50 Fun Facts About Aladdin

Who voices the Genie in Disney's 1992 Aladdin?

Robin Williams voices the Genie; the directors wrote the part for him and won him over with a test reel Eric Goldberg animated to his stand-up routines.

Roughly how many characters is the Genie's voice actor estimated to have improvised in the booth?

The Genie's actor improvised so freely that he is estimated to have voiced 52 distinct characters; supervising animator Eric Goldberg combed the recordings to pick lines to animate.

The Genie's actor took SAG scale pay of $75,000 instead of $8 million on what condition?

The condition was that "His name and image would stay out of the marketing", with the Genie filling no more than a quarter of any poster; Disney broke both promises and lost him for the first sequel.

Who replaced the original Genie in the 1994 sequel The Return of Jafar?

Dan Castellaneta, the voice of Homer Simpson, voiced the Genie in The Return of Jafar and the TV series; the original actor returned for Aladdin and the King of Thieves in 1996.

Who directed the 1992 film, having chosen it over Swan Lake and a project that became The Lion King?

John Musker and Ron Clements, fresh from The Little Mermaid, directed Aladdin and co-wrote its screenplay with Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio.

Which lyricist first pitched an animated Aladdin to Disney in 1988 and died before it was finished?

Howard Ashman pitched Aladdin in 1988 as a campy 1930s-style musical; he died in March 1991 and Tim Rice finished the lyrics.

What is the name of the fictional city where the film is set?

Agrabah is the fictional city; the filmmakers renamed it from Baghdad because the Gulf War broke out during production.

Whose caricatures inspired the film's swooping character designs?

Al Hirschfeld's flowing caricatures set the style; Jafar was the exception, because animator Andreas Deja wanted the villain to contrast with the others.

Aladdin's look was redesigned from a boyish Michael J. Fox type to resemble which actor?

Glen Keane redrew Aladdin with Tom Cruise in mind, also drawing on Calvin Klein models, to make the hero older and more athletic.

Who supplied Aladdin's speaking and singing voices?

Scott Weinger and Brad Kane shared the part: Weinger spoke Aladdin's dialogue and Kane sang his songs, a split Disney also used for Jasmine.

Who provides Jasmine's singing voice on the film's big duet?

Lea Salonga sang for Jasmine while Linda Larkin spoke the part; Salonga later sang for Mulan as well.

Which comedian voices Iago the parrot?

Gilbert Gottfried got the part after the filmmakers saw him in Beverly Hills Cop II; Iago had been planned as a stuffy British type, and animator Will Finn worked Gottfried's half-closed eyes into the bird.

Which veteran voice actor plays Abu, Rajah AND the Cave of Wonders?

Frank Welker voices Abu, Rajah and the Cave of Wonders, and he reprised all three roles in the 2019 live-action remake.

What did studio chief Jeffrey Katzenberg demand on the day staff called 'Black Friday'?

Katzenberg demanded "The whole story rewritten, same release date": Aladdin's mother was cut and the hero made rougher, "like a young Harrison Ford".

Which 1940 film supplied elements like the villain Jaffar and the name Abu?

The Thief of Bagdad (1940) gave Aladdin its villain Jaffar (respelt Jafar) and the name Abu, which in the 1940 film belongs to the boy thief played by Sabu.

How does Aladdin finally defeat the villain?

"He tricks him into wishing to be a genie": genies are bound to their lamps, so the all-powerful Jafar is sucked into a black lamp, dragging Iago with him.

What does Aladdin use his third wish for?

Aladdin uses his last wish "To free the Genie", keeping his promise rather than wishing to stay a prince; the Sultan then changes the law so Jasmine can marry whom she chooses.

Which 'Arabian Nights' lyric was changed after complaints from the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee?

The line 'Where they cut off your ear if they don't like your face' became 'Where it's flat and immense and the heat is intense' for home video; the 'barbaric' line stayed.

Which song became the first from a Disney film to win the Grammy for Song of the Year?

"A Whole New World" won Song of the Year at the 1994 Grammys; the end-credits version by Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle also topped the Billboard Hot 100.

How many Academy Awards did Aladdin win?

Two: Best Original Score for Alan Menken and Best Original Song; it was also nominated for a second song and two sound awards.

What box-office milestone did Aladdin become the first animated film to reach?

Aladdin passed $500 million worldwide (about $504 million), making it the highest-grossing film of 1992 and the top animated film until The Lion King.

What grade did CinemaScore audiences give Aladdin?

The rare top mark; Home Alone 2 still beat it on its first wide weekend.

What is the Genie wearing when he leaves at the end, a nod to a Disney-MGM Studios short by his voice actor?

The film is packed with cameos: Beast, Sebastian and Pinocchio all briefly appear.

In the original One Thousand and One Nights tale, where does Aladdin live?

The tale places Aladdin in China, in an unnamed Chinese city, while the sorcerer who recruits him comes from the Maghreb in North Africa.

Who added Aladdin to the Arabian Nights, and where did he get the story?

"Antoine Galland, from Syrian storyteller Hanna Diyab": Galland met Diyab, a Maronite from Aleppo, in Paris in March 1709, and no authentic Arabic manuscript of the tale predates his French version.

What trick does the sorcerer use to steal the lamp in the original tale?

"He offers 'new lamps for old'": disguised as a pedlar, the sorcerer cries his offer in the street, and Aladdin's wife, unaware of the lamp's power, trades it away.

Who directed the 2019 live-action Aladdin?

Guy Ritchie directed the 2019 remake, which was shot at Longcross Studios in Surrey and on location in Jordan's Wadi Rum desert.

Who plays the Genie in the 2019 film?

Will Smith plays the Genie in the 2019 film, giving 'Friend Like Me' a hip-hop spin and admitting he was terrified of following the original.

Who play Aladdin and Jasmine in the 2019 remake?

Mena Massoud and Naomi Scott were cast in July 2017 after a months-long search that delayed production; Tara Sutaria had been a finalist for Jasmine.

How much did the 2019 Aladdin gross worldwide?

Over $1 billion: the 2019 Aladdin took roughly $1.05 billion worldwide on a $183 million budget.

What new song was written for Jasmine in the 2019 film?

"Speechless" was written for Jasmine by Alan Menken with Benj Pasek and Justin Paul; it made the Oscar shortlist but missed a nomination.

Which new character, a Nordic suitor for Jasmine, appears in the 2019 film?

Prince Anders of Skånland, played by Billy Magnussen, is a new suitor for Jasmine; Nasim Pedrad's handmaiden Dalia is also new to the 2019 film.

Who voices Iago in the 2019 film?

Alan Tudyk, the voice of K-2SO in Rogue One, voices Jafar's parrot Iago in the 2019 film.

Where did the Aladdin stage musical premiere in 2011 before Broadway?

Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre staged the premiere in July 2011; after revisions and a Toronto tryout the show reached Broadway in March 2014.

Which Broadway theatre did Aladdin open at in March 2014?

New Amsterdam Theatre, the restored 1903 house on 42nd Street, opened Aladdin on 20 March 2014 after The Lion King and Mary Poppins had played there.

Who won the Tony Award for playing the Genie on Broadway?

James Monroe Iglehart won the 2014 Tony for Best Featured Actor in a Musical as the Genie, the show's only win from five nominations.

Which trio of Aladdin's friends, cut from the film in favour of Abu, were restored for the stage musical?

Babkak, Omar and Kassim came from the original lyricist's 1988 treatment; the stage show restored the three sidekicks and their number 'Babkak, Omar, Aladdin, Kassim'.

How many episodes of the Aladdin animated TV series were made, breaking Disney's usual 65-episode limit?

86 episodes were made, running from September 1994 to November 1995 on The Disney Afternoon and CBS, ending three years to the day after the film's release.

According to the Cave of Wonders, only what kind of person may enter?

A diamond in the rough is the only one the Cave of Wonders will admit, 'one whose worth lies far within'; Jafar's hired thief is swallowed by the cave for failing the test.

What does Jafar disguise himself as to send Aladdin into the Cave of Wonders?

An old prisoner in the palace dungeon is Jafar's disguise; he offers Aladdin freedom and riches if he fetches the lamp from the Cave of Wonders.

Animator Randy Cartwright compared animating which character to 'acting by origami'?

The Magic Carpet was Randy Cartwright's assignment; its expressions come purely from folds and bends, and the carpet's intricate pattern was mapped on by computer afterwards.

Where did the animators go to study monkey movement for Abu?

Duncan Marjoribanks was Abu's supervising animator.

Which classic film character partly inspired the bumbling Sultan?

Douglas Seale voiced him; Val Bettin took over for the TV series.

How did Disney try, unsuccessfully, to make peace with the Genie's actor after the dispute?

It was a self-portrait of Picasso as Van Gogh and reportedly clashed with the Williams family decor.

Which actor voices the villainous vizier Jafar in the 1992 film?

Jonathan Freeman voices Jafar, and he later played the role on Broadway; supervising animator Andreas Deja worked Freeman's own expressions and gestures into the character.

Which of these actors did Jeffrey Katzenberg suggest for the Genie role?

Eddie Murphy was one of Katzenberg's suggestions, along with John Candy and Steve Martin, but the directors had written the Genie for the comedian who finally played him.

The 1996 direct-to-video third Aladdin film is inspired by which One Thousand and One Nights tale?

Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves inspired Aladdin and the King of Thieves (1996), whose forty thieves hide in a mountain that opens to a spoken command, as in the tale.

What is the name of Aladdin's long-lost father, revealed in the third film?

Cassim, the King of Thieves, is revealed as Aladdin's father; Aladdin follows the gang to their hideout, Mount Sesame, and must pass an initiation called 'the Challenge'.

Who was Jasmine's supervising animator on the 1992 film?

Mark Henn was Jasmine's supervising animator; he had already animated Ariel in The Little Mermaid and Belle in Beauty and the Beast.

What animal's head tops Jafar's hypnotic staff?

A cobra: the snake-headed staff hypnotises the Sultan, and in the finale Jafar turns himself into a giant cobra to fight Aladdin.