"Aladdin" is Disney's 31st. Full-lenght animated feature and only the sixth classic fairy tale ever to be adapted by the studio. Other recent fairy tale adaptations include Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid" and the French folktale "Beauty and the Beast" (1991). The latter went on to become the most succesful animated feature in motion picture history with domestic box office revenues in excess of $140 million and seven Academy Award nominations, including the first Best Picture nomination for an animated film. The fairy tale tradition started in 1937 when Walt Disney and his animators released their version of the classic Brothers Grimm story "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". In the 1950's two additional fairy tales -- "Cinderella" and "Sleeping Beauty" -- became the source for a pair of Disney animated classics.
In addition to directing the film, Clemens and Musker also co.wrote the screenplay, along with ted Elliot and Terry Rossio, and served as producers. Amy Pell and Don Ernst were the film's co- producers. Production designer Richard Vander Wende and art director Bill Perkins oversaw the artistic look of the film. The film's six artistic supervisors were De Gombert (story), Rasoul Azadani (layout), Kathy Altieri (background), Vera Lanpher (cleanup), Don Paul (visual effects) and Steve Goldberg (computer generated imagery). "Aladdin" was edited by H. Lee Peterson, whose previous credits include the 1990 Mickey Mouse featurette "The Prince and the Pauper" (edition) and "The Little Mermaid" (assistant editor).
Set against the exotic backdrop of the mythical Arabian Kingdom Agrabah, "Aladdin" follows the rags-to-riches adventures of a resourceful youth, a "diamond-in-the-rough", who dreams of escaping his street-life existence and marrying the Sultan's beautiful daughter, Princess Jasmine. Fate intervenes when Aladdin is recruited by the Sultan's scheming vizier, Jafar, to help retrieve a magic lamp from deep within the "Cave of Wonders". The boy ends up with the lamp, its wisecracking resident Genie and the three wishes that come with him but also acquires a powerful foe in Jafar. Posing as a rich and handsome prince, Aladdin fails to impress the Princess and discovers that it is his true self that she was interested in all along. With the aid of his Genie pal, his pet monkey Abu and a magic carpet, Aladdin sets out to prove himself worthy by saving the kingdom from Jafar's evil plot and becoming the "master" of his own fate.
According to Jeffrey Katzenberg, chairman of the Walt Disney Studios, "The fantasy notion of 'what would you do if you had three wishes' and the ability to create your own magic and fly wherever you wanted to on a magic carpet has intrigued me ever since I heard the Aladdin story for the first time as a kid. I've always wanted to do something with it and animation presented us with the ability to take those elements and let our imaginations run wild."
Roy Disney, vice chair man of The Walt Disney Company, agrees that "there was a terrific amount of potential for animation in this kind of story. The genie was an animator's dream because it involved transformations and strange shapes and presented the opportunity to draw anything that they could possibly conjure up".
In visualizing the story of Aladdin for animation, the filmmakers opted to "illuminate the possibilities" of their medium by experimenting with new approaches to character design, style, form and color. A creative team headed by Richard Vander Wende and Bill Perkins helped to set the tone from the earliest stages of development and continued throughout the production to ensure a unity of character and environment that has seldom been achieved before. Influenced by Persian miniatures, Arabian calligraphy and the curved, fluid caricature style of artists like Al Hirschfeld where one shape organically leads into another, Vander Wende, Perkins, background supervisor Kathy Altieri, Genie supervising animator Eric Goldberg and the directors set out to create a look that would suit the film and also make an artistic expression of their own. The decision to use a vibrant color palette with a level of saturation reminiscent of such early Disney classics as "Dumbo" adds to the film's unique look.
Another factor contributing to the exquisite look of "Aladdin" is the new advances being made in computer technology and the artist's ability to utilize the newest tricks of their trade. Disney's CGI department (Computer Generated Imagery), wich helped to create the sweeping dimensional ballroom sequence for "Beauty and the Beast", has several sequences in this film wich push the limits of their artistry and technology still further. Aladdin's amazing magic carpet ride through the Cave Of Wonders, the intricately patterned carpet itself and the stunning tiger head cave could not have been accomplished any other way. In other technological advances, Disney's Academy Award-winning CAPS post-production system is allowing artists and filmmakers greater choises than ever before in terms of color, detailing and composition.
Also adding to the film's distinctive tone is a cast of versatile vocal performers that bring energy, excitement and entertainment to every frame of the animated action. Scott Weinger ("Full House") provides the sincere speaking voice of Aladdin and gives that character his humor and natural demeanor. For Aladdin's two musical interludes in the film, stage actor/singer Brad Kane steps in to demonstrate his musical range as the singing voice for the lead character. The proud and passionate persona of Princess Jasmine comes from an inspired interpretation by actress Linda Larkin, who speaks for the character. Jasmine's dynamic singing voice on the song "A Whole New World" is provided by Lea Salonga, the Tony Award-winning star of "Miss Saigon".
Over on the side of villany, veteran actor and stage star Jonathan Freeman delivers a deliciously deranged performance as the voice of the Sultan's venomous vizier Jafar. The sharp-tongued, squawking sound emanating from Jafar's pet parrot as he's insulting the Sultan or anyone else who ruffles his feathers belongs to "molt-i- talented" comediant Gilbert Gottfried, who brings his quirkly comedic style to this molting menace.
Rounding out the vocal ensemble is Douglas Seale, a clasically trained actor, who gives the well-rounded Sultan his defuddled bravura. Versatile vocalist Frank Welker, a veritable catalogue of amazing sounds who's done everything from a footstool to a lizard, is the source for Abu the monkey's expressive, semi-verbal performance. He also provides Rajah's roar and the basso-profundo voice that speaks for the mysterious tiger that guards the entrance to the Cave of Wonders.
"Aladdin" is a film that is of its time" says John Musker, "and yet it has many of the same qualities that make Disney animation such timeless entertainment. It isn't a film that could have been made in the 1940's because it comes from a new generation of artists with a different cultural influences. We would consider it a failure if we hadn't invested any of ourselves in the film. The tone of the humor and certain aspects of the entertainment and certainly the look of the film are a deliberate attempt to create something different from what has been done in the past."
Ron Clements adds, "This is an exciting time for animation. When we first started working at Disney there was a period where we felt like all the good stuff had been done 40 years ago and no matter what happened we'd never be able to come up with anything that could compare to it. Now, with "Roger Rabbit", "The Little Mermaid" and "Beauty and the Beast", some of those barriers have broken down and it seems like there is still lots of potential for this medium that hasn't been fully developed yet. Certainly the quality of the animators that we had on this film has never been higher. Hopefully our experimentation with "Aladdin" will encourage other filmmakers to also take risks with their projects."
© 1992 The Walt Disney Company
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