Category: Aladdin

This lyric could easily be about Aladdin mocking Prince Achmed only to basically try and be Prince Achmed one he becomes Prince Ali Ababwa.

They say that what you mock
Will surely overtake you
And you become a monster
So the monster will not break you
U2 Peace on earth

And, if I were witty – I would have just quoted Bono. Instead, I went for Nietzsch and pretty royally biffed it. (pun intended)

From the Genius.com annotations

This is an oft-used quote in Bono’s lyrics, by philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
JWG

Mea Culpa Mystery and Robin Williams’ Genie Outtakes

ROBIN WILLIAMS may have been an incorrigible exhibitionist during his lifetime but in death, through his will, he has ensured his image will be tightly controlled.
The Oscar-winning comedian, who killed himself last year aged 63 after battling with depression and a neurological illness, has forbidden fresh exploitation of his name, taped performances or voice recordings for 25 years.
As a result, Disney has abandoned plans to make a fourth instalment of the blockbuster Aladdin animation, assembled from quips and other lines left on the cutting room floor during the original 1991 recording sessions.
John Harlow for the sunday times

There is a little mystery here regarding prequels and sequels. Michial suggested this was the same as the Aladdin movie tentatively entitled “Genies” – which The Hollywood Reporter first announced in July 2015 (Williams committed suicide in August 2014). And it makes sense that a film titled Genies would want to use the voice of THE GENIE, but plans to use his outtakes isn’t mentioned in the piece.

Disney is going back to the world of Aladdin, its 1992 animated classic, with a live-action prequel.
The studio is developing Genies, a live-action comedy adventure that is being written by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift. Tripp Vinson is on board to produce via his Vinson Films banner.
Borys Kit for The Hollywood Reporter

However, the reports of posthumous blocking of sequels came in November 2015 – with no mention of Genies but only of an Aladdin Sequel. (Aladdin 4?) So – are these the same movies and sequel and prequel are being conflated? I guess if Genies releases prior to 2039 we’ll make this post a mea-culpa; hopefully it remains a curiosity.

The Disney executive told The Times, “Because [Williams] insisted on a final say on such material, [the jokes] will remain in the vaults” and a planned Aladdin sequel will stay on the shelf. Until 2039, that is.
JOANNA ROBINSON for Vanity Fair

The Picasso Sent To Robin Williams in Apology

Disney didn’t help its cause by sending Williams a late Picasso said to have cost more than $1 million. The painting is from a series of Picasso self-portraits in which he imagines himself as other artists; here he’s a one-eared Van Gogh. In the Williams living room, the painting has all the charm of a fright wig, clashing with the animal cages, the children’s furniture, and the mood of the owners.
Jesse Kornbluth

He Turns Into A Slot Machine Not A Cash Register

Al Hirschfeld: An Elegant Man & Elegant Line

Every animated film goes through its concept stage with concept art and looking for inspiration that will set the design tone.

When Disney artists sought inspiration for their new feature “Aladdin,” they turned to a very different source: the elegantly minimal caricatures of Al Hirschfeld.

Eric Goldberg – on his first assignment – brings the idea of looking to Hirschfeld to the Disney animation team.

“I look on Hirschfeld’s work as a pinnacle of boiling a subject down to its essence, so that you get a clear, defined statement of a personality,” explains “Alladin” supervising animator Eric Goldberg, who was in charge of the madcap Genie. “There’s also an organic quality in the way one line will flow into another: It may go along the back of a neck, down the spine, across the behind and the down the leg–all in one single line that is very, very elegant. I wanted the Genie to have that kind of elegance.”

And speaking of elegant – what a humble and elegant man Al Hirschfeld must have been to rattle off this quote:

“I’m very flattered that the animators say they were influenced by my use of line,” he says. “But art isn’t a 50-yard dash–it’s more like a relay: You keep handing it on to somebody else, and there’s no beginning or end to it. I didn’t invent the line: That simplification that communicates to a viewer goes back to the cave drawings at Altamira.”

Quotes pulled from this 1992 LA Times cover story.

Eric Goldberg

Goldberg’s first assignment for Walt Disney Animation was as Supervising Animator of Genie from Aladdin (1992), followed by co-directing Pocahontas (1995), animating Phil in Hercules (1997), and work on Fantasia/2000 (1999)
In 2006, Goldberg returned to Walt Disney Animation Studios, where he served as Supervising Animator for Louis and “Tiana’s Song” in The Princess and the Frog (2009). For this, Goldberg won his third Annie Award for Best Character Animation in 2009. He also animated Rabbit and the “Backson Song” sequence in Winnie the Pooh (2011). ForWreck-It Ralph (2012), he created hand-drawn animation tests of King Candy and Sour Bill. In 2013, Goldberg was the Supervisor of Hand-Drawn Animation on Oscar®-nominated Get a Horse! (2013). More recently, Goldberg created the hand-drawn animated character Mini Maui, the tattoo conscience of the Maui character for Moana (2016).
The Walt Disney Family Museum

It’s stunning that this was Eric Goldberg’s first assignment at Disney. I am sure there are other examples of one character’s design setting the tone and style direction for the entire movie – but I can’t think of one that was as influential on the look of the overall film as Genie’s was on Aladdin. Not to mention that it was his character animation test over Robin William’s standup that helped get Robin Williams to take the role – another huge impact on the entire animation industry. No wonder they awarded Eric the Winsor-McCay for lifetime achievement. He lifetime achieved in his first assignment!

Definitive Guide to Aladdin’s Genie Impressions

If you’re as baffled as Aladdin, or – let’s be honest – me, with Genie’s many impressions, then the fine folks over at Lazertime have got you covered with a breakdown of not only who is being impersonated, but also a brief synopsis of what makes them pop-culture notables.

Jafar Katzenberg

This was drawn by Nik Ranieri and I found it on Andres Deja’s blog. We mention Andres Deja pretty regularly on the show because he’s so well spoken about animation, and because his blog is an incredible resource for animation fans.

Robin Williams: The Trope Codifier of Star Power

Via: TVtropes.org

Trope Codifier – does not claim originality, but is the template that all later uses of this trope follow.
In other words, if in tracing the history of a trope, one example stands out as the template that many, many other examples follow, that’s the Trope Codifier.
Aladdin is the Trope Codifier in Western Animation for the value of star power in casting voice actors.

And, as expected, TV tropes as a whole lexicon of these terms beyond Trope Codifier and Ur-Example including Trope Maker and The Most Triumphant Example.

episode 31: Aladdin Featuring Special Guest Tim Rhodes

On June 3, 2020