“PROSPERO How now? Moody?/What is’t thou canst demand?
ARIEL My liberty.
PROSPERO Before the time be out? No more.
ARIEL I prithee/Remember I have done thee worthy service,/Told thee no lies, made no mistakings, served/Without grudge or grumblings. Thou did promise to bate me a full year,” (Shakespeare I.2.290-298).
So, upon reading this brief exchange between Prospero and his slave, Ariel, I was immediately reminded of Aladdin. In Aladdin, the Disney version, of course, Aladdin promises the Genie he will release him from bondage when his third wish in payment for the Genie’s kindness and friendship. Aladdin has a brief moment of selfishness, in which he considers not releasing the Genie, but in the end, he comes to his senses and does the right thing.
In the case of The Tempest, Prospero would be Aladdin, and Ariel would be the Genie. However, things seem to be a little mixed around. For instance, Prospero is apparently the one with the magic powers, and can, I think, use his powers to bend people and influence things to his will, like the weather. Ariel, on the other hand, does not have powers, but he isn’t human, either. He’s a spirit. From the exchange noted above, it doesn’t appear that The Tempest’s own Aladdin will be releasing Ariel from servitude any time soon, though he has already promised that he will. It is obvious Prospero hasn’t realized how valuable Ariel is to him, as a friend, yet. Perhaps Ariel should start singing “You Ain’t Never Had a Friend Like Me.”
Comments (2)
Haha, I really enjoyed the humor in your entry Bethany. And I can definitely see the comparison you are making. I just watched Aladdin a few nights ago; it was on the Disney channel. I would like to point out though that Ariel does have some powers, Prospero’s just seem to be able to control Ariel either because his powers are superior to Ariel’s or because he freed Ariel from the tree the witch imprisoned him in. In the end, Prospero does grant Ariel his freedom just like Aladdin grants the Genie his. I will tell you something I found strange though. Prospero’s continued references to Ariel with terms of endearment such as “bird,” etc. when Ariel is male…I found his affection towards Ariel to be rather strange and in fact, the first time I experienced The Tempest, I thought Ariel was a girl.
Posted by Greta Carroll | February 11, 2009 2:24 PM
Posted on February 11, 2009 14:24
I think this may be the theme in many Disney movies-The Emporer's New Groove comes to mind--maybe they stole it from Shakespeare! Thanks for the great read!
I also thought Ariel was a girl. This may because I immediately thought of the Little Mermaid.....
Posted by Jodi Schweizer | February 12, 2009 10:20 AM
Posted on February 12, 2009 10:20