Random Thursday

I interrupt the Disney Facts Revealed month for a series of special Disney posts with facts about Aladdin in honor of the 25th anniversary! I saw all these in an article, Disney's Aladdin: 25 Magical Fun Facts for 25th Anniversary on Yahoo and I will share that link with you at the end of the month! There is no visible author on the article, just a general department.

All pictures were borrowed from the article as well!

Aladdin came out in theaters on November 25, 1995 and it is slightly inspired from the 1940s film The Thief of Bagdad which featured a powerful genie, a scheming vizier named Jaffar, an easily manipulated sultan, and a magic carpet. Abu was actually the name of the hero from this movie, so it's fitting that Aladdin's sidekick has the same name!


In early story ideas there was going to be two genies; a Genie of the Lamp and a Genie of the Ring. It was expected that Jaffar would get the ring and thus that genie and lead to an epic genie showdown!

As we all know, the merchant at the beginning of the film is voiced by Robin Williams. In keeping with the early script, this was going to be a freed genie that assumed human form. It would've been revealed to be so at the end of the film, but obviously that idea was cut.





The animators crafted the Genie around Robin Williams' rapid fire improv work. Co-director Ron Musker said that Robin did the first scene of the movie in about 25 takes, all completely different. Robin would follow the script for a little bit and then go off on his own ideas. Robin created about 16 hours worth of work that the creative team had to piece together "like a ransom note".


Among the many voices the Genie imitates in the film were Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ed Sullivan, Groucho Marx, Robert De Niro, Carol Channing, Ethel Merman, Rodney Dangerfield, Jack Nicholson, Peter Lorre, and Alec Guinness. Other celebrities he channeled but didn’t make the final cut: John Wayne, George H.W. Bush, and Dr. Ruth Westheimer.


Patrick Stewart was originally meant to voice Jafar but conflicts with Star Trek: Next Generation prevented that from happening.