10 Things You Never Knew About Disney’s Aladdin

It’s hard to believe that Disney’s Arabian Nights classic ‘Aladdin’ is almost 25 years old, and while we’re all familiar with the adventure Al and his trusty sidekick Abu embark on, we’ve uncovered some of the more fascinating things about the film you might not know.

Genie-us identity

Remember the peddler we see right at the beginning who introduces us to the movie world of Aladdin? Well, he was originally meant to be Genie as it was also voiced by the late Robin Williams. There were plenty of similarities between the two; notably the eyebrows, beard, and four-fingered hands.

Can’t Touch This

In order to capture the movement and style of Al’s baggy pants, animators used videos of MC Hammer’s rap videos for inspirations.

Multiple Personalities

Villain Jafar and his accomplice Iago the parrot actually switched personalities. Jafar was meant to be a short-tempered and Iago the cool-headed British type. Producers didn’t think it fit, so switched the round.

A Non-Meeting

Contrary to belief, comedy legends Robin Williams (Genie) and Gilbert Godfried (Iago) never actually crossed paths on set. Instead, they filmed their parts separately. The two had previously met doing stand up together.

Preview Power

In previews of the finished film, producers were hoping audiences would cheer and clap after some of its big musical numbers but they didn’t. One of the animators added Genie illuminating an ‘Applause’ sign after Friend Like Me. It worked and was kept in for the cinema release.

Unqualified For An Oscar

Robin Williams ad-libbed so much, the film was actually turned down for Best Adapted Screenplay at the Oscars. Over the course of the film, he’d amassed around 16 hours of improvised material!

Big Bucks

Aladdin became the first animated movie in history to make more than $200 million.

Patrick Stewart’s Regret

Patrick Stewart was wanted as the voice of Jafar, but due to a conflict in scheduling with ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’, he had to turn the role down. Stewart says it’s one of his biggest regrets.

Home Release

When ‘Aladdin’ came out on VHS, it sold an incredible 10.8 million in its first week. It went on to shift 25 million, which was a record beaten two years later by their next smash hit ‘The Lion King’.

Plot Changes

Originally there were meant to be two: one in the lamp (as we see) and one in a ring. Genie could also rant an infinite amount of wishes, too. Obviously this changed to one Genie in a lamp, no magic ring and no infinite wishes.

Did you know all of these facts about Disney’s ‘Aladdin’? Have we missed any out?

Picture credit: Disney