When I was growing up, really the only animated movies that came out were from Disney. In the early 1990's, Disney made a series of musical animated movies, like Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King, that went on to become considered some of the best animated movies ever made. Aladdin was another of those movies.

In Agrabah, the advisor to the Sultan, Jafar, was plotting how he could get into the Cave of Wonders to get a special lamp. Jafar and his bird Iago learned that only a commoner named Aladdin would be allowed to enter. Aladdin lived in Agrabah with his pet monkey Abu and dreamed of living in the palace. Aladdin was considered a street rat by many people. One day he was able to help Princess Jasmine when she left the palace because she was unhappy about being forced to marry a prince. Jafar found Aladdin and put his plan to get the lamp in motion. Things didn’t go exactly how he’d planned and Aladdin ended up with the lamp. He received three wishes from the Genie that lived in the lamp. Aladdin decided to wish to be a prince so he would have a chance to win Jasmine. Jafar and Iago continued plotting how they could take over Agrabah.

Many of Disney’s movies have been based on fairytales or other stories. I haven’t always been familiar with the original stores and I’ve still enjoyed the movies. I really wasn’t sure if Aladdin had been based on a specific story before watching the extras on the DVD. I found out then that the movie was based on a story in Arabian Nights. I’ve never read that story, or any that are part of Arabian Nights, so I don’t know exactly what things were changed. The changes were talked about a little bit in the extras. I have heard of different stories involving someone find a magic lamp and being granted three wishes from a Genie that lived inside the lamp. Even the television show I Dream of Jeannie dealt with that, though Major Nelson wasn’t limited to only three wishes. I’ve thought that Agrabah was created just for this movie, though I could be wrong since I haven’t read the original story. It was clear that Agrabah was somewhere in the Middle East.

For several years, all the new animated movies from Disney featured characters singing in several songs, making them animated musicals. Aladdin was one of those movies. The songs were written specifically for this movie. They went perfectly with whatever was happening at the time the songs were used and they helped to move the story forward. Howard Ashman and Alan Menken had worked together on musicals for Broadway before going on to create the music for The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin. Ashman and Menken have been credited by many people with reviving animated movies. Ashman actually originally had the idea for doing an Aladdin movie. Unfortunately he did not see the finished movie because he died while the movie was being made. He had worked on some of the score and six songs, some of which ended up being cut, before his death. Menken went on to finish the music for the movie with Tim Rice, including the Oscar winning song A Whole New World. The score for the movie also won an Oscar.

Aladdin was a very entertaining movie that also had a moral. Most of the Disney animated movies have included morals of some kind. It worked well in Aladdin without getting preachy. I thought that the movie was very funny without getting too silly like has happened in some other animated movies. There wasn’t any gross humor used, something else that has happened in a lot of newer animated movies. Most of the humor was provided by Genie and the wild things he did. I didn’t think that he went overboard, though some other people might feel differently. Genie did a lot of shape shifting in different objects and even people. He did some impressions of some famous people and added in some pop culture references. This was the first time that something like that was done in an animated movie. I liked the way it was done in this movie. Many of the newer animated movies continue to do this, some, like Shark Tale, going entirely too overboard with it.

Aladdin was created with hand drawn animation. The animation looked very good throughout the movie. I think it has held up well since the release of the movie. Aladdin was made during a time when Disney was producing wonderful animated movies and has been considered one of the best from that time. Computers were used to help with some of the animation. What was done with computers blended in perfectly with what was hand drawn. Most animated movies are completely created with computer animation. I do like most of the newer computer animated movies. That type of animation takes a lot of talent and I do feel it is an art form and can still produce beautiful movies. Brother Bear and Treasure Planet were two of the last Disney movies to be made that way and the animation was beautiful in them. It is too bad that it has been completely replaced by computer animation. I feel there is room for both types of animation. It seems like too many of the new computer animated movies have focused on trying to create dazzling animation while neglecting the stories. The one main exception to that is Pixar. They create stunning animation while still having strong stories and characters viewers can care about. I have enjoyed the computer animated movies from Dreamworks, but they aren’t anywhere near as good as the best from Disney.

Aladdin featured several important characters. Aladdin was the main character and most developed. He had to learn to accept who he really was. He was a good person overall even though he did lie at times. Scott Weinger did fine with his voice. Brad Kane provided Aladdin’s singing voice. Abu was Aladdin’s monkey. It wasn’t said for sure, but it seemed like the two had been together for a while. Abu was very loyal to Aladdin. Frank Welker did the voice for Abu.

Princess Jasmine wasn’t happy with certain aspects of her life and felt like a prisoner in the palace. She was a kind woman. She didn’t always think things through before she acted. Linda Larkin provided Jasmine’s speaking voice and Lea Salonga, a woman who has performed in many musicals, provided her singing voice. Jasmine’s father, the Sultan, seemed clueless at times. He did love his daughter and want what was best for her. Raja was Jasmine’s tiger. He was very protective of her.

Genie had lived in his lamp in the Cave of Wonders for years. He had a happy nature overall though he was serious at times. He longed to have freedom and not have to always be answering to a master. He could change his shape so he could look like any object or person. Robin Williams provided the voice for Genie and did a wonderful job. Genie is probably one of his better known characters and I think he was the best part of the movie. After Aladdin was released, Williams had a falling out with Disney after his voice as Genie was used in all sorts of advertising after he had been promised it wouldn’t. Eventually things were worked out and Williams returned to do Genie’s voice again in the second direct to video sequel of Aladdin. Carpet was a magic carpet that was in the Cave of Wonders. It seemed like he and Genie had known each other for a while. Carpet did a lot to help Aladdin throughout the movie.

Jafar was the Sultan’s advisor. Jafar was an evil man that was always plotting how he could gain more power. He didn’t care who he used or hurt to achieve his goals. He considered the Sultan his puppet and didn’t like Jasmine either. He had plans to take over Agrabah. The voice that Jonathan Freeman did for Jafar fit the character perfectly. Freeman also sang for Jafar in one song. Iago was Jafar’s parrot and co-conspirator. Iago was loud and very irritating. He helped Jafar come up with some of the plans. Gilbert Gottfried was the perfect choice for Iago’s voice. It just matched the character.

Voice Talent

Jonathan Freeman - Jafar
Gilbert Gottfried - Iago
Brad Kane - Singing Voice of Aladdin
Linda Larkin - Jasmine
Lea Salonga - Singing Voice of Jasmine
Douglas Seale - Sultan of Agrabah
Scott Weinger - Aladdin
Frank Welker - Abu
Robin Williams - Genie

Ron Clements and John Musker - Directors

DVD Information

Disney has released a platinum edition DVD of Aladdin with two DVDs. Disney has given some other their other movies similar treatment. The first disc had the movie and some of the extras. There were two commentaries, one with the directors and a second with animators. There was also an option to have fun fact pop up while watching the movie. There were a few deleted scenes that were shown in storyboard format as well as four songs that were deleted. Proud of Your Boy was a sweet song that Howard Ashman had really wanted in the movie. It ended up being cut because the story of the movie was changed and the song no longer fit. You Can Count on Me was the first song that Alan Menken wrote after the death of Ashman. Humiliate the Boy was meant for Jafar to sing when the truth about Aladdin was shared. It was the last song that Ashman and Menken wrote together. Why Me? was a song written by Menken and Tim Rice for Jafar. When each song played, rough storyboards that showed how the songs would fit into the movie were also shared. Some of that animation did end up making it into the movie. There were two videos included. One featured Clay Aiken singing Proud of Your Boy. The second one featured Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson singing A Whole New World. There was some behind the scenes footage of the making of that video shared.

The bulk of the extras was on the second disc. The main extra was A Diamond in the Rough: The Making of Aladdin. This special featured several of the people who were involved in making the movie, including the directors and some of the animators, talking with Leonard Maltin about the experience of making the movie at a gathering at an animation school. Some of the stories they shared were really funny. Maltin first talked to the directors and then the special went on to show other connected to the making of the movie, like how the story was adapted. This part did talk more about how Jeffrey Katzenburg wasn’t happy with the original story for Aladdin and basically told them to start over. That was when Aladdin’s mother was cut from the movie.

Alan Menken talked about writing the music for the movie. The recording session for A Whole New World was shared. The animators for the main characters talked about how they developed the look for their characters. The man who drew Jasmine based her at least partly on his sister. His sister also talked briefly about that and a picture was shown from when she made herself a Jasmine costume for Halloween after the movie came out. She really did look like Jasmine in that picture. Some things about how animation was done, including the work the clean up department did, was explained. I had no idea what that department did before and found it very interesting. It was also explained how computers were used to help animated carpet. The animator drew him by hand, and then computers were used to add the design. A few other sequences were created with computers, like the one involving the tiger’s head that was the entrance to the Cave of Wonder appearing out of the sand. I had no idea before that computers had been used for that.

Scott Weinger and Gilbert Gottfried were the only cast members featured in the new interviews. Some interviews that had been taped with other cast members were shown. Some of the videos from when the recordings were done were also shared. I would have liked to have seen more of what Robin Williams did. I honestly could have sat and watched hours of him doing that stuff. Most of what they showed from his recordings didn’t make it into the movie and it was as funny as what did make it in. It would have been nice if there had been an actual interview with Williams included. Some things from backstage when the new interviews were recorded was shared as well. There was a twenty minute feature on Alan Menken in which he talked about his career in music, including working with Howard Ashman. It was during this part that I learned that they were the ones who had written the music for the musical Little Shop of Horrors. There was something called an art review in which the directors shared some earlier illustrations that helped inspire the look for the movie even if they didn’t make it into the final movie. There were a few cute little games included as well. I really enjoyed all the extras.

Aladdin has been one of my favorite animated movies for years. It has stood up well since it was first released and is now considered one of the best animated movies. People that like animated movies should see this one. Fans of Robin Williams may also enjoy this one.

Animated Movie Reviews
Barnyard ~ Beauty and the Beast ~ Brother Bear ~ A Bug's Life ~ Cars ~ Chicken Little ~ The Emperor's New Groove ~ Finding Nemo ~ Home on the Range ~ Hoodwinked ~ Ice Age ~ Ice Age: The Meltdown ~ The Incredibles ~ Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius ~ Lilo & Stitch ~ Looney Tunes: Back in Action ~ Madagascar ~ Monsters, Inc. ~ Over the Hedge ~ The Polar Express ~ Robots ~ Shark Tale ~ Shrek ~ Shrek 2 ~ Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas ~ Sleeping Beauty ~ Tim Burton's Corpse Bride ~ Toy Story ~ Toy Story 2 ~ Treasure Planet ~ Valiant ~ Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit ~ The Wild ~


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for Groups
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up to Age 4