Disney Renaissance Month - Aladdin (1992)

        Hey guys, Chuck here, and if you guys recall, last year I took a look at the 2019 live-action remake of Disney's Aladdin as part of Will Smith Month. Well, this year for Disney Renaissance Month, I'm taking a look at the 1992 original. This is my review of Aladdin, directed by Ron Clements and John Musker, who return to direct another Disney Animated film after their success with The Little Mermaid. Starring in the film is a voice cast that includes Scott Weinger, Linda Larkin, Jonathan Freeman, Jim Cummings, Frank Welker, Gilbert Gottfried, and Robin Williams. 

       The story of this movie is, you know what? I already did a summary of the story of the movie when I reviewed the remake last year, so I won't go too much into it. But to sum up, Aladdin is a street urchin living in the city of Agrabah. One day, he meets Princess Jasmine, and he ends up arrested and charged with kidnapping the Princess. Jafar, the evil vizier, leads Aladdin to the Cave of Wonders to help him fetch the magic oil lamp. Jafar betrays him, and leaves him trapped in the cave. But, Aladdin's monkey Abu steals the lamp, leaving Jafar with nothing. Aladdin rubs the lamp, unleashing the Genie, who gets everyone out of the Cave, and turns Aladdin into Prince Ali. As Prince Ali, Aladdin woos Princess Jasmine with a ride on his magic carpet, where they see the wonderful surprises all over the world. Jafar steals the lamp, wishes to be Sultan, wishes to be made a sorcerer, sends Aladdin, Abu, and the Carpet to a far away tundra, only for the three to return and try to free the Genie. A fight ensues, with Jafar turning into a massive cobra, and eventually using his final wish to become a Genie, ending up getting sucked into his lamp. Aladdin frees Genie, who goes off to see the world, the Sultan changes the law, allowing Aladdin and Jasmine to marry, and the two live happily ever after. Pretty much the same as the 2019 remake, but way better. 

         Of course, the use of CAPS is top notch, especially during the escape from the Cave of Wonders. The wide scale of the desert, the Palace, the Cave of Wonders, and just the entire city of Agrabah is just incredibly breathtaking. The action, especially the final battle against Jafar, is stupendous. The animation department went above and beyond to animate everything going on in the foreground, and animating a simply stunning set of backgrounds and I just love it. 

         Scott Weinger and Linda Larkin are fantastic as Aladdin and Jasmine, and Jonathan Freeman is a genuine menace as Jafar. Years ago, when he did his "Top 5 Best Disney Villains," Walter Banasiak put Jafar as Number One. And I definitely think that Jafar is among the top greatest Disney villains ever put on film,.and it's amazing. Jim Cummings is also a neat secondary antagonist as the guard Razoul, and his scenes going after Aladdin are a lot of fun. Frank Welker returns for animal vocal effects for the likes of Abu the monkey and Rajah the tiger. Welker also provides the voice for the Cave of Wonders Entrance, which is a massive tiger head. And the voice he gives, while pretty much the same voice he used for Doctor Claw on the cartoon Inspector Gadget, is still terrifying and just awesome. It's definitely a highlight. 

       But the two voices I most want to discuss are for Iago and the Genie. Gilbert Gottfried provided the voice of Iago, and definitely is still identified with the character even to this day. It's truly unfortunate that he passed away last year, because his performance as Iago is truly iconic and impossible to beat. And now, the Genie. Do I really need to say it? Robin Williams brings a level of humor and manic energy to the Genie that cannot be topped. Can never be topped. And will never be topped. Simply put, Robin IS the Genie. And what's most humorous to me is that Robin was said to be a nightmare for the animators, not because of anything he did that was wrong, but because he gave them so much material to work with and ALL of it was just that damn funny. Seriously, Robin Williams was a hero of mine, and it was truly devastating when he passed away in 2014. I loved his version of the Genie as a kid, and I still love it today as an adult. 

       The music is, once again, iconic. Alan Menken returns to compose the score, and he did write at least three songs with Howard Ashman, those songs being "Arabian Nights," "Friend Like Me," and "Prince Ali." The other songs, including "A Whole New World," were written by Alan Menken and Tim Rice, who was selected to replace the late Howard Ashman as songwriter for this movie. Easily, the music is one of the strongest points of the movie, with "Arabian Nights" and "A Whole New World" both being my favorites. 

        All in all, Ron Clements and John Musker's second outing at directing a Disney animated film is just as fun as, if not more fun than, the work they did with The Little Mermaid. I loved this movie as a kid, and I still do to this day. I'm giving the 1992 version of Aladdin a rating of 5/5. Alright guys, I'll be taking tomorrow off. But, join me on Thursday for my review of the 1994 mega hit, and honestly the biggest film from the Disney Renaissance: The Lion King.