ALADDIN

I have watched the movie "ALADDIN" by disney and I talk about it. The Walt Disney Company's 1992 movie "Aladdin" boasts an intelligent screenplay, great songs, and the huge climactic battle we have come to expect from Disney-adapted fairytales and legends. Yet, I still feel there is a crucial element missing that would have taken this production from being a very good modern Disney flick to being one of the all-time great animated films from the studio. For every good choice in regard to vocal casting, there is either a corresponding bad choice and/or negative consequences. For example, Jonathan Freeman is an excellent choice to voice Jafar, the evil sorceror. Silky and cultured, yet also dripping with malice, Mr. Freeman creates a classic Disney villain with his vocal performance. To voice his parrot, the cleverly named Iago, Gilbert Gottfried is absolutely the wrong choice. Mr. Gottfried's trademark high screaming voice can be very humorous under the right circumstances, but these are not the right circumstances. The movie is not tonally suited to the comic. Scott Weinger's earnest, simple performance as Aladdin is perfect, but I wish Robin Williams had played the genie with a shade more ambiguity and darkness instead of the over-the-top comedy that is strongly in evidence here. The sharp contrasts between the respective good and evil characters do not favor the movie in the long run. Also featuring the vocal talent of the late Douglas Seale, The Walt Disney Company's "Aladdin" is very, very good. However, a few different storytelling and creative decisions would have made it great.
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