There is one thing that is always constant when you are a kid: You watch A LOT of movies. Now most of those movies are garbage and are only made to keep kids barely entertained. (But also around to give our parents some kind of breather) Disney always seems to be the master of delivering both legitimately entertaining films but also mind-numbing experiences. At the time when Aladdin came out Disney was in the middle of their 2nd Golden Age what with The Little Mermaid & Beast and the Beast coming before. Who would have thought that a film like Aladdin would have struck a cord with so many people? More importantly: How many times can a kid watch a single film?
A story: When Aladdin came out in 1992 I was only three years old. But I can vividly remember the moment where a movie became a film and not just a series old loud noises & colors. It is kinda obvious which scene that would be:
I want to somehow be in that room back when this was recorded and see the delight in the animators eyes as Robin Williams was performing this song. Cause they must have INSTANTLY knew this was going to be a huge success based on that song alone. (Apparently it was the first completed scene for the film so, again, they must have known immediately this was going to work) Everything about this song is so amazing that it might be the the most perfect sequence of animation put on screen. The constant transformations by the Genie, to the colors that pop on screen, to how the animation itself flows with the song itself. It is no wonder me, my sister, and my Mother at the time literally had our jaws open while it happened. Thank goodness they added an ‘applause’ sign at the end cause it was deserved every single time we saw this.
And that’s where the story ends with the admission of this: I saw this film three times in theaters. A feat I have yet to do since this film came out. It might have just been because we wanted to see ‘Friend Like Me’ played again and at that point there was no internet to find it online (if you can believe it millennials). This movie as a whole though is wildly entertaining and not just because of Robin Williams. I mean the dude is probably responsible for the majority of it because it is the best thing he’s ever done. But the animation still holds up, the other songs are incredibly well done, and the performances by the rest of the cast is solid. Honestly this is one of those films where, if/when I have a kid, I want to make sure my child sees it and has the same reaction I do. Let’s just hope he or she wants to see it multiple times like I did all those years ago.
Oh, Movies 