Your ultimate guide to asking for wishes from Aladdin’s Genie

Aladdin is literally the greatest wish fulfilment story in the world. After all, who hasn’t had a wish that they wanted to come true? In the film, Aladdin doesn’t just get one wish – he gets three of them. While it’s clear that Aladdin hasn’t quite thought through how to maximise his wishes (and for that matter, neither does the villainous Jafar) and get the most bang for his buck – we have. We have analysed the best way to approach wish-making so that you don’t make the same silly mistakes that many other genie masters have.

Wishes – the rules and limitations

First up, let’s establish what Genie (Will Smith) is not capable of doing when he grants wishes. As he frequently reminds us, he cannot:

• make someone fall in love with you

• kill people

• bring back the dead

• give out more wishes

That makes sense – without those limitations, the protagonists could simply wish their problems out of existence and get whatever they wanted.

However, he can grant virtually anything else, subject to his interpretations. More importantly, he doesn’t state that he can’t grant someone an unlimited number of something, which means that you could ask for:

• unlimited money

• unlimited power

• unlimited land

• unlimited Infinity Gauntlets

Just remember though – these wishes are subject to Genie’s interpretation, which means he can include some hard limits or unforeseen downsides for each wish.

When to make your wish

Aladdin (Mena Massoud) acquires the magic lamp in Aladdin. Credit: Walt Disney Pictures

Picture this – you’ve been on a long and tiring journey. You’ve evaded harrowing traps and solved mind-boggling puzzles. You’re sleep-deprived, hungry, thirsty, and possibly even a little depressed. And it’s in this state that you finally acquire the magical lamp that allows you to summon Genie.

Do you think that you’ll be in the best state of mind to make an optimal wish?

It’s akin to winning the lottery. Suddenly, you have options. You’re giddy with excitement. Maybe you’ve made some preparations and thought through what you would do, but that all goes out the window when you’re caught up in the moment. But this is precisely why making a wish right after you get the lamp is the worst time to make a wish.

Instead, you should follow lottery winning principles before making your wish, which is to:

• keep the magic lamp in a safe and secure place

• don’t tell anybody that you have three wishes

• don’t make any lifestyle changes at all

• go about your life as per normal for six months

After six months, when the excitement has died down and you’re more level-headed, then you should make your wish(es). During those six months, you will have had some time to cool down and really think about the best way to phrase your wishes and what to wish for. You could even consult Genie (if you trust him) on the outcome of your wishes during that period.

TL;DR – wait for 6 months and don’t tell anyone

Wording your wish

Aladdin (Mena Massoud) listens to Genie (Will Smith) about the rules of making wishes in Aladdin. Credit: Walt Disney Pictures

If you’ve consulted Reddit and online forums on how to make wishes, then here are some tips on how to word that wish.

• use absolutes – “only”, “always”, “all”, “none” – to ensure that there is only one possible interpretation of your wish

• add the phrase “without any other effects that I would consider harmful to me”

• add the phrase “according to my intentions”

This means that even if a malicious genie were to grant your wish (Jafar in his genie form, for example), you would have protected yourself from any malignant effects. If you have to hire a lawyer to help you word your wish, do it. You don’t want to mess this up.

What to wish for

Aladdin (Mena Massoud) meets the larger-than-life blue Genie (Will Smith) in Aladdin. Credit: Walt Disney Pictures

This is the part that you’re really dying to read, right?

Before we go on, take a good hard think about the whole concept of making wishes. We make wishes because we desire something that we don’t have. Our desire for the things that we don’t have makes us unhappy. So in effect, the whole point of making wishes is to make one happy (or happier).

With that in mind, you can go directly to the problem (happiness or the lack of it) and wish for:

• eternal happiness

• a life in which you would never want to wish for anything else

• to be free from any and all desires

But that might be a bit too Zen for some folk.

Marwan Kenzari is Jafar in Aladdin. Credit: Walt Disney Pictures

If you’re a power-mad conqueror, you might want to use your wish to acquire power. Let’s take a step back and look at power – it’s the ability to do something. From another angle, it is also the removal of restrictions on being able to perform certain actions. So with that in mind, tyrannical villains should wish for:

• godhood (this is the closest to asking for “unlimited wishes”)

• absolute and complete success in every endeavour you undertake

• i) removal of all the limitations on wishes, then ii) unlimited wishes

However, if you want to wish for a special power or ability, then the following two would be your best choice:

• eternal luck (imagine if the odds always fell in your favour)

• time travel (this effectively gives you the ability to see the future and change the past)

Generally speaking, if you ever get a wish – don’t wish for physical objects. Physical objects can be taken away from you, but abilities or situations can’t.

Aladdin. Credit: Golden Village Cinemas

But before you can even make a wish, you’ll need to find a magic lamp – just like the one in Aladdin! The live-action remake of the 1993 animated classic boasts heavyweight Will Smith as Genie, with a surprisingly charming Aladdin (Mena Massoud) and a feisty Jasmine (Naomi Scott). Of course, they have to contend with the dark ambitions of the sorcerous Jafar (Marwan Kenzari), who will stop at nothing to acquire the lamp and its powers. With catchy songs, a message that’s more relevant than ever today, and the exotic city of Agrabah, Aladdin is one of the best Disney remakes in recent history.

So what would you wish for if you were Aladdin?

Credits: Golden Village Cinemas, Walt Disney Pictures

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