Evaluation of Opening Scene to Aladdin

Evaluation of Opening Scene to Aladdin

Camera Shots:
The establishing shot shows a trail of wispy smoke appearing in a medium shot, and the credits start to appear.
There is then a fade and the shot pans across the desert and zooms in towards the rider.
Another fade to a long shot of the rider on the camel which then pans down to a medium shot of the camel's hooves.
Quick pan up to a long shot of the city into which the rider is travelling
Zoom shot down through the city streets to the fire breather.
Shot of smoke which fades to a panning long shot of the rider on the camel
Quick zoom to extreme close up of the face
Quick zoom back to medium shot of the rider, pans across as he runs
Snaps to long shot of rider's merchandise stall
Zooms in for medium shot of stall
Panning medium shot across the screen
Close up of the lamp, zooms in closer
Snaps to medium shot of rider holding the lamp
Close up of rider's face, goes to extreme close up
Snaps to medium shot of rider
Snaps to long shot of him throwing the dust into the sky

Characters:
In the opening sequence there is only one character introduced. This is the traveller that is riding on a camel. The whole of the opening sequence is this character singing the song 'Arabian Nights'. The actor who plays him is voice-over, as is everyone in this film, because it is an animation. He plays a stereotypical trader very well, and even puts on a bit of an Arabian accent for added effect.

Atmosphere/Mood:
The atmosphere in the opening sequence is one of tension and of apprehension. Because there is use of music, it creates a dark and forbidding mood, this is good however, as it keeps the viewer interested in the film and makes them keep watching to find out what is going to happen next.
Sound:
The sound in the sequence is really dramatic and gets the viewer interested in the film and makes them want to stay and watch the rest of it. By using a musical based film, that is common of Disney, it makes the young audience remember the catchy songs and make them want to stay and watch the rest of the film just in case there are some more songs that are better then the previous ones.

Costume:
The costumes in this film are designed perfectly to fit the place that the film is set in. The traveller is dressed in traditional Arabic robes with a turban on his head, this is a correct form of dress for the time that the film is set in.

Aladdin, like many films, uses a lot of iconography to reference the film to historical context that makes the film seem like it is rightly done and set in the right period of time.