Why Genie in Aladdin is Kind of an Ass

I think it’s safe to say that most people born in my generation in the English speaking world have seen the Disney movie Aladdin.  For those who haven’t, here’s a brief summary:

Orphan “street rat” meets disgruntled princess on the run from royal life.  Street rat (from now on known as Aladdin) gets put in jail where he meets creepy old man who is actually bad guy in disguise.  Bad guy wants a lamp from the “Cave of Wonders” so he enlists Aladdin’s help.  Bad guy double crosses Aladdin and Aladdin ends up stuck in a cavern in the ground.  Luckily Aladdin’s pet monkey has stolen lamp from bad guy.  Lamp contains Genie.  Genie helps Aladdin to woo the princess and things are going good until all the lies come crashing down around him.  Enter final battle sequence.  Good triumphs over evil and they all live happily ever after.

So you get the gist.  But what I want to talk about something that has bothered me, literally, for years.  When Aladdin first rubs the lamp Genie comes out and sings his little genie song which begins with the line, “Well Ali Baba had them forty thieves…”

Let’s fast forward now.  While I know it is less likely that people will have seen the third Aladdin movie (Aladdin and the King of Thieves) that is where my frustration stems from.  For those who have, you may be making the connection.      

The most important fact from this movie is that Aladdin finally meets his dad.  How does he meet his dad you ask?  Well, he and his 40 thieves crash Aladdin and Jasmine’s wedding. 

Scumbag Genie

That’s right; Aladdin’s dad is the king of thieves.  The same thieves that Genie sang about all those movies ago.  I just don’t get why Genie would not tell Aladdin that his dad was the king of thieves!  That seems so very mean! And I mean yeah, they call him “Cassim” in the movie but he’s totally Ali Baba.  Why else would Aladdin have chosen the pseudonym Prince Ali?  It was all there, in his subconscious.  The whole time. 

I just think it was a jerk move on the part of Genie, he totally should have told Aladdin where his dad was in the first movie, it could have saved him a lot of trouble I’m sure.