My thoughts on the information from the making of book.
I think the Arabian Nights stories had framing devices featuring fishermen and merchants sharing tales to audience members so I like the twist with the mariner. It's close enough to the peddler in the animated movie.
The kids he is telling the story to are probably Dalia's then since they end up together. I wonder if they'll show her at the end with the kids.Not surprised that the Sultan's character has been sobered up. They've done the same for all previous father figures (The King in Cinderella and Maurice in BATB).
I like how the Cave of Wonders isn't just CGI but also utilizes practical effects.
I wish Iago's role wasn't downplayed but I guess it would have been difficult to make him exactly like the animated film especially without Gilbert Gottfried.
I'm pleased with the fact that Arabian Nights will be twice the length of the original version. It sounds like it'll be spectacular on the big screen.
I'm glad it was noted that unlike a certain high-profile actress in one of the previous live-action remakes, Naomi Scott actually has a background in singing and dancing. And she was so talented that they gave her even more dancing material to work with.
Sounds like when Jasmine is taken prisoner, she'll be forced to marry Jafar so instead of a prisoner outfit, she'll have a wedding outfit. Her wedding dress won't be "a celebratory affair" according to the spoilers so I wonder what that means for the wedding dress we've seen in the stills and in the limited edition doll.Sotiris wrote:
• I'm not too fond of Prince Anders' role, at least on paper. Making him just the silly, comic relief neuters him as an adversary. It would mean more Jasmine choosing Aladdin if her other suitor wasn't a joke.
Prince Achmed was Jasmine's only other suitor in the animated film and he was a joke as well so I don't really have an issue with Prince Anders so far. Since Iago, the other main source of comic relief besides the Genie, won't really have the same role, it makes sense that they'd utilize another character.
Sotiris wrote:
• I also like Jafar's backstory. It parallels Aladdin's path functioning as a mirror image to him. It actually reminds me of the backstory used for Jafar in Once Upon a Time in Wonderland.
I wonder if the Jafar backstory had any basis in the scrapped song "Why Me" where if I'm correct, Jafar also comes from nothing as a child. It's interesting how this parallels Aladdin's own background, suggesting that if circumstances had been different, or Aladdin's moral compass hadn't been so strong, he could have ended up like Jafar. Maybe this is also why they made Jafar younger in age so he could be more directly compared to Aladdin.
Sotiris wrote:
• It's odd that there's no throne room or throne in the palace.
This confuses me as well. I loved the elephant throne design in the original film and I can't imagine Jafar would be content to rule without a throne.