Aladdin

by kmariedalton

 

I’m sure most of you have heard about this by now, one of the most talented actors of our time has lost the battle to depression. Robin Williams had a niche for being such an iconic source of laughter. He knew how to make you laugh and cry through the art of cinema and that’s something that did not go unnoticed. I decided to do a movie review of one of my favorite Robin William movies in honor of his memory and all of the laughs he brought to children and the knack he had for bringing the child out in all of us. As expected, I immediately watched Mrs. Doubtfire right after I heard the news. Reminiscing in the wonderful humor Robin William shared with audiences, I remember my favorite role of his. Though this role was animated, he gave it so much life and humanity. The Genie in Aladdin is one of the BEST supporting roles in the history of supporting roles. Not only is Aladdin one of the best movies released in Disney’s cinematic golden age (alongside Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King), but the Genie steals the show the second “A Friend Like Me” debuts in the movie. I’m actually listening to the soundtrack while writing this review so I can rekindle my childhood memories in my mind and document them in this blog post. It’s not very often where the supporting character is the LARGEST character on the movie poster…just goes to show you. I believe this movie encompasses the kind and humurous spirit of Robin Williams he shared with us on the big screen. Robin Williams is the master of ad libs and as I’m listening to the soundtrack I am starting to realize how much of the Genie’s dialogue was probably pure improv. The movie follows Aladdin, a “street rat” that has a forbidden romance with the Princess of Agrabah, a typical plot scheme for 90s Disney. This movie is heart warming and was the first time Disney animation incorporated true movie magic. Anyone who saw this movie as a kid cannot lie to me and tell me they didn’t FREAK OUT when they saw the Cave of Wonder…it was epic. Jafar was a pretty amazing bad guy as well. The Sultan’s advisor with a hidden agenda and a mischievous talking parrot is a pretty wonderful set up for a perfectly evil baddy by Disney standards. Nowadays Disney is going for that whole “the villain is misunderstood” plot line which I thinks cheats the audience of the fulfilling baddies like there was in the good ol’ days. Jafar is one of the few Disney baddies that doesn’t even need a theme song he is just that perfectly disgustingly evil. Mwahaha. Following Belle from Beauty and the Beast, Jasmine is one of the first Disney princesses that had goals and dreams that didn’t involve a man, but happened to fall in love on the wonderful journey she went on with Aladdin. If you claim you never had “A Whole New World” stuck in your head, you’re lying to yourself. There’s always that turning point where two characters that were unsure or maybe even hated each other have some experience together and fall in love, and in this movie, it takes place on a flying carpet. I can show you the worldddddddd. All in all, it’s one of the most epic “falling in love” scenes I have ever witnessed and you could only imagine how it made little 6 year old me feel sitting in front of the TV screen on my regular carpet THAT DOES NOT FLY in utter disappointment as well as joy. FYI some spoilers are going to be in this review from here on out if you have not already seen this Disney masterpiece. One of my favorite scenes in the movie is the ultimate action scene where Jafar takes control of the Genie and the Genine is absolutely aware of the wrong he is doing, but can’t control it. I can’t exactly explain what it is, but when I see good characters that are forced to do something bad against their will and you can see the pain in their face as they consciously know they are doing something wrong is one of the most amazing things to see an actor/actress achieve in a movie (even if it’s animated). Back to the character I really want to focus on…Genie. His overall persona in the film just fills you with pure joy. His character takes it upon himself to be a source of comedic relief and a role model chop full of modest advice. The fact that anyone who worked on this movie can vouch for Robin Williams in stating that he basically created the character himself and so much of Genie emulated who he truly was only makes you love and appreciate what he gave to the world even more. Overall, this movie is a classic Disney animation that will bring the child out of adults and children will appreciate just the same. Laughs, honesty, humility, a struggling kid that lives on the street and his claim to fame (the early Slum dog Millionaire), and a fulfilling baddy are the ingredients to Aladdin that makes this movie a classic. RIP Robin Williams, you will be missed. Thank you for inspiring me to be a permanent child.

I just had to add this in 🙂

XOXO

KMarie