[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99Op1TaXmCw]
The legend surrounding this movie says that the opening sequence that occurs right before this number was cut down form a total of around three hours worth of material. Robin Williams, the voice of Genie, was basically just told that this would be a scene where the Genie was introduced to Aladdin and the audience. He then began improvising and didn't stop for quite some time. Looking back, I can't imagine anyone else playing the part.
While Williams's influence was felt throughout the first film in the Disney franchise, he wouldn't make another appearance as Genie until the third installment, Aladdin and the King of Thieves, due to disputes between Williams and the Walt Disney Company. This means that the film's first sequel, The Return of Jafar, and the TV series spinoff, saw another voice actor, Dan Castellaneta, take on the role. Dan is famous for his work on The Simpsons, among other things, but Williams left some pretty big shoes to fill, and I don't think anyone could've filled them adequately. Plus, I can't help but hear Genie sounding a little, just a little, like Homer Simpson.
This song was written by Howard Ashman. Ashman worked on this and at three other Disney films, Beauty and the Beast, Oliver & Company, and The Little Mermaid. He was the co-recipient of several awards, including two Academy Awards. He passed away in 1991 at age forty only a few days after the first screening of Beast. His dedication in the film reads: "To our friend Howard, who gave a mermaid her voice and beast his soul, we will be forever grateful. Howard Ashman 1950-1991."
Ashman was not only responsible for the lyrics to several songs in this film; the idea for the film was his idea. After he pitched it, the script went through three drafts and was finally approved by Disney president, Jeffrey Katzenberg. It was a good approval as Aladdin was the most successful film of 1992.
Update 07/10/2016: I'm super skeptical of covers of Disney songs, especially pop covers. When this came up on a playlist I was listening to on Spotify and I saw Ne-Yo was the artist, I almost immediately skipped it, but my love for the song stopped me. I'm glad it did, because this is actually a really great cover of this song in a sort of big band revival style. I hope you'll be as pleasantly surprised as I was.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r21fH-ysABs]
No comments:
Post a Comment