Aladdin (1992 Disney film): Difference between revisions
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It is rumored that during a scene in the film, Aladdin whispers "C'mon, good teenagers, take off your clothes". According to [http://www.snopes.com/disney/films/aladdin.htm Snopes], Aladdin actually says "good kitty" to Rajah the tiger, only to have a second voice say "take off and go...". It has been suggested that this second voice was the Genie's, who at the time was under the balcony and had previously been commenting on what was going on. This dialogue is edited in the DVD version, lessening the chance of misunderstanding. Other Disney films have alleged subtle sexual references. |
It is rumored that during a scene in the film, Aladdin whispers "C'mon, good teenagers, take off your clothes". According to [http://www.snopes.com/disney/films/aladdin.htm Snopes], Aladdin actually says "good kitty" to Rajah the tiger, only to have a second voice say "take off and go...". It has been suggested that this second voice was the Genie's, who at the time was under the balcony and had previously been commenting on what was going on. This dialogue is edited in the DVD version, lessening the chance of misunderstanding. Other Disney films have alleged subtle sexual references. |
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More controversy is displayed in the film since the main characters appear to look more |
More controversy is displayed in the film since the main characters appear to look more European than Arabic in the film altogether. For example, Jasmine is an unveiled woman with mainly European features, save for her hair, eyes, and skin tone. Aladdin is homeless, yet is handsome, clean-shaven, and fairly well-groomed with predominantly European features, save for his hair, eyes, and skin tone. It also seems that the men in the film who wear turbans are all bald as well. |
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===Arabian Knight=== |
===Arabian Knight=== |
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Revision as of 00:30, 13 May 2006
| Aladdin | |
|---|---|
| File:Aladdinposter.jpg Promotional Poster For Aladdin | |
| Directed by | Ron Clements John Musker |
| Written by | Roger Allers Ron Clements Ted Elliott Terry Rossio |
| Produced by | Ron Clements John Musker |
| Starring | Scott Weinger Robin Williams Linda Larkin Jonathan Freeman Frank Welker Gilbert Gottfried Douglas Seale Jim Cummings Russi Taylor |
| Music by | Alan Menken |
| Distributed by | Buena Vista Pictures |
Release date | November 11 1992 |
Running time | 90 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $28,000,000 |
Aladdin is the thirty-first animated feature in the Disney animated features canon, made and produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation, and released on November 25, 1992 by Walt Disney Pictures and Buena Vista Distribution. It relates a version of the story of Aladdin and the magic lamp from The Book of One Thousand and One Nights. As is usual with Disney film adaptations, many aspects of the traditional story were changed for the movie. It was released at the peak strech of the Disney renaissance era beginning with The Little Mermaid and ending with The Lion King.
It was directed by Ron Clements and John Musker and songs were by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman (with additional lyrics provided by Tim Rice after Ashman's death). Menken received the 1992 Academy Award for Original Music Score of Aladdin. The main soundtrack song "A Whole New World" (sung during the closing credits by Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle) won a Grammy Award as well as the Academy Award for Best Song in 1993.
Voice actors included Robin Williams as the Genie. In fact, this was the first major American animated feature film in which particular attention was paid to a celebrity cast member, such as a major movie star, in the film as part of its promotion. This has led to a subsequent increased attention to the casts of later productions, such as Toy Story and Shrek, as a major element of animated film marketing.
Aladdin was followed by two direct-to-video sequels: The Return of Jafar (1994) and Aladdin and the King of Thieves (1996), and an animated television series, Aladdin, set between the two sequels.
Tagline: Imagine if you had three wishes, three hopes, three dreams and they all could come true.
Synopsis
Template:Spoiler The story takes place in the mystical city of Agrabah, which is based mainly on the medieval city of Baghdad, the home of the 1001 Arabian Nights, though it also contains some elements of Indian culture and there are some inconsistencies in the time period. The sultan (who is never given a name) of Agrabah, is secretly being controlled by his grand vizier, Jafar. Jafar, who is also a sorcerer, wants to be the sultan himself and rule Agrabah; to further his goals he has spent years searching for the Cave of Wonders, so he can harness the magical power of the genie of the Lamp found within. However, Jafar discovers that only one person, a metaphorical "Diamond in the Rough", can enter the cave.
The sultan, meanwhile, is having problems with finding a prince for his daughter, Princess Jasmine, to marry and Jafar convinces the sultan, by mesmerizing him with his magical staff, that he (Jafar) needs the sultan's ring to find Jasmine a husband. Jafar actually needs the ring to discover the identity of the "Diamond in the Rough."
Jasmine, who does not want to be married off, decides to run away disguised as a peasant girl. In the anarchy of the streets, she is saved by a street urchin named Aladdin, though she doesn't learn his name. Meanwhile, Jafar discovers that Aladdin is the "Diamond in the Rough", and he sends palace guards to apprehend him. When Jasmine asks what happened to her savior, Jafar lies to her, falsely reporting that Aladdin had been executed for "kidnapping the princess."
Later, Jafar, disguised as an old man, sneaks Aladdin to freedom and takes him to the Cave of Wonders. Jafar tells Aladdin that if he brings back the lamp, he will be rewarded. The Cave admits Aladdin entrance, but only if he touches nothing more than the lamp. Inside the Cave, Aladdin successfully finds the lamp, but his pet monkey, Abu, loses control and attempts to take a jewel, causing the cave to come alive and attempt to trap them inside. Aladdin and Abu manage to escape with the aid of a flying carpet (appropriately named "Carpet"). Upon his escape, he hands Jafar the lamp, and Jafar decides to give him his "eternal reward", preparing to attack with his dagger. Abu saves Aladdin by biting Jafar's arm, and Abu and Aladdin fall back into the cave as it closes.
Aladdin, Abu, and Carpet are all trapped inside the Cave of Wonders. Jafar discovers, to his dismay, that Abu got the lamp from him before they disappeared. Aladdin discovers that the lamp is home to an eccentric fun-loving genie (simply named "Genie"), who will grant him any three wishes, excluding wishes to force a person to fall in love, to kill someone, to bring someone back from the dead, or to give his master extra wishes.
Aladdin tricks Genie into getting them out of the cave, without technically wishing for him to do so. Once out of the cave, Aladdin gets to know Genie, and asks him what he would wish for if he had the chance; Genie says he'd wish for freedom, but that can only be granted if his master is benevolent enough to free him with a wish. Aladdin promises to set Genie free with his last wish.
Aladdin, who has fallen in love with Princess Jasmine, is disappointed that he can't wish to make her fall in love with him. However, the law states that only a prince can marry a princess, so he wishes to become a prince.
Meanwhile Jafar, who is worried that the princess might have him beheaded after choosing a husband as punishment for supposedly having Aladdin executed, comes up with the idea to convince the sultan to let him become her husband. He later tries to mesmerize the sultan into granting this request with his staff, but is interrupted when the sultan is startled by the noise from Aladdin's approaching consort.
As "Prince Ali Ababwa", Aladdin returns to Agrabah and, although offending Jasmine by appearing as another typical rich and self-important prince, eventually wins Jasmine's love by taking her on a romantic ride on the flying carpet. Afterwards, Jasmine tricks Aladdin into admitting he's the street urchin she met in the marketplace. Aladdin however, wants to naturally impress her, so he deceives her by telling her that he really is a prince and had just pretended be a commoner in order to escape the restrictions of palace life, much like what Jasmine did.
Jafar, who is afraid that "Prince Abooboo", as he incorrectly calls him, may win Princess Jasmine over, ruining his own plans to marry her, wants Aladdin out of the way. He orders the guards to shackle and gag Aladdin. He tells him that he's "worn out his welcome," and a guard hits Aladdin over the head, knocking him unconscious. He comes to when the guards drop him over a cliff into the sea. They have attached a ball-and-chain, so he sinks very quickly. He hits the bottom, and his turban floats down. The lamp tumbles out and he begins to struggle towards it, but passes out before he can reach it. Unconscious, he slides down towards the lamp, and rolls over, causing it to rub against his fingers. Genie appears, and saves Aladdin, using up his second wish. Aladdin and Genie return to the palace and Aladdin confronts Jafar over trying to have him killed. Jafar uses his staff to try to convince the sultan that Aladdin is lying, but Aladdin, seeing what he is doing, grabs the staff and shatters it. He then shows the sultan that Jafar has been controlling him and plotting against him. The sultan calls for the guards to arrest Jafar, but he manages to escape, and, before doing so, sees the lamp in Aladdin's possession. The sultan is convinced that his troubles are over as Jasmine has finally chosen a suitor.
All seems well, but the weight of his future responsibilities begins to distress Aladdin. He begins to consider going back on his promise to free Genie so he can keep a wish in reserve, which severely offends the spirit. Chastened, Aladdin decides to tell Jasmine the whole truth of the matter. Unfortunately, Aladdin leaves the lamp in his chamber and Jafar sends his parrot Iago, to steal it. Lamp in hand, Jafar becomes Genie's next master, and wishes to become sultan. When the former sultan and Jasmine refuse to bow to him, he wishes to be the most powerful sorcerer in the world. With his new powers, Jafar forces them to bow to him.
Jafar then uses his magic to reveal that "Prince Ali" is merely the street urchin Aladdin and he banishes Aladdin to "the ends of the earth", in one of the palace towers. "The ends of the earth" appears to be Antarctica, or the Arctic or perhaps the Himalayas. Luckily, Abu and the carpet were banished with him, and Aladdin is able to fly back to Agrabah, with the intent of reclaiming the lamp.
Meanwhile Jafar, who is angry that Jasmine does not wish to become his queen, makes a wish for Genie to cause her to fall in love with him. Genie tries to tell him that he cannot grant that wish, but Jafar does not listen. Jasmine, who sees Aladdin sneaking into the palace, pretends that the wish has taken effect, much to Genie's surprise, in order to distract Jafar. Jafar, however, sees Aladdin's reflection in Jasmine's crown and confronts him before he can reach the lamp.
Jafar uses magic to imprison or transfigure all the good characters other than Aladdin himself so they cannot steal the lamp back. Jafar eventually turns himself into a giant cobra and fights Aladdin. When Aladdin appears to be defeated, Jafar tells Aladdin he was a fool for thinking he could defeat "the most powerful being on earth". Aladdin reminds Jafar he is not the most powerful being on earth, and that that honor belongs to Genie, since he gave Jafar his power in the first place.
Jafar decides to use his final wish to become the most powerful genie in the world. Jafar is at first convinced that his new powers will allow him to rule the universe, but he realizes too late that Aladdin tricked him, since as a genie, Jafar is no longer free. Jafar, along with Iago, are imprisoned in his own lamp and Genie sends them to the Cave of Wonders.
Of course, Aladdin is now no longer a prince and is not elegible to marry Jasmine. Genie insists that Aladdin use his final wish to make himself a prince again, but nevertheless, he keeps his promise and wishes for Genie's freedom. When all seems lost for Aladdin and Jasmine, the sultan decides that, between his loyalty to Genie and his courage in defeating Jafar, Aladdin has proven his worth; the sultan therefore changes the law so that "the princess shall marry anyone she deems worthy" meaning Aladdin and Jasmine can be married. Genie flies away to see the world while the happy couple begin their new life together.
Voice cast
-
Robin Williams as
The Genie and The Merchant (with Bruce Adler) -
Frank Welker as
Abu -
Douglas Seale as
The Sultan -
Jim Cummings as
Razoul -
Russi Taylor as
Rajah
Supervising Animators
Academy Awards
Controversy
One of the verses of the opening song "Arabian Nights" was censored because of political sensitivity. Following protests from the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, (ADC) the lyrics were changed in July 1993 from "Where they cut off your ear if they don't like your face/It's barbaric, but, hey, it's home," in the original release to "Where it's flat and immense and the heat is intense/It's barbaric, but, hey, it's home." The new change was seen on the 1993 video release of this title. The original lyric was intact on the initial CD soundtrack release that predated the movie's theatrical release and subsequent protests. The soundtrack was re-released at the time of the DVD release of the film; on the re-released soundtrack, the edited lyric is used.
It is rumored that during a scene in the film, Aladdin whispers "C'mon, good teenagers, take off your clothes". According to Snopes, Aladdin actually says "good kitty" to Rajah the tiger, only to have a second voice say "take off and go...". It has been suggested that this second voice was the Genie's, who at the time was under the balcony and had previously been commenting on what was going on. This dialogue is edited in the DVD version, lessening the chance of misunderstanding. Other Disney films have alleged subtle sexual references.
More controversy is displayed in the film since the main characters appear to look more European than Arabic in the film altogether. For example, Jasmine is an unveiled woman with mainly European features, save for her hair, eyes, and skin tone. Aladdin is homeless, yet is handsome, clean-shaven, and fairly well-groomed with predominantly European features, save for his hair, eyes, and skin tone. It also seems that the men in the film who wear turbans are all bald as well.
Arabian Knight
Aladdin was highly inspired by Richard Williams's The Thief and the Cobbler (1995) that was not finished by Warner Bros.'s deadline (1991).
Trivia
- As with many Disney animated films, there are several references to the company's previous productions:
- The Genie's head briefly turns into that of Pinocchio.
- The Genie pulls Sebastian (from The Little Mermaid) out of a recipe book (and the first few notes of Under the Sea are played).
- Beast, from Beauty and the Beast, can be seen among the stack of the Sultan's toy figurines.
- The Genie dons a Goofy hat before leaving on his vacation.
- The Genie's appearance during the "phenomenal cosmic power" scene and Jafar's appearance as a genie are similar to that of the genie in the Walt Disney educational work Our Friend the Atom.
- Seven different video games based on the movie were produced. Each one released for the Sega Genesis, Sega Game Gear, Super NES (later ported to the Game Boy Advance), Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Sony PlayStation. The PlayStation version is actually an alternate sequel to the film, telling a whole new story compared to the theatrical release or either of its direct-to-video siblings.
- Robin Williams, the voice of the Genie, also voiced the Merchant. This is because the Merchant was originally supposed to return at the end, revealing that he himself was at one time the Genie but had transformed into a human, but this was changed and the Merchant reappeared during the ending of Aladdin and the King of Thieves.
- The genie's appearance is similar to that of the genie in the 1940 movie The Thief of Bagdad. This film also featured an evil vizier named Jafar, and a (human) sidekick to the main character named Abu.
- The movie was also featured in the video game Kingdom Hearts, mirroring the plot of the movie loosely, but was cut down and altered to fit the game. In Agrabah, Aladdin teams up with Sora to fight off the Heartless invading his home. Princess Jasmine was kidnapped by Jafar and the Heartless, as she was revealed to be one of the Princesses of Heart. Once the Keyhole was sealed, Genie joins up with Sora as a summon under Aladdin's request to help them save Jasmine. A facsimile of Agrabah was also used for Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories for the Gameboy Advance. The world returns for Kingdom Hearts II, although the story involves more elements from The Return of Jafar, with the peddler from the start of the first film replacing Abis Mal.
- Some of the original songs before the story was rewritten and half of the characters were cut: "Proud of Your Boy" (supposed to be sung by Aladdin to his mother [who was later removed from the story] while she was sleeping), "Call Me A Princess", "Babkak, Omar, Aladdin, Kassim", "Humiliate The Boy" (sung by Jafar, cut as it was considered too cruel for the film), "High Adventure", and "Count on Me" (which was something Aladdin sung to his friends and family), which was changed to "A Whole New World". Rough versions of "High Adventure" and "Proud of Your Boy" can be found in the Special Edition Soundtrack.
- Vocal doubles were used for the singing voices of the three major characters--Brad Kane for Scott Weinger (Aladdin), Lea Salonga for Linda Larkin (Jasmine), and Bruce Adler for Robin Williams (The Merchant), although Williams did do his own singing voice for the Genie.
- In 2003, Disney's California Adventure opened "Aladdin--A Musical Spectacular," a stage show based on the movie. The show has been quite popular due to the fact that while roughly 90% of it is scripted, the dialogue of the Genie constantly changes to reflect popular culture of the time. The show also carries an additional song by Jasmine that was cut from the movie "To Be Free."
- While in this film, the Genie only transforms twice into another Disney character; throughout the entire trilogy, he performs such transformations 12 times (not counting a second appearance as Jafar).
- In The Story of Prince Ahmed and Periebanou, a story found in the 1001 Arabian Nights, "Prince Ali" is the name of a brother of Prince Ahmed, the hero of the story.
- It has been said that Bill Plympton was originally considered to animate the Genie, as his animated shorts tend to feature many transformations.
- The Prince bitten by Rajah at the start of the film is addressed by the Sultan as Prince Achmed. Possibly a reference to the 1926 animated film The Adventures of Prince Achmed
- The design of the Genie resembles that of a character shown in a 1959 Disney Short "Eyes in Outer Space" which can be found in the Walt Disney Treasures: Tomorrowland DVD set. [1]