Aladdin
Aladdin
In the boorish city of Agrabah, kind-hearted street urchin Aladdin and Princess Jasmine fall in love, although she can only marry a prince. He and power-hungry Grand Vizier Jafar vie for a magic lamp that can fulfill their wishes.
Tubeman72 reviewedSeptember 30, 2025
Aladdin is Disney’s 31st full-length animated movie. The film is based on the story Aladdin and the Magic Lamp from One Thousand and One Nights, a collection of about 200 folk tales and fairy tales from Indian, Persian, and Arabic culture. Today, when people hear the name Aladdin, they probably think first of the hit song A Whole New World instead of the storyteller Scheherazade, who saved her life by telling stories. Composer Alan Menken won an Oscar for Best Song (A Whole New World) and an Oscar for Best Music for Disney’s Aladdin.
Singing along with Aladdin is fun, but the real star is the friendly Genie. In the English version, the Genie’s voice was done by Robin Williams. His talent for comedy is much stronger than his talent for singing. The animators also worked very hard on the Genie. Like a colorful shape-shifter, he changes all the time—from a pink rabbit to Arnold Schwarzenegger!
As always with Disney, Aladdin is not only a joy for the ears and for laughter, but also for the eyes. Glen Keane designed the look of Aladdin. His face is said to be a mix of Tom Cruise, Michael J. Fox, and rapper M.C. Hammer. The artist of Princess Jasmine, Mark Henn, also drew Belle (Beauty and the Beast) and Ariel (The Little Mermaid). Creating characters is something Disney does very well, but the big challenge for this film was to create an Arabian dream world. The team studied Persian miniatures and Arabic calligraphy to use in the film. Artist Rasoul Azadani took more than 1,800 photos of 15th-century buildings and interiors in his hometown of Isfahan. These photos were used as inspiration. The result is truly magical. If you have already seen the film many times, it may be interesting to notice how color is used. The colors become brighter and stronger when the story becomes more exciting or emotional. Cold colors (blue and green) are used for the good characters, and warm colors (red, orange, gold) are used for the villains.
In Disney films, the main character often makes a wish after about fifteen minutes. Ariel wanted to live with the humans, Simba wanted to be king, and Aladdin wanted an easy life in the palace. And of course, Disney always makes the wish come true—after many problems along the way. Disney has a habit of turning classic and sometimes dark fairy tales into happy children’s stories. All the scary details are left out (no bloody feet for Cinderella’s stepsisters), and the good always wins over evil (no dead Esmeralda in The Hunchback). Some people may call this escapism, but the result is always wonderful. With great skill, Disney creates dreams—and Aladdin is one of them.