Rating: Summary: A Movie Classic for all generations Review: This is an old-fashioned fairy tale with all the typical ingredients - romance, adventure, magic and an evil villain. The hero of the story is Aladdin; a young boy, whose adventures reflect the classic American Dream. Aladdin begins as a petty thief accompanied by only one companion who is, albeit intelligent, a monkey named Abu. Together, they steal to keep themselves alive in the city of Agrabah. The plot gets going when the free-spirited Princess Jasmine attracts Aladdin's eye, first as the runaway, and then as the distant princess. Aladdin is basically a love story detailing the difficulties that both Aladdin and Jasmine go through to reach happily ever after. However, to add spice to the story, Jafar, the Sultan's evil vizier and Iago (Jafar's outspoken parrot) are attempting to take over the kingdom through magical devices, most notably, through the use of the genie of the lamp. The Genie can grant him three wishes - but cannot bring the dead to life, or kill anyone, or make anyone fall in love. So Aladdin hits on a plan to have the Genie turn him into the fabulously heroic and wealthy Prince Ali, a suitable suitor for the princess, and he sweeps into town to win the Princess's heart. This antagonizes Jafar But as luck would have it, Jafar then seizes control over the lamp, and Aladdin, Jasmine, and their friends must defeat the scoundrel to return peace and happiness to the city. Disney has a way of tapping into the human psyche, building appeal for its movies on our very hopes and dreams. Aladdin starts off as a poor boy with no name or family to call his own - but in the end, he has the hand and heart of the princess, the gratitude of the king and city, and the loyalty of true friends. In my opinion, Rockefeller could not have done better in his wildest dreams. This is the American Dream at its finest (forget the fact that this movie is set in ancient Arabia). In addition, this movie speaks to the romantic in all of us. Love conquers all, at least in Disney movies. And last, but not least, for the barbarian in all of us, there's the action. David and Goliath, Jack vs. the Giant, Aladdin and his fight against the evil Jafar - this is a prime example of the triumph of good over evil, a proclamation that the world is as we want it: fair and just. Add to this the soundtrack as only Disney can provide, and Aladdin becomes one of the true classic movies of all time. This was one of the movies that first built Disney's reputation as a veritable genius of rhyme and rhythm. These songs are so diverse (rollicking tunes, a love ballad, as well as instrumental accompaniments to Aladdin's adventures), and the lyrics are incredibly witty. This movie is great for family viewing, as well as for older audiences that just want a return to a simpler world where love and adventure always lead to a happy ending Aladdin ranks as one of the truly great classic movies, an honor it can share with Citizen Kane, and with some other Disney hits. The film premiered in November 1992 and has been such a total success that it spawned sequels and a TV series and a growing line of various tie-ins, even a decade after its release. You would be very well advised to buy (not rent) a copy for your home. Aladdin is a Disney feature length animation (I think #30 from the Disney studios). The artwork is superb, so are the songs, and the screenplay (which owes something to the 1940 Sabu film, The Thief of Bagdad - spelled without an H), but the lion's share of the success is attributable to the vocal gymnastics of Robin Williams, who does the voice(s) of the Genie. I really don't want to spoil this for you. This movie is truly excellent for anyone over the age of about six (below that age the suspense and swashbuckling may be too frightening). Besides Robin Williams, the voices include Scott Weinger (Aladdin), Linda Larkin (Jasmine -- the singing is done by Broadway sensation Lea Solanga), Gilbert Gottfried (the parrot), Jonathan Freeman (Jafar), and Bruce Adler (singing the intro song, the lamp merchant -- and listening to the soundtrack album I'd had sworn that Robin Williams was also doing his monologue). I want to point out the high quality of the writing -- the dialog is intelligent and the characters act appropriately to their age. It is neither too technical for kids nor too dumbed down for adults. The plot is very well done. This movie has a lesson, something that is sometimes missing even from Disney classics - be yourself; Aladdin succeeds when he relies on his own abilities and his own identity rather than on the Genie's magic and illusion. Shortly after the film came out, there was a flurry of complaints about it from some Arab-American spokespersons. One complaint got a line in the introductory song changed (the change is in the home versions but not in the original soundtrack recording), which may have been the right thing to do. Another complaint some of them had was that this movie takes place in the fictional Agrabah instead of what they claimed was the "original" location of Baghdad (this was only a year after Desert Storm). This complaint deserves an answer. This is a truly excellent movie that will stay with us like The Wizard of Oz. This movie was such a success that it led a number of feature-length straight-to-video sequel movies and a non-musical TV series, with most of the same cast (except the Genie was done by Dan Castellaneta, who does the voice of Homer Simpson and a bunch of others). If your kids liked this, consider (if they're ten or older) renting the old Ray Harryhausen movies about Sinbad. The Bottom Line: One of the true motion picture classics for the ages (well, the ages above six years old). Excellent in every way.
Rating: Summary: comic genius in cartoon form Review: Robin Williams steals the show without ever appearing onscreen. His genie is imbued with all his comic timing and energy just via voice. And who else could sing "You Ain't Never Had a Friend Like Me"? All that aside, Aladdin still has all the makings of a top-notch film for both kids and adults. The classic story of a pauper pretending to be rich to win the love of a princess who in turn loves who he REALLY is has never looked so good nor been so entertaining. And Princess Jasmine (who could have used more cartoon material for her outfit) is quite a match in both brains and strength (witness when she pole-vaults across a cliff. And the fact that she has a tiger for a pet!) The songs are great, and the story is about love, friendship family AND good vs. evil all at once. Can't beat what you get for the price!
Rating: Summary: For all ages Review: Alladin is a great film for children, although a lot of adults have already seen and really enjoyed it. The soundtrack is amazing, specially a song called A WHOLE NEW WORLD, which all children seem to know by heart. I recommend it and it's ceartain that the film won't desapoint you.
Rating: Summary: DISAPOINTING... Review: This has GOT to be one of Disney's worse films ever made! Even "The Sword in the Stone" was better!! I'll admit that the voices are pretty good but the Special-FX are kinda cheesy! "Aladdin" just doesn't have that good ol' Disney touch. The storyline is rather dumb, the characters are boring, and the lyrics to the songs are so, sooooo annoying! (I don't know how many times I heard the "Whole New World" theme on the radio.) Want something better? Check out: "Akira".
Rating: Summary: Perfect kids movies(big kids too) Review: I absoulutely adored this movie when I was little and now my children love it too. I never thoughtI would be able to get this movie and I got it here on Amazon.com. I was thrilled. The box was a little broken up but the movie was perfect!
Rating: Summary: Aladdin Rules the Screen!!! Review: "Aladdin" is the BEST movie of all time!! I believe it beat out "Beauty and the Beast"! This has to be one the BEST Disney movies ever made!!! Watch "Aladdin" today, and you won't be able to stop watching it Over and Over again!! The songs in this movie are so touching, amusing, that they are classic Disney songs!! You won't be able to stop singing, humming or whistling them!! Aladdin, Genie, Jasmine, Abu and Carpet have amazing stories and adventures!! What a great movie! "Aladdin" RULES!!!!!! Watch it today!! Don't forget to watch the sequels "Return of Jafar", and "The King of Theives"!!! YEA "Aladdin"!!!!!
Rating: Summary: Great Movie Review: This has got to be my favorite disney movie of all time. I love how there is such a variety in the tempo of each of the songs. Each of the characters is one you can easily love or hate as the case may be. The sequels follow up on this quality also.
Rating: Summary: Aladdin charms! Review: Disney's Aladdin is excellent! The DVD release is scheduled for October 2004, the same year the IMAX (big screen) version will be released to IMAX theatres worldwide. The musical adventure of a plain simple street rat falling in love with the princess, takes off into a battle with the greedy advisor to the sultan. Timeless songs, great characters and feel good romance. You'd also want to catch Aladdin Live at Disney's California Adventures Theme Park - the musical version of the film featuring special effects and more!
Rating: Summary: Not much talent in this film. Review: With the wonderful success of "Beauty and the Beast" a movie that i truly admire for being something original from Disney which is VERY rare since the death of Walt. This movie is almost an exact same copy of "Beauty".Basically i'm talking about the music score. If you hear the music carefully you'll notice that most of the songs are the same songs as in "Beauty" but just altured enough to give it just a slight difference.This is because the talent that comes from Disney is nothing like it use to be when Walt ran the business. So this movie is pretty poor in my estimations. There is nothing original about this music score. Save your money folks,,,it's not worth the plastic it was recorded on.
Rating: Summary: Humorous yet twisted Review: This movie has many hilarious parts, especially those with the genie. The dialogue can be quite humorous at times, and the music is quite good. The aspect of the film I was most discontented with is the portrayal and voice of the princess, Jasmine. The sullen voice of the princess standing up for her independence and her right to marry whoever she wants, even if he is a street rat, almost makes you want to gag. But the sappier parts are so dumb they made me laugh rather than cringe. So aside from that rather blatant problem, the movie is actually quite enjoyable as a whole.
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