MovieChat Forums > Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010) Discussion > The obvious casting choice for the princ...

The obvious casting choice for the prince

posted 12 years ago by adamantshorty
3 replies | jump to latest

I can appreciate what Disney was trying to do with this film, and while I did not enjoy it I still have respect for it as it is arguably one of the most financially successful video game adaptation films of all time.

However. I think that Disney really REALLY messed up by casting Jake as the prince. The man is not even Persian for Pete's sake.

I think the obvious and better choice for the prince would have been Oded Fehr from The Mummy, I'm sure you will all remember him as the devastatingly handsome gentleman who has the tattoos on his face. Oded actually resembles the prince, and from what we've seen in the mummy he can do action sequences.

And no I am not trying to make a hasty generalization about Jake, as far as I'm concerned if Jake can play a gay cowboy he can play anyone. Also I am not degrading actors who portray characters of other ethnic backgrounds. I just think that Disney could have done better casting. Looking at some previous Disney films, for example "Pocahontas" and "The princess and the frog", the producers deliberately chose Aboriginal and African Americans actors for the cast.

I did not expect Disney to gratify my expectations as a gamer for this film, but I had hoped that they would at least cast someone who looked the part. It's almost similar to the Dragon Ball Z film that came out in 2009 where Goku was Caucasian...no...just no.

Disney leave the video game films alone, unless it's a Wreck it Ralph part 2. That being said stick to putting out Pixar films, please have the balls to do an 18A or R-rated Marvel film (us fans deserve it), and please for the love of god don't take a dump on star wars. You already have my childhood by the balls please don't crush it.

[–] rockin_metal_baz3310 12 years ago

Neither where the actors in 300.I bet you didnt bash that movie now did you.. dont act like your against racism. You like others proberly loved 300 when it came out, although it was/is one of the most racist movies ever made, easily stands next to Nazi movies made against the Jews.

[–] adamantshorty 12 years ago

From reading your reply to "The 7 adventures of Sinbad" I would assume that you're Persian as you educate the user about the different skin tones of Persians. You know perhaps I never considered the racial connotations within 300, although most people tend to argue that the portrayal of Persians within that film is racist due to the fact that the Persian actors are darker. While in the Prince of Persia the protagonist and most of his allies are somewhat lighter.

As I mentioned in my previous post Disney has done a great job of casting actors in the past to fit the cultural and ethnic stories they are portraying. In my opinion it would've been great if they applied this to the main actor within the film. That is how I feel as a fan of the video games series.

"Don't act like your against racism" that's a rather hasty generalization considering you don't know me. Ultimately 300 is a film stemming from a graphic novel that is based loosely on historical events. Never once did Zack Snyder or Frank Miller say "Oh yes all Persians are so and so/do so and so." And The Prince of Persia is video game film adaptation. I'm not doubting that there are not elements of racism within the films, but you could make the same argument about "City of god" towards Brazilians, or "Hero" towards Chinese people. But why watch the film if it pisses you off? It's not as though these films are promoting devastating propaganda, or revamping ethnic cleansing groups.

Luckily 300 and Prince Of Persia are works of fiction, do you know how disturbing it was and awkward for me as a black 18 year old girl to watch "The Birth of a nation" in my history of film class only to later find out that the film was the catalyst to revitalization of the KKK?

"Don't act like your against racism" yes rockin metal baz3310 I'll work on that.

[–] smooth121 10 years ago

sick reply!