Aladdin (1992)
Based on the Arabic folktale Aladdin from The Book of One Thousand and One Nights (The Arabian Nights).
Intro song (“Arabian Nights”). A peddler shows the viewers an oil lamp amongst his wares, and begins to tell a story.
Jafar, a ruthless sorcerer and the royal vizier of the Middle Eastern city of Agrabah, seeks a lamp hidden within the Cave of Wonders. The cave's guardian tells him that only one person is worthy to enter: "the diamond in the rough", whom Jafar later identifies as a young street urchin named Aladdin. We cut to Aladdin and his pet monkey Abu who are fleeing a group of palace guards after stealing some bread (“One Jump Ahead”). Meanwhile, Princess Jasmine is upset by her obligation to marry a prince due to the law rather than for love. Concealing herself, she escapes the palace and is saved from an angry merchant by Aladdin and Abu. As a bond between Aladdin and Jasmine develops, the palace guards capture Aladdin on Jafar's orders, during which Jasmine reveals herself. She confronts Jafar to demand Aladdin's release, but he lies to her, saying Aladdin has been executed.
Disguised as an elderly beggar, Jafar frees Aladdin and Abu and brings them to the cave, ordering them to retrieve the lamp. The guardian grants Aladdin entry, but warns him to touch nothing but the lamp. Aladdin finds both the lamp and a magic carpet inside, but Abu greedily grabs a large jewel, triggering the cave's collapse. Aladdin gives the lamp to Jafar, who throws him and Abu into the collapsing cave, though not before Abu steals it back. Trapped, Aladdin rubs the lamp and meets the genie who lives inside it (“Friend Like Me”). The Genie grants Aladdin three wishes, though Aladdin tricks him into freeing them all from the cave without using a wish. Upon learning that the Genie desires to be released from servitude, Aladdin promises to use his last wish to free him. Aladdin uses his first wish to become a prince, intending to woo Jasmine.
Jafar's parrot Iago suggests to his master that he can become Sultan by marrying Jasmine. Aladdin, as "Prince Ali Ababwa," arrives in Agrabah with a large host (“Prince Ali”), but Jasmine is angered when her father, the Sultan, discusses her marriage with only Aladdin and Jafar. As a means of apologizing, Aladdin takes Jasmine on a ride with the magic carpet (“A Whole New World”). When she infers his true identity, he claims that he only dresses as a commoner to escape the stresses of royal life. After Aladdin brings Jasmine home, the palace guards capture him on Jafar's behest and throw him into the sea. The Genie appears and saves Aladdin at the cost of his second wish. Aladdin returns to the palace and exposes Jafar's plot, prompting the latter to flee, but not before he glimpses the lamp and determines Aladdin's true identity.
Fearing that he will lose Jasmine if the truth is revealed, Aladdin breaks his promise and refuses to free the Genie. Iago steals the lamp, and Jafar becomes the Genie's new master. He uses his first two wishes to become both Sultan and the world's most powerful sorcerer. He then exposes Aladdin, exiling him, Abu, and the carpet to a frozen wasteland. The three escape and return to Agrabah, where Jasmine tries to help Aladdin steal the lamp back. Jafar notices and overpowers her, Abu, and the carpet with his magic. Aladdin taunts Jafar for being less powerful than the Genie, tricking him into using his last wish to become an all-powerful genie himself. Now bound to his new lamp, Jafar ends up trapped inside it, taking Iago with him. The Genie then throws Jafar's lamp far into the desert, banishing Jafar and Iago to the Cave of Wonders for 10,000 years.
With Agrabah returned to normal, the Genie encourages Aladdin to use his third wish to regain his royal title and legally marry Jasmine. Aladdin instead decides to keep his promise and frees the Genie. Realizing Aladdin's nobility, the Sultan changes the law to allow Jasmine to marry whoever she chooses. The Genie bids the group a fond farewell and leaves to explore the world, while Aladdin and Jasmine start their new life together.
TRIVIA
Robin Williams plays the role of Genie.
Visual Style
The Genie was designed and animated by Eric Goldberg, who was inspired by Al Hirschfeld's signature curvy style. This style, coupled with Arabic, influenced the entire movie, from its characters to its backgrounds.
Technology
3D animation was used to work on the complicated shapes of the magic carpet.
Music
Features music and lyrics by Alan Menken and Tim Rice
Easter Egg(s)
While the Sultan is stacking several toys, one of these toys is Beast from Beauty and the Beast.
Genie impersonates several famous celebrities including: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ed Sullivan, Groucho Marx, Peter Lorre, Robert De Niro, Arsenio Hall, Rodney Dangerfield, Jack Nicholson, and Julius Caesar.
Notable Scene(s)
“Friend Like Me” and Genie’s animation and caricatures