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Tourism Malaysia

The Magical World of Aladdin

December 14, 2011 at 4:00 pm

Our story begins in a land far far away called Askabah…

The evil Jafar, who is also the Sultan’s Grand Vizier, is up to no good again. Standing in front of the Cave of Wonders, Jafar sends in a local thief to retrieve the most powerful item that is stored within the cave – a magic lamp. But his efforts to get the lamp are wasted as the guardian of the cave informs him that only one person can enter the cave, a boy known as ‘The Diamond in the Rough’.

Where a young lad named Aladdin roam the market grounds of Askabah, avoiding the royal guards of the Sultan.

Though it may be early in the morning, the marketplace is now bustling with people from all walks of life. Some of them were there to peddle their wares while others were there to browse at what was offered. Suddenly, a buzz of activity formed at the fringes of the marketplace – Aladdin is on the run again from the Sultan’s guards. As he outwits and outruns the guards with his quick mind and nimble feet, he caught a glimpse of a dark-haired beauty from the corners of his eyes walking around the marketplace…

The marketplace of Askabah

Here comes Aladdin!

Uh oh.. look out behind you Aladdin! The Royal Guards are closing in!

As he was trying to shake the Sultan’s guards off his tail, he sees a beautiful girl walking around the marketplace…

Though Princess Jasmine knows that her father loves her very much, she was not too pleased when she found out that the Sultan is trying to find a husband for her. The princess believes that one should only marry for love and nothing else. Though she could not help but be smitten when she met Aladdin, she realised that she could never marry a street rat.

Princess Jasmine reveals her true identity at a chance meeting with Aladdin in the marketplace. Alas… as a princess, she could never marry a street rat

After realising that the dark-haired beauty was Princess Jasmine, Aladdin escapes the guards once more and heads to the Palace Garden.

Although she realises that marrying a street rat does not befit her status as a princess, Princess Jasmine cannot help but share her feelings for Aladdin with her hand maidens. Little did she know that Aladdin is nearby. And when the opportunity came for Aladdin to reveal himself to Princess Jasmine, he gladly took it with both of his hands.

The princess shares her feelings with her hand maidens about her brief encounter with the handsome Aladdin

Aladdin taking his chance to meet Princess Jasmine at the Palace Garden

Unbeknownst to Aladdin, the evil Jafar has his eyes on the boy and manages to capture him at the Palace Garden…

Jafar is still looking for the boy known as ‘The Diamond in The Rough’ but failing miserably. He then hypnotises the Sultan in order to get his mystical blue diamond ring, where The Slave of the Ring resides. Through this lesser genie, Jafar finds out that only Aladdin can enter the caves and retrieve the magical lamp. When he finds out that Aladdin was at the Palace Garden talking to Princess Jasmine, he wastes no time and sets out to capture the boy.

The evil Jafar casts a spell on the Sultan in order to steal the Sultan’s mystical blue diamond ring

The Sultan confides in his Grand Vizier regarding his plans to find a husband for Princess Jasmine. Unknown to the Sultan, Jafar wants to marry the princess himself so that he can become the next king!

As soon as Princess Jasmine finds out that Aladdin has been captured, she pleaded with her father to let him go, but to no avail


Disguised as an old man, Jafar enters the dungeons and promises to set Aladdin free with only one favour in return – that Aladdin follows him to the Cave of Wonders and retrieves one item of his bidding from the cave.

Aladdin follows this mysterious old man across the desert and to the Cave of Wonders. Acting on the old man’s instructions, he goes into the cave and manages to find the magical lamp. An impatient Jafar tries to enter the cave in hopes of laying his hands on the magical lamp faster, but the cave closes in and traps Aladdin inside. Feeling despair, Aladdin pondered on his predicament when the Slave of the Ring came to his help!

Poor Aladdin found himself thrown into the dungeon by Jafar’s men

A mysterious old man suddenly appears out of nowhere to save Aladdin from his predicament

In return, Aladdin must follow the old man to the Cave of Wonders and retrieve a magic lamp from within the cave

As only Aladdin can enter the cave, Jafar’s impatience caused the cave to close up… trapping our hero inside!

With a little bit of help from the Slave of the Ring, Aladdin rubbed the magic lamp and …

Whoosh!! Out of nowhere, a genie appeared from that little lamp. In return for setting him free from the lamp, the genie promises to grant Aladdin three wishes. Aladdin also finds out that in order to release the genie from his prison, his master must wish for his freedom. Aladdin promises to use his last wish to release the genie, but for now he asks the genie to make him a ‘Billionaire’ and both of them escape from the cave with the genie’s help.

Oh no! How will Aladdin escape from the cave? Wait… did he not find a magical lamp?

Do you think Aladdin should rub the magic lamp?

Whoosh! The Genie of the lamp appears in front of Aladdin as soon as he rubs the magic lamp

With your help Genie, let’s get out of the cave and rock Askabah!

Out came the Genie of the lamp! Using two of the three wishes granted…

There is a new prince in town and no one knows where this dashing prince comes from, not even Jafar. Prince Ali struts into the town of Askabar with his grand entourage and his loyal sidekick, the Genie. With his new found wealth, Prince Ali plans to woo Princess Jasmine and eventually ask for her hand in marriage. Though the prince may appear to be charming, he is at his wits’ end when it comes to the topic of wooing Princess Jasmine. So with Genie’s help, Prince Ali takes the beautiful Princess Jasmine on a magical carpet ride and together they discover ‘A Whole New World’.

There is a new prince in town… And his name is Prince Ali!

As Prince Ali’s entourage swept into the city of Askabah, everyone was mesmerised by the fire-eaters and the dancers

Everybody is wondering.. who is this mysterious prince?

Aladdin may be good at avoiding the Royal guards, but he definitely can use some of the genie’s help when it comes to capturing Princess Jasmine’s heart

Aladdin brings Princess Jasmine on a magical carpet ride, opening her eyes to a whole new world

The street rat is now a wealthy prince. But alas, the evil Jafar soon finds out Prince Ali’s true identity…

Jafar plans to trick Princess Jasmine into giving him the lamp by posing as a lamp merchant. Thinking nothing bad will ever come from trading an old lamp for new, Princess Jasmine hands over the magical lamp to Jafar, making him now Genie’s new master. Jafar captures the princess and the Sultan and locks them up in the dungeon.

Jafar disguises as a peddler trading new lamps for old, and manages to trick Princess Jasmine into giving him the magic lamp for a new one

Oh no! Now that the genie is under Jafar’s control, he has ordered the Sultan and Princess Jasmine to be locked up in the dungeons. Who will save them?

He tricks Princess Jasmine into handing over the lamp and is now Genie’s new master. Jafar soon plans to use his wishes to make himself the ruler of Askabah and the world!

When Prince Ali realises what has happened, he quickly came to the princess and the Sultan’s rescue. He bravely fights off the palace guards but Jafar turns the genie onto Prince Ali. Remembering his last wish, Prince Ali wishes for the genie’s freedom and … poof!! The genie is now a free man. But what happened to the evil Jafar?

Poor Princess Jasmine… who will come to her aid now?

With his last wish, Aladdin wishes for the genie’s freedom… imprisoning Jafar as the genie in the lamp instead!

When Prince Ali discovered Jafar’s evil plans, he rushed to the dungeons and saved Princess Jasmine and the Sultan. Using his last wish, he wished that the genie will have his freedom and never to be a slave to the lamp.

By making that last wish, Prince Ali freed the genie and in return, the evil Jafar took over the genie’s place. Now that Jafar has been captured, Askabah is once again ruled by the gentle hearted Sultan. Prince Ali confesses to his true identity to Princess Jasmine, who is glad to know that her beloved prince is the same street rat that she had fallen for previously. They celebrate their wedding in great style and…

After confessing his true identity to Princess Jasmine, they both celebrate their wedding in style and live happily ever after

Prince Ali saved the princess and the Sultan from Jafar’s evil plans. Everyone is happy and they all lived happily ever after… including the genie!

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Tourism Malaysia

World’s Best Movies

August 12, 2011 at 2:00 pm

It is that time again for fans of international films to keep a date or two free in their appointment books, for The Actor’s Studio will be screening two classic films come 15th and 16th August 2011. The screening of these movies will be held at the Indicine theatre located at Level 2, Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre at Sentul Park. The movies that have been selected for viewing are as below:

The Hunter (2010) (Showing on Monday, 15th August 2011 at 8.30 pm)
Running time: Approximately 88 minutes
Iran/Germany film, Colour
Directed by Rafi Pitts
Story:
The Hunter, a thriller starring writer/director Rafi Pitts tells the story of an ex jailbird, Ali. Recently released from prison, Ali is forced to take on a lowly paid job as a night shift security guard, which robs him of quality time spent with his wife and daughter. After discovering that they were accidentally killed in a shooting during a political demonstration, Ali exacts his revenge by shooting at a random police car that was passing by. He finds himself being pursued by two policemen and escapes into the woods. The three men soon find themselves lost in the woods, and Ali must now find a way to escape this relentless manhunt in order to survive. The movie received a good mix of reviews, with some claiming that its minimalistic dialog approach making the movie rather dull, while others felt that Pitts have managed to strike a lingering note among the audience with this movie. The movie was co-produced by Iran and Germany and is loosely based on events that happened during the 2008 government protests in Tehran.

The Hunter (2010)

The Hunter (2010)

The White Balloon (1995) (Showing on Tuesday, 16th August 2011 at 8.30 pm)
Running Time: Approximately 81 minutes
Iran film, Colour
Directed by Jafar Panahi
Story:
It is the eve of the Iranian New Year, and soon all the shops in the market will close for the holidays. We see a little girl and her mother hurrying through the market place, trying to get all the necessary shopping done before closing time. A fat goldfish with elaborate fins catches Razieh, a seven-year-old’s eye and she immediately has her heart set on buying that fish. She desperately pleads with her mother, up to the point of nagging to buy the fish. Her mother refuses, saying that the money is better off spent buying necessities, and even her brother sneers at her, saying that with that kind of money, he could go for movies twice.

Ultimately, Razieh’s persistence wins and with the help of her brother Ali, (whom she had promised to bribe him with a white balloon), they head to the market to buy the fish with a 500-toman banknote in her hands. In the marketplace, she gets side-tracked by two snake charmers who tries to con her out of her money. She drops the money in a cellar grate and is determined to retrieve the money. Here we see a variety of characters who offers to help her – a shopkeeper that does not want to be bothered, an old lady who helps Razieh retrace her steps to where the note fell, a young soldier who tells lies to gain the girl’s confidence and a balloon seller who helps her retrieve the money.

The White Balloon is an engaging story that does not need to rely heavily on a plot to succeed, simply because the actress, Aida Mohammadkhani, is such an endearing character. We see the story unfold through the eyes of a seven-year-old, where her views of a person are taken at face value. The story has won numerous awards in international film fairs including the Prix de la Camera d’Or at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival and was listed as one of the 50 best family films of all time by The Guardian. The movie will be screened in Persian with English subtitles.

The White Balloon (1995)

The White Balloon (1995)

All tickets for watching the movies can be purchased by donation. For more information, log on to The Actors Studio’s website or call 03 2142 2009 / 2143 2009 for The Actors Studio @ Lot 10 or 03 4047 9000 for klpac @ Sentul Park.

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