The Disneyland Hotel would have been an unlikely location for an event honoring writer Jack Shaheen, who was also a person who criticized the media’s Arab stereotypes. An author known for the book entitled ‘Reel Bad Arabs’, Shaheen argued with Disney about the animated movie Aladdin and the ‘Arabian Nights’ song in it. American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee representative Don Bustany did the same thing as Shaheen.
However, on an October 2019 evening, ADC members came together to pay tribute to the legacy of Shaheen at the hotel. The hotel reception hosted a Disney fireside chat about how the live-action Aladdin remake in 2019 offered everyone concerned a chance to revamp their relations.
As per the Director of Legal and Policy Affairs at ADC, Abed Ayoub, Aladdin was among the last entertainment projects that ADC members could work on with writer Shaheen before the movie entered production.
Shaheen contacted the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee with information about Disney’s planned Aladdin remake. Ayoub stated that ADC was a bit nervous about the remake at the time until a welcoming Disney attitude paved the way for dialogue.
Disney also roped in the SILA Consulting firm to confirm that it got everything right. The COO of SILA Consulting, Rhonda Ragab discussed her involvement in Disney’s Aladdin remake, including input about the screenplay, casting, and merchandise doll skin tones.
Ragab, who graduated from the University of California, Irvine, described SILA Consulting as an important team of consultants. Before filming, there was a panel of five experts who hailed from Irvine, Orange County. While Shaheen was expected to be talking on the panel, it was unfortunate that he died before that discussion.
Disney worked with SILA Consulting with Multicultural Audience Engagement staff. The 2019 test case turned out to be successful. Later, a CAB (community advisory board) was formed, where Ayoub played an active part. In the 2019 home release of Aladdin, the conversation was different from how it was during the release of its animated version.
Ragab expected that creatives would replace what consultants did one day. As for Ragab, the movie was imperfect, culturally speaking, but made many strides.