Disney's Alladdin Review

     Disney's Alladdin is truly a fantastic film and almost tied with Beauty and the Beast as my absolute favorite film so far.

     It is animated film that is rich and varied in its themes of adventure,  romance, and comedy yet it all fits together perfectly within its fairly short an hour and a half of runtime.  Its a spectacle of sights and sounds with gorgeous visuals and soundtrack yet it also has great emotional depth that is quite heartwarming,  especially with its awesome cast of characters. 

    In my opinion, Alladdin  has the best and funniest side characters in all of Disney's films and this might even be true before considering the Genie. But with Genie, portrayed by Robin Willoams, it takes it up to a whole new level with a character who is hilarious and outrageously fun with his constant fourth-wall breaks, celebrity impersonations, and other zany antics. Yet he does this in a way that works somehow seamlessly within the world of the film in such a way that it doesn't detract from its more serious themes.

    Besides the great side characters,  the central characters are also great. Alladdin is a kind-hearted and likable thief filled with charm yet lacking confidence.  Jasmine is a great princess character who is one of the stronger and more independent female characters in a Disney film so far as she struggles against society's rules that demand she marry a prince. And Jafar is as sinister and entertaining as any and a great bad guy for the movie.

     Visually, it looks great and I found a particular scene in the cave of wonder featuring Alladin and Abu riding the Carpet out of the cave as lava surrounds them and rocks fall threateningly. The film used CGI effects that were cutting edge for the time and still looks impressive today.

     The songs are great and a Whole New World and Prince Ali might be my favorite though it's also hard to beat the Genie's You Ain't Ever Had a Friend Like Me dong.

     Overall Alladdin is great fun for the whole family and I don't recall anything particularly offensive to younger audiences unless some of the more intense scenes of action might bother some very young children. 

     Alladdin is hard to beat and an absolute must-watch spectacle of a Disney film and it easily deserves a 10 out of 10.

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