The Call of the Hero
“A Whole New World”
performed by Brad Kane
and Lea Salonga
from the Aladdin soundtrack
[Aladdin]:
I can show you the world
Shining, shimmering, splendid
Tell me, princess, now when did
You last let your heart decide?I can open your eyes
Take you wonder by wonder
Over, sideways and under
On a magic carpet rideA whole new world
A new fantastic point of view
No one to tell us no
Or where to go
Or say we’re only dreaming[Jasmine]:
A whole new world
A dazzling place I never knew
But when I’m way up here
It’s crystal clear
That now I’m in a whole new world
With you[Aladdin]:
Now I’m in a whole new world with you
[Jasmine]:
Unbelievable sights
Indescribable feeling
Soaring, tumbling freewheeling
Through an endless diamond skyA whole new world
([Aladdin]: Don’t you dare close your eyes)
A hundred thousand things to see
([Aladdin]: Hold your breath—it gets better)
I’m like a shooting star
I’ve come so far
I can’t go back to where
I used to be[Aladdin]:
A whole new world
([Jasmine]: Every turn a surprise)
With new horizons to pursue
([Jasmine]: Every moment, red letter)[Both]:
I’ll chase them anywhere
There’s time to spare
Let me share this whole new world with youA whole new world
([Jasmine]: A whole new world)
That’s where we’ll be
([Jasmine]: That’s where we’ll be)[Aladdin]:
A thrilling chase
[Jasmine]:
A wondrous place
[Both]:
For you and me
When I apply “A Whole New World” to the Hero Journey I see it as the point where one’s eyes are opened to the BIG picture. You step outside your world of the ‘norm’ and are able to see things more clearly and in a different perspective. After you see this ‘whole new world’ there’s no turning back. There’s no way you’re going back to the world you came from. That world is old and naive and sheltered. Whereas now, this world is new and exciting and full of wonderous things. When Jasmine goes:
I’m like a shooting star
I’ve come so far
I can’t go back to where
I used to be
That’s exactly what I’m taking about.
Jasmine’s always felt bound to her title and her palace and…well..everything. But she’s always known that there’s gotta be something more to life. And when she finally SEES that, there’s no turning back for her.
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My favorite line of this song has to be:
A whole new world
A new fantastic point of view
No one to tell us no
Or where to go
Or say we’re only dreaming
As we journey through life, we find new people and new places. Hopefully, we will feel just the way the song is describing; excited, optimistic and determined. When we leave our boxes or comfort zone, we are exposed to a new realm of possibilties. If all goes well, we will all be singing this song from Aladdin, since it conveys an inspirational message of hope and happiness.
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okay i think that this song is basically introducing (well in the movie Jasmine) someone to a new ‘world’ or a new way of life. it corresponds to the hero journey call by opening our eyes, showing wonder by wonder (forgive my horrible paraphrasing) and the call in the hero journey is supposed to be whatever we are destined to do in our lives. its bascially that ‘wow’ moment where it somehow all matches up for a second. The ‘don’t you dare close your eyes’ kinda reminds me of the refusing of the call or the hesistation that one might get before they go on his or her hero journey.
i like this song…its like my favorite disney
it makes you happy
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When I was younger, Aladdin was one of my favorite movies. However, as I grew older, I began to dismiss such Disney movies as “childish” in attempts to feel and sound mature. Upon recent reflection, I have found Aladdin particularly timeless with regards to its message on how to live life. In the movie, Princess Jasmin lives a life of immense luxury. Due to the confines of palace life, the Princess lacked worldly views and was consequently narrow minded. In “A Whole New World”, Aladdin introduces spontenuity into Princess Jasmin’s (i.e.: the magic carpet ride) life in attempts to show her the joys and wonder of living life freely. Like the princess, we, as young Americans, tend to allow societal restrictions and regimentation to inhibit our intellectual growth. The world is a marvelous place. We forget that too often. In order to prevent such narrowmindedness and attain cosmopolitant views, it is essential to live life freely like Aladdin and travel beyond our areas of comfort.
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I believe this song epitomizes the call of the hero because it speaks of the revealing of a new point of veiw. The world in this song and video is the same as it was before the song took place, but the characters of Jasmine and Aladdin both see w hole new world because they’ve opened their minds to growth and accepted their calls on the hero journey. I love how at first Jasmine is a little scared because so many heros have that reaction and the intial doubts once they recieve their call. It’s very fitting. Also the line, “let me share this whole new world with you” could be referencing the return of the hero with the boon. I also really like the line, ‘ don’t you dare close your eyes’ because its what so many heros do when they first get their call. I like how that line anticipates a usual reaction and the music and lyrics show the thrill but also the fear that come along with recieveing and accepting your call.
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Man, I love this movie and this song! I think it applies to the call very well. Jasmine has just gone through the worst day with people treating her as a prize to be won rather than a human being to be appreciated, a new world is exactly what she needs to realize her golden seed, her full potential. Staying behind at the palace will only continue to push down her own individuality and force her to live as a docile princess. She however wants to make her own way in life, so it’s very appropriate that Aladdin will help her into her new world just as she helps him into his. He has never before been in a palace, and she gives him a new perspective on things.
It is interesting that they put the new world as something beautiful rather than scary and overwhelming in this case. For example:
I can show you the world
Shining, shimmering, splendid
Tell me, princess, now when did
You last let your heart decide?
I also feel that at some point in the song, Jasmin accepts her golden seed. Here’s what I mean:
I’m like a shooting star
I’ve come so far
I can’t go back to where
I used to be
She likes the way that she has changed, and can not go back to the way that things were before she’s discovered this new world and in it, herself.
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At first, I didn’t really understand how this song applied to the hero journey. After growing up with this song, I always saw it as just another cliche Disney song that I was never really able to see the true meaning of. ( I mean, I was like 4 when the movie came out.) But now that I actually watch the clip of the song and read through the lyrics, I can see how it is applied the hero journey. I think that Jasmine’s reaction in the beginning of the scene sums up a lot. You can see from the look on her face that she is scared and apprehensive and doesn’t really want to go on the magic carpet because it is new and weird to her. But then, as you are able to see later when she begins singing along, she “accepts” her call to embark on this adventurous journey with Aladin.
I feel like it is hard to grasp the whole effect of the song and its comparison to the hero journey by just watching…the song itself. I can understand and relate to it a lot more by knowing what happens before and after this scene of the Aladin movie. Jasmine, a confused princess who has never had any interest in the men who have come to court her, feels lost and alone, not sure if she even wants to be a princess. She then meets Aladin, who then calls her to this journey that he is on that is way beyond the ordinary with geanies and flying carpets. This song is just sort of a small window of the moment where she finally decides that she wants to embark on her own hero journey.
Therefor, I think that this song suits the call stage of the hero journey almost perfectly. Even in just the title, “a whole new world”, you are able to see that Jasmine is making the change from her own comfortable life or world to a brand new one that is somewhat frightening to her.
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“A Whole New World” from the Alladin soundtrack shows how people can encounter the world outside of the one they live in. It shows how any person can discover that outside world because of some event that may seem random at the time. As soon as a person discovers the outside world, that outside world becomes a part of the person. It can never be removed from the person’s memories or past. That person becomes open to new ideas and perspectives that he or she may not have previously open to.
By “Tell me, princess, now when did / You last let your heart decide”, the song is trying to tell us that we are supposed to live our own lives outside of the expectations of others. If we do not do so, then we will most likely regret taking the path that others had chosen for us. The dreams we have are meant to guide us through our lives according to how we are individually meant to live, not how others expect us to live.
The outside world is a glorious place where an individual is supposed to expand his or her horizons and search for his or her dormant potential.
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Yeah, I think this is a good song for the call right form the start. After all, “letting your heart decide” and leaving your comfort zone is sort of what leaving the world and accepting your call is all about. And indeed, being unable to go back to the place from whence you came is part of the hero journey: the hero can’t go back, so he has to change the world to which he hopes to return. Plus Alladin’s a good movie. Just saying. Also, everything being crystal clear when removed from the world seems to follow the general theme of finding a clear purpose, which seems like part of the call. So even though Alladin was just trying to act smooth and pick her up, this is a very meaningful song.
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I think this is a great song for this unit, The Call because I think Aladdin understands that there is more to discover, or A Whole New World, and he’s feeling called to share it, such as with Jasmine, so that others can experience it too and see that there is more to life than they think or than what they’re used to. A good example of Aladdin trying to show Jasmine is when he says:
Tell me, princess, now when did
You last let your heart decide?
He’s trying to get her to listen to her heart, possibly so she might discover her own calling, which she most likely would not be able to achieve if she didn’t step out of her normal routine and open her eyes to the bigger picture and see that there is so much to offer that she probably didn’t even know about in the first place. It’s necessary for people to see the big picture if they hope to achieve bigger and better things and be a well-rounded individual, and I like that the song gets that message across in a clear but still well worded way.
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At first, I just saw this as a song about the beginnings of their love. However, now that I think about it in terms of the hero journey, Aladdin really is calling Jasmine to be more than just her status as a princess. He literally does so in the lines “Tell me, princess, now when did you last let your heart decide?” I don’t feel as though I have personally been called yet, but if/when I am, I think it’ll be one of those feelings you have in your heart that you know is true, even if your mind doesn’t want to believe it.
The “…new fantastic point of view” phrase also connects very well to this stage of the hero journey. Once you know you’ve been called and have accepted that fact, your view of the world will never be the same.
When Jasmine replies, “…a dazzling place I never knew. But when I’m way up here, it’s crystal clear that now I’m in a whole new world with you,” she really starts to realize her hero potential. She had to get far enough away from her usual world to understand that greater things were possible. She describes these greater things as “Unbelievable sights, indescribable feeling, soaring, tumbling, free-wheeling through an endless diamond sky.”
When Jasmine says, “I’ve come so far. I can’t go back to where I used to be,” she is confirming Aladdin’s statement about the “new, fantastic point of view.” Now that she’s been called to see her greater potential, she can’t go back to her old world and live her old life as an ordinary princess.
The end of the song is just more confirmation that Aladdin and Jasmine have accepted their calls (the “new horizons to pursue”) and will gladly “chase them anywhere.”
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This song really applies to the hero journey. I can see so many parallels to the call. I never really understood this song before now. I always just thought of it the way I did as a little kid.
In this song, Jasmine sees the world in a whole new way now that she has accepted her call. Just like the hero journey, now that she has accepted her call she can’t go back and see the world the way she used to. Once someone accepts thier call, they see the world in a whole new perspective. It can be very exciting like in Jasmine’s case. One must follow thier own path in life instead of following in another’s footsteps. They must live thier own lives, making thier own choices and mistakes. One will grow from this and cannot be held back. I particularly like the line: “Every turn a surprise” because with each experience, Jasmine now sees it in a whole new way that she did before. I really like this song; It is very inspiring.
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Well shoot, everything I wanted to say has pretty much already been said. Don’t you hate when that happens? Well anyways, throughout the duration of the song, Aladdin is literally showing Jasmine this “Whole new world” that he’s talking about. While trapped in the confines of royal life, Jasmine has turned her back on the world, becoming angry and caught up in her own troubles, and forgetting how magnificent the world really is. Aladdin removes her from her princess life, via magic carpet, and displays before her pyramids of Egypt, the Great Wall off China, and I think some sailboats slipped in there as well. But more important than the literal sights that go along with the song, the assumed meaning behind the catchy tune (I myself replayed it at least four times before writing this), is that you can’t let yourself get so caught up, so blindly consumed, with your troubles, that you find yourself unable to see all of the glorious beauty of the world around you.
However, one can’t help but miss that while Aladdin and Jasmine were flying through a Greek looking sanctuary, he picks an apple off a tree and gives it too her. Perhaps referring to the temptation of Eve, where she is seduced by the promises of experiencing this new beauty of knowledge. Am I reading too much into it, or is Disney just one sly trickster? Oh the questions that keeps one up at night.
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After listening to the song and looking over the lyrics, “A Whole New World” seems like the perfect song to demonstate The Call part of the Hero Journey. The song shows how Jasmine is able to see her world in a new way with the help of Alladin. One of my favorite lines is,
A whole new world
A new fantastic point of view
No one to tell us no
Or where to go
Or say we’re only dreaming
I like this line because it is talking about how society can push down or try and stop you from seeing your golden seed, but by embracing your call you can let your golden seed grow.
Another aspect of the song that I like is a few of the lines that show Jasmine’s uncertainty to this new world. Like many heros, she is slightly reluctant to embrace her call and has to be told to keep going with lines like “don’t you dare close your eyes”.
Overall this song is a great reflection of The Call. It shows that once you accept your call and are ready to plunge into whatever unfolds you become more fulfilled and happy.
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I love love love this song! I think this relates to our Hero Journey, not just the song, but the entire movie. Aladdin’s whole world changes as he becomes something beyond what he’s ever lived or known.
He goes from street rat to rich prince.
The song ties in with his journey as he describes the new world as : ” A new fantastic point of view a place where No one to tell us no or where to go or say we’re only dreaming”
This new beginning for Aladdin is a whole new outlook to life, its beyond society telling him what he can or can not do, and it’s a world where he can dare to dream.
All three of these things are key elements to the hero journey. Specifically the call, Aladdin realizes his call is to bring Jasmine to this new world. For both of them to go outside the comfort zone, and enter this entire new foreign place that seems so ideal.
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This song represents “The Call” very clearly. I have not seen the movie Aladdin in a very long time, so I can’t really place the song with what is happening in the movie. However, the lyrics clearly show that Aladdin is calling Jasmine to something greater, something out of the ordinary. Aladdin is acting as Jasmine’s supernatural aid in this movie, and in this song he tells her of all the things that are possible if she just lets go of the ordinary. Compared to what she can be and what she can do, Aladdin makes the ordinary seem quite drab in this song. He tells her that he “can’t go back” to where he used to be because he has found something so new and great that the ordinary lives they lead are dull and unimportant in comparison. Jasmine does not show very much resistance in this song either. She seems willing and eager to let Aladdin show her “a whole new world.” Everyone can learn from this example that to let go of the ordinary is not always bad, and often it opens the door to something new and exciting.
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From Jasmine’s perpective, it seems like Aladdin would be the supernatural aid delivering her call to her. He beckons her to let her heart guide her. He’s calling her to leave the world that she is accustomed to and expand her horizons into “a whole new world.” The song expresses how dazzling, thrilling, and exciting it can be to leave your comfort zone and allow your heart to make your decisions for you rather than others.
We all have to take a moment to shut out the influences of others and listen to our inner voice. If we allow society to dictate what we ultimately do with our lives, when we do it, and how we do it instead of deciding that for ourselves, we’ll never reach our full potential.
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I really like this movie and it is a part of my Disney Collection. I love watching all the Disney movies over again and seeing the underlying story but also miss the pure innocence of it when watched as a little kid. In the movie Jasmine is trapped by the walls of her palace and by title of “princess”. Aladdin wants to break free from his title of “street rat” and dreams of becoming something greater. Aladdin with the help of Genie has already partially achieved his dream and now Aladdin is there to open Jasmine’s eyes. He’s showing her all the things she’s ever wanted to see but was never able to. This song is about taking that step into the unknown that you know you have to venture into someday but you may not be ready to or you need someone to help guide you into it. This song is about breaking free of original boundaries and preset expectations and entering into a “whole new world” where you can become what you are truly meant to be. In the song it makes it sound like the new world is beautiful and amazing, but that may not be the case, it can be scary and not so wonderful, but we must be brave so that we can start to become the hero we are meant to be.
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I think this song applies to the hero journey really well. It’s all about experiencing something new and exciting, which I think fits in really well with the Call stage. I think the acceptance of the call is really well represented when Aladdin says:
Tell me, princess, now when did
You last let your heart decide?
Letting your heart decide is basically accepting your call, rather than rejecting it because of social norms or something like that. Another part that I thought fit in really well was:
A whole new world
A dazzling place I never knew
But when I’m way up here
It’s crystal clear
That now I’m in a whole new world
A lot of people don’t yet know what their call is, but once they find it and have accepted it, it will seem like their world has been turned around, and they have been kind of missing out for awhile.
While “A Whole New World” seems to refer a lot to Jasmine experiencing a whole new life with Aladdin, I think that the call can be to be with another person, or it can be something else like an experience, a job, and many other things. Jasmine’s call seems to be to be with Aladdin and accept him, though he is not royalty, so her family will not approve (I think that’s the main story of Aladdin, I can’t really remember though).
My final favorite part is:
Unbelievable sights
Indescribable feeling
Soaring, tumbling freewheeling
Through an endless diamond sky
It just highlights the idea that once you accept your call, you will be much happier than before and will see what you have been missing out on the whole time because you were previously holding back, remaining under society’s rules, etc.
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Like many of us, I didn’t realize the significance of this song or the movie when I watched it as a four-year-old, but now we can relate so many things to the hero journey and make sense of them because of it. Aladdin takes Princess Jasmine on the magic carpet ride, takes her out of her comfort zone, and shows her the world outside of her world. She’s obviously nervous at first, but then she warms up to the “unbelievable sights”. For a lot of people, finding our calling will be scary (The Refusal) but we are supposed to challenge ourselves and “open our eyes”.
A whole new world
With new horizons to pursue
We are supposed to explore the wonderful life outside of us and a fear of the unknown is natural. There’s a lot out there and we’re called to discover this “whole new world”.
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Like most people, I love this movie and song. It’s always been a favorite. Concentrating on the message this song is trying to give to people, from Aladdin to Jasmine in this case, is very important. I find it funny how we find a lot of our hero journey reflection songs in juvenile, cartoon films from years ago. Interestingly, they always seem to be the perfect fit, but they give a message that unfortunately the young viewers of the film cannot quite understand/be able to relate to just yet. At least I couldn’t. I think this song relates to our hero journey in the way that it’s telling us to look at the world in the big perspective. It’s large and busy out there, and we need to be more aware and attentive of the endless options that are in store for us and more spontaneous to try new things. I love the lines “no one to tell us no or where to go or say we’re only dreaming” and “when did you last let your heart decide?” But also, I like the part where Aladdin tells Jasmine “don’t you dare close your eyes” when she sees the huge drop below her going at full speed on the carpet. She’s afraid, and I think that represents a lot of heroes when they are first discovering their call. Aladdin tells her that it gets better, and she is not so afraid anymore after that. I think this song proves to be very symbolic if you take the time to reflect on its message.
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The song “A Whole New World” is not talking about literally entering a new world, but actually looking at your surroundings with a new meaning. It can be applied to the Hero Journey in this way. From looking at your world from different perspective, you learn things about yourself that you didn’t understand before. My favorite lines of the song are probably “I’m like a shooting star, I’ve come so far, I can’t go back to where, I used to be.” I think these lyrics have the most to do with the idea of the Hero Journey. When you look at your world from a new perspective after certain events have changed your life, you cannot go back to what you used to be. You have learned to appreciate life in a whole new way, and that is something you will never forget.
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I can safely say that I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like Aladdin or this song. “A Whole New World” is very fitting to the hero journey because after someone experiences their call, their eyes are opened to a world full of new possibilities and opportunities. My favorite line is probably:
I’m like a shooting star
I’ve come so far
I can’t go back to where
I used to be
I like this line because it is saying that when life goes on, or when you discover something new and exciting, you can’t forget what happened or turn back. You only can keep moving forward and hope for the best.
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I think this song is a very good parallel to the call stage of the hero journey. The title makes it very obvious that the song is about crossing the threshold and letting your dreams come alive. In the song I feel as if Aladdin functions as the herald, calling Jasmine to come with him and experience something new … a world where social class and parent’s limitations do not exist, a place where the two lover’s can follow their heart’s desire. The entire scene illustrates the call stage and the scenery the two experience also function as part of the call. Aladdin and Jasmine take this amazingly beautiful magical carpet ride and they are fascinated and amazed and scared of all they see … the scene is showing them the world they really live in as opposed to their previous restricted world … and the whole clip functions as a motivator to cross the threshold and represents the supernatural aid. I really like this song for this part of the stage because the scenery and song is so nice that it makes even the spectator want to experience that beautiful world …. in its entirety, song and clip are calling the characters to a whole new world.
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Yet again another song that perfectly fits into the hero journey. This is perfect because Jasmine is getting called to join this whole new world with Alladin. It is a place with no one to tell you no or that you are dreaming. This is a wonderful place that would be fantastic to be in. She has found her call and now can not go back to her life that she lived before. She has chosen to go into this whole new world instead of denying it and staying back, like most people will do in their lives (probably because it doesn’t look this good). Jasmine and Alladin fit perfectly into the hero journey with this song a whole new world.
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To me, this song represents this inherent optimism that we all have… We all hope that one day there will be this bright new world that we can see and enjoy and love and be a part of. It reminds me that perspective is everything… Aladin and Jasmine were around the things they saw on their carpet ride everyday. But when they were up in the air, looking down, feeling invincible, flying amongst the stars they were changes. They could see beauty and majesty in their surroundings. I think that we all secretly hope for such an experience, or at least we hope to be able to look from that perspective. Applying this to the hero journey, I take it as a reminder that your call may not be so drastic as a magic carpet ride but rather it may be just an opportunity to change your surroundings. Because ultimately it’s not where you are or even what you’re doing as much as it is about how you feel and how you make others feel that measures your worth and the meaning of your life.
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The first thing I think about when I hear this song is my little brother’s school play in which he has the main role of Aladdin. It’s going to be hilarious and I can’t wait. However, some things relevant to this class also pop up into my head. This song really shows me that there is a greater world out there. It’s not a different place or location, but it is in the way that you perceive things. Everyone has a different world that they are living in, and it is up to you to chose your most appropriate world. Jasmine was born into an insanely wealthy, loyal family while Aladdin was just a poor man. However, it was Aladdin who was showing Jasmine his wonderful world.
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“a whole new world” perfectly portrays the simple basics of “the call”. It shows that a person can find a whole different world from the one they live in. This new world can teach the person a new perspective on life and their own life. It can open up new thoughts and ideas into the person’s mind.
A whole new world
A dazzling place I never knew
But when I’m way up here
It’s crystal clear
That now I’m in a whole new world
This explains that when you leave your own world and see a new one, it is easier to look back on your old world. If you live in one world your entire life, you have nothing to compare to. It isn’t until you take a step outside of your world that you can see it.
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I actually just made a disney soundtrack before I went to disney world to get into the mood. This song was on the CD. I absolutely am a fan. I feel like most of the disney songs fit really well into the hero journey, I guess Walt just knew what was going on. Jasmine’s eyes are opened from her meeting Aladdin and the song shows how she is starting to realize that there is more than she knew. That her world is not the only place she can exist in that there are new places, better places. Like in these lines A whole new world/A dazzling place I never knew/But when I’m way up here/It’s crystal clear/That now I’m in a whole new world. Aladdin opens the door and Jasmine enters and finds herself in a new world.
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wow, i’m surprised how hesitant i am to talk about this song…i just feel like i’m about to oversimplify it or miss something because i’ve heard it so many times…? but maybe i should just stop typing out my inner monologuing and just start…
So the reason that this song makes sense to me in regards to the hero journey (for the call, of course) is that aladdin is portrayed in this song as jasmine’s herald.
When she was trapped in the palace, living from day to day, fulfilling her princess obligations and such, she wasn’t realizing her full potential–her destiny. She knew that she felt a sense of unrest, but she couldn’t pinpoint what it was. This is the point when aladdin comes in, and jasmine becomes totally obsessed with him. I think that’s mainly because he’s offering something new, something that she was ready to hear, it’s her call, and as was said in the lecture on the call earlier this week, “you can’t ignore the call, it’ll just keep coming back.”
I think this song really sums up the call–it can be something that you’re waiting or searching for (I’ll chase them anywhere/There’s time to spare/Let me share this whole new world with you) or it can be something you’re scared of that you’ve been avoiding until you can’t avoid it anymore because you realize it’s become a part of you. And sometimes, you can’t recognize this call on your own, and you need a push (a person, a feeling, and event) in order to realize the step you have to take to get started on the long walk.
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Man I think I have said this for every song this year ( except for the Mayer one) but this song rocks. Growing up, Aladdin was one of my favorites, so this song already had a good reputation with me. To me, the song also applies to the Hero Journey pretty well, because the whole idea of the Journey is to open a whole new world with new ideas and a new sense of meaning in our lives. This song clearly talks about this, the title kind of gives that away. One of my favorite parts about this song is when Aladdin says “Tell me, princess, now when did, You last let your heart decide?” I like this so much because this sums up what the hero journey means to me. To me, the journey is about having the courage to truly let your heart lead you through life, allowing us to be happy and a “hero” in our own right. I love this song and really like how it relates to the hero journey.
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Aladin was my favorite movie when I was younger and is probably on my top ten still today. When this song was first introduced as part of the herojourney I had absolutely no idea how it would a apply. Now after listening to it I think I get. When a hero is being called, that hero either has the choice to accept the calling or to reject the calling. I think that in the song “A Whole New World” Aladin is showing Jasmine this world that she can be a part but she has to believe and take a chance, she can’t back out.
A whole new world
([Aladdin]: Don’t you dare close your eyes)
A hundred thousand things to see
([Aladdin]: Hold your breath—it gets better)
I’m like a shooting star
I’ve come so far
I can’t go back to where
I used to be
I think that this point in the song describes what Jasmine is being offered and how she is choosing to accept it and she knows that once she accepts her call there is no going back to where she came from. She has to keep looking ahead to the future and ahead to what great things are to come, which fits the herojourney perfectly.
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I think this song corresponds perfectly with the call stage of the hero journey because when we are called to our destinies, we are called to leave the world as we know it and discover a “new world” or a place where we are meant to live our lives and fulfill our destinies. It is completely different from what we are used to and just like in the song, we can’t go back to how things were before because our old patterns don’t work anymore. Just like Jasmine, we may not know anything about the new place or new life we are pursuing, but it has a meaning much deeper than our old lives did before because our destinies are as deep as our souls and we cannot ignore them.
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This song is absolutely amazing. It’s been one of my favorites forever. Oh and I went to Disney World over a break for a little and my sister and I went on the Aladdin’s magic carpet ride! haha whoo! anways. This is a great song to use for “the call.” Clearly Jasmine has been meeting many men who just want her for her money and for the fact that she is a princess. Because I LOVE this movie I know that she is about to reject Aladdin for the same reason, but then tells him to wait. He comes back up on his magic carpet and asks if she’ll join him for a ride. After Jasmine hesitates, Aladdin asks “do you trust me?” Jasmine is astonished by the question and agrees. In my opinion, that is when she really accepts the call. The lyrics of the song also deal with accepting the call. The first couple stanzas tell us that Aladdin can finally release Jasmine from the bounds of her palace, and that she can finally make decisions with her heart, instead of as a princess. Although I believe that Jasmine has already accepted the call, I think she emphasizes her decision when she joins Aladdin in singing. She even says:
” I’m like a shooting star
I’ve come so far
I can’t go back to where
I used to be”
Clearly she is happy with her decision to go with Aladdin and accept the call. GREAT SONG =)
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We all get caught up in the expectations and normalcy of our everyday lives. We are all like Jasmine in some way. We might dare to dream, but we are too scared to really try to put those dreams into action. We are stuck with pressure. The call is when your eyes are opened to the life that exists outside your own. It is the revelation of all the potential inside of you. Jasmine is literally shown a new world on the magic carpet ride, but she is also experiencing new feelings and thoughts. Her world is becoming seperated from the world that everyone else wants her to live in.
“A whole new world
A dazzling place I never knew
But when I’m way up here
It’s crystal clear
That now I’m in a whole new world
With you”
She is open to discovering the new world. She doesn’t try to deny her call and she doesn’t question it. She just accepts it. Once her eyes are opened, she knows she can’t go back.
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I don’t really think that this song expresses a call so much as it shows a radical change in Jasmine’s worldview because of new experiences. Life is defined by experiences, and because Jasmine’s ability to gain life experience was constricted, so too was her view of the world. Until she was able to step outside and see what there was, she had no idea of what the world had to offer to her. The world is the same as it was before, with the same people, laws, etc, but by expanding her perception of that world she was better able to appreciate it in it’s entirety.
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gosh i seriously love all the songs for the hero journey soundtrack.
i feel like we talked about how this song pertains to the hero journey a little during class. It’s like they both have seen the world, and its the same world but its a “new fantastic point of view”. It seems like Jasmine was really reluctant at first, but then she discovers how amazing her call actually is even though its the same world she’s been in but just a new perspective on things.
i love disney <3
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When I hear this song it is easy for me to relate it to what we are talking about right now in class. Trying to find out call. Every time I hear the song I think of Aladdin showing the Princess a new world, but in reality it is the same world but she is now seeing it from a whole new perspective. “A new fantastic point of view.” This line makes me contemplate on having different or newer views on all different sorts of things going on in my life. As a child this was one of my favorite Disney movies, but as I got older I figured that I was too old for Disney movies and their songs. This year I am now starting to realize that these movies and songs for the most part have a deeper meaning than what I thought when I was younger. The song also talks about coming so far and not being able to go back. I think this is easily seen in every life when certain ages are reached and different events take place in life everyone seems to realized that things change and life may never be as it once was, which can be a good thing or a bad thing. This has always been one of my favorite Disney songs and I will always love listening to it!
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I love this song! i heard it when i was like 5 and my sister and I still sing it when we are together! I have never really thought to apply this song to anything other than the story of Aladin but it fits well with the Hero Journey. The song is about branching out and trying new things and putting yourself in different situations. Jasmin sings about no one telling her what to do and how she has gained a new persective. That is the whole point of the Call, realizing what your purpose is and going for it. By watching the movie you obviously notice there is actually no real new worl, but you its the change the characters make in their perspective that make it all fantastic and new, because they are seeing it in a different way! When you let your heart decide you truly know yourself and open your eyes to see your call and purpose. Such an amazing song!! I love the movie also…disney classic!
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Listening to this song makes me realize how much I actually identify with Jasmine. When I used to watch this movie when I was younger, the Genie was always my favorite, but I think now I’m realizing how much I’m like Jasmine. As I’ve grown older, I’ve started to see things in the world that I have never noticed before. They’ve popped out to me because of the things other people have done or have shown me. The line:
“I’m like a shooting star,
I’ve come so far,
I can’t go back to where
I used to be
Every turn a surprise”
really stands out to me. I think it’s because as I’m growing up and becoming more independent and more my own person and figuring out who I am and what I value. I’m starting to see the world for what it is and people for who they really are. It is way different than the way I looked at the world when I was younger because then everything was fun and happy and rainbow-colored and nothing was ever bad and no one was ever mean. But now as I’m growing up, I’m at that place where I’m almost seeing everything for the first time again and it’s all exciting and new because I see every ordinary piece of the world and my life and this new thing that is open to my completely new interpretation.
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I absolutely love this song. I think I have it memorized… But anyway, I love how Aladdin introduces Jasmine to a “whole new world” and helps her to see things that she has never known before. I like the line “When did you last let your heart decide?” This wish that I could always know what my heart wanted and make my decisions that way. This song shows the call as such a perfect and identifiable moment. I wish that my call would be this obvious. This moment of clarity is shown with the lines:
“A whole new world
A dazzling place I never knew
But when I’m way up here
It’s crystal clear
That now I’m in a whole new world
With you”
Our call may not come with such a clear realization of this life-changing moment, but we can remain open to the opportunities that we are presented. Also, the line “A new fantastic point of view” shows how looking at things from a new perspective can make all the difference when we are trying to discover our calls.
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Every time I hear this song, it reminds me of a Dane Cook skit. I can’t remember which. Anyway, that’s irrelevant.
While I have some trouble really digging into “deeper meaning” of disney songs, I do see how the lyrics to “A Whole New World” are a really nice display of the “Call.” At this point, it seems as though Jasmine’s accepted the call, but Alladin is still basically saying “Hey, look at the type of world I can bring you into!” This world is the same physical world in the movie, but presents a different life with much more opportunities.
Taking a look at the lyrics, the first thing that popped into my head came from the lines “I can’t go back to where/ I used to be.” One of the parts of the “Call” that we discussed in class was where the signs of the “Call” were so obvious that they could not be ignored (the part in Harry Potter with all of the letters flying through the house). For Jasmine, whether or not she chooses to accept Alladin’s “Call,” these lines show how she recognizes that she can’t simply ignore it. She has seen a new world, and would not be able to simply forget it even if she refused the “Call”
Overall, “A Whole New World” does a nice job of covering the “Call,” by “calling” out to Jasmine, “you should come with me into this new world of opportunites.”
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“I can show you the world.”
What a powerful phrase. Sometimes I just wish someone would come along that I could trust forever and would show me the way to a different existence…a pathway out to some other place. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could just stumble our way into the right path without having to do any of the work? If someone else would just walk in and say, “Hey, hop on! I’ll take care of the rest!”
Sorry to sound so cynical. It’s just that “the call” stage is the stage that I have the most trouble with in the hero journey. Because it’s not as easy as the fantasy books make it look like. If you really examine, then many times you will find that there was no option but to be called in characters cases. For example, Harry Potter was thinking “how the hell do I escape living with my horrid aunt and uncle…hopefully this new life will be better. Who cares if this giant is insane?” And perhaps Bella (I’m obsessed with the Twlight books right now…sorry guys!”) wouldn’t have gone alone with everything if she wasn’t so irrevocably in love. Maybe Neo would have just stayed at home had his freaken life not been in danger. And would Jasmine have really stepped away from her world if there hadn’t been this hot guy there standing on his totally cool rug…I think not!
You see, for all of them it’s so easy. One simple decision. Life or death. Hell or another chance. Fun or normality. Half the time I don’t think a character realizes they’ve accepted the call ‘til they’re halfway down the path. Do you really think Jasmine realized what she was doing when she stepped onto the carpet? Thinking, “Oh wow, I’m really changing my life with this exact decision!” I can’t believe it.
But then again, that makes me think…maybe the call is something subtle. Maybe sometimes we aren’t supposed to realize we’ve accepted it until we’re on the path. Maybe I’m already walking my twisted path, having made several key decisions…decisions that put me on a path. Do we have to consciously accept? Or do we realize it later on and just don’t turn back. I’m not sure. Maybe Jasmine’s call wasn’t to get on the carpet, but the decisions she made that turned her into the girl who would say “yes” to hop aboard…
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So, like all of these songs, seeing the lyrics and actually thinking about the hero journey makes me look at the song completely differently. “A whole new World” is showing Jasmine the world beyond the castle walls, opening her eyes to new things just like she’s always wanted to do. In the movie context it just seems like a “romantic” song that causes Prince Ali(Aladdin) and jasmine to fall in love, but taken out of context it is scary how much it reminds me of the call in the hero journey. It is showing jasmine a different path, calling her to something more, way more than she’s ever thought about. Although this is clear throughout the lyrics one spot that really jumped out at me about that was where she says “i can’t go back to where I used to be” and also ” with new horizons to pursue” these two phrases emphasize on moving forward and being shown this new world, calling her to do something greater. In this song’s context, Aladdin is showing her this world, and by doing so, giving her this call to more, which by the end, she accepts.
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i think i’ve said that each disney song we’ve reflected about thusfar has been my favorite, but i have to say, i love aladin :]
granted i’ve never considered relating this song to the hero journey, except when i saw it on the hero journey soundtrack. listening to it now makes the parallels seem so obvious.
However, i kind of see aladin in this song as the SA, (although i’m not sure if that was intentional.)
as he’s taking jasmine on her magic carpet ride, he keeps encouraging her to open her eyes and her mind, experience all these new, fantastic whathaveyou, and simply appreciate all the magic around her
how does appreciating help you on the hero journey? well, how does it not really? I mean, think about all the things you or I would do if we didn’t have anyone to tell us that it was the wrong time, that it’d be too hard or too dangerous, or that it’s simply not possible? i have been talked out of tons of stunts, some of which granted, might have been bad but most of which i just wanted to do to see if i could. i was told no.
i feel like there would be many more heros in this world if they were simply never told the couldn’t do it. i can relate this song a lot to following that call, just up and going on your hero journey. As far as i know, every one of us is called, pulled, and pushed to follow their hero journey, regardless of whether or not they are scared, or have apprehensions of what the future may hold. The song is about having the courage to follow that call, ignore the skeptics, and following your heart. going with that golden seed if you will
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Affluence is a hindrance. Thats what the song tells me. Affluence is a hindrance to getting to see the big picture. This song goes ahead and makes the point so many modern novels are based on. Recently I have been seeing in most of my books that the idea that the revelation to the outside world and the answers to what must be done come from the bottom up. Jasmine felt called to be out of the palace and its luxury. When she saw the outside world she began to see things clearly. For instance when Aladdin ask “Tell me, princess, now when did / You last let your heart decide?” its asking a question we all need to answer. Are the things we do based on strong emotional feelings or are we simply conforming to society? I think we all need to find that whole new world, and look for that fantastic point of view to realize our full potential as human being and to let our golden seed fully flourish. The line when Jasmine says “Ive come too far/ I cant go back to where/ I used to be” shows her final realization of the falseness of her affluent life and will eventually lead her to realize her call.
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I thinka whole new world represents the call quite well. at first i thought it would be a better fit with the “world” section, but looking at the lyrics and listening to the song makes me realize it does fit into this stage. I think it fits into this stage because its talking about following your hearts call
“Tell me, princess, now when did
You last let your heart decide?”
THis song also talks about opening your eyes and taking and accepting the adventure
“I can open your eyes
Take you wonder by wonder
Over, sideways and under
On a magic carpet ride”
This song also talks about seeing the world from a new perspective which is kind of what the hero journey is about. It is about seeing the world in a new way and being able to change it. steping outside of your comfort zone and taking a journey. being called to take that journey and take that step.
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To me this song lists several ideas crucial to the path and formation of the Hero Journey as proposed by Joseph Campbell. First I would like to start off with the basic premise of this song and apply it to the Hero Journey. Aladdin comes to the aid of the princess and takes her away from the life in which she currently resides promising adventure and change from the mundane. This would, of course, make Aladdin the herald to Jasmine’s journey, and, by application, would be her call. This song does not only call Jasmine to fly on a carpet, but do something perhaps even more radical at the time. Disney cleverly sneaked into the storyline several elements of social commentary on feminism and injustices within oppressive societies. By calling Jasmine away from the palace, Aladdin is actually inviting her away from supporting the oppressive regimes and to challenge them.
Now onto a point which I heard several classmates ask about which I thought would be important to clarify. One often overlooked line of the song reads, “every moment, red letter.” When Jasmine sings this, she is getting at an age-old theme of literature: renaissance. The term red-letter comes from the First Council of Nicaea (don’t worry, I had to look this up. I didn’t just know it off the top of my head) when on the calendar the days honoring saints appeared in red ink. What the song is implying by throwing this line in there is that every day will be a new, significant day of change from this old life. Again, this is an excellent example of the writers at Disney pulling a fast-one on every seven year-old in the nation, congrats.
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the whole reason i liked alladin was because the princess chick gets to escape from her annoying father and her father’s adviser who is a freakin’ creeper that gave me some really freaky nightmares. i like how she actually gets to leave (albeit by magic carpet) and isn’t tied down in that big ol’ palace thing that is probably very drafty at night. of course, she is only escaping to be with a man, and so the feministic ideals might be a tad suspect, but she still is escaping! maybe this whole idea of being called is less of a translocation into something that is ‘right,’ and more of an escape from limitations and the whole cage of being ‘right.’ i have never been an advocate of being proper, much to the chagrin of my mother and grandmother who insist that i eat like a lady instead of shoveling food into my mouth as fast as i can, and i think that is because eating ‘properly’ has never interested me and has confined me to be something i’m not–a lady instead of a rowdy, stubborn, sits-with-legs-splayed-apart girl. so maybe this call is not just some supernatural figure saying hi, but instead a chance to escape from whatever bars that keep you jumping through nice little hoops. because eventually, after you jump through those hoops, you die. isn’t that a cheery thought?
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Who does not love this song?! I have never really thought about the lyrics of the song but now that i have just read them I realize that this is a pretty inspiring song. When It says:A whole new world,A new fantastic point of view, i realize that this song talks about how the world can look different if only you look from another persons point of view. When a princess looks at the world through a peasants point of view it is easy for her to see the world as a different place than she knew. I believe if people looked at the world through other peoples point of view then there would be more love in the world because people would find more things that they care about. That is why when I grow up I want to travel all over the world so I can find something I love and learn all about the world we live in and all the different people who live in it. I think that a person on their hero journey must look at the world in differnt points of view to make sure they do the right thing .
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when i think of the call or a call, i think of someone taking you and showing you what you’re supposed to do, or be. at first when i heard this song and tried to connect it to the call i didn’t really get the connection because flying on a magic carpet with a dude wasn’t how i pictured the call to be.
but then after reading through the lyrics and thinking about it some more i gained a new perspective.
jasmine is being called into the real world with a aladdin, to be whatever and whoever she wants to be–to just be herself. he’s telling her it’s totally possible and totally real.
i think the song does fit, but i feel like it’s maybe a little bit of a stretch because i feel like the song is mostly focusing on the love between jasmine and aladdine, not on a call for jasmine to break out of her title, because at this point in the movie aladdin is still the “prince of alibaba”–so it’s not really a controversial thing for jasmine to be dating a prince.
on the other hand, i definitely see parallels with being called and getting a new perspective etc. i really really like the line where aladdine asks, “tell me princess, now when did you last let your heart decide?” …but then i have a problem again with the next part where he’s like “i can show you the world…” because i feel like if it were truly a call he would just be telling her, look, this is who and what you’re meant to be, but instead he’s saying hey i can SHOW you everything you want–implying to me that she would be really dependent on him and that there would be no struggle or anything.
overall though i really really like this song a lot haha, and i’m glad it was used for this portion of the journey because it did make me think. yayy!!
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O I do love this song! It is quite a joy when you grew up as one of the millions of Disney kids. However, I must confess that it did not occur to me, until this reflection was assigned, that this very much applies to the hero journey, even after listening and singing along to it in class. It only just struck me as a connection to the call. So, clap, woot, and stomp your feet for my intelligence! Anyway, Jasmine was confined in her palace all of her life, always dreaming of there being something bigger and better outside the palace walls. This feeling is like the knowledge that there is a golden seed inside of you but you don’t know what it is supposed to mean yet. Then, along comes our strange hero, Aladdin, opening the princess’s eyes to the world. He acts as her “Call” and suddenly she sees what she had been waiting to see her whole life. And of course, it is better than she ever could have imagined. I hope that that is what the call is like for us as well: we know there is SOMETHING but we don’t know what it is, but when we find it, its better than we could have ever imagined. Yes, this song was very appropriate for The Call.
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At this point in the movie Jasmine is being shown a world that she never knew existed. She has pretty much been sheltered inside the walls of her palace all her life and now Aladin is showing her how much more there is. She is realizes that there is more to life and to the world than what she knows.
A whole new world
A dazzling place I never knew
But when I’m way up here
It’s crystal clear
That now I’m in a whole new world
With you
This really describes what I am talking about. This is a new world to Jasmine, that she really never knew. But looking at it from up in the sky with Aladin, her guide, she realizes that she likes this new world.
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Another great Disney song… I think the part about the new world being “shiny, shimmery, splendid” really describes how we view new world. Everything is new and exciting and ready to be explored. I wonder, though, what Jasmine would think of the world the second or third or fourth time she goes up. It can’t be as exciting or magnificent. So, then, what do we do?
Also, I think when we enter the new world, we fall and tumble a little bit, just like they do, not really knowing what we want to do or where we really want to go first or need to be first. Unfortunately, though, we don’t always have an Aladdin to fly with us and experience it with us. Sometimes we are all alone.
Finally, I think the one thing that really stuck out in my mind is when Jasmine says that she can’t imagine going back to where she came from. That’s how I see the new world that I’m about to enter into. I’m ready to experience everything the new world has to offer. I know I’m prepared, and I can’t wait
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now that i’ve finally done the call reflection two weeks later, I think i can relate to this song and how it goes along with the call in a much better way. Once I thought about what a call really was, “a whole new world” is almost the perfect way to put it. Getting the call is going to be a life changing, self altering experience, and we will literally be thrown into a whole new world. However, I hope that it will be ” a dazzling place I never knew,” and the experience will be wonderful. The call may open my eyes and I’ll be able to see things that i was blind to before.
I’m kind of jealous of Jasmin, because Aladin is her call, and she gets to ride on a magic carpet for her first step of her journey. All i can hope for is a different mind view and a new way of thinking.
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I really think that this song does a good job of expressing what the call is. Like the song lyrics say, the call can show the called a glimpse of a new world. This is obviously relevant to the hero journey because in order to successfully complete the journey, the hero must pass through the guardians at the gates and enter unknown territory.
I think that the part when Aladdin tells Jasmine “don’t close your eyes” is extremely important to this as well. If a hero ignores his or her call, they never leave their world and experience the hero transformation.
Also, “when I’m way up here, it’s crystal clear, that now I’m in a whole new world with you” goes to show that in order to fully understand how their is a different world or perspective, sometimes one must leave his or her world before viewing and understanding it.
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hm. turns out i forgot to do this one.
This song is an excellent representation of “the call” because according to the hero journey, you are beginnig to exit an old world. you have to leave everything behind and do a lot of self reflection and learning and discovering in order to understand the new place you have found inside yourself
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This has got to be one of my least favorite Disney songs. Although it’s a really good song, it gets so stuck in your head so fast. Anyway.
I like this song for “the Call” because of the literal wording “a whole new world.” The point being is that this new world is really the exact same physical world we live in, it is about changing our perspective, goals, and actions in order to attain a new understanding of the world, and thereby change it.
Specifically applied to the song, Aladdin invites Jasmine, a sheltered princess with limited understanding of the outside world, to see her world in a whole new way, beautiful even despite the rampant poverty. She falls in love with Aladdin and decides to change her world by marrying a street rat, something she had always thought impossible before.
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I enjoy the overall message and vibe of this song. As far as the Hero Journey goes, this song parallels The Call of the Hero with its lyrics. The song shows that after a Hero accepts his/her call and breaks free from The World, there is an entirely new world to explore. Guardians may have warned you not to leave and told you that it’s better to stay within the system, but it’s very quickly apparent that these were lies. Another unrelated reason that I like the song is that the lyrics put you in awe of the things we can do with our lives. We are almost unlimited in the things we can do, and we should take full advantage of this and embrace our calls.
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I think a lot of parts of this song speak of the Call of the Hero.
“When did you last let your heart decide?” relates to the hero (Jasmine) deciding to follow the call, rather than the stipulations of the world and following their heart, or what they know is true (the hero journey)
“A new fantastic point of view” definitely alludes to the chagnes a hero experiences in leaving the world.
“But when I’m way up here it’s crystal clear” almost sounds like the apotheosis to me but maybe that’s what the call really is–a mini apotheosis, or the realization that the world was false.
Lastly the title itself is pretty self explanitory. “A Whole New World” or–leaving the world the Hero knew for the new view of the world to start the hero journey.
Good song choice, Haffpint.
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