Semiotic Adaptation Thesis: 1992 Aladdin vs. 2019 Aladdin

 

Thesis: 

Aladdin is one of Disney's many Disney princess movies that originally was an animated movie but was recently adapted into a live-action version. While both of them have similar characters and could be categorized as similar genres, the 1992 version has Jasmine fight for her right to marry who she wants, and the 2019 version has that plot point but also adds in Jasmine fighting to take on her father's legacy and become Sultan, which is traditionally passed down to men only. These two films portray the influence that the second, third, and fourth waves of feminism happening at the time had on the creation of the plots and the view of women in society during each respective film. 

Differences: 

1992: One of Jasmine's main focuses in the plot is to have her father change the law of marrying for political advantage rather than for love and who she wants to marry. 

2019: One of Jasmine's main focuses in this plot is to have her father change the law so that not only can she marry the man she wants to marry when the time comes, but also so that she can be Sultan and be the first female Sultan of Agrabah. 

1992: There is a scene towards the end where Jafar forces a change in outfit for Jasmine so that she matches with the dark changes to the palace interior. He also wants Jasmine to fall in love with him, but since he doesn't know that that is beyond the Genie's powers, Jasmine takes advantage of that and plays along as if she is in love with him to distract Jafar so that Aladdin can get the lamp back. 

2019: In this adaptation of the movie, Jasmine never attempts to seduce Jafar, and instead is given a pink outfit that isn't given by Jafar and isn't revealing, and she sings a new song that was made for the movie called "Speechless." 

1992: The Genie creates a bunch of women dressed in more revealing, sexy attire in the song "Friend Like Me" in the cave that are dancing in the frame.

2019: The scene in the cave with "Friend Like Me" replaces the women with multiple Genie looking figures to get rid of the sexy dancers. 

1992: In this first version of the film, Jasmine is the only female character in the film surrounded by men, even in the pets that everyone has. 

2019: In the adaptation, we see the addition of a new character, Jasmine's handmaid and childhood best friend Dalia. This is to add another much needed female perspective on the movie who helps support Jasmine and give her advice. 

Although there aren't very many changes, these few are pretty significant ones that showcase the difference between feminist movements at the times of each and the influence that they had on them.