Aladdin rubs its own lamp and summons one of Disney's best musicals.

Rating: 8/10 (2 March 2019)

The beginning of the "House of Mouse's" renaissance era was probably the best few years since their conception. Aladdin contributes to that significantly, with its memorable songs and outstanding voice acting. A street rat is fooled into entering the Cave of Wonders and finds a mystical lamp that summons a genie, granting him three wishes. It's a simple yet effective story of the poor wanting to become wealthy, and soon transforming into something they are not.
Presenting themes of envy and greed through Disney's signature animation style and huge amounts of character development. Almost immediately, each individual harness their own unique personality that make them stand out. Aladdin is this confident homeless man who remains envious of the rich. Jasmine despises the way of life she lives, not wanting to be forcefully married. Jafar, well, he's just the embodiment of evil. And the Genie is the perfect comic relief for what is an often engaging love story. The voice acting alone doesn't get enough credit, mostly because one particular actor steals all the credit. But let's address that, Robin Williams is the Genie. His comedic timing, energetic voice work and all round perfection ensures that he is the only choice for the role. What assists in his memorability are the plethora of songs that this musical boasts. Nearly every single one of them is catchy and instantly recognisable. From the romantic "A Whole New World" to the grandeur and flamboyancy of "Prince Ali", they all ingeniously progress the story through inventive lyrics. I'll be damned if you don't stand up and burst into "Never Had A Friend Like Me" whilst imitating the Genie's exotic dance moves. The hand-drawn animation remains stunning with the occasional CGI object, such as the cave's entrance, complementing this style.
The story itself is well paced and quickly develops during its short ninety minute runtime, however the third act unfortunately runs out of wishes. The showdown with Jafar, the Genie's release from captivity and the inevitable happy ending were all too rushed and concluded the film in an unmemorable way. It was as if Clements and Musker ran out of ideas. Still, for the most part Aladdin exhumes a magical adventure filled with romance, personality and some of Disney's best songs. My hopes for the live action even remotely coming close to this, are slim...