I am not a great fan of the animated versions of fairy tales and, in this case, Arabian Nights tales, as produced by Disney Studios. I frankly questioned that proclivity when I saw BEAUTY AND THE BEAST just about a year ago. It seemed to me at that point Disney (the studio, not the man) had learned how to hell a story with complexity and one that worked on multiple levels. BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, it seemed to me, was a film that said something about the human condition. Now the same company makes ALADDIN. Is it as good as BEAUTY? Try asking if it is even as good as THE LITTLE MERMAID. This one is a solid disappointment.
Let us start with the story. I think we all know the story of Aladdin, right? Good. Will somebody tell it to the good folks at Disney, please. Disney is often less than faithful to source material. In this case perhaps one or two scenes of the story made it to the film. The screenplay by Ron Clements and John Musker (who also produced and directed) in fact is almost a reasonable version of the modern story "The Thief of Baghdad." The setting has been moved from China to Arabia for reasons best know to Clements and Musker. In this version Aladdin falls in love with the princess of Aqaba and sets out to win her. Even telling that story would not have been a bad idea, but the film goes desperately wrong with its use of Robin Williams as the genie of the lamp. When the genie is on the screen we go from the usual timeless story-telling to a bunch of topical allusions that may be amusing on first viewing, but will not be a second time. Williams lampoons Arnold Schwarzenegger, William F. Buckley, Jack Nicholson, Robert DeNiro, Groucho Marx, and a host of other celebrities. Williams totally derails any style that the film has been able to build up. The story-telling often just stops dead as Williams does his thing or the film goes off into slapstick.
At least there is something positive to say about the art and animation, some of which is actually quite nice. There is a cave whose mouth is the head of a tiger that is both well drawn and well animated. Backgrounds are intentionally blurred and then focused sharply to shift the eye of the viewer and give a feeling of depth. There is a very nice sequence involving a rolling cylinder--I will not describe how it fits into the plot. The animation is sufficient but the extremely uneven tone and the almost total lack of fidelity to the story make this a lesser effort from Disney. My rating is 0 on the -4 to +4 scale.
By : Mark R. Leeper
Source: rec.art.movies.reviews newsgroup
Rating: 0
Walt Disney and Company have done it again. They've managed to take a well-known tale of a boy and his lamp and infuse new life into it. This movie is the kind that all critics call an 'instant classic.' Well, I don't know about that, but it will definitely take it's place among the other Disney masterpieces.
If you don't already know, ALADDIN is the story of a young street rat who is the only one who can enter the Cave of Wonders and retrieve a magic lamp, which, of course, houses the famous genie that this story is so famous for. Aladdin himself, however, doesn't know this, and the only one who does know is the evil Jafar, counsel to the Sultan. Meawhile, Princess Jasmine, daughter of the Sultan, is trying hard to escape from any kind of arranged marriage, so she runs away, only to bump into our hero, Aladdin. The rest is, shall we say, a la Disney.
Disney is famous for taking fairy tales and turning them into movies so happy that audiences scream for them. Not to be cynical, but movies like this are in large demand and short supply. You might think that Hollywood would supply more of these kinds of movies, but I guess there's all that killing and raping and psychological torture out there to cover. Hollywood can't forget about that. If Hollywood can't forget, then why is it that G-rated movies are among the top grossing movies at the box office? You would think Hollywood would get the message.
Well, Disney has certainly gotten the message. Even though ALADDIN has the prerequisite evil person (in this case Jafar) who's purpose is to scare the beejeezers out of the little kids, the movie as a whole is still a delight. I've noticed that the Disney films as of late have been getting a little violent even for their G-ratings, but I believe it's just a function of society. And society is demanding more violence in their movies, mostly due to desensitization.
But don't let that scare you away. ALADDIN is still a treat. Unfortunately, it is the last effort of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman as a song-writing team, because Ashman died of AIDS during the making of this film. As a result, ALADDIN doesn't have as many songs as their other collaborations, THE LITTLE MERMAID and BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. It is also a little different from those two. But it stands on it's own, and should not be discounted. The animation is first-rate, the characters are varied and, as usual, very distinct from each other, and the story is the perfect vehicle for the Disney style. The genie (voice by Robin Williams) is hilarious, and it is he who really gives this movie it's life. After all, what is the story of ALADDIN really famous for?
Check it out. It will, at the very least, bring a smile to your face, whether you like it or not.
