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In Agrabah, where Jafar is Grand Vizier to the befuddled Sultan (Douglas Seale), Aladdin (Scott Weinger) bounds across rooftops with a stolen loaf of bread. In hot pursuit come city guards, bent on punishing Aladdin but clearly unfamiliar with the back-streets. Having distanced his pursuers, Aladdin shares the spoils with his pet monkey and best friend Abu (Frank Welker). A couple of needy kids get the better of Aladdin's heart though, such that he foregoes his meal. Just then Prince Achmed, the latest in a long line of pompous suitors for the hand of Princess Jasmine (Linda Larkin), distracts Aladdin. He is far too haughty and unpleasant for her liking though. Instead Jasmine would rather play with Rajah (Aaron Blaise), her pet tiger and only true companion. The Sultan is thus at his wits end in his desire to marry off Jasmine, finally turning to Jafar for assistance. Meanwhile, Jasmine takes matters into her own hand by sneaking from the palace grounds.
In the marketplace, Jasmine cuts a stunning figure. She is, however, hardly streetwise, as she finds out to her cost when innocently giving away an apple. Spotting the apparent thief, the stall-holder is all set to remove her pretty hands until Aladdin comes charging to the rescue. Thus the unlikely romance of a princess and a street urchin is set into motion. Unfortunately Jafar also wants Aladdin, since he is the only one who meets his requirement for purity, and sends the guard out. With her first possible love snatched rudely away, Jasmine remonstrates with Jafar. Regrettably he informs her that Aladdin has been decapitated, whereas he's in the dungeon, waiting to be tricked by Jafar. In this way are the magical influences of the Genie (Robin Williams) and the Carpet introduced, turning little Aladdin's life all the way around.
Something of a departure from the traditional Disney movie, the hit-and-run talents of Williams thoroughly submerge the story of Aladdin. It turns out that animation is the perfect medium for Williams, being able to twist and turn in step with his incredible comic agility. Thus, before a single frame was drawn, Williams recorded his part and gave the animators a template to work from. Fortunately the artwork in Aladdin is superb, a seamless blending of traditional pen-and-ink with computer graphics. In this way the characters are given a measure of humanity, even as they swoop on a rippling and intricate rug above a furious sea of boiling lava. In addition to motivating the visuals of Aladdin, Williams also injects a certain dynamism; spurring the movie to dash around at high speed, it covers all of the required bases but never lags. Ironically, while this makes Aladdin sound like a one man show, it is anything but. Without the hordes of artistic and technical folk beavering away for endless months, none of this would have existed.
While Williams overshadows the nominal leads of Aladdin and Jasmine, they are not without charm (in spite of the standard boy-meets-girl plot). Aladdin gets to play both the action-hero and man of romance, pulling off this balancing act in a mutually compatible manner. Jasmine, on the other hand, is very much a modern girl, combining large-eyed looks with a belief in herself and what she wants. The supporting characters are, however, generally more amusing, interesting and idiosyncratic. Jafar is really very evil and unpleasant, yet you can also see just how precarious the position of Vizier is when you're at the whim of the Sultan (who, incidentally, is silly but charmingly eccentric). Just about everyone gets a sidekick who answers back in cutting fashion (at least, Iago and Abu do), allowing the opportunity for some well-honed repartee. Even better, these comedy animals mirror the good vs. evil theme, allowing all ages to pick up on the subtext (which may, or may not, be a good thing if you're concerned about cultural domination).
The dominant weakness of Aladdin lies in its songs, which are far off the standard established by Beauty and the Beast and the like. The lyrics seem to be missing the essential hooks, that special edge that makes you want to sing along. So, while the music itself is adequate, alone it is unable to rescue the film from some very dodgy moments. That apart though, the witty and not over-sweet script provides some very memorable lines (not all of which are down to Williams). Considering the other positives of stunningly detailed animation, awesome free-association and some great changes in atmosphere, it's easy to decide that Aladdin is one of the finer animated films around. It may not turn into a long-standing classic but, for the moment, the humour remains fresh.
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