Who is Aladdin?

Aladdin is one of my favourite cartoons of all time. Like all cartoons, there seems to be a moral to the story. For me, Aladdin talks about freedom even though official it says the moral is "Be true to yourself"

For me, it is freedom because Aladdin is free to do as he wishes as a street rat and he has fun with Abu is best friend living the street life. On the other hand Princess Jasmin craves for Freedom but is caged up in the palace with "everything" made available for her. Ironically Aladdin wishes he was living in the palace and Jasmine wishes she was free to go on an adventure in life. I am sure that sounds familiar.

S2 (if you have read my blog on Dis my Life Sef" reminds me of Princess Jasmine. Though she seems to act more like a princess when free than when at home. But the bottom line is freedom. i guess i was not totally true to her which is part of the problems i created.

I think Life is basically about freedom to do as we please. But remember it comes with its ups and downs as Aladdin's experience tells you. You meet opportunities like the Genie (great performance), rejections by Jasmine. Women at their best performance i guess. That did not last for long. I guess she liked the Prince even if she did not want to admit it. And you also meet great friends like the carpet. Who would ever want to be friends with a carpet? Exactly. There are surprises hidden everywhere. Take a moment to look at that fellow you have been ignoring all your life. He probably has a word of advice that might change your life forever. Hopefully for better.

On a lighter note. Let's play a game for a moment. This would be fun if you have watched Aladdin. Look around wherever you are. I am in the office right now. Place a character on the people around you and connect it to their behaviour. Well there might be some bright sides about Jaffar but i wont advice you to let your Jaffar character read this unless he sees the humour. Let me start.

J: J is the boss. With little thinking. I place J as Jafar. They both start with J. Is he as cunning and mean? No. I dont think so. Lets just say J & Jafar both start with J. I have a perfect excuse. maybe i will let him read it after all. I dont think he will see humour in it. he probably wont even understand.

Philip: I work with Philip all of the time. Well technically, we have the same job description. nice words for Everything but no description. He does his work with all the seriousness. But still has great happy moments. I got the Aladdin movie from him So u see what i mean. I am not sure what character Phil would be right now. Lets just place him as Abu. No reason for now. Like i said, we are just having fun.

T: T is a lady. She would easily fit as Jasmine. Thinking of it, she even looks like Jasmine. Hmm. Now T has a nickname. I would share that with Phil. He sees humor in these things too. I did not say T will be Jasmine. Well she is the only lady here and since my focus is my office then T jus might as well be Jasmine.

Y: Y works with T. But i assure you, Y IS NOT Aladdin. There were a lot of characters in Aladdin but we only want the key players. I think Y would be the Sultan. He is much older than T and might as well pass as a father. The jobs we do?

Mr. Von: Everyone calls him Mr. Von. The name sticks but it is not his real name. Cool guy. Packs a punch of muscle as well. Jolly fellow but we have not talked much for weeks. The reports and end of year appraisal seems to have gotten the better of me. Or is it both of us. I dont think it has affected me much or else I wont be writing this piece of...... What is it I am writing sef? Von is a nice guy. Let Von be ... Oh my God i think we have run out of characters. If you have watched Aladdin, then you remember the big fellow in the market place who wants Princess Jasmin's hand. Literarily. Before Aladdin comes to the rescue. Let that be Von. I know Von wont hurt a lady. I only choose him for size.

So who is left. Hmmm. Aladdin & Lago. Me & Funsh. Sorry Mr. Funsh, I dont think you deserve to be Lago. Well lets looks at the bright side. Lago has got plenty of humour, he is very colourful and is free to fly and have fun. He did not necessarily like Jaffar. I dont think so. And he did play a great role in the movie.

Me: Well we know who I am. Not every thinks Aladdin was the star of the movie. People prefer the role of the Genie. I actually do but i can connect with the Aladdin character better. If you know me a bit, you can look for some similarities. It does not matter if u find none. I am Al.

The Genie. Did i miss something. I must confess, I did. Well maybe not deliberately. I just could not find anyone who can make a wish happen here. Well we all wish we could but there just isnt any. I just got a mail from Lare. Well he sure makes things happen. I should be part of a project in Warri with him now. I made the wish and he granted. Jafar did not let me be. Hmm maybe J does have some Jaffar qualities afterall.

It's time to get back to work. You are free to build your Aladdin character. Even if you say i be Jaffar or Lago, I go know say na bad bele dey worry you.