Twisted
As I mentioned last night when I was trolling YouTube, I discovered something rather amazing: Twisted.
You can probably tell from the title, that it is somewhat of a parody of Wicked, the Untold Story of the Wicked Witch of the West or rather continuing in the same vein as a recent trend to retell famous stories from the point of view of the villain. Wicked is the most obvious example of this, but don't forget about the upcoming film Maleficent starring Angelina Jolie about Disney's first lady of villainy. I can't help but wonder who's going to be next.
If the lamp and the words 'Grand Vizier' don't give it away already, Twisted is based on an alternative retelling of Disney's Aladdin starring non other then the ever awesome and super creepy Jafar. Remember him from your childhood? He was the guy with the cobra staff and parrot who decided to try to ruin everyone's lives, make Jasmine marry him, take over the kingdom of Agrabah, steal the Genie from Aladdin and then turned into the giant snake at the end to literally try to eat Aladdin. He may have been turned into a genie himself and confined to a life of servitude at the end only to make a creepy comeback in Return of Jafar (and get defeated again), but one thing Jafar never manages to be is repentant or swayed. He is an old school villain like his predecessors (circa Ursula, Maleficent, Cruella de Vil and the Evil Queen) who basically does not give a crap so long as he gets his way, depressing backstory or circumstances be damned.
But in keeping with the new tradition of Disney villains with more hidden insidious natures and sob story motives, this new take on Jafar is a refreshing parallel to the original. Just like we decided Elphaba was actually just royally misunderstood and we shouldn't judge her too harshly for locking up Dorothy and Toto, Twisted gives Jafar that touch of conscience and heart we didn't know he head. He's even the super nice guy that everyone blames for no apparent reason - well, except that he's a leading politician in a kingdom gone to hell.
Twisted premièred on YouTube, according to sources, in November 2013 (not too bad since that was only a little while ago and I only just discovered it). Produced by the very same StarKid Productions (Team StarKid) responsible for the amazing A Very Potter Musical and A Very Potter Sequel (and the start-up career of Darren Criss AKA Blaine Anderson), I expected some great things.
I wasn't disappointed.
You can really hand it to Team StarKid to take something like Disney and twist it to some pretty inappropriate hilarity. From turning Aladdin into a sort of careless master criminal kleptomaniac, to a parody of the Belle song from Beauty and the Beast you are left without any doubt that Team StarKid really did their research for the show. If you're a Disney fan you'll appreciate the adult Twisted humour for what it is, but don't fool yourself into expecting some Indina Menzel masterpiece with grandeur that reminds you to believe. Nope, it's a satirical look at Disney and other fairytales whilst reminding us again that whilst singing, dancing, believing and sighing is all well and good - it's moot if you don't put some effort in to making your own dreams come true.
Just ask Princess Jasmine.
With a score of some pretty catchy songs, more than a couple based on the tunes of some of Disney's biggest musical hits (try Part of Your World, Bare Necessities, Belle and One Jump Ahead), the musical does raise a pretty powerful point: that there is more than one side to a story and that they may be an alternative explanation for what you think you already know. And even if it isn't the main objective of the musical, Jafar's desperation to remain optimistic in the face of adversity and outright antagonism reminds us to keep trying.
And no musical would even be complete without a little love.
Twisted is a humorous step outside the norm with hat tipping to all your favourite Disney films, kind of like Austin Powers does to James Bond. It's hilarious, romantic, clever, catchy and somewhat optimistic. It is a fresh take on an old favourite and offers more than one alternative to a story we thought we knew. Plus some fun extras from the original Arabian Nights with a very special appearance from the one and only Scheherazade.
And at the end of the day you won't help but feel kind of bad for Jafar - even if he did go crazy in the end.
Like most things, I recommend Twisted. It's entertaining as all hell and something I'm sure even Walt himself would have appreciated. Well, so long as it wasn't played until after Disneyland was closed for the day.
If you're interested, you can find it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-77cUxba-aA
Is anyone else feeling like they want to go watch Aladdin again?
You can probably tell from the title, that it is somewhat of a parody of Wicked, the Untold Story of the Wicked Witch of the West or rather continuing in the same vein as a recent trend to retell famous stories from the point of view of the villain. Wicked is the most obvious example of this, but don't forget about the upcoming film Maleficent starring Angelina Jolie about Disney's first lady of villainy. I can't help but wonder who's going to be next.
If the lamp and the words 'Grand Vizier' don't give it away already, Twisted is based on an alternative retelling of Disney's Aladdin starring non other then the ever awesome and super creepy Jafar. Remember him from your childhood? He was the guy with the cobra staff and parrot who decided to try to ruin everyone's lives, make Jasmine marry him, take over the kingdom of Agrabah, steal the Genie from Aladdin and then turned into the giant snake at the end to literally try to eat Aladdin. He may have been turned into a genie himself and confined to a life of servitude at the end only to make a creepy comeback in Return of Jafar (and get defeated again), but one thing Jafar never manages to be is repentant or swayed. He is an old school villain like his predecessors (circa Ursula, Maleficent, Cruella de Vil and the Evil Queen) who basically does not give a crap so long as he gets his way, depressing backstory or circumstances be damned.
But in keeping with the new tradition of Disney villains with more hidden insidious natures and sob story motives, this new take on Jafar is a refreshing parallel to the original. Just like we decided Elphaba was actually just royally misunderstood and we shouldn't judge her too harshly for locking up Dorothy and Toto, Twisted gives Jafar that touch of conscience and heart we didn't know he head. He's even the super nice guy that everyone blames for no apparent reason - well, except that he's a leading politician in a kingdom gone to hell.Twisted premièred on YouTube, according to sources, in November 2013 (not too bad since that was only a little while ago and I only just discovered it). Produced by the very same StarKid Productions (Team StarKid) responsible for the amazing A Very Potter Musical and A Very Potter Sequel (and the start-up career of Darren Criss AKA Blaine Anderson), I expected some great things.
I wasn't disappointed.
You can really hand it to Team StarKid to take something like Disney and twist it to some pretty inappropriate hilarity. From turning Aladdin into a sort of careless master criminal kleptomaniac, to a parody of the Belle song from Beauty and the Beast you are left without any doubt that Team StarKid really did their research for the show. If you're a Disney fan you'll appreciate the adult Twisted humour for what it is, but don't fool yourself into expecting some Indina Menzel masterpiece with grandeur that reminds you to believe. Nope, it's a satirical look at Disney and other fairytales whilst reminding us again that whilst singing, dancing, believing and sighing is all well and good - it's moot if you don't put some effort in to making your own dreams come true.
Just ask Princess Jasmine.
With a score of some pretty catchy songs, more than a couple based on the tunes of some of Disney's biggest musical hits (try Part of Your World, Bare Necessities, Belle and One Jump Ahead), the musical does raise a pretty powerful point: that there is more than one side to a story and that they may be an alternative explanation for what you think you already know. And even if it isn't the main objective of the musical, Jafar's desperation to remain optimistic in the face of adversity and outright antagonism reminds us to keep trying.
And no musical would even be complete without a little love.
Twisted is a humorous step outside the norm with hat tipping to all your favourite Disney films, kind of like Austin Powers does to James Bond. It's hilarious, romantic, clever, catchy and somewhat optimistic. It is a fresh take on an old favourite and offers more than one alternative to a story we thought we knew. Plus some fun extras from the original Arabian Nights with a very special appearance from the one and only Scheherazade.
And at the end of the day you won't help but feel kind of bad for Jafar - even if he did go crazy in the end.
Like most things, I recommend Twisted. It's entertaining as all hell and something I'm sure even Walt himself would have appreciated. Well, so long as it wasn't played until after Disneyland was closed for the day.
If you're interested, you can find it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-77cUxba-aA
Is anyone else feeling like they want to go watch Aladdin again?
Sam xox
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