ALADDIN



Disney's cartoon film from Adam Oelhenschlaeger's tale addapted from the Arabian Nights.


Identification sheet:


1992, USA
Running time: 90 minutes
Direction: John Musker, Ron Clements
Production : Buena Vista
Sound Track: Alan Menken
Scénario Makers: Ron Clements, Ted Elliott

Main characters:


A part from Aladdin, the protagonist, almost all the other characters of the tale have been deleted, changed their names or modified. Thus the Wise Noureddin, looking for the magic lamp, becomes Jafar, the vice-prime minister who loves magic. On the other hand, animals are widely represented and give a funny hint to a conventional story. Aladdin is flanked by his monkey Abou, the Princess has a tiger and Jafar goes with a violent and ordinarty parrot called Yago. The tiger plays his common role of understanding and conforting feline. The monkey mimics and gives rhythm to the plot. The parrot, with his slang, gives modernity to the tale.


A pure character and Robin Williams:


Aladdin represents the new generation of cartoons for the Disney factory. The film is a mixture of two different genres, which became really successful. On the one hand, we find the typical cartoon film, and on the other there are scenes of musical comedy.
This recepy will be later on used for The Haunchman of Notre Dame in 1996. The scenario maker have kept the idea of purity with the figure og Aladdin, who is also intelligent and strong, perfect qualities to defeat Jafar and his magic.
It is Robin Williams (well-known after his major role in Dead Poets Society) who gives voice to the Genie. This actor, excellent imitator, enriches the film with his accents, his slangs and his imitations of famous American TV figures. This modernity given to a timeless tale has been quite characteristic in the latest cartoon films produced by Disney Factory.


Jafar's return: Aladdin's sequel?


The popular success of Aladdin has triggered the shooting of its sequel called Jafar's Return, released in 1994. In the preceeding film, Jafar became a Genie but was made prisonner of the lamp. Now he comes back to bring Evil to Aladdin's world. The film is a series of violent adventures, jerky pursuits, suddent new developpements... until the happy ending.


Other Aladdin feature-film versions with real actors:
Aladdin and his Lamp, 1952, directed by Lew Landers.
Aladdin, 1987, directed by Bruno Corbucci.