Aladdin · 2019 — Chapter 11 of 24 · 3'37" · B1

Prince Ali's Awkward First Impression, Explained: out of the game

Prince Ali arrives at court determined to impress, and instead turns the presentation of gifts into a comedy of excess: spices, camels, spoons and finally jams. The charm curdles when he offers something so valuable it sounds like a price for the princess, and she asks, "Are you suggesting I am for sale?"

What happens

Aladdin, wearing the borrowed title of Prince Ali, makes his first appearance at the palace in Agrabah. The formal welcome is fine until the gift-giving begins, and the parade of spices, golden camels, tiny spoons and jams gets away from him. He tries to buy a moment with Jasmine, she takes offence, and the evening ends with everyone embarrassed.

Small talkPartiesComplimentingExplainingStrangersB1slowamericanClean
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Listen for

out of the gameunfamiliar withfor salenot what I meant

00:00 / 03:37
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Phrase of the scene

out of the game

出局;失去机会

阿拉丁在送礼环节接连出丑后,灯神安慰他说还没有彻底出局。

One bad interview doesn't put you out of the game.

Also in this scene

  • unfamiliar with

    not knowing about something

  • for sale

    available to be bought

  • not what I meant

    that is not what I was trying to say

Everything marked in this scene

23 notes across 79 lines

Phrase · B1here comes someoneHere comes the man. -Oh.
SoundHere comes

liaison

Here comes the man. -Oh.
Phrase · A2put your arms downPut your arms down.
Phrase · B1a pleasure to do somethingIt's a pleasure to welcome you to Agrabah, Prince Ali.
Phrase · B1just as muchIt's just as much a pleasure for me, Your Highness, sir.
Grammar · B2just as much a pleasure

as much

It's just as much a pleasure for me, Your Highness, sir.
Phrase · C1a curtsy, not a bowThat's a curtsy, not a bow. Stand up.
Phrase · B2be unfamiliar with something

not knowing about something

I'm afraid I'm unfamiliar with Ababwa.
Phrase · B2if you were to do somethingIt's near, if you were to go, it's...
Grammar · B2if you were to go

if you were to

It's near, if you were to go, it's...
Phrase · B2it seems as if ...It seems as if there is a new country every day. (CHUCKLES)
Grammar · B2as if there is

as if

It seems as if there is a new country every day. (CHUCKLES)
Grammar · B1Don't touch me

negative imperative

Don't touch me.
Phrase · B1coming right upGifts coming right up!
Phrase · B1hope to do somethingAnd what do you hope to buy with this expensive?
Phrase · B1be for sale

available to be bought

Are you suggesting I am for sale?
Soundfor sale

liaison

Are you suggesting I am for sale?
Phrase · B2prefer A to BBut I prefer it to this.
Phrase · B2that's not what I meant

that is not what I was trying to say

No! That's not what I meant. I...
Phrase · B1leave someone aloneJust leave her alone. You didn't do great.
Soundleave her alone

liaison

Just leave her alone. You didn't do great.
Phrase · B2be out of the gameDon't worry. You are not out of the game yet.
Phrase · B1mess something upYou're not messing up my night.

Prince Ali's Awkward First Impression, explained

What's really going on

The scene is a class comedy dressed as a romance. Aladdin has the right intentions and none of the manners the court runs on, so every generous gesture lands wrong. The gifts are absurd because they reveal what a street kid thinks wealth looks like, and the more he tries to impress, the further he drifts from the room's codes. The line that breaks it is a straight one from Jasmine: "Are you suggesting I am for sale?" She hears a transaction where he meant an invitation, and the gap between them is suddenly visible. Afterward, the coaching is honest in a way the court never is: "You did great." Then, quietly, "Just leave her alone." The joke is that he is out of his depth, but not out of the game.

Theme

ClassA street boy wearing a prince's title finds every courtly gesture goes wrong because he doesn't know the codes.
IdentityAladdin is playing Prince Ali, and the performance keeps slipping in ways only he cannot see.

Listen for

  • Here comes — liaison
  • for sale — liaison
  • leave her alone — liaison
That's a curtsy, not a bow. Stand up.

A lesson in palace manners delivered on the spot: the boy bows when a curtsy is expected, giving away that he has never been to court.

I'm afraid I'm unfamiliar with Ababwa.

A polite probe that is really a test: the Sultan has never heard of the prince's supposed homeland, which should worry anyone whose story is invented.

The world is changing quickly, Jafar.

A mild remark carrying the scene's politics: new kingdoms keep appearing, and with them new power.

Are you suggesting I am for sale?

The line that ends the courtship: she hears a price put on her, when he only meant he wanted time with her.

Don't worry. You are not out of the game yet.

Encouragement after the disaster, borrowed from sport: it isn't over, so keep playing.

It's cold and it's dark in that lamp.

A rueful joke about preferring the lamp to the awkward evening, the wish-giver signalling he has had enough.

Questions about this scene

Why do the gifts go so badly?

They are the wrong kind of impressive. Aladdin doesn't know what the court values, so he offers spices, tiny spoons and jams as if sheer quantity were the point.

Why does Jasmine take offence?

He offers a treasure so valuable that it sounds like a payment, and she hears herself being traded. Her question, "Are you suggesting I am for sale?", names the insult.

Who is actually speaking as Prince Ali?

Aladdin, using the title the Genie conjured for him. He is a street kid dropped into a royal introduction, so his mistakes come from a real gap, not carelessness.

What does the Sultan's remark about Ababwa mean?

He says he is unfamiliar with the country, a quiet warning that the prince's invented homeland is not fooling everyone, with Jafar listening closely.

Aladdin · 24 chapters

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