both as a way to get revenge for her father’s death, and because she’s convinced the magic can be used for good.
Jasmine’s character struggles with two midsets: revenge and doing what’s best for the people of Agrabah. She begins the tale naïve of the people’s suffering, but quickly realises her father was not a good Sultan. He neglected his people, allowing street rat gangs to exist. She grows as a leader while fighting against Jafar, even killing a newly turned ghoul herself, not shying away from the horrors of war.
Whether Jasmine’s hatred would have won is unclear, because Aladdin’s friend Duban uses the book to kill Jafar. However, as he dies Jafar makes his last wish to erase all magic. The genie loses his power and becomes human. He earlier explained to Jasmine he was once a djinn with a wife, but became a genie to save his people. They were wiped out by humans and he was left stuck in the lamp. The genie mourns his magic, no longer even a djinn, and leaves Agrabah, trying to come to terms with his mortality.
So, even though Jafar is defeated and Jasmine made Sultana, this story’s happy ending is littered with loss. It has very dark, memorable moments that stay with you and consider the smaller details of the moral implications and actions of the world. It is a brilliant example of viewing a fairy tale story differently.
Reference:
Brasswell, Liz. (2018), A Whole New World: A Twisted Tale, Disney, Autumn Publishing, Disney Enterprises.
Scribbled Thoughts 