Aladdin Central Messageboard

[Meesh]

Our conversation in another thread got me thinking... what would you do with the series if you were handed a billion dollars and free reign?
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[AladdinsGenie]

Wow, the board did not show me this thread I'm so sorry

I'll also come up with stuff when my brain isn't half pudding.

[Meesh]

All of this assumes someone else will voice Iago and Genie... It feels off, especially for Iago at this point. I just don't want to write them out. I think I'd leave KoT as is. It's perfect.

1. Obviously better animation. I like a lot of the recent 2D-ish styles that have been popping up lately. Maybe one of those, but w/e as long as it's good!

2. Make it less racist Maybe this should have been number one? haha. Either all the Arabs have authentic accents, or they all of American accents. None of this only-give-cartoonish-accents-to-throwaways nonsense. The Arab pun names are cute to me, but I might get some advice on whether they're actually really offensive. I'm only half Middle Eastern and I've never been there, and I don't speak almost any of it, so I don't think my opinion counts so much here.

3. Go big budget on the music! The score to Tangled has inspired me on this point. I don't really want to add musical numbers to it though. That's not really my thing, although people do like it, and it could make extra money. It could also be a way to incorporate some RoJ songs that are actually good without putting them into a RoJ remake. So I'm open to it.

4. Redo Return of Jafar. I like Iago's arc in it, and I like the foil between Jafar and Abis Mal. And I do like the songs. But it could all use an update. And it needs to end more open-ended. Aladdin wants to see the world, but like... okay? Maybe something a little more interesting. Ideas on what this could be could be its on essay. But maybe something like some coalition of djinn hears about Genie's freedom and Jafar's murder and invite Aladdin to their land or something.

5. Create a through-line. Picking up from my previous point. I feel like Aladdin's exploring the world isn't really a thing so much in the series. We need a more specific goal, and one that can update at the end of each season. For example, the gang gets tied up with some djinn, that could be a season with lots of characters. Could even introduce Eden this way. Tease Mozenrath throughout, then the season ends with him trying to capture all of the djinn. The next season is the gang rescuing the djinn. The next season is Mozenrath's big arc. There should be another big villain, maybe Mirage, that Mozenrath eventually has to ally with the gang to defeat. I'm literally coming up with this on the spot, so don't poke the holes in it.

6. Develop the best characters, and tie up the loose ends. I'm thinking Mozenrath and Mirage x Fasir specifically for loose ends, and Sadira for further development. Don't hate me, but I have always been a Mozenrath x Sadira fangirl. I have thought this through, and I think it could be done and done well. Sadira's development I think is actually one of the best in the series, and I think her actually finding romance after a time of learning to love and respect herself could be a really good next stage.

7. Keep some episodes roughly the same (ex. Bad Mood Rising, The Spice is Right, Riders Redux) but give them relevance to the through-line.

8. Keep some ideas and characters but change the episodes. I already mentioned having Eden as a character but not necessarily keeping "Some Enchanted Genie." For example, I LOVE the idea of a suitor who hasn't heard yet that Jasmine is engaged (Uncouthma), and I think Uncouthma is a good character. And I like that episode, and I love the watermelon-in-the-window quote. But otherwise I'm not married to the specifics of it.

8. Can probably lose some characters, especially the spirites and I'm not married to most of the one-off characters.
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[AladdinsGenie]

Oh, when you said reboot I thought you meant a whole new series borrowing from the previous one . If talking about a new thing entirely, though...

It would be hand-drawn. I really have nothing against CGI, but something about seeing the gang all smooth and three-dimensional and computerized outside of video games doesn't sit right with my spirit. I'm fine with some sort of mix (although not what they did for Wish ), but I can't do 3-D puppets. I just can't.

No songs. The style Disney currently favors in its media isn't my thing and I find a lot of it unforgettable. Maybe if Alan was behind it, but I haven't been feeling the inclusions he was part of in the live action films either. I'll definitely take an amazing score, though. The Aladdin series won an Emmy for outstanding music direction and composition, so this is one aspect I'd be the least worried about.

New outfits. It always bugged me in Hercules and the Arabian Night that Aladdin was in his KOT outfit, but Jasmine was still in her outfit from the movie. They need a wardrobe reflecting their status as older and more mature leaders. Most of the budget will go to this, but I don't care . I do not want to see their movie outfits ever again.

New mythical creatures from MENA history to explore. The original series touches on a few and borrows the concepts of a lot to make the new baddie that week, but this could be so cool if done right. It also gives them the opportunity to infuse this universe with more MENA culture to make it more Middle Eastern/Northern African and less Americanized (although I know some of that is unavoidable).

We are putting the official stamp on what the kingdoms of the seven deserts are. Each place is getting an episode just so we know-know this time.

I can't decide if I want to see some of the old villains again. Part of me thinks it would be hilarious to see an aging Abis Mal and Haroud still causing trouble, for example, and Aladdin just being like " please retire I'm begging". And some I know would almost HAVE to make a reappearance again (uuuugh, Mozenrath ), but I'd be okay if I didn't see the older ones again outside of a mention or one-off episode. Adding some new villains to the canon would be fun as well, but I'd be mostly looking for episodes where the drama doesn't always have to come from a baddie.

But we ARE occasionally revisiting old characters like Mahmoud, Amal, Sadira, Eden and Dhandi, Razoul (cause I guess he resigned since we have a new captain of the guards ) etc. I'd even go so far as to bring in Cassim and Iago for a few eps to see how they're doing, or go visit them somehow because their help is needed (and no, they still aren't getting a pardon. If Disney ever changes this I'm gonna be SO mad...)

In the same regard, we are also exploring Agrabah itself. There is so much more to the city than the marketplace and Aladdin's hovel. If it's the people that make Agrabah great, let's meet some more of them! There's was a great opportunity to take two characters from two completely different worlds and see how they'd tackle common issues of the cityfolk before they reached the throne that Disney never really tapped in to because we were busy on adventures. But we'd have plenty of time to do that here and get into more of the city's history at the same time.

I'd like to see more of the staffing around the palace and how it operates. The Disney Princess franchise has sort of dipped in to this with the Enchanted Tales episode we got and a few mentions of staff in books, but really I'd just like Aladdin and Jasmine to interact with some more human-people and make some more friends. Maybe even have episodes where they hang out with just those characters and not the gang. I want to see life outside of each other, especially Genie who travels alone and gets up to who knows what out there.

It should take place a few years after KOT. but I can't decide if I want the Sultan around or not. Him being dead would mean Aladdin is Sultan, and that might restrict what he and Jasmine can do as the future Sultan and Queen (more so than when they were just engaged), but that might also be fun to explore? Like, I definitely want to see them in more leadership roles and how that's going to affect their dynamic as rulers and spouses, but I still need them to be a battle couple . More likely I'd keep him around, but being more hands-on about prepping Aladdin for the throne and basically in retirement mode (might be too dark to have him die during the series - what a mood killer that episode would be ). Also, not sure about them having kids yet. I'm leaning towards no cause Disney never handles that correctly and I simply don't want to deal with that

I'm actually okay with the series not having a serialized plotline. Mostly because in this day and age of tv shows getting canceled after 1 season with no warning, that leaves the potential for cliffhangers galore. Also, I've seen too many shows where the writers wanted to stick to their big plans a little too much instead of feeling out where they needed to take things and it ruined an entire series retroactively. So I'd have to be guaranteed a few points ahead of time before I agreeing to overarching plots for a whole season. Like, I DO want more continuity overall (especially characterization), but each episode being its own thing and it has some sort of cohesiveness overall would be fine with me. I would probably make each episode like 45 minutes, though, so nothing feels rushed.

I mostly just want to keep the tone of the original series without resorting to watering down the themes and messages of each episode for the sake of targeting children almost exclusively now instead of general audiences like Disney used to.

Someone pointed out that part of why Disney content today feels empty despite being technically gorgeous is because their worlds have been sanitized to death. Disney movies in the 80s, 90s, and even the early 2000s existed in spaces where there was crime, violence, abuse, drugs, drinking, smoking, sex, religion, war, misogyny, racism, etc. These were not necessarily highlighted aspects, but you felt their presence wasn't too far from whatever story we're hanging out in (and sometimes they were even part of the plot). It was a reflection of the world we occupy, even though we're visiting fictional settings or older versions of ones we know today. It felt a little more real and lived-in so to speak.

Everything now seems to exist in pre-packaged, overly manufactured, squeaky clean bubbles where something kind of bad-dark happens to cause conflict and tension, but ultimately these places are back to being safe, and purified, and contained once the bad-dark thing goes away. It's not even about making content that's more "politically correct" now or whatever (although there's definitely tons of room for improvement here in our canon). It's straight up feeling like I'm watching the media equivalent of walking on eggshells because Disney was tired of being yelled at for years.

Like Disney today would never make a movie featuring a character singing about how he has to steal to survive and has to constantly avoid the cops as a result of committing the ultimate crime of being poor and living in poverty without there being a beat-you-over-the-head follow up about how stealing and lying is bad and law enforcement is actually your friend. I would cry if they did that to these characters . Like I know Jasmine is sort of a lost cause because of the Princess franchise being all about this kind of spoon-fed messaging, but they're not taking the rest of them from me.

[zitagirl]

While I personally didn't really think of a reboot (even though I know a lot of opportunities to adjust it to be more coherent) I did think up about stuff after KoT, just don't know if I should write the down here. I actually want to write these as an actual story when I have the time (and courage) to do it.
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You know your sanity is long gone when your favourites are a boy genius, a wacky genie, a mad man with a box and a deathberry

[zitagirl]

Okay, after a goodnight sleep I think I can write down the general stuff I would do in a new series without giving away the more personal stuff I will have in the story I'm planning currently.

So first I definitely would have it done in hand-drawn animation. I'm not against CGI and it can definitely be well-utilized, but for me hand-drawn is just more natural for this for couple of reasons and give more opportunities as opposed to the limited amount of models and settings CGI show could have (look at FOP: A New Wish for example. Actually pretty good but you can tell the bugdet was small).

So this might be weird, but I would have the show take place way after KoT where Aladdin and Jasmine are rulers and having kids that are teenagers at this point. Now I would definitely have some flashbacks moments and episodes where we would see them before this like when the Sultan is still alive, the kids are little and the gang are kinda free to adventure (to some extent because you know, kids), but I also think it would be interesting to explore how they would handle the fact that they are actually responsible for a whole kingdom while still be parents AND knowing how many enemies they still have around.

So uhm... the gang aren't exactly going to be the main focus, but more of an important supporting cast for majority of the show. Much as I really like them, I do think their major developments has been done by the end of KoT and instead would like to see them from a different approach while giving the kids the ground to become their own selves. Again I know this might be a weird choice and definitely not everyone would be on board with it, but this is where I stand. Plus just because they aren't the main characters anymore, doesn't mean they won't do anything.

I want the world and its history to be more or less explored quite well including the magical stuff. The show already tried to go around the world, but I would like to go a bit further on that while also exploring lost history and civilizations such as the empire the sand witches had good knows how many years ago. I would also not mind taking inspiration from mythologies for magical creatures while also making ones up specifically for the world of Aladdin.

Fully establishing the 7 kingdoms and the 7 deserts! This right here is something I always wanted and heck it, include Shirabad as well as a good nod to the live-action movie. I also would like to tackle the relationships of these kingdoms, though not too deep, but enough to get what's happening and its affects on the people. For example there's a major issue affecting several kingdoms at the same time and they don't know the exact cause yet and there's a disagreement on how they want to handle it and if not careful this can ascelade into a far worse situation than they are already in.

Returning characters from the original triology+ series. Now I don't want everyone to come back, that would be a nightmare, but some callbacks or even outright show up with actual plot relevance? Absolutely can see that be a good option. For example I don't want Mechanikles to show up, but his creations and leftovers could be collected and be reused for a different purpose by someone else. Mozenrath as much as I would love to see back, I don't think he should be used too much, especiually that we know from his last appearance that he was basically dying already. I do have an idea for him, but I keep that for my own story. Mirage definitely someone I can see showing up every now and then.

As for non-evil returning characters... I have a few options. I would like to see more Eden and Dhandi overall and the relationship between Eden and Genie more explored. I actually have the 2 just go away for a few weeks every year to enjoy some time together. Cassim and Iago are mostly absent, Sadira being around as a good ally to the gang, the Mukhtar be more of a lone traveler who comes around if he sees something that could threat them and he's unable to stop it on his own.

Now I do want to see a good variety of new villains be it normal humans or some magical being or even something entirely new or better be caused by the new main characters themselves.

However, I don't want much focus on genies in general, let alone introduce a bunch of them. An occasional mention on them is fine and we have Genie and Eden, but I rather have at most 1 additional genie in the whole show who isn't good by any means, but not exactly a villain either.

Introduce a new magical being in the main cast, preferably someone who is more or less the opposite of Genie and Carpet, least initially and have a very different set of powers. For my story I have a 600 years old fire elemental who isn't exactly fond of what she is (partially caused by how other elementals treated her) and has a hard time to really open up to people.

So as to understand my choice, for my story I kinda reworked the elementals to be these nature-themed magical beings that are as old as life itself on Earth and near-immortal (they can be killed though). Once abundant now more scarce due to many reasons and mostly avoiding humans due to several past conflicts between elementals and humans. They have a true form and a more humanoid form as disguise, can utilize their element depending on how skilled they are and not only understand every spoken language by default, but their own speaking is something that automatically be understood by others. I also made them not fond of genies in general based on 1 line+interaction from Saline in her debut episode.

One more thing before moving to the new cast, I don1t want the show to be squaky clean and such. I want characters to make mistakes and have concequences for them, I want villains to be actual villains even if 1 can understand why they are like this and would like to show the uglier side of things. Humor should still be there and light-hearted moments, but it's also okay to have dark moments that are played as they are without any quips and MCU-stuff.

So even if let's say the series can't be serialized, I still want the characters to properly develop at least and past events having an impact on them in some ways. For example Aladdin and Jasmine has a daughter in my story whose journey is to basically become a good leader for her people when her time comes while also balancing out her personal stuff like with her brother, her own desires (she may not be a rebel like her parents were, but she also has a taste for adventure even if she tries to surpress that).

The new main characters also a bit more adjusted the magical stuff in general and do have stuff that may seem modern for their time (though Genie advised them to not really use it in public much) like a cellphone that is powered by magic. They are also a bit more prepared for potential attacks as they basically experienced quite a lot of them as they grew up (and sometimes getting involved as well). Heck, at times it's their new magical friend that feels like the newbie.


I know this sounds messy, but I hope it somewhat shows what I would do with a series if we got the chance (minus all the stuff I had to leave out because spoilers)
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You know your sanity is long gone when your favourites are a boy genius, a wacky genie, a mad man with a box and a deathberry

[Dark Rose]

I know this is a controversial subject with reboots... how would you guys feel about a gay or non binary or autistic character?

[AladdinsGenie]

[zitagirl]

[Meesh]

Just got back from a vacation and I'm gonna respond to AG and then ZG:

Yeah I was approaching it from a "let's redo it between RoJ and KoT" and you (AG) sound like you're doing post-KoT. I'm down for either TBH and am going to switch gears into your post-KoT idea for the sake of this discussion. It's a less complicated idea and leaves a lot more room for ideas.

[Meesh]

[Meesh]

[zitagirl]

Welcome back! Hope you enjoyed your vacation!

[Meesh]

To me, Moz has to either die or have a goodbye akin to Cassim/Iago. IMO it's gotta come to the point where he has to choose between the power he's been searching for, or doing the right thing. I'd like to give him an arc where he chooses the latter. Whatever that means specifically to the writers (us? gotta start playing the lottery I guess)

The fact that I ship him with Sadira is my middle school fanfic brain I'm not married to it. Maybe I should just write a fic to get it out of my system. I'd DEFINITELY be the first to ship them, right... right??? ... RIGHT?!!!

--

Also, since Fasir is a prophet, when he says that someday Mirage will turn from her evil ways and return to him, I believe it to be a prophecy that has to happen. WE CAN'T IGNORE DESTINY YOU GUYS.
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[zitagirl]