Themes: Curses and Spells, Crowned Heads, Schemes and Ruses
Main Cast: Brad Kane, Scott Weinger, Robin Williams, Linda Larkin, Lea Salonga, John Freeman, Frank Welker, Gilbert Gottfried
Release Year: 1992
Country: US
Run Time: 90 minutes
MPAA Rating: G
Plot
Robin Williams's dizzying and hilarious voicing of the Genie is the main attraction of Aladdin, the third in the series of modern Disney animated movies that began with 1989's The Little Mermaid and heralded a new age for the genre. After a sultan (Douglas Seale) gives his daughter, Jasmine (Linda Larkin), three days to find a husband, she escapes the palace and encounters the street-savvy urchin Aladdin (Scott Weinger), who charms his way into her heart. While the sultan's Vizier, Jafar (Jonathan Freeman), weaves a spell so that he may marry Jasmine and become sultan himself, Aladdin discovers the Genie's lamp in a cave, rubs it, and sets the mystical entity free, leading the Genie to pledge his undying loyalty to the dazzled youth. Aladdin begins his quest to defeat Jafar and win the hand of the princess, with the Genie's help. Monsters, Disney's trademark talking animals, and a flying carpet all figure into the ensuing adventures, but Williams' Genie, who can change into anything or anybody, steals the show as he launches into one crazed monologue after another, impersonating figures from Ed Sullivan to Elvis Presley. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
Review
It is easy to forget the moribund state of feature-length animation before the 1989 release of The Little Mermaid. Beauty and the Beast kept the revival going and, with Aladdin, Disney proved that the animated film's resurgence was no fluke. Composer and lyricist Alan Menken rubbed his magic lamp once again to produce a toe-tapping (and Oscar-winning) score, including the radio-friendly A Whole New World. But if any one person can be credited with Aladdin's success, it is Robin Williams. With one-liners galore and imitations of everyone from William F. Buckley to Arsenio Hall, Williams' manic (what else?) genie is a comic whirlwind with an animated body that can keep up with the real thing's boundless energy. Not every joke in Aladdin hits, but more than a few adults were surprised to find themselves laughing harder than the little ones they brought in tow. The film falls a little short of the high mark set by its two predecessors, as its plotting and lead characters are somewhat more conventional. And not all viewers felt that Disney's foray into ethnic diversity was without stereotyping. But overall, Aladdin once again proved the Disney magic for creating an animated film worth watching with or without the kids. ~ Matthew Doberman, All Movie Guide
Douglas Seale - Sultan; Charlie Adler; Jack Angel; Corey Burton; Philip L. Clarke; Jennifer Darling; Jerry Houser; Vera Lockwood; Sherry Lynn; Mickie T. McGowan; Patrick Pinney; Philip Proctor; Jim Cummings - Razoul; Albert Tavares
Credit
Bill Perkins - Art Director, Kathy Altieri - Animator, Rasoul Azadani - Animator, Steve Goldberg - Animator, Ed Gombert - Animator, Vera Lanpher - Animator, Don Paul - Animator, Donald W. Ernst - Co-producer, Ron Clements - Director, John Musker - Director, H. Lee Peterson - Editor, Alan Menken - Composer (Music Score), Howard Ashman - Songwriter, Alice Dewey - Production Designer, Ron Clements - Producer, John Musker - Producer, David J. Hudson - Sound/Sound Designer, Doc Kane - Sound/Sound Designer, Mel Metcalfe - Sound/Sound Designer, Terry Porter - Sound/Sound Designer, Ron Clements - Screenwriter, John Musker - Screenwriter, Terry Rossio - Screenwriter, Ted Elliott - Screenwriter, Mark Mangini - Sound Effects Editor, Tim Rice - Lyricist
