Aladdin (1992)
Starring: Scott Weinger, Linda Larkin, Robin Williams
Directed by: Ron Clements and John Musker
Plot Summary: In Agrabah, a street rat named Aladdin and his pet monkey Abu are selected to go inside the Cave of Wonders to retrieve a magical lamp for an old man that is actually Jafar, the Sultan's Grand Vizier, in disguise. The cave is sealed off with Aladdin and Abu inside and they rub the lamp, unleashing the Genie inside. Aladdin has three wishes, the last of which he promises to use to give Genie his freedom. Before returning to Agrabah, Aladdin wishes to become Prince Ali Ababwa, so he can lawfully court Princess Jasmine, whom he and Abu met earlier in the marketplace. Jasmine is not the only one suspicious of Prince Ali's true identity, as Jafar makes it his mission to find the lamp and get three wishes so he can become the Sultan and rid himself of Aladdin forever.
As I've shown before in the past, I have a great love and appreciation for Disney movies. How can you not? It's a rite of passage for anyone to grow up with that one Disney memory, so I've done my best to share my feelings on the best of the best in my 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die series. However, I think most of the Disney animated films are to be enjoyed in one's lifetime, so there are many missing from the list in my opinion. So, every couple of months, I'm going to go through a variety of classic and modern Disney animated films (theatrical releases only) to see what measures up as the absolute best representations of the world's most famous animated studios. I'll also throw in some Pixar movies every once in a while, since they were a big part of Disney's success when they weren't churning out the greatest films in the early 2000s. For me, there's no better place to start than Aladdin. It's one of my all-time favorite Disney movies, has spectacular music, memorable characters, and a story that is full of action, comedy, and romance.
In a tale of heroics and romance, we have our titular character Aladdin, voiced by Scott Weinger, and his love interest Princess Jasmine, voiced by Linda Larkin. Their love story is one that I'm sure many moviegoers are used to seeing: they come from different worlds (well, social statuses to be specific). It's the same type of love story you see in Titanic, just not drawn out for 3 hours. It's predictable, but enjoyable. Even greater is to see how these two act on their own. Aladdin is both charming and sly in his schemes and Jasmine has an empowering quality to her that is refreshing to see in a Disney princess. You don't exactly see many of the classic princesses professing how much they want to wait for the right man to come along so they can CHOOSE who they want to spend the rest of their lives with. Granted, it's completely inaccurate with the time period and culture for her to even receive attention for a thought like that, but hey they were dealing with a modern audience so the needs of the offended outweighs the needs of the historical. As for Aladdin, he's essentially Disney's animated version of Indiana Jones, able to talk or fight his way out of any situation. The two make for a compelling couple and it's easy to see how people can fall in love with their story and root for them all these years later.
However, heroes are only as good as their villains, and Aladdin has a great villain in Jafar, voiced by Jonathan Freeman. Not only is he a great villain in his look, but specifically in his voice. Jafar has a calm, menacing voice and with his hypnotic cane can have anyone do his bidding. I also love all the animation opportunities that they give Jafar, from his classic look, to his old man disguise, to looks as a venomous snake and an all-powerful genie. You can tell the animators had fun with Jafar. He's also accompanied by an annoyingly hilarious parrot Iago, voiced by the annoyingly hilarious Gilbert Gottfried. These two are great together and make a villain and henchman combination that you absolutely love to hate.
Iago is also a great reminder of all the great supporting characters in Aladdin. There's one in particular we'll get to at the very end (you already know who that'll be), so let's start with some of Aladdin's best allies. We have his pet monkey Abu, voiced by the great Frank Welker, and a silent magic carpet. Both these characters offer their unique form of humor and remain faithful and loyal to Aladdin throughout the film. What more could you want in sidekicks? For Jasmine, she has a similar situation with her father the Sultan, voiced by Douglas Seale, and her pet tiger Rajah. All of these characters stay in the background for the most part, but they're still impressionable and remain crucial to the Aladdin folklore in the film.
Aladdin also has one of the most enjoyable soundtracks in Disney history thanks to Alan Menkin, Tim Rice, and Howard Ashman (who passed away during early production on the film). This film gave us such catchy tunes as "Arabian Nights," "One Jump Ahead," and "Prince Ali." But of course, the film is also responsible for two of the most classic Disney songs in history, "Friend Like Me," and "A Whole New World." Do I need to say anything else? All 5 of these songs are memorable and remain stuck in the minds of the viewers forever. Believe me, you'll have at least one of these stuck in your head after you've finished reading.
Lastly, I want to go ahead and talk about the biggest legacy that was left behind in Aladdin, and that's the Genie, voiced by Robin Williams. Genie is the absolute show-stealer of the film and has gone on to be one of Disney's most beloved characters thanks to the amount of humor and heart that Williams brought in his performance. With tons of wisecracks and modern pop culture references, it's easy to see why people have loved the Genie for over 20 years. Sadly, the world lost a tremendous talent last year with the death of Robin Williams. The man was one of the funniest entertainers of his generation and his legacy will live on forever in the iconic roles he played and the laughter he brought to the world. Thank you Robin.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
While not everyone would argue that it's the best Disney movie, Aladdin is still usually brought up in everyone's top 10 and it's easy to see why. It has a little something for everyone, ranging from the music, to the comedy, to the romance, to the action. It's a fun adventure that played a very key role in the early years of the Disney Renaissance, so it could definitely be considered one of the greatest animated films in modern history. With an upcoming re-release on DVD and Blu-ray set to hit stores in October, take advantage of the opportunity to add this Disney classic to your collection.
Aladdin and movie images are copyrighted by Walt Disney Pictures
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