Disneyβs Aladdin remake flew away with $113 million on its magic carpet this Memorial Day weekend, according to the Hollywood Reporter. But despite a new, more progressive Princess Jasmineβshe even has a new power anthem, titled βSpeechlessβ(h/t Refinery29), for one 4-year-old, the plot still has a major sticking point.
βShe has to go by herself...Jasmine needs to go see the world by herself, because Aladdin needs to just stay there, and Jasmine can just go by herself,β mini social media maven Madison Jade (seriously, this kid already has nearly 200,000 followers) proclaims from her car seat, in a video filmed and posted to Instagram by mom Janess Strickland.
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Pointing out the obviousβthat like the door in Titanic, there isnβt realistically enough room on the magic carpet for Jasmine and Aladdin to travel comfortably and safelyβMadison was adamant that no escort is required for a woman to have adventures.
βYou donβt need a boy to take you to see the whole world,β she declares.
Amen, little one.
The adorable clip reportedly received more than 30,000 likes and 1,600 comments in a single day, including shoutouts from Oprah Magazine, Dear White People actress Logan Browning and world traveler Jessica Nabongo. The likes have nearly doubled since, the post even garnering a mention during the third hour of Mondayβs Today Show.
But Madisonβs not the only one taking issue with the reboot; as the New York Times points out, historically, the biggest issues in Disneyβs original rendering of Aladdin were cultural. But the trope that requires Jasmine discover βA Whole New Worldβ courtesy of faux prince Aladdin simply hasnβt aged wellβespecially considering the over-50 percent uptick in interest in βsolo female travelβ in recent years, according to TrekkBlog.
βI wonβt be silenced/You canβt keep me quiet/Wonβt tremble when you try it/All I know is I wonβt go speechless,β Jasmine sings in the remake. In reality, we wonβt stay home waiting to be whisked away on a dream vacation, either.
βIβve visited 64 of my 172 countries by myself! Who needs a boy!!!β Nabongo commented on Madisonβs post.
And if the irrepressibly cute βInstaKidβ looks familiar, itβs because she also went viral last year, due to another Disney heroine. Showing off her Princess Tiana doll, Madison made a great case for continued diversity in the princess-making franchise, saying βI love her so much, because she has chocolate skin, like me.β
So, is Madison the wokest 4-year-old around, or the product of some very savvy parenting? Likely, some combination of both, but as Madison tells her mother in a subsequent clip, βMommy, a princess doesnβt need a [prince] to rescue her. She can rescue herself.β
Madison, youβre officially a princess we want to see go places.
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