Why Disney? November 2, 2009

Part of the rhetorical act of the “Fair(y) Use Tale” is the use of animated Disney characters.  While adding a sense of familiarity to a rather foreign subject they are also a slight jab to Disney. While Disney is famous for its protection of its characters, it is also famous, or rather, infamous for “borrowing” plots, characters, and ideas from other sources.  Two of the most blatant ripoffs come from Aladdin and The Lion King two of Disney’s most well known tales.   Let’s break it down, after the jump, starting with Aladdin vs. The Thief and the Cobbler.

Just so everyone is on the same page, The Thief and the Cobbler began production in 1964…but wasn’t released until 1995 after changing directors, distributes, and animators numerous times.  Aladdin on the other hand was pitched in 1988 and was released in 1992.  So.  Cobbler first idea, Aladdin first released.  Ok.  Moving on.

Aladdin bares a remarkable resemblance to the movie The Thief and the Cobbler.  In fact several of the animators for Aladdin also worked on The Thief and the Cobbler.  While the plots are not carbon copy, they are similar enough to draw notice.

First, One can draw direct parallels between characters.

Character	The Thief and the Cobbler	Aladdin
The Princess: Independent, headstrong,motherless, both have songs on a circular balconysimilar outfits. She is desired by the vizier and he schemes to marry her.  Although she desires to beindependent, she ultimately requires rescue.
The Protagonist: a poor young orphan boy, falls in love at first sight with the princess on a chance sighting. Closest to the comic relief out of all the characters. Jailed by the vizier, but eventually escapes.
The Comic Relief: Liberal, and frequent use of anachronisms. Both break the fourth wall and maintain a running commentary that other characters ignore. Even some of the lines are nearly identical (both mimic a flight attendant and reference keeping hands and feet in the ride at all times).
The Vizier: Lusts after the princess, hypnotized the sultan. Both have a talking, wisecracking pet bird who eventually abandons its master. Tall and thin with a sinister goatee, both have flowing robes and curling shoes. They also carry a staff that is more than it appears. Their treachery is integral to the take-over plot.
The Sultan: Bumbling, well-meaning but ineffectual. Absent-minded, both are gullible and susceptible to the machinations of the vizier. They are easily entertained and bear the most physical resemblance out of any of the characters.		\
The Palace Guards: Are fat, bumbling, dirty. They are completely useless when it comes to actually doing their job (unless it advances the plot). Both groups are stupid to the point of illiteracy.

• Both feature star crossed lovers: a poor boy who falls in love with a motherless princess who is desired by the evil vizier.
• The girl’s father, the sultan, in both movies is a small, rotund man with a flowing beard.  He is gullible, and easily hypnotized by the vizier.
• The princess in both films has a nanny or a guard.  In Thief it is an actual “nanny” while in Aladdin Raja the tiger is an appropriate stand in.
• The palace guards are clumsy, stupid, and incompetent (not to mention ugly!)
• The vizier keeps a talking bird as a pet in both films.
• In both films the vizier conspires to keep the poor boy away from the princess by throwing him in the dungeon to rot.
• Both are set in the Middle East and feature a takeover plot by the vizier.
• Both viziers use magic to forward their plot.

While there is an undeniable similarity between these two films, it is worth noting that they are both rip offs of a much, much older story from Arabian Nights.  Not to mention, several animators worked on both projects.  Just further proof that there isn’t anything original anymore?