Aladdin (1992)

Since yesterday we had a film that talked about a magic carpet, today's film is one that actually has a magic carpet, Aladdin.

The Movie:

Aladdin is the 31st movie in the Disney Animated Canon and one of the big four films from the first part of the Disney Renaissance.  It was the highest grossing animated film ever until The Lion King passed it two years later, and it is still the third highest grossing traditionally animated film.

The title character is a street rat in the fictional Agrabah, whose sultan is trying to find a suitor for his daughter Jasmine.  The princess runs away in disguise and meets Aladdin in the marketplace, where they begin to fall in love.  Meanwhile, the sultan's evil vizier Jafar captures Aladdin and takes him to the Cave of Wonders to retrieve a lamp.  Little does Aladdin know that the lamp contains an all-powerful (and wildly comical) Genie.

There's a reason this movie is so highly regarded, and it's because it works on so many levels.  The story is both a nice subversion of the original tale from One Thousand and One Nights (aka Arabian Nights) and traditional Disney fairy tales.  The animation looks amazing.  And most of all, the movie is absolutely funny.  Though a lot of that comes from Robin Williams in his role as the Genie (and the peddler at the beginning), there's enough great dialogue that all the characters share the wealth on the laughs.

The other highlight of Aladdin is the music by the always wonderful Alan Menken.  Half of the songs were written with lyricist Howard Ashman, who died during production.  Many songs Ashman worked on did not make it into the final movie, but the ones that did were "Arabian Nights," "Prince Ali," and the amazing "Friend Like Me."  Tim Rice stepped in to do lyrics on the other songs, and it's his work with Menken on "A Whole New World" that gave Aladdin its signature song.  The Regina Belle and Peabo Bryson pop cover helped the song to rack up most of its accolades, but personally I prefer the version performed in the movie, but that might because I'm partial to Lea Salonga, the singing voice of Jasmine (and also the title character in Mulan).

Presence in the Parks:

Ooh boy, is there any doubt that a movie this popular and so iconic would not find its way into the parks?  That being said not everything Aladdin related has managed to stick around.

Shortly after the opening of the movie, both coasts featured a parade called Aladdin's Royal Caravan.  It ran in Disneyland from April 1993 until June 1994, when it was replaced by The Lion King.  In Florida, it ran at MGM Studios from December 1992 to August 1995.

Aladdin's Royal Caravan, MGM Studios, June 1995

Until recently, Aladdin had a much bigger west coast presence.  An Aladdin musical ran in the Hyperion Theater at DCA from 2003 to 2016, but it closed for a new Frozen musical.  Disneyland's Adventureland also had a restaurant that opened in 1993 called Aladdin's Oasis that closed this year and is being renovated to a new theme.  However, you can still see Agrabah on the Storybook Canals.

Meanwhile, on the east coast, Aladdin still has a place in Adventureland.  At the Magic Kingdom, there is a Dumbo-style ride called The Magic Carpets of Aladdin that opened in 2001.  The attraction also has a "spitting" camel out front.  A similar ride can also be found in Paris and at Tokyo DisneySea.  (Speaking of DisneySea, that park as an entire land based around Aladdin.)

The Magic Carpets of Aladdin, May 2015

Adventureland is also the place in the Magic Kingdom to meet Aladdin and Jasmine.  It is also the home to a Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom portal where the Genie helps you battle Jafar and Iago, while Jasmine and Aladdin appear on cards in the game.  And speaking of Iago, there was a time, 1998-2011, when he and Zazu from The Lion King ran The Enchanted Tiki Room "Under New Management."

Elsewhere in the Magic Kingdom, "A Whole New World" pops up in Mickey's Philharmagic, and the movie gets a few prominent moments in the Happily Ever After fireworks/projection show.  (Aladdin got a line in the previous show, Wishes.)  At Epcot, Jasmine is a meetable character at the Morocco Pavillion, and at times Aladdin has bee there too.  (Morocco is not really close to the Middle East, but is the closest thing Epcot has.) 

Morocco Pavillion, May 2015 

(Note the sign for Aladdin and Jasmine in the lower right)

Over at Hollywood Studios, the movie gets some love in the show Fantasmic, especially with Jafar as a giant snake battling Mickey.

Fantasmic! Hollywood Studios, May 2015