Viewing a classic in the light of 2004

Rating: Null/10 (8 October 2004)

I saw this movie and loved it when it was released, but when my family and I sat down to watch the 2004 DVD release last night, it was interesting to view this movie in the light of 2004.
The movie itself is good frenetic fun -- very fast-paced, due in large part to Robin Williams' ADD-afflicted Genie. The one-liners and pop culture references fly so fast it's hard to keep on top of them. Still, my kids liked the music and the quick tempo of the movie. I could do without the love ballad "A Whole New World." Sounds too dated Disney saccharine these days.
What added a strange sort of twist to the movie was viewing it for the first time in a post-9/11 world. The two primary male characters, Aladdin and Jafar, have distinctly Semitic sidekicks (Gilbert Gottfried as the parrot and the Genie himself, whose delivery is frequently borscht-flavored). Ironic, that. Also, there are quite a lot of references to beheading, and that gave me the heebie-jeebies.