Opening scene Aladdin The Return Of Jafar.

For our homework in media we were asked to watch an opening sequence from a children’s and write about some of the key features such as narrative, characters, atmosphere, setting and the colours used to create the atmosphere.

The children’s film I have chosen to talk about is Aladdin, the return of Jafar, which is the second of the two Aladdin films. This film is made by Disney. The opening of the sequence is dark and set at night. There are dark colours that represent the thieves and this is giving a sort of scary atmosphere for children to watch, they also come out of shadows, which is making them seem dark and mysterious. I think it is also representing a scary atmosphere because the characters you are introduced to are all men but you are then introduced to ‘Aladdin’ and his monkey ‘Abu’ who give the film its heroic and comedy side. I think the character of the ‘flying carpet’ is clever because a lot of children will watch this and wish they could have there own ‘flying carpet’ There is a fight scene at the start as well but it is not showing any violence although they are using weapons. The colours that are representing the ‘good guys’ in the film are a lot brighter and happier and the music also used is a lot more cheerful.

The characters that are introduced in the opening scene are ‘Aladdin’, ‘Abu’ his monkey, ‘Iago’ the red parrot and ‘Jasmine’ who is sort of Aladdin’s girlfriend. Aladdin is seen as the hero of the film who makes a few mistakes and tells a few lies throughout it. He is also seen as very generous as what he takes from thieves he gives back to less fortunate people. Iago belongs to Jafar who is not introduced in the opening scene. He is red, which is a bright colour so that catches the attention of children. He brings comedy to the film with the song he sings he is trying to make out he doesn’t need Jafar when really he does.

The narrative of the film is that typical of a children’s film. Even though it starts off dark it changes when Aladdin and Abu are introduced. They are a stereotypical hero in the film as they take what thieves have stolen and give it back. Aladdin is also shown in the opening sequence as the perfect person who never does anything wrong.

The music in the film is non – diegetic. It starts off dark and mysterious and as more characters are introduced it lightens up into a happier tune, which children will enjoy.