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The Ultimate Guide to Disney's 
Salaam and welcome!
Oh, Prince Achmed. You're not leaving so soon, are you?
LIKE MAGIC
ANIMATED WILLIAMS REPRISES HIS GENIE ROLE IN DISNEY'S LATEST `ALADDIN'
August 9, 1996
Author: Donald Liebenson. Special to the Tribune.
There is another new Robin Williams movie arriving in
One does not associate an actor of Williams' stature with films that bypass theaters to go direct to video. This ancillary market is more commonly associated with B-movies, martial arts kickfests and erotic thrillers starring Shannon Tweed. But with the prominently billed Williams, "King of Thieves" opens up a whole new world for this fledgling market of first-run programming produced for video, and Williams said he was eager to participate as long as there were no creative restraints
"I loved doing the first one," he said in an interview conducted in
Adopting the mannered voice of a critic, he nodded, "We like it better when we can't see you."
Williams' scene-stealing, show-stopping performance as "the big blue guy" helped make the original "Aladdin" a nearly $220 million box-office sensation that subsequently sold 24 million copies when it was released on video. In the wake of a well-publicized feud with the studio, Williams sat out the first produced-for-video sequel, "The Return of Jafar." He chose Dan Castellaneta, former
"King of Thieves" features the long-awaited royal wedding between Aladdin and Princess Jasmine, which is delayed when Aladdin sets out in search of his long-lost father, leading him to the den of the notorious Forty Thieves.
In addition to original voice cast members Scott Weinger as Aladdin, Linda Larkin as Jasmine and Gilbert Gottfried as the opportunistic parrot Iago, the film also features Jerry Orbach (the voice Lumiere in "Beauty and the Beast") as the menacing Sa'luk and John Rhys-Davies as Cassim, the King of Thieves.
But Williams is the franchise player. Genie combines the best of both worlds; Disney animation and the anarchic spirit of Chuck Jones' Warner Brothers cartoons that Williams embodies in the flesh. It is, he said, a rare opportunity to just "kick out the jams and push yourself as far as you can and explore every comedic possibility. I would ask, `Is that too much?' There's no too much with them. Disney is willing to push the envelope. They really didn't try to sanitize (the cartoon)."
As in the original "Aladdin," Williams channels through Genie a pell-mell rush of TV and movie references that span Ozzie Nelson to Williams' own Mrs. Doubtfire. There also are several in-jokes at Disney's expense. A nostalgic gag that opens the film recalls the long-running Disney TV series, "The Wonderful World of Color." Later, Genie morphs into Pumba from "The Lion King" and even Pocahontas. In another manic riff, he becomes a Disney marketing department flak pitching new "Aladdin" merchandise.
"It's the one time," Williams said, "(the animators) can legally mess with Disney and not have some executive say (in an agitated whisper), `What the hell are you doing? Don't you understand? The mouse, the mouse is everything!' "
Ironically, it was a clash over merchandising that caused the breach between Williams and the studio. He charged that Disney had violated an agreement to not use his voice in the marketing of the film.
"Merchandising tie-ins are one thing I try to stay away from with a passion," he said. "The dolls they can make, but when they use my voice, that's when it gets interesting. We broke off the marriage for a while. Then they apologized and I said, `That's all I wanted,' and we're back."
Was it difficult to break the news to his children that Daddy and Disney were on the outs?
"We won't be going anymore to
Family fare such as "Aladdin," "Mrs. Doubtfire" and "Jumanji" have expanded Williams' audience. "A friend joked to me that I was the Robert De Niro for 10-year-olds," he said, smiling. "(Family films) are fun to do, because I have kids, and it's great if you can do something that works for children and adults."
Williams would like to see others follow his lead. Al Pacino, perhaps?
"Can you imagine Pacino?," Williams asks, sweetly: "Hi, boys and girls . . . SHUT UP! WHAT THE HELL'S WRONG WITH YOU? YOU LITTLE ANKLE BITER. LOOK AT ME. YOU LITTLE BOOGER EATER. YOU'RE DEAD!
August 13, 1996
Author: MARY HOULIHAN-SKILTON
Aladdin and the King of Thieves
Available today at video stores for $24.99. Running time: 82 minutes. No MPAA rating.
(STAR)(STAR)(STAR)
The return of Robin Williams as the fast-talking Genie gives renewed steam to this third (and final?) chapter of the "Aladdin" trilogy.
An undeniable sparkle is back in the "Aladdin" film series thanks to the ranting jokemeister better known as Robin Williams.
The popular star once again gives voice - and his trademark comedic energy - to the hero's genie in Disney's direct-to-video "Aladdin and the King of Thieves."
Williams originated the role in the first "Aladdin" but skipped its mediocre sequel, "The Return of Jafar," in a dispute over how the genie's voice was used for merchandising.
His distinctive tones make a welcome return in "King of Thieves." Williams is at his best when given room to ad lib, and Disney lets him go nuts here.
The film also features the original "Aladdin" voice cast of Scott Weinger (Aladdin), Linda Larkin (Jasmine) and Gilbert Gottfried (Iago). John Rhys-Davis supplies the voice of Aladdin's long-lost father, and Jerry Orbach is the evil Sa'luk.
With the energetic opening song "Party in Agrabah," the scene is set for the wedding of Aladdin and Jasmine. The shape-shifting genie coordinates the festivities in his usual whirlwind fashion. But before the couple can say "I do," chaos ensues as the famed King of Thieves and his 40 henchmen intrude.
As the fast-paced story proceeds, Aladdin battles Sa'luk in the thieves' lair, makes decisions about his loyalties and partakes of an
Besides being intrigued by Aladdin's adventures, children will identify with the appearances of legendary Disney characters (Cinderella, Snow White, Steamboat Willie) all matched with Williams' enjoyable patter. Transforming into Pumbaa, the warthog from "The Lion King," Williams exclaims with a jolt, "Oh, I was having an out-of-movie experience."
Adults will grin at the genie's parade of pop-culture icons, from Forrest Gump to Robin Leach to three different Marx Brothers. He even morphs into Mrs. Doubtfire to give motherly advice to a worried Jasmine.
The splendid panoramic vistas that usually highlight Disney movies are not present here. But thanks to the teamwork of more than 400 Disney animators, the motion is smooth. Scenes at the apex of Aladdin's quest for the Hand of Midas are as good as you're going to get in made-for-television animation.
Disney is calling this the "grand finale of the beloved `Aladdin' trilogy." If you believe this, I have some land in Toontown. . . .
`Aladdin' Sequel Planned - But on Videocassette
February 12, 1994
Author: Leslie Adler; Reuters
BURBANK, Calif. Walt Disney Co. will follow up its wildly successful animated film "Aladdin" by bypassing movie screens altogether and releasing a sequel only in video.
"The Return of Jafar," due in stores May 20, will pick up where "Aladdin" ended, with the evil sorcerer trapped inside a magic lamp.
"In the past, made-for-video often . . . had the image of not being good enough for theatrical release," said Ann Daly, president of Disney's Buena Vista Home Video division. "This video, we think, will break that image."
Disney had a major theatrical success with "Aladdin," and videocassette retail sales have at least equaled the box office grosses.
The company said the video versions of "Aladdin" and "The Jungle Book" helped push up profits by 45 percent in Disney's filmed entertainment division to $340 million in its first quarter.
"Aladdin" sold 10.6 million copies on video within its first week of release - after the film already grossed $217 million at the box office.
Video has increasingly become the first choice of consumers for watching movies and the most profitable venue for
The video business now eclipses cinema attendance, which has remained at 1 billion a year in the
Daly said "The Return of Jafar" was crafted for the television screen and would not have the budget of "Aladdin," although she would not detail the budget. According to Daily Variety, the entertainment trade publication, Disney spent $28 million producing "Aladdin."
Jeff Logsdon, an entertainment analyst, estimated the budget for producing an animated film-for-video would be "something well under $5 million."
"The Return of Jafar" will carry a suggested retail price of $22.99, but consumers will be able to get back up to $10 in rebates via promotional tie-ins with other consumer products.
Magic of `Aladdin': Video Sales Record
October 6, 1993
Author: Matt Spetalnick; Reuters
LOS ANGELES "Aladdin" took a magic carpet ride into millions of homes this weekend, shattering videotape sales records and topping the $216 million it has grossed at the North American box office in an entire year.
"Aladdin," already the highest-grossing animated film of all time, sold about 10.6 million copies in its first three days of release, Walt Disney Co. officials said. They predicted it would soon be the best-selling videotape ever.
The video went on sale after a controversy in which Arab-American groups complained that some of the movie's lyrics were racist.
Disney agreed last July to alter two lines and to make the changes in the video format and in any future theatrical releases, but Arab-American activists said they still are not satisfied.
"Aladdin" video sales were running more than 50 percent higher than the initial take from Disney's "Beauty and the Beast," last year's blockbuster, the company said.
"Beauty and the Beast" is the video best-seller, with more than 22 million copies sold to date.
Analysts have predicted that "Aladdin" sales could top 30 million copies.
"Given these spectacular initial sales, we are confident that `Aladdin' will surpass `Beauty and the Beast' and become the new video sales champ in the next several weeks," said Ann Daly, president of Disney's Buena Vista Home Video Inc.
She said the movie's success in video had put it "well on its way toward becoming the highest-grossing film the entertainment industry has ever seen."
"Aladdin" went on sale Friday at a suggested retail price of $24.99 at more than 100,000 outlets in the
Many stores were selling the tape at a discount or were offering special rebates for other products or cut-rate video rentals tied to "Aladdin" purchases.
While not giving a precise estimate of dollar sales, Disney said the videotape had already topped the $216 million the film has pulled in so far at the box office in
The film's total worldwide ticket sales, including
The changes made in the lyrics marked one of the few times a major studio has altered a film for its video release.
The original version's opening song, "Arabian Nights," spoke of a land "where they cut off your ear if they don't like your face." Disney changes the lines to read "where it's flat and immense and the heat is intense."
Caption:
The Disney box-office smash "Aladdin" is an even bigger hit in video stores, breaking sales records in its first three days of release.
LISTEN UP! ALADDIN TALKING NASTY? NOT!
November 7, 1995
All right! All right already! Kids kept swearing to us that there were messages with bad meanings secretly hidden in "Aladdin."
So we just had to listen.
A bunch of you guys wrote to us and said that there's a voice that says, "Good kids, take off your clothes."
We popped in the video and cranked it to the exact scene. (It's when Aladdin was first acting as Prince Ali, just before he and Jasmine go for a magic carpet ride.)
So OK, we watched and listened. And OK, to be honest, that's what it sounded like Aladdin is saying the very first time we played it. (Sorry, Disney.)
But as they used to say in the NFL when they had instant replay: Upon further review...
Nope, it ain't so.
We did the old play it forward, play it back, play it forward, crank the volume.
Here's our take on it: Aladdin is trying to get Jasmine's tiger to quit messing with him.
It sounds to us like he says, "Good kitty." And then there's a short pause. Aladdin changes his voice tone and then says, "Take off your c--." Claws?
Whatever it is, it is clearly NOT "take off your clothes."
Walt Disney Home Video's Rick Rhoades told us the script called for Aladdin to say, "Good tiger, take off and go." But that's hard to hear clearly because Aladdin whispers that, and there are lots of other noises going on.
Disney's Apology Satisfies Williams
October 25, 1994
Author: Robert W. Welkos;
HOLLYWOOD The Genie is back in the bottle. The yearlong feud between actor Robin Williams and the Walt Disney Co. is over.
Williams, who last autumn accused Disney of lying to him and breaching an agreement not to use his voice to merchandise products inspired by the hit animated film "Aladdin," has received an apology from newly installed studio chief Joe Roth.
Both sides say they will now discuss movie projects, although no official deal yet exists.
In remarks as stunning as they were contrite - especially coming from a studio chief - Roth admitted that Disney had exploited Williams without his permission.
"Robin complained that we took advantage of his performance as the Genie in the film, exploiting him to promote some other businesses inside the company," Roth said. "We had a specific understanding with Robin that we wouldn't do that. (Nevertheless) we did that. We apologize for it."
Furthermore, Roth said, "Disney may have been responsible" for the media's portraying the dispute as a ploy by the actor to get more money for his role as the wisecracking Genie in the 1992 film. At the time, sources had characterized Williams' comments as "sour grapes" because he received scale pay of $75,000 for a film that grossed more than $200 million domestically.
"There is no question in my mind that we need to apologize (to Williams) . . . for not defusing the issue in the media that (his motive) appeared to be about money," Roth said. "I've known Robin for years and know that none of these issues are ever about money. They are simply about principle."
Williams called Roth's apology "a decent thing" and added: "It's like a country re-establishing diplomatic relations.
"It's a good feeling because I've done good things there," the actor-comedian said.
"I wasn't trying to shake anybody down," Williams said.
He said hawking merchandise "is one thing I don't do," noting that he has felt that way since his days on television.
The dispute came to a boil last November, when Williams went on the "Today" show.
Williams did little to disguise his anger at Disney, telling an interviewer: "You realize when you work for Disney why the mouse has only four fingers - because he can't pick up a check."
Disney later sent him a Picasso painting as a way of thanking him for his work.
Williams has said all along that he played the Genie as simply as "a favor." He noted that what started out as one day's work "ended up to be weeks. It was 27 hours' worth of stuff."
"I love animation, and Disney is the Rolls-Royce of animation," he said. "But I told them, `Don't use my voice to sell merchandise,' and they agreed to that."
`Aladdin' Lyrics Altered After Charges of Racism
July 12, 1993
Author: Reuters
LOS ANGELES The Walt Disney Co. has agreed to alter two lines of lyrics in "Aladdin," the most commercially successful animated film of all time, in response to complaints of racism from Arab-American groups, the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday.
Disney distribution president Dick Cook was quoted as saying the change was made after meetings with members of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination League but that "it was something we did because we wanted to do it."
"In no way would we ever do anything . . . insensitive to anyone," he said.
The new lyrics will go into effect on the film's videotape release, which will go on sale Oct. 1, and in any subsequent theatrical release of "Aladdin.".
The lyrics in the film's opening song, "Arabian Nights," originally were: Oh, I come from a land/ From a faraway place/ Where the caravan camels roam/ Where they cut off your ear/ If they don't like your face/ It's barbaric, but hey, it's home.
After at first resisting changes, Disney agreed to alter the lyrics to read: Oh, I come from a land/ From a faraway place/ Where the caravan camels roam/ Where it's flat and immense/ And the heat is intense/ It's barbaric, but hey, it's home.
Arab-American activists had also sought to have the word "barbaric" removed from the lyrics, but Disney refused to change it.
"Aladdin" is not the first Disney film to be altered. In its original version of the 1933 release "The Three Little Pigs," the Big Bad Wolf tried to get into the pigs' house by disguising himself as a peddler with a heavy Jewish accent.
It was subsequently redone with the Wolf using a falsetto voice.
Caption:
The title character will be singing a different tune when Disney's "Aladdin" is released in October. The film has already grossed $207 million since November.
Disney's Wish Comes True With `Aladdin'
April 25, 1993
Author: David J. Fox;
The Walt Disney Co.'s animated musical "Aladdin" passed the milestone $200 million mark at the
A hefty number. But what does $200 million mean?
Only 13 movies since 1975 have generated more money in ticket sales - and none has ever been an animated film.
The last $200 million-plus movie was 1991's "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, which has a box-office gross of $204.8 million to date.
Based on statistics from the Motion Picture Association of America and the insights of film industry analysts, a $200 million-grossing movie means 50 million movie tickets have been sold. That's the equivalent of one fifth of the
Of the $200 million gross, Disney earned a profit of about $61 million, after the $25 million cost of producing the movie and the $20 million cost of prints and advertising are subtracted.
(The industry average for prints and advertising is $12.5 million, but observers agree that Disney spent heavily to sustain the nationwide theatrical release for an exceptionally long 22 weeks - 17 weeks of which the film was among the Top 10 grossing pictures.)
And with "Aladdin" in its 23rd week, though business has slowed considerably, there still is no end in sight. If reaching U.S. and Canadian box-office heights was Disney's first wish come true, then, as with the tale of Aladdin's magic lamp, two more wishes will be fulfilled: conquering the international box office and the videocassette market.
Bet on it happening, the analysts say.
"Most movies don't make this much profit, even after theatrical runs around the world, let alone simply in the U.S.," said film business analyst Lisbeth Barron, of Warburg & Co. in New York, referring to the estimated $61 million. "This is obviously a standout."
Barron cited the potential for "substantial numbers" from the foreign release of the film, which won't even begin until summer, at the earliest, and then in only a few markets. After that, there's the video market.
In recent years, international box-office grosses on hit movies usually surpass the
Conservatively, analysts are estimating Disney will be able to sell at least 13 million videocassettes for resale, at $9 a unit - another $117 million to the company.
`Aladdin's' Musical Genie
November 29, 1992
Author: Susan Stark;
Alan Menken has won four Oscars in the last two years and stands to snag a couple more come March.
Menken may be one of the most thoroughly Oscared men in moviedom, but it's a safe bet most fans don't even know his name. What they know is his music.
Menken and the late lyricist Howard Ashman, the formidable musical duo behind Disney's "The Little Mermaid" and "Beauty and the Beast," merely transposed all the panache and pizzazz of classic American musical theater to the big screen.
The songs amount to an aesthetic blueprint for Disney's two recent animated blockbusters. That's true as well for "Aladdin," the film he and Ashman were working on when, in March, 1991, Ashman died of AIDS.
"Aladdin" (which opened Wednesday in
In addition to the three Ashman-Menken tunes, "Aladdin" has three tunes by Menken and Tim Rice, brought in to complete the lyricist's job two months before Ashman's death. It wasn't easy for anyone.
"Tim strode into this group of sort of Type A neurotics and did the job with incredible grace and brilliance," Menken said. "He's also one of the nicest people I've ever met. In what has been a painful period, Tim has been one of the great new beginnings for me."
Indeed, Menken reports that he and Rice are planning to collaborate on another major project for Disney.
DISNEY APOLOGIZES TO ROBIN WILLIAMS
October 25, 1994
Author: From Tribune Wires.
Walt Disney Co. has apologized to Robin Williams for using his Genie voice to hawk merchandise for "Aladdin."
"We had a specific understanding with Robin that we wouldn't do that. (Nevertheless) we did that. We apologize for it," Disney studio chief Joe Roth said Monday
Williams, who did the Genie voice-over for a piddling $75,000, likened the apology to "a country re-establishing diplomatic relations." And he said he would do some more Disney work. "Aladdin," which was released in 1992, has grossed more than $200 million.
CHARLES GRODIN MAY REPLACE SNYDER
It's supposed to be top-secret, but Charles Grodin, the hang-dog (human) star of big-screen hits "Beethoven" and "Beethoven's 2nd," is thisclose to signing a deal with cable's CNBC to replace acerbic CBS-bound talker Tom Snyder.
A CNBC spokesman confirmed Monday that the network was talking to Grodin "as well as other people."
NEWSMAGAZINES IN NIELSEN STRAITS
The doctors won going away. Again. Not even two blockbuster interviews-Nicole Brown Simpson's pal Faye Resnick on CBS and spy wife Rosario Ames on ABC-could slow down the staff of NBC's "E.R." last week, a further sign of the slide of TV's newsmagazines.
"E.R." earned a Nielsen rating of 19.4, greater than the combined numbers for ABC's "PrimeTime Live" (7.1) and CBS' "Eye to Eye With Connie Chung" (9.8).
EAVESDROPPING
"I've had what I call medium celebrity for 20 years. I felt fine about it. I've never gone home and said, `Why aren't I making as much as
Richard Dreyfuss, whose new movie, "Silent Fall," opens Friday.
SCOTT'S NOT ALL TALK
HE'S ALADDIN'S VOICE, D.J.'S GUY - AND MAYBE THE NEXT TOM CRUISE
February 23, 1993
Author: Brenda Herrmann.
fter a few quiet seasons playing D.J.'s boyfriend, Steve, on the ABC Tuesday-night smash "Full House," Scott Weinger has found himself very much the rising star.
Scott, 17, did the voice of Aladdin in the hit Disney film and, within days of the movie's release, he was everywhere - in People magazine, on TV talk shows, in newspapers, on radio.
"I just can't believe how busy I've been," Scott says, grabbing a 10-minute breather in his "Full House" dressing room. "Ever since I starting doing publicity for `Aladdin,' it's just been non-stop work." No wonder -
Aladdin is a hot movie (it's made more than $160 million, beating out "Home Alone 2.")
Don't expect Scott to be happy just being the voice in a hit movie, though . . . he wants to be a star like his idol Tom Cruise.
"Tom Cruise is the perfect example of what hard work can do for you in
Although Scott plays a dumb jock on "Full House," in real life, he's not like that at all, he says.
"That aspect of his personality is something I hope to God I don't show in real life!" he says. "I'm more a hard worker, studious. I want to go to college."
In fact, Scott's already applied to Northwestern University (right here in Chicago, girls!).
He also likes brainy chicks. His real-life love is Kellie Martin, 17, who plays Becca on "Life Goes On" and has also just hit the movie circuit with her film "Matinee." "We're gonna get married when we're 30," Scott says - and Kellie agrees.
She says, "He's the most gorgeous guy I've ever seen."
Bend Me, Shape Me
`Aladdin' Genie Takes Many Forms
Chicago Sun-Times
November 27, 1992
Author: Darel Jevens
If they gave an Oscar for Best Performance in More Than 50 Roles, Robin Williams would be a sure thing.
Voicing the constantly metamorphosing genie in "Aladdin," Williams takes on at least that many personae. And the Disney animators are able to reshape the character as often as needed to keep up with his imagination.
To prove it, we attempted to tally every incarnation the genie takes on from start to finish. Don't worry - it won't spoil the movie. There are plenty of gags beyond these, and we probably missed a few anyway:
A Las Vegas emcee, chatting up the crowd
A kilted Scotsman
A Scottish terrier
A soulful black guy (telling a magic carpet to "gimme some tassel.")
A fat guy fretting about his potbelly
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Senor Wences (and his talking hand)
Ed Sullivan
A slot machine
Groucho Marx
A boxer's cornerman
A rocket firecracker
A French waiter
A cooked turkey
A barber
A tuxedoed dancer
A juggler (tossing around his own head)
A rabbit
A dragon
A certificate, swearing he's a genie
William F. Buckley
A monster with the voice of Peter Lorre
Robert De Niro
A flight attendant
A sheep
Pinocchio (with growing nose)
A magician
A bereted Frenchman
A chef (cooking an Alaskan king crab that strongly resembles Sebastian, of "The Little Mermaid")
Arsenio Hall
A tailor
A game show host
A majorette twirling a flaming baton
An old guy watching a parade
A kid watching the parade
A fat guy watching the parade
The parade's TV host
The parade's TV hostess
A tiger watching the parade
A goat watching the parade
A buxom harem girl watching the parade
Rodney Dangerfield
Jack Nicholson
A professor
A lightbulb in a lamp
A bee
A submarine
A one-man band
A Disney World pitchman
William F. Buckley (again)
A four-woman cheerleading squad
A baseball pitcher, tossing away the lamp for good
Caption:
The genie gives himself a Vegas-style introduction. The switch from ordinary genie (left) to toothy, tuxedoed game-show host (above) takes less than a second.
Chicago Tribune
November 25, 1992
Author: Dave Kehr, Movie critic.
Arriving on schedule for the start of the holiday season, ``Aladdin`` is Walt Disney Co.`s 31st animated feature and, as directed by John Musker and Ron Clements of ``The Little Mermaid,`` a genuine charmer, filled with with feeling and verve.
Although the film in no way measures up to the features made under Disney`s personal supervision, it does contain some far more imaginative and adept animation than the last several post-Walt titles.
Next to the flat, hurriedly executed ``Beauty and the Beast,`` ``Aladdin`` is a marvel of the cartoonist`s art. Stepping away from the extensive rotoscoping used in recent Disney features-a cut-rate technique that basically consists of tracing over live-action footage-Musker and Clements give the characters of ``Aladdin`` a substance and expressiveness that can come only from classic, full-figure animation.
Technically, the film is distinguished by Disney`s increasingly smooth and articulate use of computer animation. One major character in the film, a flying carpet discovered by Aladdin in the magic cave, is a fully computer- generated effect. Although it`s nothing more than a flat, patterned rectangle, the carpet takes on an enchantingly sweet, shy personality entirely through the movements designed for it by supervising animator Randy Cartwright. If computers are the future of animation, ``Aladdin`` provides some happy reassurance. ``Aladdin`` also confirms how drastically the sense of Disney animation has changed under the current Disney regime. No longer the psychologically penetrating fables of childhood that Walt produced, the new Disney cartoons are pitched to young women in the demographically desirable 18--to-35 age group, who may still be looking for their own Prince Charmings and are willing to take their young children with them on the search.
The effective pop score, composed by Howard Menken with lyrics by Tim Rice and the late Howard Ashman, seems designed for extensive exposure on lite-FM stations. One number, ``A Whole New World,`` has the romantic appeal but not quite the snap of ``Kiss the Girl`` from ``The Little Mermaid.``
Tom Cruise without the fee, This Aladdin-a street urchin, voiced by Scott Weinger, who lives by filching food from market stalls, ably assisted by his pet monkey, Abu (Frank Welker)-comes equipped with the hair, teeth and general demeanor of Tom Cruise. He also comes, in animated form, at far less than Cruise`s usual fee. His romantic partner is Jasmine (Linda Larkin)-a far less princessy princess than Musker and Clement`s Little Mermaid-who lives with her father, the sultan (Douglas Seale), in a grandly domed palace.
Fleeing from the hideous suitors forced upon her by her father and his villainous adviser, the Grand Vizier Jafar (Jonathan Freeman), she takes to the streets, where she meets Aladdin in a contretemps over a piece of purloined fruit.
It is love, or at least promising tension, at first sight, but when Jasmine returns to the palace, Aladdin is left to wonder how a poor boy like him might woo her. The answer comes from Jafar, who sends Aladdin into an enchanted cave (one of the film`s complex, computer-generated spaces) to retrieve a magic lamp.
In it lives the Genie, and in the Genie lives the voice and personality of Robin Williams, who pretty much takes over the last half of the film. Rapidly shifting shape, size and vocal inflections, in a superfast, manic blur that suggests the cartoons of Tex Avery far more than the serene Disney features, the Genie nudges Aladdin and Jasmine together, while helping free the sultan from the vizier`s evil influence.
The range of cultural references packed into the Genie`s transformations- he impersonates, among countless other archetypes, Robert de Niro, William F. Buckley and Disney`s own Pinocchio-gives ``Aladdin`` a knowing, self- conscious quality that makes it the first postmodern Disney feature.
The role of the villain`s comic sidekick, a crucial component of the Disney formula, goes to a shriekingly sarcastic, cracker-hating parrot raspily voiced by Gilbert Gottfried, who brings a funny but distracting touch of big- city standup comedy to the Arabian fantasy of ``Aladdin.``
Quotes from tradition, Musker and Clements are aware of the intimidating tradition behind their efforts, and they quote from it freely. In his evil form, submitted to the wishes of Jafar, the genial blue Genie turns into the towering satanic figure in ``Night on Bald Mountain`` from ``Fantasia.`` Jafar himself becomes a huge, hissing snake at the film`s finale, re-creating the witch`s transformation into a dragon at the end of ``Sleeping Beauty.``
All of these references make ``Aladdin`` seem much more a part of the everyday world-or at least, of the world of TV, newspapers and other movies- than the classic Disney films, with their aura of magical self-containment, of myth and legend.
One of the film`s stranger self-referential jokes plays on the Disney World ``You`ve won the Super Bowl, where are you going now?`` campaign, thus squarely centering ``Aladdin`` within a glumly corporate world of cross- plugging and product placement. It`s an honest but uncomfortable reminder that enchantment is a commodity too.
``ALADDIN`` (STAR)(STAR)(STAR)
Directed and produced by John Musker and Ron Clements; screenplay by Clements, Musker, Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio; production designed by R.S. Vander
Wende; art direction by Bill Perkins; edited by H. Lee Peterson; music by Alan Menken. A Walt Disney Pictures release; opens Wednesday at the Water Tower,
Webster Place and outlying theaters. Running time: 1:30. MPAA rating: G.
VOICE CAST
Aladdin Scott Weinger
Genie Robin Williams
Jasmine Linda Larkin
Jafar Jonathan Freeman
Abu Frank Welker
Iago Gilbert Gottfried
`ALADDIN` IS PURE MAGIC
MOVIE A WISH COME TRUE FOR DISNEY FANS
Chicago Tribune
November 24, 1992
Author: Mark Caro.
If you`ve been dreaming of Genie, just wait until Wednesday - the Disney cartoon ``Aladdin`` hits the screens.
Like ``The Little Mermaid`` and ``Beauty and the Beast,`` the new movie features eye-popping animation and songs. But ``Aladdin`` also has something those movies didn`t have: the wacko energy of Robin Williams (``Hook``).
In giving the Genie his voice, Williams spews out a jet-stream of impressions matched by ever-shifting pictures. Look, now he`s Arsenio Hall! Jack Nicholson! Pinocchio!
The story involves a studly young guy named Aladdin (voiced by Scott Weinger of ``Full House``) who rubs a magic lantern and lets loose a Genie who will grant him three wishes. Aladdin wants to play prince to free-thinking princess Jasmine, but first must foil the evil Jafar. Some frisky, non-human characters share the spotlight: a sarcastic bad-guy parrot (comedian Gilbert Gottfried), monkey-turned-elephant Abu and a shy magic carpet.
The love story isn`t as much of a heart pounder as in ``Beauty and the Beast.`` ``Aladdin`` has a lighter, bouncier feel, offering a magic carpet ride that won`t disappoint Disney fans.
Runaway Imagination of `Aladdin'
The Latest Disney Animated Film Breaks With Tradition
Chicago Sun-Times
November 22, 1992
Author: BOB STRAUSS
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. It's not the kind of Disney film your parents took you to.
In fact, "Aladdin," the company's latest animated movie, bounces off and then goes beyond the walls that Walt Disney established with "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" in 1937: It's in another dimension altogether from the studio's most recent hits, the classically wrought fairy tales "Beauty and the Beast" (1991) and "The Little Mermaid" (1989).
"I've never seen a Disney cartoon that's this funny," gushed Eric Goldberg, who, although not the most objective commentator, should know.
An award-winning commercial animator whom Disney has been trying to lure away from his London base for years, the witty Goldberg finally agreed to work on "Aladdin," the studio's 31st full-length feature (opening Wednesday in Chicago).
What convinced him? Goldberg was offered the supervising animator position for the most fantastic character of the durable "Arabian Nights" tale, the Genie, the wish-granting creature who emerges from a magic lamp. But it's not just any all-powerful, wish-granting genie; this one has the voice and the hyper-speed imagination of Robin Williams.
"I've never seen a cartoon like this, that will make people laugh this loud," Goldberg said. "It's as funny as any live-action comedy that you could compare it to."
Indeed. Critics who have already caught the film's limited runs in New York or Los Angeles are calling the big blue shape-shifting harlequin role Williams' purest screen performance ever.
It's a nonstop mutation of eclectic imagery, whose references range from current movie and '50s TV stars to medieval legends to just about every member of the animal kingdom, including some that look suspiciously like incarnations from earlier Disney cartoons. It's the ultimate visualization of Williams' stream-of-consciousness comedy style.
And it almost wrecked the movie.
True, what puts "Aladdin" on a plane apart from "Beauty and the Beast" and "The Little Mermaid" is Williams' irreverent energy. But the film is called "Aladdin," not "I Scream at Genie." There's a fairy tale involving a petty thief's coming of age and finding his dream, a beautiful princess' longing for independence and true love, an evil vizier's plot to conquer a kingdom and the world.
It's a musical, a love story, a sometimes terrifying adventure and a morality play. It's an artistic breakthrough, employing bolder colors and design, a switch from the soft-edged Disney style. Its character drawings depart with the studio's naturalistic tradition in favor of a more cartoonish look inspired by show-biz caricaturist Al Hirschfeld.
"The challenge was to try and sustain a tone that could accommodate all of these disparate elements," said co-director John Musker, who oversaw both "Aladdin" and "Little Mermaid" with his partner, Ron Clements.
"It was a balancing act, but that's what was most appealing to us about the project: trying to work that tone so you could buy into the story emotionally, yet take such leaps with the comedy."
Clements and Musker developed their basic version of the script to accommodate Williams - that is, the Genie's scenes were written with a lot of room for improvisation. Williams then made voice recordings, sometimes doing as many as 25 different takes.
Once the audio material was boiled down, Goldberg could find himself with four hours worth of gags for a four-minute-long cartoon sequence.
"We were spoiled for choice," Goldberg said. "John and Ron and I would have to go back through this mountain of material that Robin had laid down. It was a monumental job just to catalog all this stuff, but we would whittle it down to where we all thought it was funny, and then we would start animating.
"I had to re-storyboard (the preliminary still drawings with which animators map out a scene) a lot of things first, to allow for Robin's improv."
Even faced with Williams' runaway imagination, Goldberg probably did less redesigning than the film's other key animators.
When Walt Disney Studios chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg saw a rough, black-and-white cut of "Aladdin" in spring, 1991, he hated it. The Genie overwhelmed the film's other elements; Aladdin was too boyish for sexy Princess Jasmine to fall in love with, and even some of the songs, written by the Oscar-winning team of Alan Menken and the late Howard Ashman, didn't fit in.
Back to the drawing board
Just a few years ago, it would have been unprecedented in the labor-intensive animation industry to replace whole characters and sequences; after all, some 600 artists and craftspeople put untold work hours into your average Disney feature.
But Katzenberg knew that the success of "Beauty" (the first animated film to gross more than $100 million on initial release and to be nominated for a best picture Academy Award) and "Mermaid" rested on their over-all entertainment value. When he wasn't thrilled by what he saw, it had to be changed until he was.
"In terms of their humor and style and themes, we're essentially making these movies for ourselves," Katzenberg said. "The first challenge is to make ourselves laugh, make ourselves cry - we've got to hit our own buttons. Then we cross our fingers, close our eyes and pray that if we're hitting our buttons, we're hitting your buttons."
While that included letting Williams go ape - all of the animators interviewed for this article affirmed that Katzenberg never suggested toning down the Genie - it also meant making the other characters more distinctive. Thus Aladdin, one of the rare male protagonists from a cartoon factory geared more toward Cinderellas, Alices and Beauties, sleeping and otherwise, had to transcend both bland Prince Charming and cute kid traditions.
As an Arabian princess, Jasmine could not sport the tiny, upturned nose and crystal blue eyes that make most Disney heroines indistinguishable from one another. Even Iago, the pet parrot accomplice of the scheming vizier Jafar, had to help his master counter the Genie's powerful comic weapon. And so Gilbert Gottfried, a comedian who talks even faster than Williams, supplied the bird's voice.
A Middle Eastern motif
"Aladdin" also breaks from previous Disney fairy tales in that its origins and setting are Middle Eastern, not European. Everything, from landscapes to clothing to architecture, naturally looks different from the way it would in a Brothers Grimm or Hans Christian Andersen-derived movie. With that as their starting point, the filmmakers decided to run with the concept.
"Richard Vander Wende, the production designer, put a lot of thought into the use of color in the movie," Clements said. "The use of warm colors against cool ones was a constant theme - red representing evil, blue meaning good."
"Blue was thought of as inviting, representing the cool of shade in the desert," Musker added. "Reds are consumptive - fire, heat, scorching. There was a logic to every color, to evoke mood and, also, the palette used in Persian miniatures: the mint green in Jasmine's clothes and the gold on the Genie's bracelets and the flying carpet's tassles were colors ancient Persian artists favored."
Although it often meant extra work, the Disney artists welcomed this constant attention to imaginative detail.
"I had just come off `Beauty and the Beast,' where I had done Gaston," said Jafar's supervising animator, Andreas Deja, "who had to be handled so carefully. You couldn't do much in terms of expressions with him because he was supposed to be handsome all of the time. It just drove me nuts. On the next one, I wanted to do something that I could have a little fun with, with a face that looks like a mask, that is real expressive.
The surprise factor
"The name of the game is surprise in any given scene," Deja said of animation. "Otherwise, you're getting into your cliche action. You always want the characters to act and move in a way that delights people."
Although "Aladdin" is far different - funnier, hipper artistically - from any other Disney cartoon feature, its foremost goal is delighting people. That's the same aim Walt set out to achieve with "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs."
"We're not just competing with ourselves, we're competing with this body of work that got made 50 years ago and is still looking over our shoulder," said Uncle Walt's nephew, Roy Disney, now one of the overseers of the animation department.
"We've got to be that good again, or better. We're pretty well past the period when everyone was timid and would say, `Is this what Walt would have wanted us to do?'
"But we still sit around and say, `Is this as good as he would have liked it to be, and does it live up to that tradition?' "
"Walt Disney remains an incredible influence on these films," Katzenberg said.
"It's not just the heritage of the technique of animation, which clearly influences us in extraordinary ways. It's the values in these movies. They're still celebrations of all the things that are best about mankind.
"That's the Disney franchise, if you will."
Bob Strauss is the film critic of the Los Angeles Daily News.
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