Day 26: Aladdin

 You ain't never seen a movie like me: Our 26th Movie!

Marc Anthony, J-Lo, and Whoopi Goldberg in a Disney Dream Portrait

1. What movie did you watch?
Aladdin. The film is based off the tale Aladdin and the Magic Lamp from One Thousand and One Nights. The movie went through three screenplays before it was approved for production. It was directed by Jon Musker and Ron Clements with music by Alan Menken, all of whom had worked on The Little Mermaid a few years earlier. Fun fact: Aladdin was originally designed to look like Michael J. Fox, but the design was eventually changed to make him look more like Tom Cruise. 

2. Have you seen it before/ how long has it been since you last saw it?
Maddie: I last watched it when Robin Williams passed away :(
Alexis: Sadly I also watched it last August about a week after Robin Williams died.

3. What memories did it recall?
Maddie: You forget how truly great all of the music in this movie is. Whole New World was my favorite as a kid and I remember running around the house singing to it. But now looking back that is just the song that gets the most attention: Friend Like Me is my current favorite.

Alexis: It totally brought back memories of watching it as a kid, it was a common occurrence in our household! Specifically, the Prince Ali number always brings back memories of the Disney sing along VHS we used to have. That song was on it along with I Just Can't Wait to Be King and Part of Your World, amongst others. I don't know if anyone else remembers those sing along song tapes, but they were great! The opening to the video was this little owl guy, how adorable.

4. What did you think of it?
Maddie: I loved it!! It also made me very sad about Robin Williams, this movie is probably in my top five of his performance- he's just so amazing as the genie. My section of this could essentially be a genie appreciation post.

Alexis: Loved it! All the songs are wonderful, and it's an overall awesome story. Jasmine is a great female character who fights for her own rights, and Aladdin is more than just the suave prince, in the end he wins thanks to his wit instead of pure strength. All of the characters are entertaining, and it's impossible to get through this movie without laughing.

5. Favorite moment:
Maddie: As much as we all know I love Genie by now, I think for nostalgia sake my favorite part is still Whole New World

Alexis: My favorite part is definitely Friend Like Me. The visuals, the music, the lyrics: everything about it is perfect. It gets stuck in my head constantly. 

6. Any other comments:
Maddie: Just...what a movie! So glad I got to rewatch it!

Alexis: I saw the musical version of Aladdin on Broadway, and it was fantastic. I think they did a great job transitioning the movie to the stage, and the added songs were really good. They included Proud of Your Boy, which was a song that was cut from the film, so it was cool to see that played out. We got to see James Monroe Iglehart, who won a Tony for his performance as the Genie, and Jonathan Freeman as Jafar, who voiced the villain in the movie as well as the musical. It was a great show, especially when it comes to Disney adaptations (I've seen almost all of the Disney musicals and I would rank this one very highly). Also, we saw it on Broadway just two days after Robin Williams passed away and they did a short tribute to him at the end, and it was very emotional and nice.