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Aladdin · 2019 — Chapter 16 of 24 · 1'45" · B1

Genie Backdates a Wish to Save Aladdin, Explained: in the neighborhood

Aladdin is unconscious and drowning, and the Genie cannot pull him out without a wish, so he bends the rules: he performs the wish himself and backdates it a day. "I took the liberty to backdate that a day," he admits, and the rescue is waved away as a favor from a friend who just happened to be nearby.

What happens

With Aladdin unconscious in the water, the Genie races to pull him out but is bound by the rule that only a wish can save him. He takes a shortcut, performs the second wish on Aladdin's behalf and backdates it a day. Aladdin comes to and thanks him; the Genie shrugs it off as an errand on the way.

Comforting a friendSmall talkThankingExplainingFriendsB1slowamericanClean
IMDb ↗

Listen for

in the neighborhoodmake a wishworth a trystrictly speaking

00:00 / 01:45
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Now
  10. ❝ MonologueThe backdated second wish4 linesPractice page ↗
Tap a line to replay it

Phrase of the scene

in the neighborhood

在附近；就在这一带

阿拉丁醒来后感谢灯神救了自己，灯神用这句话说自己只是刚好在附近。

I was in the neighborhood, so I thought I'd stop by.

Also in this scene

  • make a wish

    make a wish

  • worth a try

    worth attempting even without a guarantee

  • strictly speaking

    if one is being precise

Everything marked in this scene

23 notes across 30 lines

Phrase · B1what in the ...Boy, what in the...?
Slang · A2kidWhoa. Hey, kid, okay.
Phrase · A2make a wish

make a wish

I can't get you out of this unless you make a wish!
Grammar · B2unless you make a wish

unless

I can't get you out of this unless you make a wish!
Phrase · A2wake upYou have to make a wish! Come on, wake up!
Soundwake up

flap

You have to make a wish! Come on, wake up!
Phrase · B2form the wordsOkay, try and form the words "I wish."
Phrase · B1worth a try

worth attempting even without a guarantee

Okay, okay! A little gray area here, but it's worth a try. (CLEARS THROAT)
Phrase · C1of sound body and mind"I, Aladdin, being of sound body and mind...
Grammar · C1being of sound body and mind

participle phrase

"I, Aladdin, being of sound body and mind...
Phrase · C1certain doom"declare that my second wish "is to be saved from certain doom."
Phrase · C1take the liberty of doing somethingI took the liberty to backdate that a day.
Phrase · A2the other directionProbably could've done that the other direction, but...
Phrase · A2no problemHey, no problem, you know. I was in the neighborhood.
Phrase · B2in the neighborhoodHey, no problem, you know. I was in the neighborhood.
Soundno problem

liaison

Hey, no problem, you know. I was in the neighborhood.
Phrase · B2cost someone somethingRight. Um... It actually cost you a wish.
Grammar · B2cost you a wish

cost

Right. Um... It actually cost you a wish.
Phrase · B1save someone's lifeWhatever it cost, you saved my life.
Phrase · B2strictly speaking

if one is being precise

I mean, strictly speaking though, it was a team effort.
Phrase · B2a team effortI mean, strictly speaking though, it was a team effort.
Grammar · B2it was a team effort

parenthetical

I mean, strictly speaking though, it was a team effort.
Soundteam effort

liaison

I mean, strictly speaking though, it was a team effort.

Genie Backdates a Wish to Save Aladdin, explained

What's really going on

The comedy here is that the rescue depends on a loophole. The Genie cannot act without a wish, so he invents one, signs Aladdin's name to it and moves the date, and no one objects, because the rules were never as solid as they sounded. "I took the liberty to backdate that a day," he says, apologising for a technicality while doing something far bigger. The banter that follows keeps the emotion at arm's length: the boy says, "Whatever it cost, you saved my life," and the Genie answers that, strictly speaking, it was a team effort. Both are deflecting. One refuses to make a debt of it, the other refuses to take credit. Under the jokes is the film's idea of friendship as something you show by bending the rules, not by counting them.

Theme

FriendshipThe Genie breaks his own rules to save Aladdin, then jokes it away rather than turn it into a debt.
SurvivalEverything hangs on a technicality: a wish spoken on someone's behalf is the difference between drowning and living.

Listen for

  • wake up — flap
  • no problem — liaison
  • team effort — liaison
I took the liberty to backdate that a day.

The loophole in one line: he does what he isn't supposed to and then apologises only for the paperwork of it.

Whatever it cost, you saved my life.

Aladdin's thanks refuse to haggle over the price, turning a costly favour into simple gratitude.

Hey, no problem, you know. I was in the neighborhood.

A huge rescue dressed up as a casual errand, so the debt can stay unspoken.

I mean, strictly speaking though, it was a team effort.

The Genie caps his own generosity by sharing the credit, a joke that also keeps the friendship level.

Questions about this scene

Why can't the Genie save Aladdin without a wish?

The rules of the lamp bind him. He can only act on a wish, so with Aladdin unconscious he has to find a way to create one rather than simply pulling him out.

What does the Genie actually do to save him?

He performs the wish on Aladdin's behalf, declaring the second wish to be saved from certain doom, then backdates it by a day. It is a deliberate bend of the rules, not a clean one.

Why does the Genie say it was a team effort?

It is a joke that also shares credit. He did the work, but saying it was a team effort keeps the rescue from becoming something Aladdin owes him.

Does the rescue really cost Aladdin a wish?

Yes. The Genie admits it cost him a wish, which matters because there are only three. Aladdin shrugs it off, saying that whatever it cost, his life was worth it.

Aladdin · 24 chapters

All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 17under a spellJasmine Exposes Jafar
Chapter 1The diamond in the roughThe Mariner Tells Aladdin's StoryChapter 2one jump aheadAladdin's One Jump Ahead ChaseChapter 3Come and go as we pleaseAladdin Shares His Rooftop HomeChapter 4Remember your placeJafar Manipulates the SultanChapter 5like you own the placeAladdin Sneaks into the PalaceChapter 6nothing comes for freeJafar Offers Aladdin a DealChapter 7see the light of dayAladdin Enters the Cave of WondersChapter 8ring a bellGenie Explains the Three WishesChapter 9the cherry on topAladdin Becomes Prince AliChapter 10weak in the kneesPrince Ali's Grand ParadeChapter 11out of the gamePrince Ali's Awkward First ImpressionChapter 12see right through someoneAladdin Panics as Prince AliChapter 13in a charming sort of a wayA Prince Calls on the PrincessChapter 14crystal clearAladdin's Magic Carpet RideChapter 15shine throughJafar Unveils Aladdin's LieWatching · Chapter 16in the neighborhoodGenie Backdates a Wish to Save AladdinChapter 17under a spellJasmine Exposes JafarChapter 18live a lieGenie Confronts Aladdin's LieChapter 19seen and not heardJafar Seizes the Sultan's ThroneChapter 20written in stoneJasmine Turns Hakim Against JafarChapter 21the ends of the earthJafar Exposes AladdinChapter 22nothing withoutJasmine Grabs the LampChapter 23mark my wordsJafar Wishes to Be the Most PowerfulChapter 24owe you everythingAladdin's Last Wish Frees the Genie
Chapter 16 of 24 · about 30 min to go