Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Disney's Aladdin Just Made My Whole Week... Again

I think we all have that one Disney movie that becomes forever ingrained in our hearts and minds when we're young. For me, it was Aladdin:



I saw Aladdin in the theater on my first-ever, non-adult-chaperoned date - a date my mom allowed only because A) it was with a trusted boy from Youth Group, and B) my father was out of town on a business trip and never needed to know.*

The date ended up being as painfully platonic as an Amish quilt circle, though, so in the end it was the movie that won my heart.

 [*Until now, of course. Hi, Dad!]


My friend Chris and I immediately adopted Aladdin as our own personal playbook of spontaneous quips and sing-alongs, right there in the back of Freshman Science. We discovered this movie has a quote for literally any situation, and to this day, I still tell John where he stands on a scale of 1-10.



Chris and I weren't as interested in the love story bit, so while all the girls in our grade were caterwauling "A Whole New World" to the radio, we were belting out "Arabian Nights," "Prince Ali," and "Friend Like Me."

We memorized the merchant peddler's intro ("also makes julienne fries!"), all of Genie's lines ("Talk about your trunk space, check this action out!"), and the delightful back-and-forths between Iago and Jafar. (Though mercifully the "NOT!" grew old pretty fast.)



This bit was always one of our favorites:


You'd be amazed how often two determined teenagers can work those lines into everyday conversation.

Chris and I were also copious note-passers, and took turns trying to make each other laugh with cobbled together Aladdin quotes applied to that day's German homework or lunch menu. I still have a box somewhere of folded notes like these:


... each filled with clumsy comedy routines which would one day come to surprisingly good use for a certain goofy cake blog. (I think half my Aladdin references over there sail by unnoticed, but that's ok; *I* know.)

Many years later, when Disney released the special-edition DVD, Chris surprised John and me by showing up at our door with a copy. It remains a kind of icon of our long friendship, and one of those rare memories that will remain forever sweet.

I love that fandoms give us that. How geeking out together gives us that. If every awkward 14-year-old could just have a nerdy partner in crime to sing and laugh and love-what-they-love with, I bet the world would be a bit less cynical - and a heckuva lot more fun.

Anyhoo, I'm taking this little trek down memory lane because something fascinating hit the interwebz this week regarding Aladdin. Something that, for all my years of fangirling, I never knew. 

It turns out, this guy?


This peddler I've been quoting for - sweet StayPuft - over 20 years*? He's actually Genie, after Aladdin frees him. Apparently this has even been a common fan theory, but it was just recently confirmed by one of the movie's directors.

AND I HAD NO IDEA.

Of course, now I see the similarities in their clothes and facial hair - and recognize Robin William's voice - but I never would have guessed!

So now I can't stop grinning. Week. MADE.

Hmm, I wonder if John will watch Aladdin with me tonight...


Oh, and I guess I should go warn Chris that I'm talking about him on the internet again.

[evil grin]

[*I AM SO OLD YOU GUYS]


************

Time to announce this month's Art Roundup winners!

So congrats to:

Rebecca Davenport, who wins Baby Harley

Brina (who asked me about finding artists), who wins Year of the Snake
and
Helen Wilbers, my Wild Card winner!

Congrats, you three, and please e-mail me your mailing addresses! 

40 comments:

  1. @jen, you need to see this. I cracked up when I saw it this morning and it's Aladdin-themed. https://www.facebook.com/BestofVines/videos/706228466211103/

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  2. When this all came out about the merchant guy I guess I was kind of surprised that people didn't know he was the Genie. I thought it was common knowledge.

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  3. That's funny - I so rarely get nuance in films, but that one I've just always kind of known. Maybe it was because I'm so familiar with Robin Williams that I've always heard Robin Williams in both parts and not Genie. I'm glad it clicked for you - I'd tell you mine, but here on the internet, it would be way too embarrassing! :)

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  4. My roommate in college and I ADORED this movie! Whenever we met someone who hadn't seen it, we'd take them to the dollar movie and make them watch it. We even had on our outgoing answering machine message "POOF, what do you need? POOF, what do you need? POOF, what do you need?" My Mom didn't care for that. So if you think you're old, I was in college when this came out, so I'm super older.

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  5. I just watched Aladdin on a whim this week and just figured out/learned the same thing! There must have be some strong Aladdin vibes traveling between Florida and Utah this week.

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  6. I was surprised when it was confirmed, because I always assumed it was Genie! The voice and comedy are the same... I don't know. I figured out so many weird things about Disney movies when I was a kid. For instance: Ursula is Ariel's aunt. TRU FAX. It was eventually confirmed in the Broadway musical version.

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  7. And I just busted out singing Prince Ali, yes it is he, Ali a baba! I was watching Harry Potter but I might have to go dig out the Aladdin VHS.

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    1. Hee hee me too! And I thought I had forgotten those lyrics!

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    2. It's Prince Ali, fabulous he, Ali Ababwa

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  8. Yay for other people loving Aladdin as much as I did and do!!!! I am so watching it this weekend.... maybe multiple times.

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  9. Oh wow! I totally just read all those lines in the voices (and yes do catch your cake wrecks jokes most of the time ^_~) I LOVE this movie. It was one of the first dvd re-releases I bought for my boys. It's been a fav of theirs since and I quote right alongside as we roll down the road. I adore that they released that little tid-bit! If Book of Life wasn't in on our family halloween movie marathon week, I'd be tossing it in!

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  10. I had always assumed they were one and the same. It wasn't until later that I realized it was only a fan theory. Glad to have it proven!

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  11. Aladdin was the first movie my parent's took me to the big screen to see when I was about 4 it quickly became my favorite Disney movie, I watched it so often I managed to ware out our 1st vhs copy lol. (For the record I already had the genie theory but only after about 10yrs of watching :) )

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  12. Ummm.. The genie thing is news to me! I never knew!! My husband and I love Aladdin as well. Our 3 year old requests to watch it everyday and he calls it "big tiger". :)

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  13. I watched the digitally remastered blue ray the other night with my daughter. It is soooo pretty, a definite buy if you haven't already. And she kept fussing at me for quoting and singing with the whole movie. Aladdin has some of the best music, and watching it again made me miss Robin Williams even more.

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  14. I love this movie!! I remember going to see it in the theater when I was in high school. I even had an Aladdin themed birthday cake when I was 14. I too use lines, mostly the Genie's, all the time. I didn't ever realize the Peddler was the Genie though. I did know they were both voiced by Robin. Now I must watch again. :)

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  15. I loved Aladdin too, but the movie that has a line for every situation in my life is Zoolander.
    Love the new info about Genie! I recognized Robin William's voice but didn't make the connection.

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  16. When I was 4, my grandpa gave me the Aladdin VHS and a pink bathrobe for Christmas. It's one of my earliest Christmas memories. I can not tell you how many days/years I sat there in the bathrobe, watching Aladdin, and eating dry Golden Grahams. I still have a bit of a taste memory associated with those and certain scenes. Go figure. I also remember Mom insisting I call her into the room during A Whole New World, no matter what she was doing, so that she could watch the magic carpet ride. I wasn't surprised by the Genie/Peddler news, but I'm not sure I ever connected it before. When I found out in high school about them both being voiced Robin Williams, I think I just figured that they had pulled something like in Wizard of Oz where the one actor had multiple roles, and didn't think much of it. So excited that the fan theory was confirmed though!

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  17. I won? I... won?? *is in actual literal shock*
    Thanks so much, seriously! But now I have to choose something! I am someone who struggles at Mexican restaurants because of all the choices. This is a good problem to have now.

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  18. Have you heard about the Aladdin musical? I'm pretty excited to see what it's like.

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  19. Woohoo, I won something!! :D Thanks sooo much, Jen, email will be incoming shortly

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  20. For me, Aladdin is also special :-)

    I was in an exchange program between my high school in Germany and a high school in Chicago, so I stayed in Chicago for two weeks -- at the height of the Aladdin craze.

    If I remember correctly, showing me Aladdin (on VHS) was one of the first things my host family did :-D
    And my time at school was also full of my host sister (hi, Val!) and her friends making Aladdin-style puns. I guess I learned a lot about humor in English in those two weeks.

    Also, all the shops were full of Aladdin stuff, and that year's homecoming was also Aladdin-themed: "A Night To Remember".

    *fond sigh*

    And yes, I *will* see the Aladdin musical in Hamburg, Germany, ASAP as possible :-D

    Liebe Grüße aus Berlin
    Daniela

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  21. Oh wow, I never knew! I could tell it was Robin Wiliams but never made the connection, thanks! Aladdin was also huge for me too - I came home from school everyday and watch it for months until I could sing or talk along with the whole movie.... Even had an Aladdin lunch box before it was socially acceptable for High schoolers to carry one. Haha. Can't wait to share it with our toddler someday.... She liked Little Mermaid but Jungle Book was a fail so we'll hold off a bit longer on movies... And oh - so had that box of neatly folded notes too!! My best friend was nerdy enough he actually saved them all and put them in a binder for safe keeping - and later torture now that we both have kids and families and can laugh at our silliness!

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  22. If you get the chance, go to NYC and see it on Broadway-they put back in material about the 3 friends and I feel it keeps the spirit of the movie intact. Ideally, go before they change the cast...James Monroe Iglehart (who is playing genie) won a Tony and is extraordinary!

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  23. !Oi! Ten thousand years will give you such a crick in the neck!" - Love me some Genie!
    My personal Disney favorite is The Little Mermaid. I have quite the video of me singing "Part of that World" in 1990. Yeah girl! I was awesome!

    Have a great day!

    --Piper P from Washington State

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  24. The guy at the beginning has a different accent...... I dunno.....

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  25. Jen, you are not old. I took my children to see Aladdin.

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  26. I have been known to summon my spouse with "monkey boy! *clapclap*" SUCH a great film. I might need to buy the blu-ray and get my friends round to watch it (I'm 41 *g*)

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  27. I have been known to summon my spouse with "monkey boy! *clapclap*" SUCH a great film. I might need to buy the blu-ray and get my friends round to watch it (I'm 41 *g*)

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  28. I absolutely ADORED Aladdin! I watched it over and over again too....and yup, could talk along with the entire movie. *Sigh* Good times!

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  29. I just got the Diamond Edition of Aladdin and watched it this weekend! Still holds up after all these years! (The Lion King is my personal childhood favorite though)

    Nerdist had a podcast with Scott Weinger awhile ago - and he talks about Aladdin a bit, but he is just such a genuinely great guy, it's worth a listen! http://nerdist.com/nerdist-podcast-scott-weinger/

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  30. Just watched it again last night. Of course, I had to buy the blu-ray with the new special features. Oh, I love that movie!!!

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  31. I knew the Peddler was voiced by Robin Williams but I never gave any thought to the character himself. What a fun fact to learn. I was in middle school when the movie came out and A Whole New World was the theme for our end of the year eighth grade dance. I was on the decorating committee and it was all Aladdin art.

    P.S. I am the keeper of the box of similarly folded notes. I tried to trash it the last time I moved and just couldn't bring myself to do it.

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  32. I remember watching this in the theater when I was in 9th grade I think. I don't know if they cut it from the home video release, But I think at the end they showed the connection between Genie and the Merchant. Maybe Genie transforming into the merchant and winking at the audience. Something like that.
    Also they cut out from the soundtrack release a fairly racist (does that apply?) line in the opening song and replaced it so very badly with a line about the heat is intense. It was so bad it sounded like a completely different person.

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  33. Aladdin is my all-time favorite Disney movie, and I even cosplay Jasmine. (Dream come true!!) Yeah, I remember seeing that bit of info the other week. I think that I always suspected it because both characters were voice by Robin Williams, but never voiced it to anyone.
    I was super young when it first came out (about 4 years old) so don't think I saw the movie in theaters, and must have seen it on VHS. I believe my first Disney movie in theaters was Pocahontas. I have a very vivid memory of singing along to "Colors of the Wind" in the theater, and my mom telling me to be quiet. Haha.

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  34. Oh dear!! You aren't that old!!!! Here's a secret...I remember my CHILDREN watching this movie when it came out on video.
    Boy, do I feel ancient now! Am I old enough to be your mother? NOOOOOooooooo.

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  35. It's really true that certain Disney films stay with you. For me and my family it was The Nightmare Before Christmas. We used to quote it to each other all the time and I still love the songs. They often show it here in Los Angeles at Disney's El Capitan theater so it is a great treat to see it on the big screen from time to time.

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  36. Do they not have the live Aladdin show at Disney World?!? They have it at Disney's CA Adventure and we watch it every time we go! Genie makes the show! He has many of his funny lines, but there are also additional quips about contemporary things, like the Kardashians or references to popular songs. Oh! It is fabulous. They are taking it out in January to make a Frozen themed show. We are so sad! You can see clips on YouTube. I think you can search 'Genie Hug Train' for a good laugh. This is one of our favorite movies to quote, too. I also never knew that about the peddler. I knew he was voiced by Robin Williams, but not that he was supposed to be Genie! I can't wait to tell my Husband and our Dis-Geek buddy (also named Chris)! He'll be delighted, too. Ecstatic.

    -Just Andrea

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  37. You know, I haven't been here in a while, but there is something different...I can't put my finger on it...Did you get new seashells?

    -Just Andrea

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