D52–Aladdin

The third in a string of Disney hits in the early ‘90s, Aladdin differed greatly from its predecessors in both tone and visual style. The choice to have the manic Robin Williams portray the Genie led to a veritable boatload of improvised jokes and impressions captured during the recording sessions which greatly shaped the movie as a whole. As such, the humour is far more irreverent and pop culture aware than Disney films that had come before. Likewise, the art direction took many of its cues from the middle eastern art native to the story’s setting, leading to a less naturalistic and more stylized look that hadn’t been used at Disney for years.

Even with these seemingly major changes, Aladdin still easily fits in among its Golden Age brethren. The animation is still wonderful, as is the music. Like The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin features music by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, but also features the debut of Tim Rice, who replaced Ashman after his unfortunate death. The film’s frenzied pace may have been a departure, but directors Ron Clements and John Musker do a fantastic job keeping it all under control, even while allowing it to appear to stay just this side of chaos.

This remains a fantastic movie, thanks in large part to all of the moments Williams brings. Though it features a lot of pop culture references, they are varied and well known enough that nearly all of them remain relevant today. At some point in the future that will no doubt cease to be true, but even then, they are broad enough that they remain funny without any knowledge of what they are lampooning. Kids and adults will both find a lot to enjoy here, and I definitely recommend they check it out.

Original 1992 trailer

Up next: The Lion King (1993)