Guest Blogger: Kaitlyn 2

Aladdin, a poor “street rat,” is the main character of the animated Disney movie Aladdin. He has no family and must survive on his own by stealing food, but he dreams of a rich life. The story begins with the boy and his pet monkey, Abu, stealing food for their breakfast. Because of a misunderstanding among the guards, Aladdin in captured and taken to prison for supposedly “kidnapping” the Princess. While in prison, Aladdin meets an old man who tells of a great treasure. They escape the prison and head into the desert, to the Cave of Wonders. Aladdin enters and finds a magic lamp, from which pops a Genie, voiced by Robin Williams, who immediately sings an upbeat song about the possibilities of the three wishes Aladdin gets. The film continues, showing how Aladdin tries to use his three wishes to become rich, woo the Princess, and fight the Sultan’s evil advisor, Jafar. Aladdin is filled with humorous moments, catchy tunes, and memorable characters. The character of Aladdin is primarily motivated by money for the beginning of the movie, but later he’s mostly motivated by love. Towards the end, he tries to make decisions based on what is right. Aladdin is voiced by Scott Weinger, and his singing voice is done by Brad Kane. Weinger gives his character more personality and makes him more realistic. For example, when Aladdin is talking about the Princess, his voice gets all dreamy and he sounds happy. In an interview with Weinger, he said that he could see himself in Aladdin in that scene every time he watches the movie, so Weinger definitely lends his own personal touches and emotions to the character. A large percentage of critics praised the film for Robin William’s performance, stating that he gave the film more humor for people of all ages. However, some critics called the characters “cookie-cutter” and the film “totally by the numbers”, with no surprises in the plot. I disagree; I think that the film is a Disney classic and it can be as cookie-cutter as it wants. It works for an animated Disney film. With these kinds of movies, I feel that it’s okay if it’s following a storyline that might be a bit predictable, because it’s mostly meant for younger children anyways.