History Trivia / Aladdin

** With ''WesternAnimation/FernGullyTheLastRainforest''. Creator/RobinWilliams was recording for the role of Batty Koda at the same time ''Aladdin'' was in production, and Disney executives were not happy with this. They even went as far as trying to sabotage ''[=FernGully=]'''s production so Robin would focus more on voicing Genie. He however put his foot down and basically told them, "It's my voice and I'll do what I want with it."

** Creator/SteveMartin, Creator/MartinShort, Creator/JohnGoodman, Creator/EddieMurphy, Creator/AlbertBrooks, Creator/MattFrewer, and Creator/JohnCandy were considered for the Genie before the casting of Creator/RobinWilliams.

*** Creator/TimCurry, Creator/KelseyGrammer, Creator/ChristopherLloyd, Creator/IanMcKellen, and Creator/JohnHurt were considered for Jafar as well before the casting of Freeman.
** Creator/DannyDeVito and Creator/JoePesci auditioned for the role of Iago before the casting of Creator/GilbertGottfried.

** In typical Richard Branson extravagance, Virgin Games produced a pair of ''Aladdin'' games that were pitted against another. More interesting is the fact that it was Creator/ShinjiMikami (''Franchise/ResidentEvil'') vs. David Perry (''VideoGame/EarthwormJim''); both men were very important to video games in general. On an historical note, Creator/RobinWilliams was paid a little less than he probably deserved, with the stipulation that his Genie stay a secondary character (thus justifying the lower pay) and not be at the forefront of the marketing. Plenty of merchandise like the front of the [[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem SNES]] and [[UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis Genesis/Mega Drive]] carts featured the Genie prominently. This led to Williams and Disney having a public falling-out. [[TheOtherDarrin He did not voice the Genie]] in ''[[WesternAnimation/AladdinTheReturnOfJafar Return of Jafar]]'' or [[WesternAnimation/AladdinTheSeries the TV series]].
###The SNES version is technically proficient and fun, but it doesn't push the console's limits or redefine the state of video game animation, so it's not on anyone's top SNES games list. (If anything, the nineties were over-saturated with [[PlatformGame platformers]].)
###'Floaty' is the word for the Sega title; in fact, most Genesis/Mega Drive platformers felt that way. The Sega version got more hype due to the buttery-smooth animation: Virgin had the actual Disney Animators assist the dev team on the game's art direction, thus the better visuals. Very authentic and felt true to the movie, and it's the one people talk about still. The Virgin games are not to be confused with the [[UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem Master System]] version of ''Aladdin'', which combined endless running with ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersia1''-style cinematic platforming. And the graphics look pretty good for 8-bit.

* DiedDuringProduction: During the early stages of production, Howard Ashman died in 1991 of AIDS complications. Music/TimRice wrote new songs with Music/AlanMenken after Ashman's death. Three of Ashman's songs, specifically, all three song sung by a character played by Robin Williams, remained in the final film and were credited to Ashman ("Arabian Nights", "Friend Like Me", and "Prince Ali"; the rest were written by Rice). ''Aladdin'' is the last project Ashman had any involvement in.

* WordOfSaintPaul: According to Creator/JonathanFreeman, Jafar's obsession with power came from being a neglected ChildProdigy forced to spend his youth in a boarding school and then tend to a none-too-bright sultan.

*** Creator/TimCurry, Creator/KelseyGrammer, Creator/ChristopherLloyd, Creator/IanMcKellen, and Creator/JohnHurt were considered for of Jafar as well before the casting of Freeman.

** Creator/SteveMartin was the second choice for the Genie before the casting of Creator/RobinWilliams.
*** Creator/MartinShort, Creator/JohnGoodman, Creator/EddieMurphy, Creator/AlbertBrooks, Creator/MattFrewer, and Creator/JohnCandy were also considered for the Genie.

*** Creator/TimCurry, Creator/KelseyGrammer, Creator/ChristopherLloyd, Creator/IanMcKellen, and Creator/JohnHurt were considered for of Jafar as well.
** Creator/DannyDeVito and Creator/JoePesci auditioned for the role of Iago before Creator/GilbertGottfried was cast.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: The original lyrics for the opening musical number, "Arabian Nights", included the verses "Where they cut off your ear if they don't like your face. It's barbaric, but hey, it's home", to which many people reacted negatively. In the home video release, Disney changed the first verse to "Where it's flat and immense and the heat is intense", making it so that "It's barbaric, but hey, it's home" alluded to the land and the heat rather than the Arabian people and thereby removing any potential insensitivity.

** In the Japanese dub, the titular hero was originally voiced by movie actor Kenji Haga, who many {{Anime}} fans can recognize him as the voice of Ken Masters in ''Anime/StreetFighterIITheAnimatedMovie''. However, Haga was arrested and convicted of fraud and extortion later on, so he was later replaced with Creator/ShinichiroMiki, who already voiced him in the ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' games, the TV series and the direct-to-video sequels, in the 2008 remaster of the film in Japan.

** In the Japanese dub, the titular hero was originally voiced by movie Kenji Haga, who many {{Anime}} fans can recognize him as the voice of Ken Masters in ''Anime/StreetFighterIITheAnimatedMovie''. However, Haga was arrested and convicted of fraud and extortion later on, so he was later replaced with Creator/ShinichiroMiki, who already voiced him in the ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' games, the TV series and the direct-to-video sequels, in the 2008 remaster of the film in Japan.

* CelebrityVoiceActor: The TropeCodifier for animated films, with Creator/RobinWilliams getting star billing (and much marketing push was made on his name, all against his wishes).

** [[https://www.scriptslug.com/assets/scripts/aladdin-1992.pdf An early draft of the script]] had a SecretTestOfCharacter at the entrance to the Cave of Wonders, where on a pedestal stood a lamp more beautiful-looking than the "beat-up, worthless piece of junk" the Genie lives in. [[DeathByMaterialism Trying to grab]] ''[[DeathByMaterialism this]]'' [[DeathByMaterialism lamp would deem the seeker unworthy and cause the Tiger-God to collapse the cave and "pictograph" them on the cave walls]]. [[Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade Not much different from a certain "Holy Grail" test]]. This was to become Gazeem's fate instead of just ''being'' unworthy. Aladdin, on the other hand, would notice the pictograph and spot the trap. This would prove Aladdin worthy and open the ''real'' entrance to the cave.

** Creator/PatrickStewart was approached for the role of Jafar before [[Film/TheProducers Jonathan Freeman]] was cast, but turned down the offer due to scheduling conflicts with ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration''. To this day, Stewart considers turning down Jafar to be [[Main/OldShame one of the biggest mistakes of his career.]]

** [[WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}} Brad Kane]] was originally hired as the voice of Aladdin before Creator/ScottWeinger was cast. Kane would eventually go on to provide the singing voice for the titular character.

*** Creator/MartinShort, Creator/JohnGoodman, Creator/EddieMurphy, Creator/AlbertBrooks, Creator/MattFrewer, and Creator/JohnCandy were also considered for the part of the Genie before the casting of Williams.

*** Creator/TimCurry, Creator/KelseyGrammer, Creator/ChristopherLloyd, Creator/IanMcKellen, and Creator/JohnHurt were considered for the part of Jafar as well before the casting of Freeman.

** There was going to be a Genie-centric prequel to the upcoming live-action remake, but was cancelled due to reasons explained in the ScrewedByTheLawyers section.

** [[WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}} Brad Kane]] was originally hired as the voice of Aladdin before [[Series/FullHouse Scott Weinger]] was cast. Kane would eventually go on to provide the singing voice for the titular character.
** While Creator/RobinWilliams was always the first choice for the role of the Genie, Creator/SteveMartin was reportedly considered as a back-up option in case Williams decided to turn down the offer.

** Creator/PatrickStewart was approached for the role of Jafar before the casting of [[Film/TheProducers Jonathan Freeman]], but turned down the offer due to scheduling conflicts with ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration''. To this day, Stewart considers turning down Jafar to be [[Main/OldShame one of the biggest mistakes of his career.]]

** [[https://www.scriptslug.com/assets/scripts/aladdin-1992.pdf An early draft of the script]] had a SecretTestOfCharacter at the entrance to the Cave of Wonders, where on a pedestal stood a lamp more beautiful-looking than the "beat-up, worthless piece of junk" the Genie lives in. [[DeathByMaterialism Trying to grab]] ''[[DeathByMaterialism this]]'' [[DeathByMaterialism lamp would deem the seeker unworthy and cause the Tiger-God to collapse the cave and "pictograph" them on the cave walls]]. [[Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade Not much different from a certain "Holy Grail" test]]. This was to become Gazeem's fate instead of just ''being'' unworthy. Aladdin, on the other hand, would notice the pictograph and spots the trap. This would prove Aladdin worthy and open the ''real'' entrance to the cave.

* ScrewedByTheLawyers: Disney began arranging plans for a live-action Genie prequel as an origin story which would take place before the LiveActionAdaptation of the film, but it got canceled thanks to a clause in Robin Williams' will. His estate informed the company the clause bars any further usage of voice recordings and likenesses that had not been already made available to the public for 25 years after his death, meaning Disney cannot move forward with using Williams' likeness until August 11, 2039. Not to mention, having Creator/WillSmith portraying the Genie in the 2019 live-action adaptation makes it useless to have a prequel with him being portrayed by Williams, anyway. Disney also had plans to make a third sequel with unused Robin Williams recordings, but it ended up being scrapped for the same reason.

* {{Vaporware}}: Disney announced a ''VideoGame/{{Myst}}'' style game set for release on October 17, 1997 called "Aladdin: The Fate of Agrabah" but for some reason was never released despite having a trailer appearing on one of their demo samplers (with a demo of ''[[{{WesternAnimation/Hercules}} Hercules - The Action Game]]'' and ''VideoGame/NightmareNed'') as well as box art appearing on the back of the instruction booklet for Nightmare Ned.

* RoleEndingMisdemeanor: Jeffrey Katzenberg's reckless actions in promoting ''Aladdin'' was one of a few factors that led to his resignation from Disney in 1994, with another factor being the "Black Friday" cut of ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory''.

** Aladdin was originally supposed to have a mother, as mentioned on several documentaries, being a character that lyricist Howard Ashman reportedly wanted. Her character and the original draft of the film got thrown out by studio chief Jeffrey Katzenberg during production, and Katzenberg also reportedly wanted the mom "[=86ed=]", calling her "a zero". This led to Aladdin being an orphan in the original film instead. This '''also''' led to Elliott and Rossio joining the writing team and the rest of the story being reworked. ''Aladdin'' was the second Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon film in a row to get a ResetButton from Katzenberg; he also played this card on ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast'', and Ashman could not argue for the original draft this time due to his death (the meeting where Katzenberg hit the ResetButton, known to Disney animators as "Black Friday", happened a month after Ashman had already passed away from AIDS) [[note]] Katzenberg would be involved in a second "Black Friday" regarding ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory'' before he left Disney [[/note]].

* ImageSource:
** BenevolentGenie
** BigEntrance
** ClassicVillain
** EvilChancellor
** TheGenieKnowsJackNicholson
** InconvenientSummons
** JawDrop
** MischiefMakingMonkey
** RescueHug
** ScaledUp
** SerpentStaff
** ToothyBird

* QuoteSource:
** ArabianNightsDays
** BenevolentGenie
** BigNo
** FatalReward
** FreeingTheGenie
** GenieInABottle
** HesGotAWeapon
** HorribleJudgeOfCharacter
** HotPursuit
** IJustWantToBeFree
** MacGuffinGuardian
** MarryForLove
** OnlyTheWorthyMayPass
** PauperPatches
** RebelliousPrincess
** StreetUrchin
** TheStrengthOfTenMen

** The Genie was intended to be voiced by an African-American actor, with Ashman and Menken's original [[https://youtu.be/guCLBENRvAs Friend Like Me"]] taking heavy inspiration from the likes of Cab Calloway and Fats Waller. This idea was dropped to avoid the implications of a black actor playing a character who was essentially a slave. Funnily enough, the Genie would eventually be played by black actors in both the Broadway musical and the [[Film/Aladdin2019 live action remake]].