Summary of Aladdin with all spoilers

Rating: 9/10 (23 September 2015)

Aladdin was one of the best animated films of all time! Or at least, that is the opinion of this very entertained film critic. Disney has lead me it often misses the mark when trying to properly adapt fairy tales. I along with many other critics, have been their biggest faultfinders. However, Aladdin is clever, funny, has amazing themes, a beautiful soundtrack, and is a very satisfying movie.
The film is set in place resembling the Middle East. Aladdin is a young boy who lives in the streets. Princess Jasmine (his future love interest), lives in the castle and is heavily restricted by her father. Princess Jasmine leaves the castle one day and meets Aladdin. The two have an immediate bond! As the story develops, they fall in love. The evil secretary Jafar, tricks Aladdin into going to retrieve a magical lamp for him. Aladdin rubs the lamp and sparks a friendship with the genie (Robin Williams). Because princesses are only allowed to marry princes, his first wish is to become a prince. The two begin to fall in love. Jafar steals the lamp and becomes very powerful. Aladdin tricks him in to becoming a genie and he is sucked into a lamp. Seeing that Jasmine and Aladdin are in love, the king changes the law and allows them to get married. The storytelling and pacing in the movie is amazing. This movie is an adaptation of the Arabian Nights story. There have been many fairy tale adaptations such as Frozen, Tangled, and The Princess and the Frog. Because of when Aladdin was made, the only thing it lacks are the high definition qualities. However, the complex story leads away from lack of production!
Moreover, the movie took some very interesting risks that turned out amazing. Normally for Disney movies, the protagonist is obviously good guy. He does everything right, and is a model citizen. This is not the case for Aladdin, who if you pay attention, is actually a criminal. He is a common thief, but despite this, Disney is able to make us root for him. He is a very relatable character and uses his wishes to help him find love. The movie also does an amazing job portraying Jasmine. Instead of making her a ditsy princess and a very minor character, they dig deeper. She isn't just Aladdin's to be won, she falls in love with him too. In the movie, she recognizes him immediately as the boy she met in the streets. It is revealed that she loves Aladdin for who he is and does not care if he is a prince or a petty thief. We also get a very developed character in Genie, who provides the comic relief in the movie. The film is never able to hit a dry spot because he constantly makes us laugh. The decision to get Robin Williams to voice the genie was a smart one, as his charm seeps through the character.
The underlying theme from the movie seems to be to just be yourself. Instead of going the easy route and having Aladdin become a prince, Disney decided to have him stay the same. Children needed to see that being themselves was always the right answer.
As if the characters and story weren't enough, Aladdin had an astounding soundtrack. As of today, I still find myself singing "A Whole New world". This song was truly incredible and won a Grammy for Song of The Year. This is universally seen as one of the best movie soundtracks of all time.
Overall, Aladdin was an amazing movie and one of Disney's best in my opinion. If you have not seen it, I would greatly recommend it! You will find yourself thinking about it weeks later and be happy you did!