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Before the 90s, Disney and other animation studios would sporadically cast notable actors for their voice roles. It was not the standard, but it happened. However, in 1992 Disney made the decision to cast Robin Williams as the Genie in their upcoming film Aladdin and the game was not the same. Williams performance has been praised, often imitated, but never duplicated, and injects this film with an unrivaled energy.
For those that have been lost in the desert, Aladdin follows the titular character (Scott Weinger), a petty thief living in the streets of Agrabah who somehow ends up with Williams' Genie at his service. Having met beautiful Princess Jasmine (Linda Larkin), Aladdin tries to use his wishes to pretend being a prince to hide his true self and impress her, all while the evil Jafar (Jonathan Freeman) tries to gain control of the lamp as well.
I saw Aladdin some time during the 1990s. I must have been already in my mid-to-late teens, but I still fell captive to the film's charm and energy. A big part of that comes from the fun and well-paced script and the wonderful musical collaborations from Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, but a big part of it comes from Williams game-changing performance.
Williams is undeniably himself as the Genie, even ad-libbing a lot of his dialogue and impersonating the likes of Jack Nicholson, Rodney Dangerfield, and Ed Sullivan, among many others. And yet, he crafts a character that feels complete and somehow still apart from himself. It's no wonder that Disney gave Williams the shaft to somehow capitalize on his character.
But aside from the Genie, Aladdin is full of great characters and great voice-work from pretty much everybody. Weinger brings boyish charm as the lead while Larkin builds a character that still feels as progressive and determined as it was back then. However, my favorite remains the great Jonathan Freeman as the evil Jafar. His voice work is both fun and menacing, and he has a wicked cackle to boot.
Needless to say, this is my favorite animated film. I've seen it a hundred times, know the dialogue by heart, owned the soundtrack, and still love to sing along to it often. There's a reason why I held on to it for a while before showing it to my kids this weekend. Why? It all circles back to Williams cause I didn't want them to experience it dubbed in Spanish by some Williams' imitator. But now that they're a bit older, I let them experience the ever-impressive, often imitated, but never duplicated... Robin Williams.
Grade:
ALADDIN
(1992, Clements & Musker)
(1992, Clements & Musker)
"That's right! He can be taught! What would you wish of me? The ever-impressive, the long-contained, often imitated, but never duplicated... Genie of the Lamp!"
Before the 90s, Disney and other animation studios would sporadically cast notable actors for their voice roles. It was not the standard, but it happened. However, in 1992 Disney made the decision to cast Robin Williams as the Genie in their upcoming film Aladdin and the game was not the same. Williams performance has been praised, often imitated, but never duplicated, and injects this film with an unrivaled energy.
For those that have been lost in the desert, Aladdin follows the titular character (Scott Weinger), a petty thief living in the streets of Agrabah who somehow ends up with Williams' Genie at his service. Having met beautiful Princess Jasmine (Linda Larkin), Aladdin tries to use his wishes to pretend being a prince to hide his true self and impress her, all while the evil Jafar (Jonathan Freeman) tries to gain control of the lamp as well.
I saw Aladdin some time during the 1990s. I must have been already in my mid-to-late teens, but I still fell captive to the film's charm and energy. A big part of that comes from the fun and well-paced script and the wonderful musical collaborations from Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, but a big part of it comes from Williams game-changing performance.
Williams is undeniably himself as the Genie, even ad-libbing a lot of his dialogue and impersonating the likes of Jack Nicholson, Rodney Dangerfield, and Ed Sullivan, among many others. And yet, he crafts a character that feels complete and somehow still apart from himself. It's no wonder that Disney gave Williams the shaft to somehow capitalize on his character.
But aside from the Genie, Aladdin is full of great characters and great voice-work from pretty much everybody. Weinger brings boyish charm as the lead while Larkin builds a character that still feels as progressive and determined as it was back then. However, my favorite remains the great Jonathan Freeman as the evil Jafar. His voice work is both fun and menacing, and he has a wicked cackle to boot.
Needless to say, this is my favorite animated film. I've seen it a hundred times, know the dialogue by heart, owned the soundtrack, and still love to sing along to it often. There's a reason why I held on to it for a while before showing it to my kids this weekend. Why? It all circles back to Williams cause I didn't want them to experience it dubbed in Spanish by some Williams' imitator. But now that they're a bit older, I let them experience the ever-impressive, often imitated, but never duplicated... Robin Williams.
Grade: