Difference between revisions of "Aladdin (1992 film)"

Revision as of 00:43, June 27, 2022

Aladdin was a 1992 animated Disney film that is the third movie in the “Disney Renaissance” it was the most successful movie of 1992, and made more money than Beauty and the Beast. However, it was not nominated for Best Picture, and no animated movie would get that honor again until “Up” in 2009.

Plot

The movie begins with a thief named Gazeem giving Jafar the piece of a golden bug which brings forth The Cave of Wonders. Jafar tells Gazeem to give him the magic lamp, but the treasure inside is all his. Gazeem goes inside the cave, but since he’s not worthy, he dies. Jafar chooses to be patient, and find the one who’s worthy.

We see who that man is in Aladdin who like Gazeem, is a thief, but we see that he’s charitable as he gives some of the bread he risked his life stealing to poor children. Meanwhile at the Sultan’s Palace, Prince Achmed gets rejected by Princess Jasmine, which angers the Sultan. Jasmine says she doesn’t want to be forced into a marriage despite the law saying so. The Sultan says Jasmine getting married is more than just about the law, but also that he won’t be around forever, and he wants to see the right man keep his daughter safe. Jasmine then decides to sneak out and explore the streets of Agrabah in a disguise.

After another steal, Aladdin then notices Jasmine, and develops feelings for her which annoys his monkey sidekick Abu. Jasmine then takes an apple, and gives it to a poor child, which angers the owner, and is about to cut Jasmine’s hand off as she failed to pay for it. Lucky for her, Aladdin sweeps in, and saves her. The two run to Aladdin’s house, which has a nice view, but then the guards find them, and arrest Aladdin, but Jasmine reveals who she is, and demands Aladdin’s freedom. Despite this, the guards have orders from Jafar to arrest Aladdin.

Jasmine then talks to Jafar about what happened, and he lies saying it was to protect her. Later, Jafar is pressured to get the lamp and fast as if he fails, Jasmine will either fire or kill Jafar. At the prison, Jafar then disguises himself as a hunchbacked old man, and gives Aladdin his freedom in exchange for a task. Get the lamp. Unlike Gazeem’s try, Aladdin is deemed worthy, so he gets to explore the Cave of Wonders. He is told he can’t touch anything except the lamp. Aladdin does what he’s told despite the temptations, and in encounters a flying carpet. He finds the lamp, and takes it, but Abu takes a jewel, which causes the cave to collapse. The carpet saves Aladdin, and he and Abu fly to the entrance, but a rock falls on the carpet, and Aladdin is holding on the edge, and asks Jafar (Who’s still in disguise) for help, and he says he’ll help if Aladdin gives him the lamp, he does, but Jafar betrays him, which gets Abu to attack Jafar, and steal the lamp back. Much to Jafar’s horror.

Aladdin now apparently stuck in the cave for the rest of his life, rubs the lamp, and the Genie appears. The Genie tells Aladdin he can grant him three wishes, but he can’t wish for certain things such as more wishes and love. Aladdin tricks the Genie, and asks to get him out of the cave, which he does, but thanks to Aladdin not directly wishing for it, it doesn’t count. Aladdin’s first real wish was to be a rich Prince so he can legally marry his crush Jasmine. At the Sultan’s Palace, Jafar is more worried about himself as the lamp is impossible for him to get. But his pet parrot Iago gives him an idea. He marries Jasmine, and after the Sultan dies, he can kill Jasmine, and Agrabah is his to rule. Jafar likes that idea, and plots to hypnotize the Sultan into doing that. But before he can, Aladdin under the persona Prince Ali Ababwa comes into the Kingdom with a musical number, which makes the Sultan overjoyed. After the song, Aladdin is confident in his ability to win Jasmine over, which Jafar interjects and tells the Sultan it’s a bad idea. Jasmine walks in on the conversation, and calls out the three men for discussing what to do with her.

Aladdin then talks to her in private, and like Achmed, Jasmine rejects Aladdin, but then he shows her the magic carpet, and gives her a ride around the world, which gets Jasmine to approve marrying him. After the ride, Jafar kidnaps Aladdin, and tries to drown him. The Genie saves him quickly, but that costs Aladdin his second wish. It appears Iago’s plan worked, and the Sultan was ready to force Jasmine to wed Jafar, but Aladdin comes back, and breaks Jafar’s staff, which breaks the hypnosis. Jafar is then fired, and the Sultan approves the marriage between Aladdin and Jasmine.

Aladdin is feeling down as he wants the Genie’s guidance on going through life, as he’s not really a Prince, despite him promising to spend his last wish on the Genie’s freedom. The Genie is upset, so he goes back to his lamp. Iago then tricks Aladdin to get out of his room, and he steals the lamp, and gives it to Jafar. Jafar uses his first wish to become the Sultan, and due to Jasmine not bowing to him, Jafar uses his second wish to become the most powerful sorcerer in the world. He then reveals Aladdin’s identity as a street rat, and sends him away.

Aladdin with the help of the magic carpet returns to Agrabah to face Jafar, and it ends with a climatic battle where Jafar turns into a snake, and is strangling Aladdin to death, be he points out that he’ll never be as powerful as the Genie, which hurts Jafar’s ego, so he uses his final wish to become a genie himself. He gets his wish granted, but is sent into a lamp, and he drags Iago with him.

Jafar’s lamp is sent into the desert, and Aladdin keeps his promise and frees the Genie despite him knowing he’ll not marry Jasmine as he’s not a Prince. To his surprise, the Sultan changes the law saying that Princesses can marry who they choose. The Genie congratulates Aladdin, and goes on a vacation, and that ends the movie.

Cast

Brad Kane as Aladdin

Robin Williams as the Genie

Linda Larkin as Jasmine

Johnathan Freeman and Jafar

Gilbert Gottfried as Iago

Frank Welker as Abu

Douglas Seale as the Sultan

Production

Lyricist Howard Ashman proposed the idea as when he was a kid, he was in an Aladdin play where he was the title character. He and Menken were working on the songs for awhile, but he and Menken had to put the project on a pause to do the music for Beauty and the Beast. By the time it was done, Ashman died of AIDS, and the story that was complete was rejected by Studio Chairman Jeffery Katzenberg, and since he wouldn’t push back the release date, the new story was completed in eight days.

Of the things cut, the most notable was axing Aladdin’s mother who Katzenberg called out by name to remove. Others include Jasmine being more bratty, the Genie being able to grant unlimited wishes, and the Genie revealing himself as the merchant narrator at the end. Due to the story changes, many of Ashman’s songs were cut such as “Arabian Nights reprises” “Call Me Princess” “Why Me?” “Humiliate the Boy” and the most notable “Proud of Your Boy” which according to people close to him, was Ashman’s favorite song to work on, and is what the right wing group “The Proud Boys” named themselves after. Due to the cut songs, Disney brought in Tim Rice to write the rest, and one of the ones he wrote won the Oscar for Best Original Song “A Whole New World.” Only three Ashman songs stayed in the final project. “Arabian Nights” “Friend Like Me” and “Prince Ali.”