Analysis of Film "Aladdin’s Magic Lamp" (1966) by Boris Ricarev

Some other recognizable scenes include Aladdin’s walk while reading the book at the beginning of the film (see 9:10), which can be linked to the hit comedy Operation Y and Other Adventuures of Shurik which was released a year earlier (see 33:50 in (Gayday, 1965)). Also the comically quickened running of the sultan’s guards as well as the chase scene of Budur could all be linked back to the same movie. Additionally, the song “In Baghdad Everything is Calm” is another typical element to be found in comedy (e.g., Kidnapping, Caucasian Style (1967)). None of these comic elements stem from the original story of Aladdin, thus in a way they are unnecessary for the plot advancement. (Ouyang & Horta, 2014) However, their contribution to the success of the movie cannot be overstated. It is precisely due to these well-loved and effective elements the film becomes a joy to watch.
In conclusion, Boris Ricarev’s adaption of The Story of Aladdin, or the Magic Lamp heavily edited the plot to erase logical inconsistencies, to make the character agency better distributed and the storyline more varied, and to insert the comic relief. The end result definitely aligns better with Russian and Soviet fairytale conventions – the lovers have to mutually desire each other and the protagonists have to be deserving of their luck and successes. The director also masterfully reused comic elements near-and-dear to his audience, thus creating a joyful light-hearted comedy/fairytale. This movie is an example of how re-
makes even only vaguely based on the Nights stories could be successful in their own right and tell a no less captivating story.
…