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Aladdin · 2019 — Chapter 9 of 24 · 7'49" · B2

Aladdin Becomes Prince Ali, Explained: the cherry on top

Two strangers in a cave can't agree on anything: why only three wishes, what "all-powerful" even means. But the jokes keep sliding into something real. "I'd wish to be free," the genie admits, and the boy promises his last wish will set him free. Then he sees the princess and asks to be made a prince.

What happens

Inside the cave, Aladdin rubs the lamp and meets the Genie, who is all-powerful but stuck in a tiny space. They argue about the three-wish limit, and the Genie admits his own wish: freedom. Aladdin promises to use his last wish for that. Then he thinks of the princess he met and asks the Genie to turn him into a prince.

TeasingSmall talkTeasingSuggestingStrangersB2mediumamericanClean
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the cherry on toppackage dealgray areaBe specific

00:00 / 07:49
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  57. ❝ MonologueThe genie wants to be a person9 linesPractice page ↗
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Phrase of the scene

the cherry on top

锦上添花的那一点；最妙的收尾

阿拉丁问灯神头顶那撮小辫子是干什么的，灯神自豪地说那是自己造型上的点睛之笔。

Free dessert was the cherry on top of a great dinner.

Also in this scene

  • package deal

    a set of things that must be accepted together

  • gray area

    an unclear zone open to interpretation

  • Be specific

    state things precisely

Everything marked in this scene

31 notes across 193 lines

Phrase · B1do someone a favorDo me a favor, do not drink from that cup.
Phrase · B1on earthI promise you there is not enough money and power on earth for you to be satisfied.
Phrase · A2one's first wishGood? So, what's your first wish?
Phrase · A2think about somethingMmm... Well, I have to think about it.
Phrase · B1who caresI don't know, who cares?
Phrase · B2all-knowingI thought you were all-knowing.
Phrase · B2all-powerfulI said I was all-powerful.
Grammar · B1I can learn it

that-omission

-I know I can learn it. -(WHISTLES)
Phrase · B2play hard to getWhy are you playing hard to wish?
Phrase · B1make a wishHe has made his first wish!
Soundmade his first wish

liaison

He has made his first wish!
Phrase · C1cosmic powersphenomenal cosmic powers, but itty-bitty living space.
Phrase · B2a package dealEh, kind of a package deal.
Phrase · B1get used to somethingOh, you'll get used to it.
Phrase · B2the cherry on topThat's my little cherry on top!
Soundan easy one

liaison

It's an easy one, though.
Grammar · B2wish to be free

wish to do

I'd wish to be free.
Phrase · B1set someone freeWhy don't you just set yourself free?
Soundset yourself free

liaison

Why don't you just set yourself free?
Grammar · B2uses one of his wishes to set him free

one of

is if the owner of the lamp uses one of his wishes to set him free...
Phrase · B2rewind the tapeLet's rewind the tape. (MIMICS TAPE REWINDING)
Phrase · B1keep an eye on someone-I'll keep my eye on you. -ABU: Uh-oh.
Grammar · B2the more you have, the more you want

the more the more

the more you have, the more you want.
Phrase · B2a gray area

an unclear zone open to interpretation

There's a lot of gray area in "make me a prince."
Phrase · A2the rest of somethingRight. You'd be snuggled up with that dude for the rest of your life.
Phrase · B1be specific

state things precisely

Be specific with your words.
Phrase · C1in the detail-The deal is in the detail. -Got it.
Phrase · B1be about to do somethingI'm about to fabulize you.
Phrase · B2be on fireThe genie! The genie's on fire!
Phrase · B2strictly speakingStrictly speaking, it is me.
Phrase · B2hear someoneBut I hear you.

Aladdin Becomes Prince Ali, explained

What's really going on

On its surface this is a comedy routine: a street kid and a showman genie bickering about the rules of wishing. But the scene quietly sets up the movie's central bargain. The line "I'd wish to be free" turns a joke into a confession, and the promise to spend a last wish on someone else's freedom is the first genuinely selfless thing the boy does. The banter about "phenomenal cosmic powers, but itty-bitty living space" says the same thing with a laugh: even near-infinite power means nothing without a life of your own. By the time he chooses to be a prince, the film has planted the real question - whether the wishes will be used for himself or for someone else.

Theme

IdentityA boy who is nobody is offered the chance to become a prince, and the scene is really about who he wants to be.
DreamsWishes drive the whole film: the genie dreams of freedom while the boy dreams of a princess he can't have.

Listen for

  • made his first wish — liaison
  • an easy one — liaison
  • set yourself free — liaison
I promise you there is not enough money and power on earth for you to be satisfied.

The genie warns that no amount of money or power will ever feel like enough, so a wish for riches is a trap from the start.

phenomenal cosmic powers, but itty-bitty living space.

A comic summary of his life: godlike magical power, confined to a space the size of a lamp. Power means little without room to live.

I'd wish to be free.

His answer to what he'd wish for: not wealth or power, just freedom from serving whoever holds the lamp.

the more you have, the more you want.

A warning about greed: the more wishes you get, the more you'll want, which is why the last wish becomes such a test.

Be specific with your words.

The rule for wishing safely: vague wording invites disaster, so every request has to be exact.

People see what they're told to see.

Genie magic works on perception, not reality: people accept what they're told, which is how a prince can be invented at all.

Questions about this scene

Why does the Genie warn Aladdin not to drink from that cup?

It's a warning about the cave's trap: touching the forbidden treasure is fatal, so the cup is bait, not a gift.

What wish does the Genie say he'd make for himself?

He says he'd wish to be free. He's all-powerful but bound to the lamp, and only his owner can release him with one of the three wishes.

Why does Aladdin want to become a prince?

He's fallen for a girl he learns is a princess, and since she has to marry a prince, he thinks a new identity is the only way to be near her.

Why does the Genie tell him to be specific?

Because wish wording is literal. "Make me a prince" is full of gray area, so he teaches Aladdin to name exactly what he wants.

Does Aladdin keep his promise to free the Genie?

That's the promise he makes, but the film later tests it: the more wishes he gets, the harder it becomes to give the last one away.

Aladdin · 24 chapters

All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 10weak in the kneesPrince Ali's Grand Parade
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 WishesWatching · Chapter 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 LieChapter 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 9 of 24 · about 57 min to go