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Thirty years have passed, but it still remains one of the most beloved animated films ever. On November 25, 1992, the Disney classic was released in American cinemas Aladdin. Directed by Ron Clements and John Musker, thanks to its mix of music, animation and gags, it was a success with audiences and critics. Even if there was some controversy. From the plot, to the voice actors, to the iconic characters: here are some trivia and things to know about the film.
The plot
Aladdin, according to the official canon, is the 31st Disney Classic. It is also the fourth film of what is called the Disney Renaissance era. It is produced by Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The story is set in Agrabah, an imaginary Arab city. It revolves around Aladdin, a young thief who – together with his faithful pet monkey Abu – enters a cave to get an ancient magic lamp. By rubbing it, Aladdin unwittingly frees a being who has been imprisoned inside it for millennia and who can make three of his wishes come true: the Genie. Aladdin’s life soon becomes intertwined with that of Princess Jasmine, the sultan’s daughter who is tired of feeling like a prisoner in her palace. But on their way there is also the wicked Jafar, grand vizier of the sultan who – helped by his parrot Iago – wants to recover the lamp.
The inspiration
The film Aladdin inspired by the story Aladdin and the wonderful lampcontained in the collection of oriental short stories The thousand and one nights. But there are differences. While the cartoon is set in a fictional city in the Middle East, the original version takes place in Cathay, today’s northern China. Furthermore, in the story the young man is not an orphan but lives with his mother (even in the first draft of the film it was like this) and the wishes that he can ask of the Genius are infinite and not three. The grand vizier then plots for the emperor’s daughter to marry her son. But Aladdin also has the 1940 film as its inspiration The Thief of Baghdadwinner of three Academy Awards: also in this case there are differences, starting from the setting, but many characters, names and elements are similar (the vizier, for example, is called Jaffar, while the thief is Abu).
Aladdin
The protagonist of the animated film is the young Aladdin. At first he was supposed to be 13 and it was decided to design the character to look like Michael J. Fox. Then, to make the story between him and Jasmine more likely, Aladdin becomes an 18 year old and the authors change their minds and take inspiration from Tom Cruise. For his “a little rough” character, on the other hand, they say they took “a young Harrison Ford” as a model. For oversized pants and a distinctive way of moving, they look to the choreography of rapper and dancer MC Hammer. Furthermore, the creators decide that Aladdin is not the usual handsome and boring prince, he must also have more contemporary characteristics: he must be nice, smart, funny, he must know how to face difficulties, have courage, be lovable and know how to woo a girl. For the first time, therefore, we also think about what could push a young woman to fall in love with him.
Jasmine
The young woman is Jasmine, also different from the classic princesses of the time. She first of all she is the first in the Disney kingdom not to be Caucasian, with her dark skin, long black hair and Arab-style trousers. She also has a strong character, she doesn’t want to be saved, she rebels against the rules and bravely challenges the impositions. She also refuses to marry within 15 years, as tradition would have it. “Father, I can’t stand feeling forced. If I get married it will be out of true love,” she says to the sultan, refusing the various suitors. And she claims: “I am not a trophy to be won”. Also for her the designers were inspired by a Hollywood star: the actress Jennifer Connelly. But not only that: the animator Mark Henn said he was inspired by a photo of her sister Beth as a young man.
Genius
One of the most iconic characters in the film is the Genie. At first there were supposed to be two: one of the ring under Jafar’s control and the other of the lamp with Aladdin. In the end it was decided to keep only one, that of the lamp. It was Robin Williams who made him enter the history of cinema, voicing the magical blue character (in the Italian version, the voice is by an equally extraordinary Gigi Proietti). The role was written specifically for the American actor and the authors gave him great freedom, so much so that many of his lines are improvised and for some scenes he was given only guidelines. “We took some parts of his monologues and built the Genius on them. Williams was convinced to accept the part right after we showed him a really funny sequence, there he understood the true potential of the character,” said Eric Goldberg, head of the animation department. Robin Williams’ parts, due to time constraints, were recorded in a few sessions: since the animation would be adapted to the voice at a later time, the actor recorded up to 20 different versions of the same line. Williams dubbed, again improvising, the street merchant’s voice in the scene that opens the film: it was expected that, at the end of the cartoon, it would be revealed that the merchant was actually the Genie, but then the revelation was cut. Another curiosity: in the final scene, the Genie has a Hawaiian shirt and Goofy’s hat and it is no coincidence, because it is a look actually worn by Williams, at the end of the eighties, on the special tour “Back To Neverland at Disney MGM Studios.
Impersonations and cameos
Throughout the film Robin Williams imitates a number of famous people, such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ed Sullivan, Groucho Marx, Robert De Niro, Jack Nicholson. Eric Goldberg explained that the actor brought about fifty characters to life and that selecting the best ones, contained in almost 20 hours of audio material, was difficult: for example, George Bush and John Wayne were left out. In the film there are also easter eggs and cameos of other Disney characters. At one point the Genius turns into Pinocchio, Sebastian de appears from a cookbook The little Mermaidamong the figurines that the sultan plays with is the Beast of The beauty and the Beast, Mickey appears during the transformations of the tiger. Also, directors Ron Clements and John Musker appear in a scene among the people in the market.
Awards and records
Aladdin was released in American cinemas on November 25, 1992, while in Italian theaters it arrived on December 3, 1993. It immediately won over audiences and critics. Created on a budget of 28 million, in the US it was the most successful of that year: in the United States it grossed around 217 million dollars and around 504 million in the rest of the world. He has also won several awards, many of which for the soundtrack (which, from Oriental nights to The world is Mine, contains passages that are difficult to forget). It was nominated for five Academy Awards and won two: Best Score for Alan Menken and Best Song (A Whole New World) to Alan Menken and Tim Rice. Three Golden Globes: best soundtrack, best song and special prize to Robin Williams for dubbing the Genius.
The controversies
Despite the success, there has been some controversy related to the animated film. Aladdin and Jasmine, for example, were considered too anglicized compared to the other characters. The Arab community then accused the film of racism. In particular, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee accused Disney of portraying the Arab people as full of criminals and villains. Above all, the opening song, Notti d’Oriente, ended up under accusation, with the merchant who, while describing the city, sings: “Where they cut off your ear/If they don’t like your face/It’s barbaric, but, hey, it’s home” (“Where they cut off your ear/If they don’t like your face/It’s barbaric, but, hey, this is home.” In the US video version, this part was changed to: “Where it’s flat and immense/And the heat is intense” (“Where it is flat and immense / And the heat very intense”).
Robin Williams versus Disney
Tensions after the film also arose between Robin Williams and Disney. The star, one of the first major actors to lend his voice to a cartoon, said he agreed to voice the Genie – with the minimum salary dictated by the Sag union ($75,000) – to make his children happy, but on the condition that his name and image were used only for the film but were not then used for promotional purposes. Since Disney did not respect these conditions, the actor decided not to dub the Genius in the first sequel of the cartoon and in the animated TV series (in his place Dan Castellaneta, historical voice of Homer Simpson). “Not only did they use my voice for commercial purposes, but they redubbed my character to sell products. It was the one thing I had withheld my consent for and they definitely crossed the line,” he said. After a public apology from Disney, Williams returned to voice the Genie in the second sequel.
Sequels and Live action
The success of Aladdin has created a market linked to the film, with gadgets, video games, games, spin-offs and more. Two sequels were also released, distributed directly to videotape. The first is The return of Jafar, from 1994, which tells of the ex-grand vizier’s thirst for revenge; the second is Aladdin and the king of thieves, from 1996, in which the protagonist discovers that his father is still alive. An animated television series also aired from 1994 to 1996. The return of Jafar was the first direct-to-video sequel (that is, intended for the home video market): it was a success and since then Disney has created videotape sequels for all of its cartoons. The young thief turned prince has also recently returned to the cinema: the live-action remake was released in Italian cinemas on May 22, 2019 Aladdindirected by Guy Ritchie. The protagonist is Mena Massoud, Jasmine has the face of Naomi Scott and the Genius is Will Smith.
Source-tg24.sky.it