Bring home ‘Aladdin’ on the new Signature Collection

Category: Blu-ray's and DVD's

The animated Aladdin is the newest edition to the Walt Disney Signature Collection. This 1992 film became an instant classic and added a new Disney Princess, Jasmine, to the group.

The story has Scott Weinger voicing the title character. Aladdin is a “street rat,” with no job, no money, and only his little monkey friend Abu for a friend.

Linda Larkin voices Princess Jasmine, a young woman who, according to the law, must be married before her next birthday in a few days, and she must marry a prince. But Jasmine is finicky and doesn’t like any of the men who come to court her.

After running away, Jasmine meets Aladdin in the marketplace. Then she is discovered and returned to the palace. In the meantime, Aladdin retrieves the magic lamp and releases the Genie (voiced by Robin Williams). While the evil Jafar, the Sultan’s closest advisor, pulls the strings amongst this group, Aladdin confides in the Genie that he wants to marry Jasmine. But he is not a prince. So he is made a prince (wish #1) and “Prince Ali” soon becomes engaged to Jasmine.

Things get out of hand and Jafar throws a wrench into the scheme. But, in true Disney form, the good guys win and the law is changed to allow the “street rat” Aladdin to marry Princess Jasmine.

The magic carpet and little Abu are the comic relief in the show, not to mention the comedy of Robin Williams whose performance as the Genie is iconic and never to be reproduced as well as this. Others have tried, but Williams was one of a kind.

There are two ways of viewing this film. There is the original theatrical release version and the sing-along version, which has the lyrics to the songs displayed on the bottom of the screen so viewers can sing along to the movie.

There are also additional bonus features. The most interesting is a look back at making the film with Scott Weinger. He discusses his audition, how he felt about the film, talks with his mom who was always encouraging, the producers/directors, Linda Larkin, and others. Although he had acted in the past, this teenager got his big break as Aladdin. From there he went on to the popular TV series Full House and then Fuller House with plenty of other acting gigs in between. But his ties to the character of Aladdin and Disney have stayed with him his whole life, and now that he has his own child he is proud of his association with the company.

There is an alternate ending (not final version) that is fun to watch, a look at the cast as they recorded their parts, and some classic bonus features from older editions.

This Signature Collection Aladdin includes a Blu-ray, a DVD, and a Digital Code. It’s “a whole new world” to watch this fun, classic animated movie with the entire family.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for over 25 years. She also writes about products and travel. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books, is the entertainment correspondent for Good Day Orange County, and has her own TV show, Beyond the Red Carpet, on Village Television in Orange County.Follow her on Twitter.