On this day 31 years ago in 1992, November 25, 1992 to be exact, Disney’s Aladdin was released in US theaters.
Aladdin is Walt Disney Animation Studios’ 32nd animated classic feature film. The film was directed by John Musker and Ron Clements and includes the voice talents Scott Weinger, Robin Williams, Linda Larkin and Jonathan Freeman – just to name a few.
About the Film
The movie is set in the fictional Middle Eastern city of Agrabah. Jafar, the villain of the movie, who is the Royal Vizier of Agrabah, wants to retrieve a magical lamp from the Cave of Wonders that can only be entered by “the diamond in the rough”. After years of searching, Jafar finally discovers Aladdin and identifies him as “the diamond in the rough”. Jafar sends Aladdin into the Cave of Wonders to retrieve the lamp telling him not to touch anything but the lamp. However, Abu, Aladdin’s pet monkey, cannot resist touching the treasure which causes the cave to collapse and close.
Aladdin, unsuspectingly rubs the lamps only to reveal a Genie inside voiced by the late Robin Williams. As with other magic lamp stories, the Genie can only grant three wishes.
Earlier in the movie, Aladdin meets Princess Jasmine in the Agrabah market. He doesn’t know that Jasmine is a princess when he firsts meets her until he takes the blame for her taking an apple from a merchant and she reveals herself to defend Aladdin. So Aladdin asks the Genie to make him a Prince so he can go to the palace to get Jasmine to fall in love with him. The Genie grants his wish and he enters the palace as Prince Ali.
Jafar later finds out that Prince Ali is actually Aladdin who escaped the Cave of Wonders with the magical lamp and Jafar’s sidekick Iago steals the lamp. Jafar first wishes to become Sultan of Agrabah until he battles Aladdin and then asks the Genie to make him the world’s most powerful sorcerer. Later in the battle, Aladdin tricks Jafar into wishing to be an all-powerful Genie after telling Jafar that the Genie is more powerful than him. But, the wish backfires on Jafar putting him into his own magic lamp. After Jafar (and Iago who Jafar grabs on his way in) is sucked into the the lamp, the Genie throws Jafar’s lamp into the Cave of Wonders in the desert.
In the end, Aladdin uses his third wish to free the Genie from his lamp and Jasmine convinces her father, the Sultan, to change the law so that she can marry whoever she chooses even if that person is not a prince. The movie ends with the Genie leaving to travel the world and Aladdin and Jasmine together.
About the Characters & Voice Cast
Aladdin is a “street rat” which is a poor Agrabah thief who steals to survive. He has a sidekick pet monkey named Abu and is voiced by Scott Weinger.
Abu is Aladdin’s pet monkey sidekick. He is voiced by Frank Welker.
The Genie is a magical, blue, powerful and very comedic being that lives in a lamp until someone rubs it to release him then becoming the Genie’s master. However, once released from the lamp, the Genie has to grant three wishes to his new master. The Genie is voiced by the late Robin Williams. Robin also voiced a peddler who appears at the beginning of the movie narrating the story.
Jasmine is the Princess of Agrabah and the daughter of the Sultan of Agrabah. She has a pet tiger named Rajah. Jasmine is voiced by Linda Larkin.
Jafar is the Royal Vizier of Agrabah who wants to take over the kingdom and become Sultan. His sidekick is named Iago. Jafar is voiced by Jonathan Freeman.
Iago is Jafar’s parrot sidekick. He is voiced by Gilbert Gottfried.
The Sultan is the ruler of Agrabah and father of Jasmine. The Sultan is voiced by Douglas Seale.
Razoul is the Captain of the Agrabah Guards who is voiced by Jim Cummings.
Gazeem is a thief that Jafar sends into the Cave of Wonders at the beginning of the film but the cave swallows him since he is not “the diamond in the rough”. Gazeem is voiced by Charlie Adler.
Prince Achmed is a suitor for Jasmine that she rejects in the film because she wants to marry who she wants. Prince Achmed is voiced by Corey Burton.
Disney’s Aladdin in the Disney Theme Parks
At the Magic Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, Aladdin has an attraction named ‘The Magic Carpets of Aladdin’. It is a basic spinner ride like Dumbo where guest sit inside a carpet like vehicle and the ride spins around and up and down a few times.
At Disneyland Park in Southern California, Aladdin and the Genie both appear in the Magic Happens parade. ‘Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular’ previously performed in the Hyperion Theatre for 13 years at Disney California Adventure Park but the very popular show took it’s final bow on January 11, 2016.
Tokyo DisneySea at the Tokyo Disneyland Resort has a “port of call” themed land called Arabian Coast which is themed to Disney’s Aladdin. The land includes ‘Jasmine’s Flying Carpets’ which is similar to the spinner ride ‘The Magic Carpets of Aladdin’ at the Magic Kingdom. Other attractions and entertainment at the “port of call are ‘Sindbad’s Storybook Voyage’ dark boat ride, Caravan Carousel and The Magic Lamp Theater. The land also includes several merchandise shops and food and beverage locations.
And at Disneyland Paris, there is an Aladdin themed walk through attraction named ‘Le Passage Enchanté d’Aladdin’ located in the Adventureland Bazaar. The attraction features a series of window display scenes from the movie.
Sequels
Two direct-to-video sequels to Disney’s Aladdin were released due to the popularity of the film. The first was The Return of Jafar in 1994 followed by Aladdin and the King of Thieves in 1996. In addition to the sequels, an Aladdin animated television series was created which takes place after the film that takes Aladdin and his friends on several adventures. The film was also adapted into a Broadway production. And lastly, a live-action version of Disney’s Aladdin was released in 2019 that stared Will Smith as the Genie.
Watch the Movie
Have you seen Disney’s Aladdin? The Disney classic film along with both sequels are available to watch on Disney+. And, is “A Whole New World” a favorite song of yours?
Let me know if you have seen Aladdin and what your thoughts are about the movie and the soundtrack. I would love to hear from you so please send me a message.
