For some reason when I think of Disney's Aladdin, I think of Robin Williams. I guess the spat between him and Disney over the sequel is likely the reason he comes to mind. As Disney has been doing with other films in their animated empire, Aladdin is being re-released for a limited time in a special edition set.
Aladdin stars Robin Williams' voice in the lead role about a genie that gets loose. The fun begins when Aladdin lets the genie out and Robin Williams is given the freedom to cause havoc.
Of course any good story deserves a villain and this one is no different with Jonathan Freeman as Jafar. It begins with Aladdin who is nothing more than a street dweller who dreams of bigger things.
Next thing you know Aladdin meets the woman of his dreams in Jasmine (Linda Larkin) who just happens to be a princess. She dreams of seeing the world and the two hit it off, only there's a big problem. The law of the land says she has to marry a prince, of which Aladdin is not.
With the help of the Genie and his goofy pal monkey friend Abu, Aladdin sets out to find a way to marry the woman of his dreams while defeating the evil Jafar who stands in his way.
The animation is wonderful, the voice acting superb and the story a classic that Disney proves once again can be retuned to be even better than the original. There's plenty of laughs thanks to Williams and a good lesson thanks to Disney's classic sense of good will.
Aladdin is long overdue for a re-release and fans who have never owned this before on another format should not waste another minute on deciding. If you have owned a previous version then the extras on this special edition just about is too great to resist.
The Disc:
What kind of limited edition film would this be without plenty of reasons to make it so. The packaging is absolutely beautiful itself with the traditional sleeve within a sleeve. Just seeing the bright beautiful animation on the cover is enough to give one goosebumps. It continues the trend that Disney has offered with these special editions.
The transfer is also very well done with plenty of detail done to restoring this classic frame by frame. If there are any errors or artifacts present I certainly could not find them. You have to admire the people who painstakingly redid each single frame. The disc offers a 1:66:1 Widescreen viewing which is far superior to any version released previously.
As for the audio in the film, Disney has crafted a very admirable Dolby Digital 5.1 home theater mix which takes advantage of setups more attuned to the home. The new track sounds really impressive during the film's action sequences making this one hell of a good sounding track. There's also a standard 5.1 mix but why even use it when the home theater mix rocks!
The goodies are MASSIVE with a two disc set here worthy of Disney. It begins on Disc One with a Full-length audio commentary by the filmmakers. You can see that even today these people reflect back upon what they created and still view it as one of their best moments in filmmaking.
Although traditional animators are getting a bad rap these days, Disney has also been kind enough to add a second audio commentary by the artists. These people are proud of their work and effort and not many people realize how painstaking it is to spend three years of your life contributing to less than 2 hours of artwork. I found their comments to be entertaining and refeshing.
Disc Two is where the real goodies are starting with the two hour long "A Diamond in the Rough" Featurette. Disney offers viewers three ways to view this either by an index (with the durations noted), an interactive menu, or a simple one-click "play all" mode. No matter how you slice it, this is a well put together look at the making of the film
Music fans have plenty to cheer about with four different offerings including some never before seen material. Proud of Your Boy, is new with an orchestra and Clay Aiken of American Idol fame doing the singing. There's also a new duet with those lovely newlywed Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson singing "A Whole New World" in an All-New Music Video.
More musical fun ensues with Alan Menken: Musical Renaissance Man which aims more at the cultural phenomenon of the setting of the film and its music in that era. Most everyone will love the inclusion of Sing Along Selection which lets anyone brave enough to sing out loud join in on the fun.
Kids will get a laugh out of The Genie World Tour, a hilarious trip around the world with the genie that had me chuckling quite a few times. Disney really knows how to make the most of the best character in the film and genie comes around again for Inside The Genie's Lamp, a never-before seen 3-D tour of the genie's favorite hangout, or not.
Games also make up a part of the fun with 3 Wishes Game which didn't really grant me my true wish and Disney's Virtual DVD Ride: ALADDIN's Magic Carpet Adventure.
Probably my favorite extra of the entire set is the Pop-Up Fun Facts, which lets viewers watch the film in a special "trivia mode" feature to experience and share fun and interesting secrets about the film. Finally things are rounded out with an Aladdin art gallery and of course Disney trailers.
bottom line:
As long as Disney continues to put this kind of effort into their best films of the past, we will be estatic. Aladdin is surely a classic worth handing down to continuing droves of new generations and this disc represents the best way to preserve one of Disney's most loved films of all time.
4.5 out of 5
By - Brian Gray
1/2
