November 25, 1992
Aladdin is a 1992 American animated musical fantasy film based on the Arabic folktale "Aladdin" from One Thousand and One Nights. Produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation, it was directed by John Musker and Ron Clements, both of whom co-wrote the screenplay with Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio. The film features the voices of Scott Weinger, Robin Williams, Linda Larkin, Jonathan Freeman, Frank Welker, Gilbert Gottfried, and Douglas Seale. The story follows the titular character, Aladdin, an Arabian street urchin who discovers a magic lamp containing a genie, with whose help he disguises himself as a wealthy prince and tries to impress the Sultan of Agrabah to win the heart of his free-spirited daughter, Princess Jasmine, as the Sultan's evil vizier, Jafar, plots to steal the magic lamp.
Lyricist Howard Ashman pitched the idea to Disney Studios president, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and the screenplay went through three drafts before Katzenberg would agree to its production. The animators based their designs on the work of caricaturist Al Hirschfeld, and computers were used for both finishing the artwork and creating some animated elements. Composed by Alan Menken, the musical score features six songs with lyrics written by both Ashman and Tim Rice (who took over following Ashman's death).
Aladdin was released on November 11, 1992 to critical and commercial success: critics praised the animation and Williams' performance as the genie, and it became the highest-grossing film of the year, with an earning of over $504 million in worldwide box-office revenue. On release, it became the first animated feature to reach the half-billion-dollar mark, and was the fifth highest-grossing film at the time of its release and the highest-grossing animated film of all time until it was surpassed by The Lion King (1994).
Aladdin garnered two Academy Awards, as well as other accolades for its soundtrack, which had the first number from a Disney feature to earn a Grammy Award for Song of the Year, for the film's "A Whole New World", sung by Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle. The film's home VHS release set a sales record, grossing approximately $500 million in the United States. Aladdin's success led to various derived works and other material inspired by the film, including two direct-to-video sequels, The Return of Jafar and Aladdin and the King of Thieves, an animated television series, and a Broadway adaptation. A live-action film adaptation directed by Guy Ritchie was released on May 24, 2019.
Storyline
Jafar, a sorcerer and the royal vizier of the fictional Middle Eastern city of Agrabah, seeks a magic lamp hidden within the Cave of Wonders that only "the diamond in the rough" can retrieve. Meanwhile, Princess Jasmine is unsatisfied with her sheltered life in the palace, so she escapes and encounters a young street urchin named Aladdin, and his pet monkey, Abu. As a bond between Aladdin and Jasmine develops, Jafar has the palace guards capture and imprison Aladdin, who learns Jasmine's identity. Jasmine demands that Jafar release Aladdin, but he instead says that Aladdin has already been beheaded.
Jafar, disguised as an elderly beggar, frees Aladdin and Abu and orders them to retrieve the lamp from the cave. The cave's guardian grants Aladdin entry, but warns him to touch only the lamp. Aladdin finds both the lamp and a flying magic carpet inside, but Abu grabs a large jewel and triggers a cave-in. They flee to the entrance and give the lamp to Jafar, who throws the pair into the cave. While trapped underground, Abu reveals to Aladdin that he stole the lamp back. Aladdin rubs the lamp, from which the Genie emerges. The Genie grants Aladdin three wishes, although Aladdin tricks him into freeing them from the cave without using a wish. Upon learning the Genie's desire to be released from servitude, Aladdin promises to use his last wish to free him. To woo Jasmine, Aladdin uses his first wish to become a prince.
At the suggestion of his parrot sidekick, Iago, Jafar plans to marry Jasmine and then kill both her and her father, the Sultan. Meanwhile, Aladdin arrives in Agrabah as Prince Ali, but Jasmine is uninterested in his advances. That night, Aladdin takes Jasmine on a romantic ride on the carpet. After she deduces that Aladdin is the boy she had met earlier, he lies that he sometimes dresses as a commoner to escape palace life. Aladdin brings Jasmine home, but Jafar has the guards capture him and throw him into the sea, where the Genie uses Aladdin's second wish to rescue him. Returning to the palace, Aladdin reveals Jafar's plot to Jasmine and the Sultan, but Jafar realizes Aladdin's identity and escapes from the guards.
With everything seemingly resolved, the Genie requests his freedom; Aladdin declines, worried that he needs the Genie's facade to stay with Jasmine. The frustrated Genie retreats into his lamp, which is later stolen by Iago and brought to Jafar. Now the Genie's master, Jafar uses his first two wishes to become sultan, then a powerful sorcerer, and sends Aladdin to a frozen wasteland. Using the magic carpet, Aladdin escapes and returns to Agrabah, where he fights Jafar for the lamp. Aladdin taunts Jafar for being less powerful than the Genie, tricking him into using his last wish to become a genie himself. This causes Jafar to become trapped in his new lamp, taking Iago with him. The Genie throws Jafar's lamp into the Cave of Wonders.
The Genie encourages Aladdin to use his third wish to regain his royal title and legally marry Jasmine. Aladdin instead decides to keep his promise, wishing the Genie free. The Sultan allows Jasmine to marry whomever she chooses, and she gladly chooses Aladdin. The Genie bids the group a fond farewell and leaves to explore the world, while Aladdin and Jasmine start their new life together.
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Movie Trailer
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