Purple peacocks, he's got 53!

On Tuesday night I watched Disney's Aladdin for the first time in years (well, probably decades), thanks to having a housemate with a substantial movie collection. This was one of my absolute favorite Disney movies as a child, along with Aladdin 2, Snow White, and Sword in the Stone. In middle school I had the sheet music for all of the songs (I probably memorized it all as well), I knew all the words by heart (for the songs and dialog), and I really wanted to dress like Jasmine (is that really healthy?).

It's amazing how different Disney movies seem when you see them for the first time as an adult. There were things I noticed that I hadn't really noticed before, and I even understood something new! For instance, there were references that I hadn't really paid attention to in the movie before, such as the sultan praising "Ala" when Jasmine chooses a suitor and other good things happen. As a child I didn't know much about other religions, so I don't think I really understood. There were also sexual innuendos that I had understood on some basic level as a child, but understand much better now. There is also so little plot explanation and true character development, but yet the story is so lovable! It's like one of my housemates said: you don't see much of Rajah, but she is still one of the most beloved characters. Not to mention all of the references to other Disney movies, including Fantasia!

Although I think the biggest difference is my opinion of Iago, the parrot. He's so annoying! As a kid I just thought of him as an annoying parrot, and an interesting character for that very reason. However, now that I know who Gilbert Gottfried is and can recognize his voice a mile away, all I could think about was how annoying he is! Yes, he annoys me on many levels and probably always will. But now I can't even think of Iago as being a obnoxious parrot, all I can think about is Gilbert Gottfried having an annoying voice and how I wish he wasn't the voice of Iago! It totally ruins the ability to be drawn into the world on any level. I think this of all things may ruin my enjoyment of Aladdin for the rest of my life.

I still can't wait to watch Aladdin 2 again though, and I still miss the Aladdin TV series (although I was probably above the chosen viewing age when it was on).