It’s All So Magical: Jasmine (Aladdin)

It’s All So Magical: Jasmine (Aladdin)

Name meaning: Persian, “Flower”

Jasmine is my second-favorite Disney princess (the first being Ariel) and is, in my opinion, the prettiest. I love her sleek, flowing hair, her big eyes, (“She’s got these eyes that just…and her hair, wow…”) her jewel-toned outfits (though my favorite is the red harem girl ensemble), her elegance. Jasmine is a self-possessed woman with definite opinions and no qualms about airing them. She scoffs at Prince Ali’s showy procession, refuses Jafar’s smarmy advances, and sends Prince Achmed off missing a big chunk of his pants (inadvertently displaying his heart-print undies) courtesy of her Bengal tiger Rajah. She can pole vault rooftops at a single attempt, indeed being “a fast learner.” She may have been naïve in the Marketplace, but she is savvy, a good judge of character, which, if you ask the Sultan, runs in the family. She can tell immediately that Aladdin is trustworthy, just as she could tell when he lied. She is headstrong, independent, and yearns for adventure, bored with the routine protocol and binding laws of palace life. She loves to travel and is a romantic, dreamy and unwilling to marry anyone she doesn’t love. Like Elizabeth Bennet, she is “determined that nothing but the deepest love should induce (her) into matrimony.” She is adventurous and kind, befriending beggars and strangers. She is willing to fight for what she believes in—and can she fight! In one episode she is held captive by a band of Xena-esque female warriors, and learns their skills to perfection, using them to outwit and defeat them. She’s a pretty good actress, too. She and Aladdin are a perfect match. They share a compassion for adventures and people, selflessly coming to their aid. Jasmine’s largesse and grace inspires him and enables Aladdin to live well, instead of “scraping for food and ducking the guards”. They each long for a soul mate who will accept them for themselves alone—he wants someone who can see “there’s so much more to me”, that he’s not just a street rat, and she is looking for someone who doesn’t love her for her looks, money, or position, who would love her if she was a street rat.
Princess Jasmine: [to Jafar] At least some good will come of my being forced to marry. When I am Queen, I will have the power to get rid of *you*.

Princess Jasmine: Let him go.
Razoul: Looky here, men. A street *mouse*. [throws her down]
Princess Jasmine: Unhand him, [pulls off the hood of her cloak] by order of the Princess.
Razoul: Princess Jasmine.
Aladdin: The Princess?
Razoul: What are you doing outside the palace? And with this street rat?
Princess Jasmine: That's not your concern. Do as I command. Release him.
Razoul: Well, I would, Princess, except my orders come from Jafar. You'll have to take it up with him.
Princess Jasmine: Believe me, I will.

Princess Jasmine: Please, try to understand. I've never done a thing on my own. I've never had any real friends.
[Rajah grumbles]
Princess Jasmine: Except you, Rajah. I've never even been outside the palace walls.
Sultan: But, Jasmine, you're a princess.
Princess Jasmine: Then maybe I don't wanna be a princess anymore.

Princess Jasmine: How dare you? All of you! Standing around deciding my future. I am not a prize to be won!

Princess Jasmine: Oh, father. Rajah was just playing with him. Weren't you, Rajah? You were just playing with that over-dressed, self-absorbed Prince Achmed, weren't you?

Princess Jasmine: It all so magical.

Aladdin: Well, a prince walking around the marketplace? Sounds a little strange, doesn't it?
Princess Jasmine: Not that strange.

Man in market: She said she knew the sultan.
Aladdin: She thinks the monkey is the sultan.
Princess Jasmine: [bowing to Abu] Oh, wise sultan, how may I serve you?