133 Aladdin Facts That Will Get Excited You About The Story

'Aladdin' is an original classic that is now being remade, but this Disney classic still has the same fun facts that we will present to you!

'Aladdin' is a Disney's animated movie, and it captured the audience with its fairytale-like story. Next to the famous 'Beauty and the Beast', 'Aladdin' is Disney's finest classic hit that continues to entice audiences.

Magic is always a fascinating topic in everyone's childhood, right? Walt Disney Pictures capitalized on this fact by creating their own universe, complete with fairies, princesses, a magical flying carpet, and much more. 'Aladdin' was born out of this very universe and has enticed not just kids but also adults and older populations.

The characters voiced by some of the industry's best gave it a boost to become Disney's most expensive storyline, which has made its way into the Oscars too! Discover some unknown facts about the movie, its cast, its different adaptations, directors, animation, and much more in this article. So keep reading!

If you are fond of movies, then do check out our other related articles on Bambi facts and facts about Snow White as well.

Fun Facts About Aladdin

Walt Disney Pictures began with 'Aladdin' in 1992 with an animated movie. Back then, it was considered the best film released by Disney. The animated film adapted the folktale 'Aladdin and the Magic Lamp'.

The film about 'Aladdin' featured Robin Williams in the role of the genie. Several television plays, musicals, videogames, and a Broadway show have been based on this fascinating character. Let's learn some fun facts about Aladdin.

Tom Cruise influenced the '90s Aladdin. Most of the film had several '90s elements in it, and the character design for this Walt Disney picture was influenced by the then immensely popular actor, Tom Cruise.

'Aladdin' was also adapted into a beautiful musical in 2011 and it is famous for the same. This musical took inspiration from a few deleted narratives and concepts from the Walt Disney Pictures movie, and this gave the Disney story the rank of Broadway star.

In the original draft of Aladdin's script, there was actually a mention of his mother. This script had a lot of messages through his mom and about Aladdin's choosing the right choices because of his mother, but the script didn't seem to go anywhere further.

The popular song of 'Arabian Nights' also opens in the movie 'Aladdin', and this is a fan favorite amongst many Disney fans. This song, however, is now avoided due to some controversies surrounding it, although it still remains a Disney trademark song.

When we think about Aladdin, it's the genie and the lamp that we remember the most, apart from the prince, princess Jasmine, and other characters, right? Robin Williams successfully portrayed this character and etched his flawless portrayal into all the fans' hearts. An 'Aladdin' movie would never be a hit without the presence of the comic genie in it.

Jonathan Freeman voiced Jafar in the initial animated play and continued to voice the character. Freeman is renowned and appreciated for playing the character of Jafar so effortlessly. Despite the fact that the film has been out for 27 years, Johnathan still appears to be attached to the role; he even voices the character of Jafar to this day!

Did you know that the film 'Aladdin' was rejected for the Academy Award for the best-adapted screenplay, despite its popularity? It was because Robin Williams had improvised and ad-libbed many of his lines.

Aladdin, in the movie, is shown to be an 18-year-old.

The setting of Aladdin is based in Agrabah, although it was earlier based in the country, China.

The character of Aladdin is based on Michael J Fox, but the inspiration for the character was taken more from Tom Cruise.

A very curious fact is that, despite the magical and fantastical elements in the story, the main character's personality is said to be based on real-life experiences!

Facts About Different Adaptations Of The Story

The Disney story of 'Aladdin' always finds its place in the minds of the audience due to its typical rags to riches narrative of a young boy, and to top it all off, the story even has magic, which is why several adaptations of this story into animated films, movies, and TV shows have been made.

Let's look at some of these Walt Disney picture adaptations.

Walt Disney created an entire Disney media franchise for 'Aladdin' comprising TV shows, film series, and even video games! It began in 1992 with the animated feature directed by John Musker and Ron Clements.

The sequel of which led to a television series, a musical, and a live-action film. Various theme parks in the Disney world have been dedicated to the story of Aladdin as well.

Coming to animated films, the first was Walt Disney Pictures' 31st animated feature film in 1992, inspired by the Arabian folktale 'Aladdin and the magic lamp'. The second was the return of Jafar in 1994.

The plot of this film is focused primarily on Jafar seeking revenge on Aladdin. Another adaptation was in 1996 in an animated feature called 'Aladdin and the King of Thieves', which was also a sequel to the original story.

In live-action films, Disney developed the 'Aladdin' movie in 2016, opening in theaters with Jonathan Eirich and Dan Lin producing it, and John August writing the script. The movie was praised by the audience.

Apart from theaters, 'Aladdin' was also adapted for television shows. An animated series from 1982-1995 had episodes highlighting Aladdin's adventures post-second film by Jafar. The most recent television adaptation was 'Descendants' (2015-2019), which is based on the various lives of Disney villains and heroes' children. In this series, Jafar and his son Jay make an appearance.

Facts About The Characters From The Movie

Nearly three decades after the original 1992 movie, a 21st century updated version of 'Aladdin' with live-action was made. But Aladdin's movies have had several interesting facts associated with them. Let's take a quick look at a few of them.

The Genie in the story of 'Aladdin' was a key character, and the role in the movie was written keeping in mind the image of Robin Williams.

Jeffrey Katzenberg later said that they weren't sure if he would agree to the role and hence had several alternative options in line, such as Steve Martin, Martin Short, Albert Brooks, John Candy, John Goodman, and Eddie Murphy.

The role of Jasmine was voiced by Linda Larkin, although she never sang a song, and Lea Salonga sang the songs. According to Linda Larkin, the movie was surrounded by the famous Robin Williams, who was, at the time, a very influential Disney force.

While scripting the character of Genie Eric Goldberg, the team of animators and co-directors, John Musker and Ron Clements were asked to study old comedy albums by Robin Williams to get the essence right.

Because of Robin Williams, who played the role of the genie, many A-listed actors like Tina Frey, Tom Hanks, Steve Carell, and Billy Crystal, who have starred in many Oscar-nominated films, came to play a part in the movie.

Did you know that Gilbert Gottfried was not the only actor chosen for the role of Iago? This evil parrot in Disney's 'Aladdin' was initially offered to Joe Pesci and Danny DeVito, who refused to take part.

While filming the characters of 'Aladdin', two-dimensional shapes were used to develop the characters. The animators composed the characters by interlocking triangles to form their bodies. Jasmine, the king, prince, and princesses were referenced using these triangles; Jasmine was pear-shaped while Jafar was T-shaped, pretty much on the skinny side.

Robin Williams had a peculiar way of recording for his character, the Genie. He would come for only a handful of sessions, but he recorded every line in about 20 different ways when he did!

In an interview with 'Entertainment Weekly', Goldberg once said that Williams gave them a lot of freedom to choose the most comical and hysterical styles for his character. The directors would then pick up those lines that would make them laugh the most.

Facts About The Cast

Despite there being some dissimilarities between the live-action movie of 'Aladdin' and the original animated feature, Disney has still profited from their movies. The cast has especially played a vital role in this, and so let's look at some facts about the movie's cast.

Mena Massoud, a 27-year-old, played the main role of Aladdin. He is Canadian and has Egyptian roots, which made him all the more perfect for the role.

Naomi Scott, a British actress, and vocalist, were chosen to portray Jasmine. She was chosen to essay the role of Jasmine owing to her roles in other fantasy series like Power Rangers and Lewis.

Disney villains have their fair share of the fanbase, and we are sure you agree with us as well, which is why their casting is far more important than others. Therefore, for the role of Jafar, a Dutch actor known by the name Kenzari was chosen due to his reputation in movies like The Mummy.

Will Smith played the role of the genie, and most people did not welcome this move. The audience felt the genie to be a tad bit irritating. Still, Smith stood by his character portrayal and said that he wanted his character to be different from Robin William's portal in the original 'Aladdin' movie.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for 133 Aladdin facts that will get excited you about the story then why not take a look at Jungle Book facts or facts about Alice in wonderland.