Intro
Been a while since I've done one of these, but I am back with another Disney Princess analysis. This time, we are covering Jasmine from Aladdin. The first movie where the princess is technically not the main character, but still made a large impact for a lot of people. Let's dive in!
Jasmine's Introduction
It takes a while for us to meet Jasmine, because as I said, she isn't the main character. But when she is introduced to us, she does make an impact before she is even on the screen. It starts in the palace, with Prince Achmed storming out angrily, with a chunk out of his pants, telling the Sultan good luck with the next candidate. Added to that, we see Achmed before making his way to the palace, and someone says: "Another suitor for the princess..." Implying that there have been a lot of others already. The Sultan instantly knows Jasmine has done something, running outside to find her.
What this tells me about Jasmine is that she can be very impulsive and rebellious. Every suitor that comes she sends away. She wants to marry for love and hates the law of her needing to be married within three days.
She also clearly is seen as someone who is lonely. She states to her father that she never had any friends, and she just wants to get outside. Sadly, her father doesn't understand her.
Writer's Note: This is a good example of introducing a character while they are not even on the screen. You know there is a princess who has suitors coming from all over. We also know this isn't the first time she humiliated one of her suitors too. A character can be introduced before they even are in the scene. Another example of this could be Harry Potter, where they focus on their aunt and uncle, but mention the Potters and their son.
Running Away Without A Plan
So her argument with her father, triggers her to finally have enough and run away. Honestly, understandable when you're locked up in the palace without anyone, but the way she did it is reckless and impulsive to me. She just decides to run away without even taking anything with her. No money... No clothes... Not even food. You could argue she only wanted to go for one day, but that contradicts what she says to Aladdin.
"I ran away, and I am never going back!"
This implies she had no intention to go back home again at all. The scene also kind of shows she is very ignorant. She clearly doesn't know how the world works around her. She just leaves without anything, and steals from a market stall to help some hungry little kids. That was a selfless act for sure, but the fact that she didn't know she needed to be paying for those makes her a little ignorant. Of course, you can't really blame her if she's been locked up for this long.
Writer's Note: When writing about a sheltered character that finally goes into the real world, it is important to show their ignorance. They have never been outside before. How would they know anything about it? It also could make for some funny scenes of your character to try and fit in. Maybe they wear clothes that don't fit into the world? Maybe they try to talk to people and make it very uncomfortable? Show how they have absolutely no experience in the outside world. They can't just go outside and know everything.
Clever and taking initiatives
Jasmine is a princess who takes action herself and doesn't need someone's help. Even when her hand is nearly chopped off before Aladdin saves her. The moment he tells the vendor she is his crazy little sister, she plays along and puts on a show herself
When she meets prince Ali, she hates him just like any other suitor. But then she slowly starts to recognize him, starting to wonder if he is the boy from the market. Even though Jafar told her that he was beheaded, she still wonders. Then, when he starts doing things that the boy from the market did, she knows but doesn't say anything yet, just waiting for the right moment. Then, when she mentions Abu, she catches his lie instantly.
When Jafar takes over Agrabah and she sees Aladdin coming back, she doesn't hesitate to distract Jafar so Aladdin can grab the lamp. She distracts him pretending to have fallen in love with him. Even kissing him to give Aladdin more time.
This shows her cleverness. Even though she is saved by Aladdin in the end, she doesn't just wait around and do nothing. She really tries to help herself. You could say she is also a bit manipulative but she uses that in a good way.
Writer's note: This is a good example of having a bad trait but using it for good. Clearly, Jasmine can be deceptive and manipulative, but she uses it on the bad guy to help the hero. So even though being manipulative counts as a bad trait, It CAN be used for good as well.
Conclusion
So that concludes our next princess of the analysis series. Let's go over what we've learned about Jasmine.
Good Traits: Clever, Taking initiatives, Loving, Advemturous
Neutral Traits: Lonely, Animal Lover*
Bad Traits: Impulsive, Ignorant, Rebellious, A little Manipulative
*Hot take, but in my mind she is. Most princesses before her have forest animals or something. Jasmine has her own Tiger.
Do you agree with these picks? What would you have assigned to her after watching the original animated movie? Let me know in the comments. The next princess will be Pocahontas. See you all next time!
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