Film Name: 阿里巴巴大盗奇兵 / Alibaba and The Thief
“Alibaba and The Thief” is essentially a road movie in genre, where the protagonist journeys to fulfill a mission, overcoming external challenges while achieving personal growth. The plot is largely self-contained. However, it still has significant shortcomings in terms of theme and character development.
The young princess aspires to become king, but the prerequisite is acquiring the “Heart of the King”—a bafflingly high-tech artifact in Alibaba’s ancient Arabian world—and correctly answering its question: What is the most crucial ability for a king? What exactly is this ability? As I watched with curiosity, expecting the film to distill the myriad qualities of kingship into one paramount trait, I was stunned by the answer: “Always stand at the forefront.”
Admittedly, the film suggests that in times of peril, a king must stand before his subjects to shoulder responsibility, before his friends to hold the line, and before the vulnerable to offer protection. The little princess must overcome her timidity and selfishness to become brave, altruistic, and public-spirited. Yet the phrase “always stand at the forefront” seems problematic. First, it fails to capture the essence of key concepts like responsibility, courage, public spirit, and guardianship. Second, it lacks precision—should a king also stand at the forefront when personal gain is at stake?
This “failure” in conveying the film’s central theme reveals a lack of depth in its exploration of both subject matter and character development. Becoming a king requires numerous qualities. Even when the little princess finally steps forward to face danger ahead of Alibaba, it represents only the first step toward kingship—not the acquisition of all the knowledge, abilities, and virtues needed to directly earn the royal seal. From beginning to end, the princess merely transitions from hiding behind others to stepping into the spotlight. Her pretentious and arrogant nature, along with her habit of bossing people around, show no significant improvement. This makes her a poor role model for a child hero.
Alibaba appears to be a male hero, but his strengths aren’t particularly pronounced—he’s neither the wise type nor the capable type. Aside from being somewhat cute, his personality and abilities fall short of making him a truly compelling hero. His character arc lacks development throughout the story; unlike the Little Princess, who undergoes a shift in consciousness, his journey remains relatively straightforward.
Compared to Alibaba, I find the Prince of the Alpacas to be a far more memorable character. Design-wise, he stands out—his unique physical traits paired with a stylish hairstyle should have made him a consistent “jester” figure throughout the story. Unfortunately, the film only briefly introduces him at the beginning and end, failing to utilize his potential. From an audience perspective, since the film established a Prince Alpaca equally desperate to become king, he should have interacted more with the Little Princess, Alibaba, and the Thief to create deeper conflicts—which would have been fascinating. Imagine if, when facing the ultimate crisis, the princess stepped forward while the alpaca prince hid behind others—wouldn’t that starkly highlight her greater potential to rule?
Numerous supporting characters also covet the throne, yet none receive even a sliver of opportunity, all perishing when the ship sinks. This is akin to a racing film where ten cars start together, only for eight to crash into each other at the first turn, leaving just two to compete. What a simplistic approach—devoid of wisdom, dramatic tension, and realistic plausibility. What we truly want to see is the gradual elimination of monster teams, one by one, as in Monsters University, rather than an instant leap to the finals.
The so-called “hit song” MTV at the end? To me, it’s not a hit song—it’s a stuttering moron singing. This ending, much like the “Penis Power” gag, doesn’t add humor (true humor is wit, not crude performance) but instead drags the film’s intellectual level down.
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