jafar as a broadly red character often fades into the color palette just how he likes it. a subtle advisor only moving behind the scenes. the green/ teal curtains make him profoundly stand out in a scene that well... outs him. he appears much more separate and readable from the other characters so both the characters and the viewer see him for who he is.
Oh, great thinking! Arguably, we could even loosely link it to the other two "green scenes" in that a character's true...er, character/desire is being revealed.
my theory is that those scenes are there just for your eyes to rest, like in comics you have black fills in inks, so your eyes rest from all the details on those blacks. Or comic storytelling where you have "boring" panels or even a "boring" page just before you kickass scene. Maybe the spacing (haven't seen the movie in decades) using these greens is to let your eyes rest and then boom! hit you with one of those electric blue, red or yellow scenes.
The beginning scene in Beauty and the Beast is amazing too though. Belle's dress is blue, and the entire background + townsfolk are cloaked in warm oranges, yellows, browns and the like. It shows how much she stands out compared to the rest, and while Gaston's red fits the warm colors, it's still so vibrant that he stands out against his "common" townsfolk.
One of things I like that you addressed was the often reductive ways of critiquing art like cool colors = sad or isolating. It reminds me of music theory and how major scales are seen as happy; however, you can use major scales to also create meloncholy. I really love the nuance we can bring even while remaining fairly simple as analyzing through a primary color triad.
I had this exact same thought. Major and Minor scales are not equal to happiness and sadness in many many cultures. Just as colours do not dictate emotion.
10:51 "Those weren't fake teeth, it was a fake beard." If you go frame by frame, you'll see that the mouth goes with the beard, teeth included. The entire mouth was also fake.
Those turquoise/greens feel exclusive to the royal palace. Which reminds me that Aladdin is a fish out of water being there. And the curtains and such with the red of Jafar just kinda sets the atmosphere of the conflict occurring being ABOUT the royalty imo. Green is also used a lot in Disney films to represent spooky things and evil. Maleficent's magic and fire from Sleeping Beauty. Facilier's magic in The Princess and the Frog. Ursulas magic when taking Ariel's voice away in The Little Mermaid. And more than half of the sequences in Scar's song Be Prepared from The Lion King. Etc.
You're right that the turquoise is unique to the palace --that's a good observation. In terms of green for evil, that's usually the case with green light. Green light doesn't manifest naturally on the light spectrum like the orange to blue range, so its rarity makes it unsettling to the average human psychology (which can be of course precisely targeted with other off-putting context). Similar to uplighting --we are used to light coming from high up, so a low light has a similar eerie effect if framed properly.
a lot of hand drawn disney films are absolutely worth studying just for their use of color. watching pocahontas and brother bear had me hooked the whole way through because of the painted backgrounds in particular that i love to use as reference on using color when painting my own bgs. thank you for explaining the fundamentals of color in a way that i think everyone regardless of their level of art skill can understand, and now i really want to rewatch aladdin!
The Disney film with the best colors and background is easily Sleeping Beauty. Check that out if you have never seen it or if it has been awhile since you have seen it last.
In the 35mm film the movie is even more saturated. The DVD / 4K / Blu-ray has changed the colors for a more colorful picture, but originally the blue wasn't as purple as it looks now, A Whole New World looked much bluer and the rest of the film had a lot of deep browns and orange. They also changed Jasmine outfit from light aqua blue to a more greenish blue, and Sultan's from creamy white to a warmer beige. It also had much more contrast and darker backgrounds which were easier to look at.
If i had to guess, i would say that the last green scene breaks format intentionally because it's a moment of uncertainty and building tension before Aladdin's lies are revealed and the climax of the film. Maybe It's placed where it is in order to create that specific discomfort that isn't as dramatic as the action scenes earlier in the film that have more of a playfulness to them. This isn't a conflict we've seen Aladdin finesse his way out of like the more physical escapes he's made. The more local colors kindof ground it in reality in a unique way because lies are a very relatable and less fantastic source of conflict for most people, it's more "real" than flying on a magic carpet to escape a tiger head cave quickly filling with lava. I think those factors are relevant to the choice but maybe I'm reading too much into it.
My own thoughts about this scene (five months later, lol) aren't too dissimilar from this, it looks like. I zeroed in on the confusion J. Holt expressed over it and how that could have been an intentional effect to reflect what was going on. Your take about how it's still grounding makes a lot of sense in ways I wasn't immediately thinking about.
Disney has often been very successful in how it chooses colours for its films. You can often recognise empty screenshots purely on the colours they choose, and I'm impressed it's mostly stuck through even the massive shift in style to their CGI films. Tangled has a lot of soft greens, yellows, and pinks while Frozen is mostly white and shades of blue, while Encanto goes to jewel tones of green, blue, pink, and yellow. I wish the newer films would have more of a stylistic/proportional identiy as well. I feel like Aladdin has a lot of focus on classic shape language with how spherical the sultan is vs how pointy Jafar is.
To me, the teal pallet mentioned at the end is a signal that the story is taking a turn. It’s a huge shift in everyone’s motives and also would usually be the end of a movie. The guy got his wish of being with the girl, the bad guy got outed, etc. This part of the movie is a huge shift because now Aladdin’s motives are changing. His goal is no longer to get jasmine but to live up to new expectations, Jafar’s goal is to get revenge using the genie, and Jasmine is happily following the law as written despite her hatred towards it. It’s a big change and i think the scenery being off tells you something is different. I never thought about it before but this movie really does do such amazing work. No wonder it’s my favourite
I have a feeling that the green and red combo towards the end exemplifies what's happening in the scene thematically, the benevolent ruler is slowly being made aware of the intentions of his scheming advisor, and that red is like a subtle warning of how close it is to overpowering the greens and turqoises that symbolize the monarch. It's like a creeping wildfire sparking from embers, with Jaffar being a clear endpoint of its flame. Great video, came here from Twitter! Guess one way to beat the RUclips algorithm is to fight it with another algorithm!
I like this thought, that it's a subtle means of supporting the exposition going on and of foreshadowing just how far Jafar is about to go to try to take power.
A "green and red combo" is a combo that is both green and red. This is not what you intended to say. You need hyphens to achieve that: "green-and-red combo."
@@TheGrammarPolice7 The fact that the other people replying here got what Thesunthrone was trying to say, while the reasoning behind your attempt to correct them feels inscrutable to at least one of those same persons, says a lot about how unnecessary your pedantry is.
6:10 - "The challenge: Bring order to the whole through design, composition, tension, balance, light, and hamony." : ) Ah, but seriously, this was great! Aladdin has my favorite color palette of any Disney movie, and you did an excellent job explaining *how* it's so visually appealing as well as supporting the storytelling. I especially loved the connection between Jasmine's conversation with her father and the oasis scene. (And yes, I always assumed it was a tiger, too.)
Would Aladdin's character palette being composed of mostly peacemaker colors also represent how he perfectly harmonizes with the colors in every shot, making him easier to follow through each shot in the movie?
My theory for the last scene is that it's important to the story/character, we realize that Aladdin is anxious to become a leader of a country and can't handle the pressure and his lies towards Jasmine. So it's grounding to the plot. The heroes also team up (Jasmine, Aladdin and Sultan) to Jafar and Iago. Also moving the story, and loyalty. But there's also a sense of danger as well. With Aladdin coming to terms with his actions, Jafar working out who "Prince Ali", is and escaping. So it's like a mixture of both. Grounding and dangerous. Loyalty, but also not loyalty. Edit: Also reds/ oranges seem to be used for villains and greens/blues for the good guys. Aladdin has the purple jacket/ purple feather and cape on his Prince Ali costume and purple is in the middle between the two on the colour wheel, like the movie is saying that Aladdin is a good guy but also a liar and could go towards the either or (reds or blues), depending on his future actions.
6:43 fun fact, in french, the name of the song "a whole new world" became "ce rêve bleu" which can be translated by "this blue dream" Alan Menken (one of the composers of the song) said that he loved this title better than the original 😅
I love your analysis here, and I really appreciate you talking about how color doesn't have to be emotionally coded in the way people often say it is. I'm autistic and I've always thought people claiming such strong emotional connection to/communication by color was weird. The idea of colors communicating different levels of energy, though, really hits for me-and accords with how I use color in my art. Thanks for this!!!
Came from Twitter as well. As someone who never truly understood color in art, this video encapsulates color’s meaning and purpose PERFECTLY. Truly an incredible analysis, well done!
I really appreaciate your use of language the way you travel through each section and are able to maintain a clear and conscise point, has helped with my essays/exams I'm currently doing as I actually understand how to format my ideas better. So thanks.
Absolutely loved your break down! How you explained color is like how I understand it in my mind, but as words, haha. I do have a green theory! It's been a minute since I've seen the film, but in the scenes you presented, they were all in the Sultan's castle. Having an abundance of green plants is lavish and rich, a notable contrast to the arid desert they live in. I think it was meant to be noticed. Sure it broke the typical color story, but it worked in context as a story element. At least that's my point of view. :)
For some reason This reminded me of that one scene from sleeping beauty where she followed the green light that led her to the spinning wheel's spindle & how slowly everything turned green (shades of green) the way the green creeped over the scene along the eerie music!!! Ever since I was a kid that scene stuck with me, it always creeped me out yet I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen, always left me mesmerised!! PLZ PLZ do more studies/ critique/ analysis on old animated Disney movies (possibly the one I’ve mentioned?) regardless, great video!!!
Aladdin it's a movie I watched as a kid a million times and just now I realize the beautiful colors it has!! Love your voice and the analysis!! Hope you do more of this kind of video~ ☺
Interesting-- As a kid, I always thought the Cave of Wonders appeared from a snow pile in a wasteland blizzard. I guess, not growing up with much knowledge of sandstorms and seeing that cool colour palet, it never occurred to me that it could be in sand at night. This idea of an errupting lava tiger cave in the snow, with it's intense contrast of hot and cold on poor Alladin who went from ice to fire was far more engaging for me than what, I suppose Disney intended. I guess, as a kid, I figgered, "Boy they must have walked really far if they're in a snowstorm now!" A lot of Alladin's action is the common action movie colour palet of hot orange light and blue shadow. Interestingly enough, his drowning and imprisonment all take place in this vibrant ultramarine blue world and the sky remains happily starry in that coulour --no grey or ominous black. Shadows are never really black. The atmospheric impact is that night feels balmy and cool and day golden, dry and orangey no matter how characters are feeling or what is happening. When Alladin is drowding or in prison, or just feeling hopeless in the streets, it feels like weather is lovely, it's just that the weight he bears contrasts to it.
The green on the sultan’s cap is what I love most about great art; you can have general rules and guidelines only for them to be sometimes broken to give you a sense of wonder. I’d love to see more videos like this! You hinted at Mad max but I’d love to hear your full thoughts on the movie, as I’ve often struggled to explain why I love it so much despite not liking action movies. Came from Twitter!
On the one hand, that last note about “not knowing what the green is in Jasmine’s bedroom” feels like a really thinly-veiled call-to-action. On the other hand, I loved this vid and want more of this on all the animated films that the same level of observation on color could be applied to. Even though I’m an artist, it never clicked with me before now that this is a good part of why I love this movie so much (besides nostalgia of course). This is a brilliant scope on the uses of the movie’s many bright, vivid colors, and I’m so glad you brought it to light. I want more of this for sure.
The 3rd green scene you were discussing: I would interpret the deep green paired with bright red as conflict, opposite each other on the color wheel. This might reflect the conflict between characters and Jafar's disruptive intentions becoming clear during this scene. The bright reds (representing Jafar) against the cool calm green (the sultan/jasmine) feel threatening and dangerous, since here Jafar is starting to take control in an overt way.
Wonderfully refreshing analysis, thank you! It makes me wonder what other animated movie color palettes and art have been overlooked to the extent that I’ve overlooked Aladdin. It would be awesome if you could make this a series like your artist series and comic making series (which are highly enjoyable and helpful, btw). Either way, I’m looking forward to your next video!
I'm certainly hoping to do more of these. I'm trying to rotate through various videos to keep it interesting for myself, fresh and germane to my audience, and also please the algorithm --so there's a lot of "spaghetti at the wall" to see what works right now
This is fantastic! I reverse engineered all these observations and patterns within the creative process as a 3D-animation freelance artist of +6 years. Seeing them formulated with a sense of ease is special.
so I’m late to this video and i haven’t yet read the other comments, but something about the green scenes is that they act as the I Want scenes of the film, just like the Disney formula has it’s I Want songs, these scenes set up or cement the wants, the dreams and ideals, of the characters. Jasmin wants true love her father just wants her to be married before he’s gone Aladdin wants to be a Prince to feel worthy of a Princess, Genie wants to be free But it’s in the final scene where the green changes, the wants have shifted, there’s conflict in these wants. Aladdin feels guilt and wants to be honest but is having trouble breaking past the lie he’s created, Jafar here as always wants power but he’s manipulating the mind and wants of the Sultan with his cursed hypnotic control, one will (want) dominating another. in this light even the other scenes with green in them that you dismiss also have a conflict of want in them dominated by other colours, in the garden the genie wants wants best for Aladdin and advices him to tell her the truth, the green is dominated by the deep blue of love, Aladdins for Jasmin but also Genies almost parental love for Aladdin. likewise the scene in the daytime gardens is Aladdin wanting and at this stage actually ready to tell Jasmin the truth, he’s determined, and he goes off in the direction of that momentary splash of vibrant green seeking her. Green is the characters expressing an element of themselves in the form of their innermost wants and motivations.
Just an extra point but I think where the movie has its most saturated green scene, however briefly, is in jasmines room for just a few seconds before going off with Aladdin on carpet.. and notice how concentrated and potent this green is, Jasmin has been told she needs to get married completely against her wishes, she’s trapped in the palace without getting a say in what she wants, and this is where we find her, upset and fed up, surrounded by the ideals and wants she can’t choose, unable to make her own decisions.
I remember seeing the movie for the first time with my young kids when it first came out, and my very first impression was that the whole thing kept my eyes incredibly happy with all the contrasting colors. You are right about the primary color palette in general, but my eyes were more taken with all the deeply saturated saffron tones set against indigo/fuchsia ones. Well, it was all obviously and fittingly inspired by the colors used in a lot of the art of that culture to start with, while we are not so bombarded with such amazingly saturated color so much in the West, so it would have that much more of an impact to our sensibilities. Regardless, it was and still is one of the most beautiful animated films out there.
That turquoise in the last scene you mentioned could be there because it’s a rarer colour (expecially in a desert) that could represent the royal environment of the scene, and it kind of lights the scene with yellow and the other colours, that are also more bright because of the light. It’s just my guess, but this lighter aura maybe aligns with the fact all the main characters are clarifying their situation, they’re having some realisations and so they’re “lighting” up the drama and resolving the situation
Wow!!! This explained a lot on why i prefer animated Aladdin more compared to live action The whole movie is somehow felt "lifeless" or "eye-fatigue" in some scenes
Love this analysis !! I think that the first two green scenes are also a way to show the characters’ inner desires, free from their usual “inside prison” : Jasmine is outside of the palace and her role as a princess, Aladdin is outside the city and his identity as a poor thief. They are in a setting that extracts them from their colour habitat (yellow and teal palace and red and yellow streets) and are allowed to express their wish for something different, more natural, more alive, more true to who they really are. Also, the blue of the palace is not the same as the blue of the rest of the movie : it is turquoise, more vibrant and more close to the yellow of the palace which provides for the teal green we see in the final scene discussed. This final scene is so rich in different colours that show all the distinct characters and their personal habitat (for lack of a better word). So I’d take this teal green as a different kind from the tree green, more like a palace turquoise infused by palace yellow and darkened by Jafar’s red and black.
This made me want to rewatch Aladdin! I've always found the colour in that film striking, especially during the scenes in and in front of the desert cave. But this video gave me a whole new appreciation of it. In fact the influence of colour seems so strong to my eyes now it almost feels like you painted over some of the scenes.
So points I’ve got fro this video: - types of colour contest make it easy to draw a viewers attention, especially heavy contrast as it draws our eye to the one thing that looks different - a change in colour can effectively help change a tone (not entirely on its own) - while colour can showcase the tone of a scene, colours do not have set emotional tone and can mean a variety of things in different contexts, like how blue can mean both sad, as well as calming depending on how it’s presented - colour itself doesn’t inform a scene on its own, it needs context and other elements to really inform tone - peacemaker colours/tertiary colours/inbetween colours are a good way to bridge stronger colours - green Do you think I missed or misinterpreted anything? Also what’re your thoughts on this regarding Aladdin and the King of Theives? I’ve always heard a lot of stuff about its colour palette but moreso in a negative light of it being “washed out”
ive always said aladdin had the best color work and character animation. (hunchback is a close second for the latter). the rich jewel tones through the whole movie are so enchanting and dream like. you can feel the heat through your screen
Oh you mentioned transition scenes!!! I remember showing my friend for the first time and pointing at the screen excitedly at all the color shifts mid scene in the movie!!!! It was the 80s, so they still hand to hand paint that stuff I'm assuming??? IT'S MINDBLOWING
The final green scene is definitely emotionally intense, but it still goes well with the other scenes as a "grounding" scene, as it's a moment where the truth is revealed, a long-believed lie/liar is outed, and a literal physical tool for deception and manipulation is literally shattered. This makes Aladdin consider and feel guilt over his own deception, and in that last shot of him looking guilty his face looks a lot redder than usual, and he's up against those turquoise curtains, drawing parallels between him and Jafar. To go even further we could say that the rare green represents the fertile and life-giving ground of honesty, though that's definitely pushing what may be intentional.
My favourite part of Aladdin's use of color is the Aladdin vs Sa'luk fight from Aladdin and the King of Thieves, the 3rd movie. And I'm sure there are more cases from other scenes in that movie as well!
This is lile the artist version of an Every Frame a Painting video. So much of this felt but not consciously aware of why watching movie explained. Great explanation and the visual examples of everything you're saying is appreciated
Maybe that last green scene you discussed was meant to confuse the viewer because the conclusion of it reflects the confusion developing within the main character? As in, this is the point where Aladdin finally, fully experiences a personal crisis about what he's doing - not just doubt about whether he'll get to reconnect with Jasmine, as was his immediate goal (like in that scene in the garden with Genie, before the carpet ride) - but about whether he's just gotten himself in WAY too deep (and a bit about whether what he's doing is actually wrong). Can he actually handle the consequences that have come from achieving his goal? Like, congrats, guy, you got the girl... and it looks like the whole kingdom with her, and all of the responsibility that comes with it. You weren't thinking that far ahead, were you? Now what? With that in mind, I don't think this green scene is grounding *in the same way* as the other two scenes you cover - it's not meant to be a breather between more dramatic scenes - but it's nonetheless still grounding in its own way. I'd argue that, largely, the scenes with a significant amount of green serve as a means to re-center on the plot, as a kind of reality check for what's going on, even if it's not through straight exposition. 1) Jasmine's feeling trapped and is being pushed to settle on someone to marry, making her want to act out. 2) Aladdin, with Genie, is contriving a way to get close to her again - at the same time, Aladdin is promising to set Genie free afterwards. 3) Jasmine doesn't want to give Ali a chance and Aladdin is afraid of total rejection if he's transparent with her. 4) Aladdin's managed to get close to her!... and now realizes there's a LOT more stuff he has to worry about, now that he has. 5) Aladdin's possibly ruined his friendship with the Genie, because he's thinking he can't handle these new expectations without him and thus can't/won't keep his promise to him. That's to touch on all of the specific scenes you've mentioned where they use a significant amount of green. The greens can be affected by the main palette to lend extra gravity and drama at the same time that they're subtly grounding you in what's going on, I think. Those are my thoughts, anyway. To get more comprehensive with it, I'll have to watch the movie again; I'm sure there's something I'm probably missing in just focusing on your video by itself. Take it for what it is.
for the last scene, i would say the purpose of having such a conflicting palette would be to express how jafar and aladdin do not belong in the palace. jafar through stark contrast (complementary, red v green) sticks out like a sore thumb and makes the black look oh so damning, whereas jasmine and aladdin are common through the blue in his purple (harmonious - blue/green v purple). the sultan and jasmine suit their home/palace setting. I would also argue that in the first two green scenes, the green is there to highlight how they are different but have common ideas, through the shapes of the different greenery, jasmine being more refined and trimmed, whereas aladdin being blatantly more rowdy as seen from his jungle plants. thank you for your video! i came here by fuwaffie recommendation.
My theory for the last scene is that it's a very important character scene, just like the other 2 with green in it, but the lines are blurred because Jafar is revealed to be dishonest, but so is Aladdin (to himself at least), so we're unsure what to think and who is good/bad. The palette then is also unsure about what is doing and goes for teal, which is neither here nor there in the pattern of the movie. It's there to disorient us and unsettle us. Amazing video, it was like visual and intellectual candy!
I have always been amazed by how the colors in Aladdin pop and are so much more saturated and vibrant than in any other Disney film, so it was great to have an explanation of how that was accomplished. Excellent video!👏👏👏👏👏
This is one of my favorite animated movies ever and I always felt that the intensity of the film was underrated. Thanks for not oversimplifying, and for the many nuances! I saw this on Twitter, and after the full video, subscribed immediately! Eloquently extrapolated! P.S. potential theory is that... they ran out of the paint mixes and had to incorporate other hues... JK. Could perhaps just be that it's a dark foreshadowing of what's to be?
something like 20 years ago i have made a copy of Aladdin's carpet, all with PAINT, worked on it almost pixel by pixel. i still have the bmp somewhere in my pc. i have always loved the motif of that carpet
I was heavily inspired by the colors in early Disney, and although I dislike the company now I still appreciate the impact and the skills of the early animators
Your channel is underrated as heck! You got a new subscriber today! Good luck. Hopefully, you can reach more people with your knowledge. Thanks for sharing
Aladdin has always for me, been something amazing visually. But i never really understood, or thought of why. So besides the beautiful animation, today I really understand, that it is mostly because of the amazing use and understanding of colour!! The film is so gorgeous to look at!❤️🙌🙌🙌
Found you on Twitter and ran over to follow, amazing video! I just rewatched Aladdin the other day and had a whole conversation with myself in my head about how stunning this film is, it’s for sure one of my favorites of all time and the music is just unbeatable. I know I won’t explain this the way it is in my head, but I feel like the color palette in that final scene with the greens is to continue the break in colors that the other two provided, but maybe the storyline had progressed so far that the colors needed to sort of deepen and update to match where our characters now were in themselves? I wonder if the brighter greens just didn’t work at this point in the story but they didn’t want to break off from that important role they played? Also, the first two gave Jasmine and Aladdin each a scene with those colors and their allies and they were still the versions of themselves we met at the start, everyone is together in the final one and had experienced life changing journeys so maybe it’s reflected in the color pallet? Massive apologies if I make zero sense!
I follow you, but of course it's hard to say anything definitively. There could be symbolism, it could be practical, it could be instinctual impulse on the part of the filmmakers. But the guesswork around the possibilities is quite a lot of fun.
I think it’s important that movies be scary if they need to be scary, I don’t think that Aladdin thing left to drown was too violent or traumatic for me at all when I was little. I think it’s important for parents to have discretion and if a child shouldn’t see it when they’re three, there’s no reason they can’t see it when they are 10. Aladdin is definitely a movie that is great for 6 and up, maybe 8 and up if a kid is very sensitive. I think people overthink what’s appropriate for kids these days way too much, children were told scary stories for thousands of years and we have evidence of this, it’s part of human culture and seems to be necessary for our growth in our families and communities, like genuinely vital. Remote tribes tell frightening stories and have scary costumes. It’s just part of being human and if we are taking that away out of some misguided idea that all scary or violent things in fictional stories are bad for kids, kids are going to be bored and have a void that stories used to occupy for thousands of years.
I feel like the answer is more rooted in colour language - the green is bright, new and fresh, the dress up scene with the genie is new and exciting. Also a another meaning is attributed to green, in a desert the most expensive, opulent colour is green - this becomes a symbol for the richness of the palace throne room and gardens, and also alienates them from the outside world of yellow and red.
Came here from twitter, and I must say two things: First, BRILLIANT video. I loved watching this, and I never thought of how the contrasts between primary colours creates such breathtaking visuals! Second, I never though of actually just putting full videos on Twitter!
Not going to resist the urge to talk about how good Kalim and Jamil look in twisted wonderland. Disney of Japan nailed the look Aladdin had with those characters. They are based on the saltin and jafar.
Nice to see a video on Aladdin's wonderful use of color! I remember reading about their use of blues and reds in particular a loooooooong time ago, but heck if I can remember where that was now. Was just a kid with a new favorite movie at the time, eating up everything I could about it, lol. Fun to see it brought up in a randomly suggested RUclips video now!
jafar as a broadly red character often fades into the color palette just how he likes it. a subtle advisor only moving behind the scenes. the green/ teal curtains make him profoundly stand out in a scene that well... outs him.
he appears much more separate and readable from the other characters so both the characters and the viewer see him for who he is.
Ooh I love this take.
Wow I love your view on this scene!
Oh, great thinking! Arguably, we could even loosely link it to the other two "green scenes" in that a character's true...er, character/desire is being revealed.
my theory is that those scenes are there just for your eyes to rest, like in comics you have black fills in inks, so your eyes rest from all the details on those blacks. Or comic storytelling where you have "boring" panels or even a "boring" page just before you kickass scene. Maybe the spacing (haven't seen the movie in decades) using these greens is to let your eyes rest and then boom! hit you with one of those electric blue, red or yellow scenes.
That's affirmation for the "grounding" theory then. It brings you back to earth so you don't lose the thrill of the extremes.
Saw the post on Twitter, but I'm not going to watch a 19 minute video there, so I looked it up here instead.
Appreciate you coming over!
Same! Also Twitter somehow manage to freeze the video.
I did the same!
Same!!
Same…
I was today years old when I realized Aladdin is the most beautiful and well thought Disney movie when it comes to colors
Same. Probably
The beginning scene in Beauty and the Beast is amazing too though. Belle's dress is blue, and the entire background + townsfolk are cloaked in warm oranges, yellows, browns and the like. It shows how much she stands out compared to the rest, and while Gaston's red fits the warm colors, it's still so vibrant that he stands out against his "common" townsfolk.
C a p
One of things I like that you addressed was the often reductive ways of critiquing art like cool colors = sad or isolating. It reminds me of music theory and how major scales are seen as happy; however, you can use major scales to also create meloncholy. I really love the nuance we can bring even while remaining fairly simple as analyzing through a primary color triad.
Absolutely, color is a variable in a very complex pattern of narrative possibilities. Not easily reduced to simple outcomes.
I had this exact same thought. Major and Minor scales are not equal to happiness and sadness in many many cultures. Just as colours do not dictate emotion.
10:51 "Those weren't fake teeth, it was a fake beard." If you go frame by frame, you'll see that the mouth goes with the beard, teeth included. The entire mouth was also fake.
WHAT
Yeah, it's a detail that's haunted me since childhood 😭 Rip-off disguises in animation go WILD
I had to watch that on .25 playback speed so I could make sure. That's kinda wild
yep, I checked too
That's... frankly even more terrifying
man. never really realized how just visually stunning the whole movie is with its colors.
I love how everything in this video is colored, red, blue, and yellow in your background and on your clothes and the microphone
Not much yellow
My eyes were continually drawn to the rich red microphone and I kept on thinking “What exactly does that really _mean?”_
Those turquoise/greens feel exclusive to the royal palace. Which reminds me that Aladdin is a fish out of water being there.
And the curtains and such with the red of Jafar just kinda sets the atmosphere of the conflict occurring being ABOUT the royalty imo.
Green is also used a lot in Disney films to represent spooky things and evil.
Maleficent's magic and fire from Sleeping Beauty.
Facilier's magic in The Princess and the Frog.
Ursulas magic when taking Ariel's voice away in The Little Mermaid.
And more than half of the sequences in Scar's song Be Prepared from The Lion King.
Etc.
You're right that the turquoise is unique to the palace --that's a good observation. In terms of green for evil, that's usually the case with green light. Green light doesn't manifest naturally on the light spectrum like the orange to blue range, so its rarity makes it unsettling to the average human psychology (which can be of course precisely targeted with other off-putting context). Similar to uplighting --we are used to light coming from high up, so a low light has a similar eerie effect if framed properly.
found this on twitter and thought it was excellent
I'm glad you made the journey over. Thank you!
@@jholtillus I also found it on Twitter and came over because RUclips’s a better platform for long form content
a lot of hand drawn disney films are absolutely worth studying just for their use of color. watching pocahontas and brother bear had me hooked the whole way through because of the painted backgrounds in particular that i love to use as reference on using color when painting my own bgs. thank you for explaining the fundamentals of color in a way that i think everyone regardless of their level of art skill can understand, and now i really want to rewatch aladdin!
I need to rewatch the ones you suggested. Thank you!
@@jholtillus I would love a color analysis video of Pocahontas!
@@jholtillus a pocahontas color analysis would also be amazing!
The Disney film with the best colors and background is easily Sleeping Beauty. Check that out if you have never seen it or if it has been awhile since you have seen it last.
Out of all the times i’ve watched aladdin ive never seen it this way and you explaining the coloring of the film makes it so much more interesting
I'm glad! Thank you
I've never seen Aladdin that way before. You know what they say, you learn something new everyday.
In the 35mm film the movie is even more saturated. The DVD / 4K / Blu-ray has changed the colors for a more colorful picture, but originally the blue wasn't as purple as it looks now, A Whole New World looked much bluer and the rest of the film had a lot of deep browns and orange. They also changed Jasmine outfit from light aqua blue to a more greenish blue, and Sultan's from creamy white to a warmer beige. It also had much more contrast and darker backgrounds which were easier to look at.
If i had to guess, i would say that the last green scene breaks format intentionally because it's a moment of uncertainty and building tension before Aladdin's lies are revealed and the climax of the film. Maybe It's placed where it is in order to create that specific discomfort that isn't as dramatic as the action scenes earlier in the film that have more of a playfulness to them. This isn't a conflict we've seen Aladdin finesse his way out of like the more physical escapes he's made. The more local colors kindof ground it in reality in a unique way because lies are a very relatable and less fantastic source of conflict for most people, it's more "real" than flying on a magic carpet to escape a tiger head cave quickly filling with lava. I think those factors are relevant to the choice but maybe I'm reading too much into it.
No idea if you're reading too much, but it's a reasonable theory
My own thoughts about this scene (five months later, lol) aren't too dissimilar from this, it looks like. I zeroed in on the confusion J. Holt expressed over it and how that could have been an intentional effect to reflect what was going on. Your take about how it's still grounding makes a lot of sense in ways I wasn't immediately thinking about.
Green could symbolize envy to highlight the scene where Aladdin reveals that Jasmine and the sultan are the subject of Jafar's envy.
Disney has often been very successful in how it chooses colours for its films. You can often recognise empty screenshots purely on the colours they choose, and I'm impressed it's mostly stuck through even the massive shift in style to their CGI films. Tangled has a lot of soft greens, yellows, and pinks while Frozen is mostly white and shades of blue, while Encanto goes to jewel tones of green, blue, pink, and yellow. I wish the newer films would have more of a stylistic/proportional identiy as well. I feel like Aladdin has a lot of focus on classic shape language with how spherical the sultan is vs how pointy Jafar is.
To me, the teal pallet mentioned at the end is a signal that the story is taking a turn. It’s a huge shift in everyone’s motives and also would usually be the end of a movie. The guy got his wish of being with the girl, the bad guy got outed, etc.
This part of the movie is a huge shift because now Aladdin’s motives are changing. His goal is no longer to get jasmine but to live up to new expectations, Jafar’s goal is to get revenge using the genie, and Jasmine is happily following the law as written despite her hatred towards it.
It’s a big change and i think the scenery being off tells you something is different. I never thought about it before but this movie really does do such amazing work. No wonder it’s my favourite
I have a feeling that the green and red combo towards the end exemplifies what's happening in the scene thematically, the benevolent ruler is slowly being made aware of the intentions of his scheming advisor, and that red is like a subtle warning of how close it is to overpowering the greens and turqoises that symbolize the monarch. It's like a creeping wildfire sparking from embers, with Jaffar being a clear endpoint of its flame.
Great video, came here from Twitter! Guess one way to beat the RUclips algorithm is to fight it with another algorithm!
Great thoughts and thank you for watching!
I wanted to make a comment with this same idea, but you perfectly put it into words.
I like this thought, that it's a subtle means of supporting the exposition going on and of foreshadowing just how far Jafar is about to go to try to take power.
A "green and red combo" is a combo that is both green and red. This is not what you intended to say. You need hyphens to achieve that: "green-and-red combo."
@@TheGrammarPolice7 The fact that the other people replying here got what Thesunthrone was trying to say, while the reasoning behind your attempt to correct them feels inscrutable to at least one of those same persons, says a lot about how unnecessary your pedantry is.
6:10 - "The challenge: Bring order to the whole through design, composition, tension, balance, light, and hamony." : )
Ah, but seriously, this was great! Aladdin has my favorite color palette of any Disney movie, and you did an excellent job explaining *how* it's so visually appealing as well as supporting the storytelling. I especially loved the connection between Jasmine's conversation with her father and the oasis scene.
(And yes, I always assumed it was a tiger, too.)
Thank you!
I took a sidepath here from Twitter
Nothing like getting a sidequest. Glad you're here!
Same and I’m a huge RUclipsr so I’m pissed I didn’t find it on here first but glad I’m here now bc this video ROCKS
Same. Not giving them the data.
X
@@catmerchant8699 Ex-Twitter
Would Aladdin's character palette being composed of mostly peacemaker colors also represent how he perfectly harmonizes with the colors in every shot, making him easier to follow through each shot in the movie?
My theory for the last scene is that it's important to the story/character, we realize that Aladdin is anxious to become a leader of a country and can't handle the pressure and his lies towards Jasmine. So it's grounding to the plot. The heroes also team up (Jasmine, Aladdin and Sultan) to Jafar and Iago. Also moving the story, and loyalty. But there's also a sense of danger as well. With Aladdin coming to terms with his actions, Jafar working out who "Prince Ali", is and escaping. So it's like a mixture of both. Grounding and dangerous. Loyalty, but also not loyalty.
Edit: Also reds/ oranges seem to be used for villains and greens/blues for the good guys. Aladdin has the purple jacket/ purple feather and cape on his Prince Ali costume and purple is in the middle between the two on the colour wheel, like the movie is saying that Aladdin is a good guy but also a liar and could go towards the either or (reds or blues), depending on his future actions.
9:39 this is the greatest art analogy I have heard in my life.
Virtuous gorillas inspire us all
Its such a rich and indepth use of color, its always struck me about this movie in particular but o couldn't put a name to it.
6:43 fun fact, in french, the name of the song "a whole new world" became "ce rêve bleu" which can be translated by "this blue dream"
Alan Menken (one of the composers of the song) said that he loved this title better than the original 😅
It's a great title
I have been obsessed with this movie's color scheme since childhood, so glad to see an entire youtube video dedicated to it!
They weren’t lying, this truly gave me a new perspective on color theory.!.!
I love your analysis here, and I really appreciate you talking about how color doesn't have to be emotionally coded in the way people often say it is. I'm autistic and I've always thought people claiming such strong emotional connection to/communication by color was weird. The idea of colors communicating different levels of energy, though, really hits for me-and accords with how I use color in my art. Thanks for this!!!
Thank you!
Came from Twitter as well. As someone who never truly understood color in art, this video encapsulates color’s meaning and purpose PERFECTLY. Truly an incredible analysis, well done!
Your videos are the perfect length which is why RUclips buried it in the bottom the algorithm favors 45 minute videos and shorts these days
I've experimented with short and long for the last year and determined: I have no idea. But I'll keep trying.
@@jholtillus looking forward to it
Am I the only one here because of their recommended and not bc Twitter lmaoo
Pretty close. It blew up on Twitter and I'm relieved to hear RUclips's algorithm is boosting it
I am here for RUclips recommended too because i dont have twitter
Student from the University of RUclips, learning about color.
Same
I think that putting a fragment of the video on Twitter would have been more suitable as a hook for RUclips, here it is more comfortable to see
Generally that's what I try. Today has been an...unusual day.
You mean xvideos
I really appreaciate your use of language the way you travel through each section and are able to maintain a clear and conscise point, has helped with my essays/exams I'm currently doing as I actually understand how to format my ideas better. So thanks.
Glad to help in any way I can.
Absolutely loved your break down! How you explained color is like how I understand it in my mind, but as words, haha. I do have a green theory! It's been a minute since I've seen the film, but in the scenes you presented, they were all in the Sultan's castle. Having an abundance of green plants is lavish and rich, a notable contrast to the arid desert they live in. I think it was meant to be noticed. Sure it broke the typical color story, but it worked in context as a story element. At least that's my point of view. :)
For some reason This reminded me of that one scene from sleeping beauty where she followed the green light that led her to the spinning wheel's spindle & how slowly everything turned green (shades of green) the way the green creeped over the scene along the eerie music!!!
Ever since I was a kid that scene stuck with me, it always creeped me out yet I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen, always left me mesmerised!!
PLZ PLZ do more studies/ critique/ analysis on old animated Disney movies (possibly the one I’ve mentioned?) regardless, great video!!!
Aladdin it's a movie I watched as a kid a million times and just now I realize the beautiful colors it has!! Love your voice and the analysis!! Hope you do more of this kind of video~ ☺
Thank you! And I definitely hope to make a lot of these --analysis and exploratory critique is what I love to do.
Interesting-- As a kid, I always thought the Cave of Wonders appeared from a snow pile in a wasteland blizzard. I guess, not growing up with much knowledge of sandstorms and seeing that cool colour palet, it never occurred to me that it could be in sand at night. This idea of an errupting lava tiger cave in the snow, with it's intense contrast of hot and cold on poor Alladin who went from ice to fire was far more engaging for me than what, I suppose Disney intended. I guess, as a kid, I figgered, "Boy they must have walked really far if they're in a snowstorm now!"
A lot of Alladin's action is the common action movie colour palet of hot orange light and blue shadow. Interestingly enough, his drowning and imprisonment all take place in this vibrant ultramarine blue world and the sky remains happily starry in that coulour --no grey or ominous black. Shadows are never really black. The atmospheric impact is that night feels balmy and cool and day golden, dry and orangey no matter how characters are feeling or what is happening. When Alladin is drowding or in prison, or just feeling hopeless in the streets, it feels like weather is lovely, it's just that the weight he bears contrasts to it.
:17 the homeboi is also wearing red, with a red mic, wearing blue on his sweater and yellow background, EASTER EGG after 10 seconds
The red mic is dominant. Thanks for the video not just knowledgeable but entertaining and enjoyable 👍
11:00 " that always bothered me" lmao that was great
A wonderful video, really easy to understand and learn from thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for watching!
The green on the sultan’s cap is what I love most about great art; you can have general rules and guidelines only for them to be sometimes broken to give you a sense of wonder.
I’d love to see more videos like this! You hinted at Mad max but I’d love to hear your full thoughts on the movie, as I’ve often struggled to explain why I love it so much despite not liking action movies.
Came from Twitter!
Thank you! If people like these kinds of videos I'll definitely do more --I really enjoy making them. Thanks!
6:58 Funnily and fittingly enough, in French, that song is called "Ce rêve bleu", meaning "This blue dream".
Perfection
On the one hand, that last note about “not knowing what the green is in Jasmine’s bedroom” feels like a really thinly-veiled call-to-action. On the other hand, I loved this vid and want more of this on all the animated films that the same level of observation on color could be applied to. Even though I’m an artist, it never clicked with me before now that this is a good part of why I love this movie so much (besides nostalgia of course). This is a brilliant scope on the uses of the movie’s many bright, vivid colors, and I’m so glad you brought it to light. I want more of this for sure.
The 3rd green scene you were discussing: I would interpret the deep green paired with bright red as conflict, opposite each other on the color wheel. This might reflect the conflict between characters and Jafar's disruptive intentions becoming clear during this scene. The bright reds (representing Jafar) against the cool calm green (the sultan/jasmine) feel threatening and dangerous, since here Jafar is starting to take control in an overt way.
Wonderfully refreshing analysis, thank you! It makes me wonder what other animated movie color palettes and art have been overlooked to the extent that I’ve overlooked Aladdin. It would be awesome if you could make this a series like your artist series and comic making series (which are highly enjoyable and helpful, btw). Either way, I’m looking forward to your next video!
I'm certainly hoping to do more of these. I'm trying to rotate through various videos to keep it interesting for myself, fresh and germane to my audience, and also please the algorithm --so there's a lot of "spaghetti at the wall" to see what works right now
I interpret the break from color theme as a subtle way of indicating to the viewer that something is amiss. It fits with Jafar controlling the sultan.
Hey I have the same cardigan you’re wearing!
Check your closet. I can't remember where I got this one and it might be the SAME one if you know what I mean
Here from Twitter, great video! Just found what channel I'm gonna binge all week lol
Glad you're here!
You mean xvideos
This is fantastic! I reverse engineered all these observations and patterns within the creative process as a 3D-animation freelance artist of +6 years. Seeing them formulated with a sense of ease is special.
@jholtillus Yes, you are correct. The living statue is the guardian of the Cave of wonders, the tiger god and is voiced by Frank Welker. 😎
Ah, I thank you
This video was fascinating. Looking forward to the next one.
Thank you! And thanks for watching!
so I’m late to this video and i haven’t yet read the other comments, but something about the green scenes is that they act as the I Want scenes of the film, just like the Disney formula has it’s I Want songs, these scenes set up or cement the wants, the dreams and ideals, of the characters.
Jasmin wants true love
her father just wants her to be married before he’s gone
Aladdin wants to be a Prince to feel worthy of a Princess, Genie wants to be free
But it’s in the final scene where the green changes, the wants have shifted, there’s conflict in these wants.
Aladdin feels guilt and wants to be honest but is having trouble breaking past the lie he’s created, Jafar here as always wants power but he’s manipulating the mind and wants of the Sultan with his cursed hypnotic control, one will (want) dominating another.
in this light even the other scenes with green in them that you dismiss also have a conflict of want in them dominated by other colours, in the garden the genie wants wants best for Aladdin and advices him to tell her the truth, the green is dominated by the deep blue of love, Aladdins for Jasmin but also Genies almost parental love for Aladdin.
likewise the scene in the daytime gardens is Aladdin wanting and at this stage actually ready to tell Jasmin the truth, he’s determined, and he goes off in the direction of that momentary splash of vibrant green seeking her.
Green is the characters expressing an element of themselves in the form of their innermost wants and motivations.
Just an extra point but I think where the movie has its most saturated green scene, however briefly, is in jasmines room for just a few seconds before going off with Aladdin on carpet.. and notice how concentrated and potent this green is, Jasmin has been told she needs to get married completely against her wishes, she’s trapped in the palace without getting a say in what she wants, and this is where we find her, upset and fed up, surrounded by the ideals and wants she can’t choose, unable to make her own decisions.
I remember seeing the movie for the first time with my young kids when it first came out, and my very first impression was that the whole thing kept my eyes incredibly happy with all the contrasting colors. You are right about the primary color palette in general, but my eyes were more taken with all the deeply saturated saffron tones set against indigo/fuchsia ones. Well, it was all obviously and fittingly inspired by the colors used in a lot of the art of that culture to start with, while we are not so bombarded with such amazingly saturated color so much in the West, so it would have that much more of an impact to our sensibilities. Regardless, it was and still is one of the most beautiful animated films out there.
That turquoise in the last scene you mentioned could be there because it’s a rarer colour (expecially in a desert) that could represent the royal environment of the scene, and it kind of lights the scene with yellow and the other colours, that are also more bright because of the light.
It’s just my guess, but this lighter aura maybe aligns with the fact all the main characters are clarifying their situation, they’re having some realisations and so they’re “lighting” up the drama and resolving the situation
Best color analysis video I’ve ever seen dude.
Thank you!
Wow!!!
This explained a lot on why i prefer animated Aladdin more compared to live action
The whole movie is somehow felt "lifeless" or "eye-fatigue" in some scenes
Love this analysis !!
I think that the first two green scenes are also a way to show the characters’ inner desires, free from their usual “inside prison” : Jasmine is outside of the palace and her role as a princess, Aladdin is outside the city and his identity as a poor thief. They are in a setting that extracts them from their colour habitat (yellow and teal palace and red and yellow streets) and are allowed to express their wish for something different, more natural, more alive, more true to who they really are.
Also, the blue of the palace is not the same as the blue of the rest of the movie : it is turquoise, more vibrant and more close to the yellow of the palace which provides for the teal green we see in the final scene discussed. This final scene is so rich in different colours that show all the distinct characters and their personal habitat (for lack of a better word). So I’d take this teal green as a different kind from the tree green, more like a palace turquoise infused by palace yellow and darkened by Jafar’s red and black.
Yesss! I was just watching this again last night and I was blown away by the colors. And everything else, of course! What a film
This made me want to rewatch Aladdin! I've always found the colour in that film striking, especially during the scenes in and in front of the desert cave. But this video gave me a whole new appreciation of it. In fact the influence of colour seems so strong to my eyes now it almost feels like you painted over some of the scenes.
Once you notice it, it changes everything
So points I’ve got fro this video:
- types of colour contest make it easy to draw a viewers attention, especially heavy contrast as it draws our eye to the one thing that looks different
- a change in colour can effectively help change a tone (not entirely on its own)
- while colour can showcase the tone of a scene, colours do not have set emotional tone and can mean a variety of things in different contexts, like how blue can mean both sad, as well as calming depending on how it’s presented
- colour itself doesn’t inform a scene on its own, it needs context and other elements to really inform tone
- peacemaker colours/tertiary colours/inbetween colours are a good way to bridge stronger colours
- green
Do you think I missed or misinterpreted anything?
Also what’re your thoughts on this regarding Aladdin and the King of Theives? I’ve always heard a lot of stuff about its colour palette but moreso in a negative light of it being “washed out”
I think you hit my main points spot on. As for the King of Thieves film, I've never seen it! I'll have to look into it.
Found a tweet talking about this and I was like “I need to know about colour theory, I’d like to expand my knowledge, I think I’d like to watch”
This vid is mega interesting and also you look a lil bit like Pedro Pascal, 10/10 on all fronts
i just saw this on twitter and now i’m watching it again here ❤️💛💙
ive always said aladdin had the best color work and character animation. (hunchback is a close second for the latter). the rich jewel tones through the whole movie are so enchanting and dream like. you can feel the heat through your screen
Oh you mentioned transition scenes!!! I remember showing my friend for the first time and pointing at the screen excitedly at all the color shifts mid scene in the movie!!!! It was the 80s, so they still hand to hand paint that stuff I'm assuming??? IT'S MINDBLOWING
soothing voice a intellectual takes, great vid!!
Appreciate that very much! Thank you
The final green scene is definitely emotionally intense, but it still goes well with the other scenes as a "grounding" scene, as it's a moment where the truth is revealed, a long-believed lie/liar is outed, and a literal physical tool for deception and manipulation is literally shattered. This makes Aladdin consider and feel guilt over his own deception, and in that last shot of him looking guilty his face looks a lot redder than usual, and he's up against those turquoise curtains, drawing parallels between him and Jafar. To go even further we could say that the rare green represents the fertile and life-giving ground of honesty, though that's definitely pushing what may be intentional.
I just noticed Red, Blue, and Yellow are the key colors in your room. Genius!
My favourite part of Aladdin's use of color is the Aladdin vs Sa'luk fight from Aladdin and the King of Thieves, the 3rd movie. And I'm sure there are more cases from other scenes in that movie as well!
This is lile the artist version of an Every Frame a Painting video. So much of this felt but not consciously aware of why watching movie explained. Great explanation and the visual examples of everything you're saying is appreciated
More films need to adapt this kind of color theory. We've been living with dull Orange and Teal films for too long.
The random asides about what kind of large cat the cave entrance is and Jafar's teeth are spot on. Perfect stream of consciousness.
Maybe that last green scene you discussed was meant to confuse the viewer because the conclusion of it reflects the confusion developing within the main character?
As in, this is the point where Aladdin finally, fully experiences a personal crisis about what he's doing - not just doubt about whether he'll get to reconnect with Jasmine, as was his immediate goal (like in that scene in the garden with Genie, before the carpet ride) - but about whether he's just gotten himself in WAY too deep (and a bit about whether what he's doing is actually wrong). Can he actually handle the consequences that have come from achieving his goal? Like, congrats, guy, you got the girl... and it looks like the whole kingdom with her, and all of the responsibility that comes with it. You weren't thinking that far ahead, were you? Now what?
With that in mind, I don't think this green scene is grounding *in the same way* as the other two scenes you cover - it's not meant to be a breather between more dramatic scenes - but it's nonetheless still grounding in its own way. I'd argue that, largely, the scenes with a significant amount of green serve as a means to re-center on the plot, as a kind of reality check for what's going on, even if it's not through straight exposition.
1) Jasmine's feeling trapped and is being pushed to settle on someone to marry, making her want to act out. 2) Aladdin, with Genie, is contriving a way to get close to her again - at the same time, Aladdin is promising to set Genie free afterwards. 3) Jasmine doesn't want to give Ali a chance and Aladdin is afraid of total rejection if he's transparent with her. 4) Aladdin's managed to get close to her!... and now realizes there's a LOT more stuff he has to worry about, now that he has. 5) Aladdin's possibly ruined his friendship with the Genie, because he's thinking he can't handle these new expectations without him and thus can't/won't keep his promise to him.
That's to touch on all of the specific scenes you've mentioned where they use a significant amount of green. The greens can be affected by the main palette to lend extra gravity and drama at the same time that they're subtly grounding you in what's going on, I think.
Those are my thoughts, anyway. To get more comprehensive with it, I'll have to watch the movie again; I'm sure there's something I'm probably missing in just focusing on your video by itself. Take it for what it is.
for the last scene, i would say the purpose of having such a conflicting palette would be to express how jafar and aladdin do not belong in the palace. jafar through stark contrast (complementary, red v green) sticks out like a sore thumb and makes the black look oh so damning, whereas jasmine and aladdin are common through the blue in his purple (harmonious - blue/green v purple). the sultan and jasmine suit their home/palace setting. I would also argue that in the first two green scenes, the green is there to highlight how they are different but have common ideas, through the shapes of the different greenery, jasmine being more refined and trimmed, whereas aladdin being blatantly more rowdy as seen from his jungle plants. thank you for your video! i came here by fuwaffie recommendation.
My theory for the last scene is that it's a very important character scene, just like the other 2 with green in it, but the lines are blurred because Jafar is revealed to be dishonest, but so is Aladdin (to himself at least), so we're unsure what to think and who is good/bad. The palette then is also unsure about what is doing and goes for teal, which is neither here nor there in the pattern of the movie. It's there to disorient us and unsettle us.
Amazing video, it was like visual and intellectual candy!
I’ve always thought this film was visually enchanting - thanks for explaining why!
In terms of aesthetics, Aladdin probably ranks among one of my favourite Disney flicks 😊
It's amazing. Wildly creative and disciplined in its use of color.
@@jholtillus Not to mention one of the company's best films in general, even after so many years 😊
I have always been amazed by how the colors in Aladdin pop and are so much more saturated and vibrant than in any other Disney film, so it was great to have an explanation of how that was accomplished. Excellent video!👏👏👏👏👏
This is one of my favorite animated movies ever and I always felt that the intensity of the film was underrated. Thanks for not oversimplifying, and for the many nuances! I saw this on Twitter, and after the full video, subscribed immediately! Eloquently extrapolated!
P.S. potential theory is that... they ran out of the paint mixes and had to incorporate other hues... JK. Could perhaps just be that it's a dark foreshadowing of what's to be?
something like 20 years ago i have made a copy of Aladdin's carpet, all with PAINT, worked on it almost pixel by pixel. i still have the bmp somewhere in my pc.
i have always loved the motif of that carpet
I was heavily inspired by the colors in early Disney, and although I dislike the company now I still appreciate the impact and the skills of the early animators
Credit where credit is due
This video blew my mind and changed the way I will look at color composition from now on.
Absolutely brilliant!
this video is a absolute masterpiece, found this gem on twitter
Here from Twitter! Great video, really helped me understand how deliberate the color choices for movies like these are!
Awesome, thank you!
1) This video is one of your greatest hits
2) make a playlist of film/animation breakdowns.
3) you are one of the best, keep it up.
Thank you for that!
Aladdin is a particular favourite for me in the Disney cannon, and I've always been in love with how vibrant the movie is.
Your channel is underrated as heck! You got a new subscriber today! Good luck. Hopefully, you can reach more people with your knowledge. Thanks for sharing
Thank you for the kind words and for watching!
I Googled ‘what color art sells the most’ and blue came up, but also the careful combination of blue, red, and yellow. Cool!
Aladdin has always for me, been something amazing visually. But i never really understood, or thought of why. So besides the beautiful animation, today I really understand, that it is mostly because of the amazing use and understanding of colour!! The film is so gorgeous to look at!❤️🙌🙌🙌
Found you on Twitter and ran over to follow, amazing video! I just rewatched Aladdin the other day and had a whole conversation with myself in my head about how stunning this film is, it’s for sure one of my favorites of all time and the music is just unbeatable.
I know I won’t explain this the way it is in my head, but I feel like the color palette in that final scene with the greens is to continue the break in colors that the other two provided, but maybe the storyline had progressed so far that the colors needed to sort of deepen and update to match where our characters now were in themselves? I wonder if the brighter greens just didn’t work at this point in the story but they didn’t want to break off from that important role they played? Also, the first two gave Jasmine and Aladdin each a scene with those colors and their allies and they were still the versions of themselves we met at the start, everyone is together in the final one and had experienced life changing journeys so maybe it’s reflected in the color pallet? Massive apologies if I make zero sense!
I follow you, but of course it's hard to say anything definitively. There could be symbolism, it could be practical, it could be instinctual impulse on the part of the filmmakers. But the guesswork around the possibilities is quite a lot of fun.
came from twitter to support you 💓 absolutely stunning video!
Thank you!
I think it’s important that movies be scary if they need to be scary, I don’t think that Aladdin thing left to drown was too violent or traumatic for me at all when I was little. I think it’s important for parents to have discretion and if a child shouldn’t see it when they’re three, there’s no reason they can’t see it when they are 10. Aladdin is definitely a movie that is great for 6 and up, maybe 8 and up if a kid is very sensitive. I think people overthink what’s appropriate for kids these days way too much, children were told scary stories for thousands of years and we have evidence of this, it’s part of human culture and seems to be necessary for our growth in our families and communities, like genuinely vital. Remote tribes tell frightening stories and have scary costumes. It’s just part of being human and if we are taking that away out of some misguided idea that all scary or violent things in fictional stories are bad for kids, kids are going to be bored and have a void that stories used to occupy for thousands of years.
The Blue Bird 🐦 sent me. Glad it did.
This was so helpful and awesome (in general).
Def got a new sub here ✋🏼
Glad to have you and thank you for watching
I feel like the answer is more rooted in colour language - the green is bright, new and fresh, the dress up scene with the genie is new and exciting. Also a another meaning is attributed to green, in a desert the most expensive, opulent colour is green - this becomes a symbol for the richness of the palace throne room and gardens, and also alienates them from the outside world of yellow and red.
Came here from twitter, and I must say two things:
First, BRILLIANT video. I loved watching this, and I never thought of how the contrasts between primary colours creates such breathtaking visuals!
Second, I never though of actually just putting full videos on Twitter!
Not going to resist the urge to talk about how good Kalim and Jamil look in twisted wonderland. Disney of Japan nailed the look Aladdin had with those characters. They are based on the saltin and jafar.
Saw the post on Twitter but decided to see the video here
Good stuff
Thank you! Glad you made the jump over
like an island in the ocean of RUclips, I love to find analysis that looks at the intent behind choices in art. love Aladdin and loved this video!
Nice to see a video on Aladdin's wonderful use of color! I remember reading about their use of blues and reds in particular a loooooooong time ago, but heck if I can remember where that was now. Was just a kid with a new favorite movie at the time, eating up everything I could about it, lol. Fun to see it brought up in a randomly suggested RUclips video now!
A lot of those reds are more like oranges, which complements blues nicely
There's probably another entire video on how they bend the palettes to lightly touch complementary schemes. Brilliant stuff