Aladdin (2019)

Wish Dragon is a 2021 animated Netflix film that focuses on Chinese teenager Din (Jimmy Wong) who wants to reconnect with his childhood best friend Li Na (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) with the help of Long (John Cho), a magical talking dragon. This movie brings a strong representation of Chinese people, as the film takes place in Shanghai. There are a lot of references to Chinese culture in this film, making the movie popular among audiences.

For one, all of the cast members are people of Chinese descent, making this a beautifully diverse cast. Viewers see that the plot resembles Disney's Aladdin a bit, as the plot centers around a working-class boy who finds a green teapot with a magical talking creature. The dragon serves ten masters three wishes per master. Other references to Aladdin include a trio of goons who try to steal the teapot, classism, and one's desire to become rich.

The wish dragon himself has similar personality traits to The Genie from Aladdin. Like the Genie, Long can transform into different versions of himself, bringing comic relief to audiences while embracing Chinese culture. In one scene where Din disguises himself as one of the guests at Li Na's nineteenth birthday party, Long transforms into a human server. When Din has second thoughts about wanting to impress Li Na, who is now a rich woman, his conflict with Long is similar to the conflict between Aladdin and the Genie. Aladdin desires to be a rich prince to impress Jasmine despite Genie's objections.

In addition, viewers learn the moral, "be careful what you wish for" in many scenes of the film. Pockets (Aaron Yoo), the main antagonist, tries to get the magical teapot from Din, similar to how Jafar tries to obtain the Genie's lamp. He makes a wish to turn everything he touches into gold, also known as the Midas Touch. This wish backfires as Pockets' greed gets the better of him when he himself turns into a gold statue.

The elderly man Din encounters in Wish Dragon is actually the guardian of the gate to the Spirit world, which resembles Heaven and the afterlife. The Spirit world is where the souls of the dead go if they have learned the meaning of life, a universal philosophy.

The Royal Treatment (2022) is a romance film released on Netflix. The movie focuses on Izzy, short for Isabella, who works as a hairdresser in Manhattan, New York. While doing her job, Izzy experiences a turning point where she gets to meet the handsome, Prince Thomas after being offered to cut his hair for $500. Meeting a handsome Prince in present-day combines realistic fiction and fantasy in The Royal Treatment. This article will analyze some representation and why the movie received negative reviews.

Mena Massoud, the actor who plays Prince Thomas in the movie, is of Middle Eastern descent. Massoud is famously known for his big role in Aladdin (2019). Because Prince Thomas is the lead character, viewers can see there is some representation of Middle Eastern actors in The Royal Treatment.

Though we see some representation in the film; the film itself received negative reviews. Many critics described the film as "flimsy" and "forgettable" compared to other romantic comedies. For example, while the film is set in New York City, many scenes were actually shot in New Zealand, where most of the cast members are from. In addition, Vogel Street stood in for Manhattan, so viewers don't get to see the New York City landscape.

Another aspect that was criticized is the dialogue and screenplay of The Royal Treatment. The dialogue between the two lead characters, Izzy and Prince Thomas, does not reflect the film's overall themes, topics, and messages. While, viewers learn the importance of making your own choices; the screenplay does not give a comedic side to The Royal Treatment.

Therefore, this film is criticized for its dialogue and setting, as they are boring and unrealistic, respectively. A proper way of introducing the representation of Middle Eastern actors is through a film that has original dialogue.

Disney’s remake library is about to get just a little bit bigger with the news of a live-action remake of their 1997 animated hit, Hercules. Hercules and Aladdin just so happen to be two of the most well-received movies from the 1990s’ Disney Studios renaissance. 2019’s Aladdin was a disappointing remake. Though it did fine at the box office, it was panned by critics, received a 57% on Rotten Tomatoes (as opposed to the original’s 95%), and understandably stirred controversy online for not addressing the original film's harmful Arab representation. So if Disney wants to bypass another Aladdin situation, what are the pitfalls they can avoid with Hercules?