Aladdin (1992)

Written by Ron Clements, John Musker, Ted Elliot, & Terry Rossio
Directed by Ron Clements & John Musker

I’m very hesitant to write anything negative about this film, as this is my best friend Manuel’s favorite movie, and if I do say anything negative, he might murder me.

Manuel, if you’re still reading...you should stop now. Sorry.

I remember liking this movie a lot when I was a kid. We’d watch it all the time in school, we all knew all the songs, it was great. Watching it now, though, I was kinda shocked by how...uninterested in it I was. There are some great visuals, to be sure, and certainly a lot of that attracts your eye to the screen, but I found myself checking the clock a lot more than I have on some of these films.

Dynamic camera moves are becoming more common in animation.

As we move deeper into the Renaissance era, the films start getting longer. We’re reaching the 90 minute mark on most of these films, which isn’t surprising, based on the more complex narratives being told. Indeed, Robin Williams’ Genie doesn’t appear until 35 minutes into the movie! Aladdin does suffer just a tiny bit from having a lot of exposition to sift through, even beyond the traditional “5 W’s” (Who, What, When, Where, Why). It’s laborious, and it does sometimes grind the film towards a halt when the characters have to stop and discuss the plot. As I said, though, there are some great visuals, so when the film moves, it MOVES, and the camera is getting more and more dynamic with each film.

How many kids are gonna get this impression? How many adults under 50, for that matter?

For me, the film really suffers from its characters: the only people I really like are the Sultan and Jasmine. Jafar does make a great villain, but his shtick does start to get a little old by the time the climax rolls around. Aladdin honestly seems to act like a pathological liar throughout most of the film, and should just listen to others advice for a while. Iago is MUCH too overused, and I really just want him to SHUT UP ALREADY. Even Robin Williams, who is a comedic genius, starts to grow a little tiresome by the end of the film (also, I have a weird issue with his anachronistic portrayal; I think he’s funnier without the myriad of impressions). Also, if Jafar turns from his human form into his genie persona at the end of the film, does that imply that Genie, before he became a genie, was already blue and knew magic? That’s the form he takes after becoming free, so what’s the deal?

It’s good, but its no “Be Our Guest”…

Musically, the two biggest numbers are “Friend Like Me” and “A Whole New World”. “World” is fine (I personally find it just average), and “Friend Like Me” is good, but it doesn’t come close to matching the successes of “Be Our Guest” from Beauty and the Beast or “I Just Can’t Wait to be King” from The Lion King; I quite honestly believe that the best version of that song was performed at the Hyperion Theater inside Disney California Adventure Park.

I didn’t hate it. I promise. I have a lot of fond memories of the film. Unfortunately, those memories don’t help bolster it up again all these years later. Instead, it just feels average. Slightly better than average, maybe, but average.

FINAL GRADE: B-