King's Analysis #3: Aladdin

When a conversation regarding which animated film in the near 80 year history of full length animation in Hollywood is brought up, the top titles would most likely be these:

Up
Frozen
Toy Story 1-3
Wall-E
The Lion King
The Iron Giant
Pinocchio
How to Train Your Dragon

It's very unlikely that the first film on your list would be this spontaneously sensational motion picture.  And that is a problem.  A HUGE problem.  Often swept under the rug by it's Oscar nominated predecessor and it's near billion dollar grossing successor, Aladdin is, according to a mathematical equation, a superior film to these two legends.  And I can see it.  The film took on a life of it's own and for the longest time was Disney's most successful franchise, spawning numerous theme park tie ins, a TV show, two direct to video sequels, and arguably the most entertaining Broadway show I've ever had the pleasure of seeing.

Yet it seems Disney takes this film's importance and fanbase for granted.  Locked away in the vault for two successive intervals of 11 years, deemed unimportant when compared to the likes of lesser films such as Peter Pan and 101 Dalmatians, and almost cast aside to the same doghouse that Song of the South and the Star Wars Holiday Special hide in shadows, Aladdin is not given the credit I and more than a third of Disney's fans and followers believe it deserves.  Not only did this film permaneantly introduce the idea of casting big stars in animated roles, it also continued to prime the wheels of Disney's climb back to relevance and helped cement their legacies on a generation of people.

How does a film have such a storied history, a passionate fanbase, and leave such a legacy on the history of Feature Animation receive such treatment from the company that distributed and created such a film?  How can a film based on such a controversial topic as greed and avarice be made into a beloved film like this?  That is what we're dissecting here in today's King's Analysis, where we rub the lamp and unleash the magic within.  Welcome to the King's Analysis of Disney's 31st Full Length Animated Film, Aladdin.  

1. Wallstreet in Arabia?

The origins of the story of Aladdin and his Wonderful Lamp can be traced back to the Arabian Peninsula as part of a collection of folklore stories called "One Thousand and One Nights" or less commonly as "The Arabian Nights".  In the story, Aladdin is tricked by a magician who sends the boy in pursuit of a magic lamp in a forbidden cave.  Gifted with a magic ring to protect him, Aladdin is ultimately stranded in the cave and finds a genie within the ring that allows him to return to his parents.  While cleaning the lamp, the Genie of the Lamp is unleashes and forced to grant the wielder of the lamp every desire in his heart.  Using his wishes to make his family wealthy, Aladdin finally gathers enough treasure to convince the Sultan to allow him to marry the princess, much to the dismay of the Grand Vizier, who schemed to have the princess marry his son.  Eventually, the magician is able to trick the princess into giving him the magic lamp and allowed him to take over the kingdom.  Aladdin fights off the magician with the aid of the Genie from the Ring, and recclaims his prizes, with little to no consequence given to his lies and deceit.

The original story of Aladdin really does seem like an old version of Oliver Stone's Wallstreet.  A virtual nobody suddenly rises to power and fortune, is tricked into losing it all, and reclaims it back all while losing a bit of his humanity.  Unlike the European fairy tales of the time (Cinderella, Rapunzel, Snow White, Beauty and the Beast), there were few Western morals to build on from the original story, as Aladdin suffers little to no consequence for his actions in grabbing power for himself, by simply stopping the magician, who really isn't too different from our hero in my eyes.

This could be why, unlike both The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast, there is little to no evidence that could link Walt Disney to this story in his lifetime.  It could have been his less than genuine interest in the source material, or his unhappiness with the characters and morals of the story, but all we do know is Walt did not even consider the Arabian tale to join his pantheon of animated films.  Therefore, we needed the second generation's Walt Disney to step in and bring the story of Aladdin to the attention of the Disney movie makers.

2. The Poet

While he and Alan Menken began to wrap up production for the music of The Little Mermaid, Howard Ashman began conceptualizing a Disney retelling of "Aladdin and his Wonderful Lamp".  Ashman poured his heart and soul into every idea and lyric he came up with for this story of his, which held some bearing with the final product, was drastically different at the same time.  For instance, Princess Jasmine was a spoiled brat who constantly wanted more of her life and didn't really change until Aladdin came into her life.  The Genie granted Aladdin an infinite amount of wishes, Iago was a stuffy British aristocrat who was the brains behind Jafar's schemes, and Aladdin's whole motivation for his actions was to make his mother (a key character in both the tale and rough draft of this film) proud of him.

As Ashman was hooked into writing music for Beauty and the Beast, his ideas gradually became more compromised by his coworkers John Musker and Ron Clements, who did their best with the material the then ailing Ashman had drawn up.  Dying of AIDS, the lyricist struggled with writing songs for two movies and watching from the sidelines as the films seemed to be taking shape without much influence from him.  In March of 1991, Ashman would tragically die, three weeks prior to Aladdin's first Test Reel showing for Jeffery Katzenberg, which could perhaps have completely changed the film's trajectory and overall tone.  Katzenberg flatly rejected Ashman's treatment as "not strong enough to carry on the company's legacy".  The studio president then gave Musker and Clements a few weeks to rework the film, but they were to have the product finished by it's release date in November of 1992.

Hiring writers Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio (the Pirates of the Caribbean saga), Musker and Clements then began to slowly dissect every decision Ashman had made and  ultimately decided on a few devastating moves that hurt them to change.  Aladdin's mother was cut from the final film, as was the song Ashman had written for her, Proud of Your Boy.  Iago's personality was changed into pretty much Gilbert Gottfried with a beak, Aladdin's friends Babkak, Omar, and Cassim were cut, and the infinite wishes were sliced down to three.  A few weeks later, the film we know of today was finally reached and decided good enough to begin full development on.  But the leaders, already exhausted by weeks of intense reworking, needed some lightning to build on from.  John and Ron had an idea, one that would forever shape the future of Feature Animation.

3. "Friend Like Me"

When it came to hiring the voice talent for animated films, it was originally very rare for celebrities to be cast in these roles.  More often, the roles would be assigned to radio actors, in studio options, or virtual no names.  Of course, there were a few exceptions prior to the 1990's: Cliff Edwards in Pinocchio, or Phil Harris, Louie Prima, and George Sanders in The Jungle Book.  But in 1991, it was definitely not commonplace to hear Jodie Foster, Bill Murray, or John Candy in animated films.  More often, these actors would do it to try and rejuvenate their careers or as favors to Walt or the company.  So, the idea of hiring Robin Williams to portray the zany and comedic Genie of the Lamp was a very unexpected idea.  Robin was initially reluctant, but was convinced by animator Eric Goldberg's animation to one of his comedy albums.  Despite shooting both Toys and Hook at the same time as recording the lines, Robin brought an unexpected amount of gusto and energy to the booth, causing his fellow actors to collapse out of laughter.  Williams was instrumental in the re-writing of Aladdin, because of his insanely slick portrayal of the Genie, a role with which he showed off both his incredibly fast paced comedy and his sincere acting chops he'd already been praised for.  He should also be thanked for the dozens of SMART decisions studios make in their casting of various roles.  Without Robin, animation would still be a poor man's game.

4. The Diamond in the Rough

 By Late 1991, more than the lion's share of work was completed on the recording and song writing.  The characters of Jasmine, the Genie, Jafar, and Iago were taking shape and the animators were flocking to the project.  There was a slight problem though: Aladdin.  In the original treatment of the film, Aladdin was a 13 or 14 year old boy who was small and less than dashing in his frame to better contrast him from the princes of past Disney Films and most recently the Beast.  But as Jasmine's character reached full potential, it was pretty clear that this princess would never go for this "Michael J. Fox" of a prince.  Elliot and Rossio then turned Aladdin into the dashing "Tom Cruise" of a hero he is now.  Though reluctant to give up on the young and childlike boy they had envisioned, Musker and Clements agreed that his character would need a drastic overhaul if they were to ever meet their deadline.

Another problem the studio hit was the potential appeal of theft and bad deeds Aladdin commits to younger kids.  Disney could not afford to make stealing and tricking the words of the day, so Aladdin was transformed into a sort of Robin Hood style of character, often putting the needs of others before his own (giving the bread he stole to the orphans or rescuing Jasmine from the vendor).  They allowed for Aladdin to be enveloped by the greed and ultimately forcing him to overcome the problems he started without the aid of his fortune or the Genie.  He needs to rely on his smarts to defeat his enemy and Aladdin ultimately decides to forgo his happiness in favor of Genie's freedom, something he makes sure he gives to his new friend.

5. Rhapsody in Agrabah 

As the first animator on the project, Eric Goldberg was allowed to take the style of Aladdin pretty much anywhere he wanted.  In an effort to not only style the film separately from Beauty and the Beast, but to also pay tribute to one of his muses in terms of his artistic career, he put out the plan that the style of Aladdin should be based loosely on a Al Hirschfeld style of drawing, which definitely normalizes the long wavy curls.

Hirschfeld was a famous caricaturist during the Roaring 20's and deep into the 1990's, with his stylized drawings of stars like Marylin Monroe, Liza Minelli, Elvis, Duke Ellington, the Beatles, and Bruce Springsteen becoming the stuff of history and legend in New York City.  His work is best known by today's younger crowd for the "Rhapsody in Blue" segment in Fantasia 2000 (which he actually took part in!)  Hirschfeld's art can best be defined with his his basic wavy lines which can turn basic table scraps into works of fine art.  His self portrait pictured here is a perfect example of his style, which almost never included colors but his black ink.  Eric Goldberg took his teachings in mind when drafting the ultimate designs of virtually every single character in the story (Jafar being the only exception).

6. Big shoes to fill...

With more than 11 songs on the cutting board, Alan Menken was in desperate need of a partner who could not only work in place of his close friend Howard Ashman, but also help him keep his career moving despite losing his partner.  Tim Rice, best known for his work on Evita and eventually The Lion King, was brought in to help Alan finish the last two songs in the film.  Their first task was to rewrite the intro song for Aladdin, which then featured Aladdin's friends, who had been cut from the film at this point.  The final product, "One Jump Ahead" is one of the most beloved songs from the movie, which allows us to know just what kind of person Aladdin is and how the people of Agrabah feel about him.  The second was a very tall task.  Howard had hardly touched the "Magic Carpet Ride" song where Jasmine and Aladdin fall in love, giving Alan and Tim the reigns to write arguably Disney's most famous love ballad, "A Whole New World" which would go on to win the Oscar, Grammy, and Golden Globe for Best Song.  His success with Rice convinced Menken that his musical career would live on without Howard, and his legacy has continued with great success.



Aladdin would also have enormous shoes to fill as a film.  Despite growing confidence from the Board of Executives, Jeffery, and just a surging confidence from the animators themselves, the enormous success of Beauty and the Beast the previous year had caused a slight issue with expectations from the next film.  Nevertheless, Aladdin broke virtually every single Box Office record it's predecessor had set the previous year, grossing just over $500 million dollars worldwide (please note that E.T. The Extra Terrestrial was the most successful film ever at around $750 million dollars earned at the time).  Audiences flocked to the film in droves no one could have expected, and the film ultimately set the standard for how much money animated films should make and just how an animated film should be made.  In a similar light, Hercules, Shrek, and The Lion King took many lessons that were taught in this film and made unprecedented amounts of money and praise for their respective studios.

Aladdin would also break many records on Home Video.  When it hit store shelves in October of 1993, the film sold 30 million copies, breaking the record of 20 million set by Beauty and the Beast the previous Fall.  Since then, the film has been re-released once, with it's second re-release (and a rumored re-release to theaters) due in this October.

6. Inferiority Complex

The tricky thing about Box Office records and acclaim is that the World Economy grows almost every day and the audience appeal changes radically without warning.  Almost all of the adulation Aladdin received was rather rudely thrown aside by it's successor, The Lion King.  This homemade Aesop Fable was an absolute mega hit at the Box Office and received praise almost equal to Beauty and the Beast.  This brings the relative importance of Aladdin down to just how well the public likes it on a current day.  This is probably why Aladdin is so often scorned by Disney for another release to home entertainment mediums.  People generally voice their praise or hate of The Lion King more than their love of Aladdin.  That is a problem.  A SERIOUS problem.  Aladdin matches and almost surpasses The Lion King in almost every category and can contend with it in virtually any movie competition.  Public backlash against Disney for their rush of Aladdin airings at the time of Robin Williams's tragic passing and the film's lack of airings in general on Disney owned Channels has probably forced Disney's hand in treating Aladdin with the same delicate care they've given to The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King.  The stunning success of the Broadway show should also propel Disney to start better caring for one of their most treasured products.  Trust me, Disney.  "Friend Like Me" and "A Whole New World" beat out "Let it Go" and "You Can Fly" pretty much every time.