Monday, July 29, 2013

30 Films That Made Me Who I Am - #21

Aladdin

     I had to think long and hard on this one.  Disney movies were a big part of my childhood, as they were almost everyone else's.  However, I didn't want to put 5 or 6 Disney animated films on this list, nor did I want to not put any on here.  So I had to ask myself, which one left the most impressions on me as I grew.  Well, in the end I chose Aladdin obviously.  I'm sure most in my age group would have chosen The Lion King, and I admit that Aladdin is not held in as high regard these days.  When it came out, it was an event.  You must remember that at the time, the Disney renaissance was supposed to go on forever.  Who knew that once The Lion King came out, things would go down hill afterwards.  In truth, the renaissance lasted only 5 films, and some people only count it as 4, due to Rescuers Down Under originally being conceived as a straight to video title and not having any songs.  The reason I chose Aladdin out of all the Disney animated classics were due to my age when it came out (8), and because it was the first Disney film that came out in my childhood to have a male lead character.

     Now, when I was young, my mother put restrictions on what I could watch. My mother was very worried about violence in movies back when I was young.  I wasn't even able to watch anything Ninja Turtles related until I was 12.  (I did anyway when she wasn't around, of course.)  So I mainly watched Disney movies when I was in my single-digit years.  Oddly enough, I don't regret this at all.  Disney had a stellar record in their Animated canon up until I was around 10 years old, when they came out with the questionable Pocahontas.  Back then, Disney wasn't considered overtly girly as it is now.  This was before the whole princess boom, and before they put all their faith in Pixar, which is pretty much the only branch of Disney worth looking at right now.  They have taken up the reigns of the old animated Disney films, whereas the ones Disney make now aren't even usually up to par with the ones Dreamworks make.

     Still, Aladdin was released at the peak of the Disney Renaissance, and it shows.  The songs are great and memorable, a trait that would go on a few movies after the renaissance ended.  (Despite Pocahontas and Hunchback of Notre Dame not being as good, the songs were still up to par.)   The animation is great as was usual for this period, before Disney started getting too carried away with the computer and going back to the Xerox look from 101 Dalmations as they did in later films.  The movie is probably the most consistently funny of the 90s Disney animated films, probably partially due to the involvement of Robin Williams.  (See Mrs. Doubtfire, released the same year.)  Even the villain gets some laughs.  (I hate Iago though.)  It's a more boyish movie than the two preceding renaissance films, Little Mermaid and Beauty and The Beast, but it's still got a pretty strong character in Jasmine.  She's not completely helpless like Disney princesses of the 1930s or even the 1950s.  

    I believe this movie made me who I am, as it has stuck with me more than the other animated films of it's era, and I think I can still remember the words to most of the songs in film.  Remember, A Whole New World was a big hit when it came out.  But for me, my favorite song is still Prince Ali.  

Now, if I had not chose to go with a Disney Renaissance title, I would have probably chose Alice In Wonderland or Sleeping Beauty, as those are my favorite pre-1989 Disney animated films.  Just thought I'd throw that out there.

1 comment:

  1. This is truly one of my favorites. My fiance and I actually chose "A Whole New World" as our wedding song for our first dance. I can't wait!

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