One Jump Ahead (song) facts for kids

"One Jump Ahead" is a famous song from Disney's 1992 animated movie Aladdin. It also appears in the 2019 live-action remake. The main character, Aladdin, sings this song. Different actors have sung it, including Brad Kane in the cartoon and Mena Massoud in the live-action film. The song has a few shorter versions called "reprises" that appear later in the movie.

How the Song Was Made

Making a Disney movie like Aladdin takes a long time. The story and characters often change during this process. Because of these changes, many songs that were first written for the movie were not used.

For example, an earlier song for Aladdin was called "Proud of Your Boy". This song showed Aladdin feeling sad and wanting a better life. It was meant to be sung to his mother. Later, another song called 'Count On Me' was considered. But in the end, "One Jump Ahead" and its shorter reprises were chosen for the film.

The music for "One Jump Ahead" was written by Alan Menken. The words were written by Tim Rice. They also worked together on another famous song from the movie, "A Whole New World". They started working on these songs after another lyricist, Howard Ashman, passed away in 1991.

What Happens in the Song

"One Jump Ahead" shows us what Aladdin's life is like. He lives on the streets of Agrabah with his pet monkey Abu. The song starts when Aladdin is caught stealing a loaf of bread.

The palace guards, led by Razoul, chase Aladdin through the busy streets. While running, Aladdin sings about how he has to steal to survive. He is very clever and quick! He climbs up buildings, hides behind street performers, and swings through different areas to escape. The song helps us understand that Aladdin is a survivor.

Later in the movie, a short version of the song plays. This is when Aladdin starts to wonder if his life can be better. He thinks about what he wants for his future. In the 2019 live-action movie, there's another short version. In this part, Aladdin realizes he can't pretend to be Prince Ali forever. He knows he needs to tell Princess Jasmine the truth about who he really is.

Awards and Recognition

"One Jump Ahead" has been recognized for its popularity. In the United States, the song received a Gold award in 2020. This means it sold a lot of copies or was streamed many times.