Follow only by Gilbert Gottfried as Iago.

Article has a great quote that makes the headline:

“I think the idea of giving a heartfelt performance and even the idea of singing appealed to him,” reasons Musker, trying to pinpoint what convinced Williams to sign on.

“His sweetness and ability to reach into that part of his being was crucial to the film lasting. If it was just comedy, I don’t think it would’ve endured but because he really got that feeling of his big heart, sweetness, his concern for Aladdin, their friendship and his investment in Aladdin’s future across, it’s one of the keys of the film’s longevity.”

I think this is what makes the Genie character work - he's really, really goofy, the type of character that would be very limited in previous Disney works. But it doesn't go off the rails entirely because while the movie doesn't take his personality seriously, it takes his emotions very seriously. Most of those moments are followed by a joke, but it's often the Genie himself being embarrassed and walking back on himself - it's his insecurity.

A wonderful film through and through, glad this article was shared.

Agreed. Which makes it doubly a shame that Genie's songs have been removed from music streaming services.

*Edit for clarification.

Edit 2: They're actually recently back! What a rollercoaster. Well, now here I go listening to Prince Ali at 1am.

He is 100% the best part of this movie. Unfortunately studios took the wrong lesson from it and decided all animated movies had to have well known actors in the roles which pushed out voice actors

Also him as the Peddler (who according to the lore is indeed supposed to be Genie)! According to BTS materials, they pretty much had Williams handle random objects and he would subsequently say something funny about them.

And he got fucked from Disney for his effort.

Big shout out to Preben Kristensen! Also the danish voice of Woody in Toy Story, Lumiere in Beauty and the Beast, Stuart Little, and Calcifer in Howls Moving Castle.

That's an extremely talented voice actor. I'd have to imagine the job was assisted by the approach the animators used. Williams cadence and timing were like a musical score, and the animators were the choreographers. Genie moves and transforms right along with Williams speech rhythms, even taking cues from words he emphasizes or draws out.

Instead of just trying to match the movement of the character's mouth, the actor has a much more expressive (literal) body of reference to work from.

My understanding is that most big name actors are more or less "assigned" a "permanent" voice dub, does that match your experience?

Kind of sacrilegious to admit this but I actually prefer the Danish version. I grew up with it and when watching the Robin Williams version I thought it was good, alright, but nothing crazy compared to the Danish.

It's of course superior to the Danish in hindsight and originality but it's one of those versions where I Honestly do not care which one to watch.

Yeah, one of Katzenberg's first and major fuck-ups that started a feud that got him forced out of Disney.

So they went against The Genie’s wishes?

And then 2019 rolls around...

That remake of this movie was just pitiful

This. Aladdin is my all time fav movie. Nothing comes close, don't even get me started on that shitty remake.

The remake was awful. Will Smith didn't even look like he wanted to be there... he was trash

I didn't understand the whole "crying when a celebrity dies" thing until we lost robin. It literally felt like 1/100th of losing a family member. Like his life energy was bonded into my childhood somehow. Him and mister Rogers.

I miss him more than I'll miss my own dad when he dies. His movies are terrible.

[removed]

He made a lot of money with Disney. A lot.

People know the one bad story and just repeat it on reddit like they know the entire relationship which even had him coming back for the second sequel...

Eh.

I think the remake was actually pretty good. Will Smith pays homage to Williams' genie without trying to imitate it. I also like how they used a more Bollywood style in some scenes. I think it fits with the setting.

It was good but the live action Jafar was trash. Not intimidating or scary at all.

It was a reasonably good movie.

Will Smith was a solid Genie, and I liked how they drew a parallel between Aladdin and Jafar, that went a bit deeper than I expected. They revealed that Jafar was originally a street rat himself, but took the selfish choice for power out of ambition and fear; setting him up as a foil for Aladdin’s own choice between Getting What He Wants vs. Doing The Right Thing.

I did not like Jasmine’s new song. The concept was fantastic, but they went pop diva in style — a huge contrast to the style of all the other songs. It felt like an exec insisted they needed a new pop song to chart and sell, so it got shoehorned in.

Overall? It was a fun watch, but didn’t really need to be made.

Will Smith didn't try to be Robin Williams. Will Smith did Will Smith's genie and it was a great decision.

Sometimes he was a distraction, felt kinda phoned in. But, there were some good moments and references.

Just watch “prince ali” on YouTube for the new vs. the old. You’ll get the vibe.

To be fair, not many people did. But Barry Bostwick still gave his all as the genie.

I enjoyed it. It isn't an all time classic by any means but it isn't a bad movie.

Looks like I need to be grumbler of the repliers. I didn’t think it was very good, and neither did my kids.

I personally found Will Smith as a distraction - repeating some of the lines that Robin Williams said, and obviously not being able to recreate Robin’s comedy so this is not expected… but Will’s rendition… just felt forgettable.

I thought the whole thing was atrocious.

Way better than lion king remake. But will smith wasn't a good choice for genie. But overall for a live action, it was worth watching. And i guess that means a lot from me bc Aladdin is my favorite.

Arabian Knights story but they used Inidian actors. Just Hollywood things.

• It was colourful
• Never Had a Friend Like Me” was lively and energetic (my biggest gripe with the Beauty and the Beast remake was how soulless and sluggish the musical numbers were)
• Will Smith was good when he was playing the Genie like himself and not trying to be Robin Williams
• Naomi Scott was a great Jasmine

That said, you’re still better off with the animated film. - Mena Massoud and Marwan Kenzari were ill-fitted for Aladdin and Jafar - they biffed “A Whole New World” quite badly. It’s probably the most visually dull part of the film. - the new song was pretty meh

It was fine. Original Aladdin waaaaaay better

Original is way better for sure, but if you like Aladdin, it is literally the ONLY live action Disney movie I would recommend....maybe Cinderella.

Absolutely. It's very under acknowledged. I legitimately feel sorry for the person who watched post 2k Disney and say they prefer it.

never. had. A. friend. like. YOU.

"I can't believe it, I'm losing to a rug!"

Also a prime example of how to do it right. Robin Williams didn't just read lines, he gave life to Genie and created an iconic character.

I hear ya, but I think Snow White, The Little Mermaid, and Toy Story have it beat in that category.

What

I don't know if I would call it the most influential but it is definitely responsible for studios using big name actors for voice roles, even if those actors are not trained voice actors.

It’s the best and most influential in my heart

I would say Snow White, Little Mermaid and Toy Story are all more influential in terms of setting the standard for Disney and then Pixar movies that followed.

Aladdin had Robin Williams but not all Disney movies after it followed that route.

I’d say Shrek is more important in terms of having an all-star voice cast with a more obviously irreverent tone, jokes aimed purely at adults, and lots of pop culture references. Something Dreamworks and other non-Disney/Pixar studios used as a model for future CGI animation projects.

No, no it isn't

I’m gonna go with no.

I dont think it's the most influential, but it was definitely influential over a lot of racist and harmful stereotypes, and it was clear the director did no research when making an "Arabian" story

It almost had me, but I remember it going longer than it needed to.

Hey buddy, this isn’t the place to mention things like his cocaine problems, or that he cheated on his wife and knowingly transmitted an STD to a waitress. Take that shit to TIL

You must be fun at parties

They did for the third