Aladdin

Ron Clements and John Musker direct this 91 minute animation, in which a street boy uses the genie of a lamp to pass himself off as a prince. Ninety one minutes is tight for this story, and the film makes a visible choice: the genie appears only about a third of the way in, and once he does the register shifts from fairy tale to variety act. Anyone who came for the romance spends the second half watching a comedy showcase. Robin Williams improvised most of the genie’s lines, reportedly voicing more than fifty distinct characters across the sessions. The cost is clear in hindsight: a large share of the jokes are pinned to 1992 American television and its celebrities. They age fastest and lose most in dubbing and subtitles. Two interventions shaped it. Lyricist Howard Ashman, who pitched the project, died in March 1991 and his song Proud of Your Boy was cut. That year Jeffrey Katzenberg demanded a rewrite and had Aladdin’s mother removed, leaving the hero with no family and the whole emotional load on the lie about being a prince. Not for you if period stereotyping is a problem: one line of the opening song was changed for the 1993 video release after protests, but the city and villain designs stayed exactly as they were.