Aladdin

Disney finally manages to produce two great films back-to-back.  It sets the standard for the Renaissance, but it is just the beginning.  Just like Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin manages to produce merchandise, rides, sequels, a play and a live action film.  It also blows away the box office.  Beauty and the beast managed to rack up 17.6 times its budget in box office revenue, Aladdin topples 18 times its budget for 504 million.

The story is another classic.  This one comes from the collection of middle eastern folktales, One Thousand and One Nights.  It is the basic idea of the genie in the lamp.  Just like Beauty and the Beast, Disney has finally learned how to succinctly tell a story that is easy to grasp and engaging to the viewer.

The characters are possibly the best in any Disney film.  We have the strongest of the princesses yet in Jasmine, Jafar is a great villain that has real motivation, Aladdin is the perfect underdog and of course the genie.  The genie voiced by Robin Williams was the biggest success of Disney capitalizing on a celebrity voice. 

The animation is very good, but not quite the level of personality we see in Beauty and the Beast or even Sleeping Beauty.  The backgrounds are great and give a real feeling of a faraway place but the still early computer graphics are a bit off-putting.  There is a lack of personality change with the exception of the climax.  But it is still a beautiful film.

The music is still pure Disney magic.  The songs don’t push the narrative along as well as the songs from Beauty and the Beast, but just like other classics like Little Mermaid you will hear these songs in every Disney rotation.

This was a toughie, but I feel that this one falls just short of the quality of Beauty and the Beast.  I also feel that the exceptional strides made with Lady and the Tramp manage to eek out over the greatness of Aladdin also.  But they are all very close in quality.  The 1990s were a tremendous time for Disney and that streak will continue for the next few movies.

Run Time – 90 Minutes

65th Academy Awards – 5 Nominations – 2 Wins

Best Original Score – Won

                Best Original Song – “A Whole New World” – Won

                Best Original Song – “Friend Like Me” – Nominated

                Best Original Sound – Nominated

                Best Sound Effects Editing –Nominated

Disney Animated Canon so far in order of Quality

1. Beauty and the Beast 9-29-1991

2. Lady and the Tramp 6-22-1955

3. Aladdin 11-25-1992

4. Peter Pan 2-5-1953

5. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh 3-11-1977

6. One Hundred and One Dalmatians 1-25-1961

7. Dumbo 10-23-1941

8. The Fox and the Hound 7-10-1981

9. Oliver and Company 11-18-1988

10. Cinderella 2-15-1950

11. The Little Mermaid 11-17-1989

12. Pinocchio 2-7-1940

13. Sleeping Beauty 1-29-1959

14. The Adventure of Ichabod and Mr. Toad 10-5-1949

15. The Jungle Book 10-18-1967

16. The Great Mouse Detective 7-2-1986

17. Robin Hood 11-8-1973

18. The Rescuers Down Under 11-16-1990

19. Make Mine Music 4-20-1946

20. Fun and Fancy Free 9-27-1947

21. The Aristocats 12-11-1970

22. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 12-21-1937

23. Saludos Amigos 8-24-1942

24. The Sword in the Stone 12-25-1963

25. The Rescuers 6-22-1977

26. Alice in Wonderland 7-26-1951

27. The Black Cauldron 7-24-1985

28. Melody Time 5-27-1948

29. Bambi 8-13-1942

30. Fantasia 11-13-1940

31. The Three Caballeros 12-21-1944