At one point, we had to remove the Genie’s lead animator, Eric Goldberg, from the recording stage because his uncontrollable laughter was messing up takes.” Clements went on to add, “Hopefully we picked the best stuff, but there was a tremendous amount of strong material that didn’t make it.” And as quickly as this new collaboration started, it ended, a factor belonging to the massive collection of recorded dialogue. Ron Clements, co-director of Aladdin, shared memories with Variety: “Each take, Robin would add and embellish, so by the 25th (and last) take, the scene had expanded (from three minutes) to about 20 minutes long! Robin kept coming up with more and more ideas. The actor and comedian got furious over a broken agreement, which clouded up the skies over the sparkling castle seen in Disney’s opening logo. Aladdin ended up a major box office success, but a public feud soured the relationship between the Walt Disney Company and Robin Williams. It found a whole new world of magic and music, with the Genie stealing every scene he was in. Aladdin wouldn’t be the Disney classic it is without the vocal range of Williams. This magical creature has “phenomenal cosmic powers!” while stuck in, “itty bitty living space,” and above all else, is a manifestation of the rapid-fire voices Williams could do with ease. There were jokes geared toward kids and adults. There were impersonations of celebrities, like Jack Nicholson and Arnold Schwarzenegger. As the Genie in the 1992 classic Aladdin, Robin Williams got to let his distinct voice bounce from deep and rumbling to high-pitched as if he sucked in helium. These are small, but meaningful details.Ten thousand years may give a crick in the neck, but in some cases, so can Disney. And when the Genie offer s to change the governing laws of Agrabah to allow Aladdin to marry the princess, the legal scroll he magically unfurl s is a genuine Arab legal document spelling out the kingdom's marital laws. When Jafar consults the map for The Cave of Wonders, the Arabic translation – Kahaf Al A'jaab – is spot on. As well as the finely rendered minarets that punctured the night sky of Agrabah, the character s' us e of various written documents also feature accurate Arabic. #3: The Arabic details are actually spot onĪladdin 's sincerity to represent the region accurately was also shown in the finer details. In the reprise version of the song in the final credits, Smith's Genie gets more boisterous by declaring himself "Ali Baba /the big papa. The lyrics of the song in the remake include "You can smell every spice / While you haggle the price / Of the silks and the satin shawls" in Arabian Nights to playful hat-tips such as the mention of Ali Baba and the Genie being the "answer to your midday prayers " in Friend Like Me. Those of a certain age w ill remember watching Aladdin 27 years ago and being outraged at some of the lyrics included in the opening number Arabian Nights, which described Agrabah as a land "where they cut off your ear if they don't like your face" and "It's barbaric, but hey, it's home."įortunately, such problematic descriptors have been jettisoned in the new version. #2: The racist lyrics from the original have been removed Scott, who herself is bi-racial, fits her character, as Jasmine's mother hails from another region. Agrabah is meant to be a rich cosmopolitan city. Instead, it was the vehicle for many sage words on forgiveness from the Sultan and justice by the kingdom's chief defender, the soldier Hakim.Ĭomplaints that Princess Jasmine should have been portrayed by an Arab do n't hold up, either. The Middle Eastern-inflected accents here were not primarily used to denote violence. The new version restores that balance through an eclectic cast with backgrounds ranging from Egypt ( Mena Massoud), India (Naomi Scott), Tunisia (Marwan Kenzari), Turkey (Numan Acar) and Iran (Navid Negahban and Nasim Pedrad). The bad guys, often the minions of the film's ultimate villain grand vizier Jaf ar, had mostly thick and ugly Arabic accents, while Aladdin and Princess Jasmine had clear dulcet American tones, not to mention the fact they looked inherently western. One sobering aspect of the much-loved 1992 version of Aladdin was the subtle racism that infused the film. Here are five examples: #1: Unlike in the first film, the Arabic accent isn't used as a marker of evil While there is no mistaking the heavy whiff of exoticism that flows throughout the film – it is a fantasy tale after all – there is no doubt a great deal of care was taken to ensure the movie's regional flavour was as authentic as it could have possibl y been. In that regard, the live-action reboot did a solid job.
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