Claim: Tim Rice was employed on Aladdin with Alan Menken.

Aladdin is a 1992 American animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures . Aladdin is the 31st Disney animated feature film , and was part of the Disney film era known as the Disney Renaissance . The film was directed by John Musker and Ron Clements , and is based on the Arab-style folktale Aladdin and the Magic Lamp from One Thousand and One Nights . The voice cast features Scott Weinger , Robin Williams , Linda Larkin , Jonathan Freeman , Frank Welker , Gilbert Gottfried , and Douglas Seale .   Lyricist Howard Ashman first pitched the idea , and the screenplay went through three drafts before then-Disney Studios president Jeffrey Katzenberg agreed to its production . The animators based their designs on the work of caricaturist Al Hirschfeld , and computers were used for both finishing the artwork and creating some animated elements . The musical score was written by Alan Menken and features six songs with lyrics written by both Ashman and Tim Rice , who took over after Ashman 's death .   Aladdin was released on November 25 , 1992 and was the most successful film of 1992 , earning over $ 217 million in revenue in the United States , and over $ 504 million worldwide . The film also won many awards , most of them for its soundtrack . success led to other material inspired by the film , including two direct-to-video sequels , The Return of Jafar and Aladdin and the King of Thieves , an animated television series of the same name , toys , video games , spin-offs , including a live-action remake , a prequel about the genie titled Genies , Disney merchandise , and a Broadway adaptation that debuted in 2014 .