Robin Williams joined Aladdin after animators drew the Genie over his stand-up
Disney's directors wrote the Genie with Robin Williams in mind, but he needed persuading. Animator Eric Goldberg drew the character acting out one of Williams's old stand-up routines, sprouting a second head to argue with himself. Williams roared with laughter and signed, a moment that nudged animation toward casting celebrity voices.
The project began when lyricist Howard Ashman pitched the idea to Disney president Jeffrey Katzenberg, and the script went through three drafts before getting a green light. John Musker and Ron Clements produced and directed, sharing writing credit with Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio. Drawn from the tale in One Thousand and One Nights, the plot follows a street thief in Agrabah who uses a lamp's genie to pose as a prince and court Princess Jasmine, while the vizier Jafar schemes to seize the lamp.
Visually, the animators modelled their designs on caricaturist Al Hirschfeld, and computers helped finish hand-drawn frames and generate some extra elements. Alan Menken composed the score; its six songs carry lyrics by Ashman and by Tim Rice, who stepped in after Ashman died in 1991. Scott Weinger, the voice of Aladdin, won the part with a homemade tape on which his mother read the Genie, and learned he had been cast six months later. Brad Kane supplied the singing voice.
Released on November 11, 1992, the film earned over $504 million worldwide, topping the year's box office and becoming the first animated feature to pass half a billion dollars. It held the animation record until The Lion King arrived in 1994. It won two Academy Awards, and A Whole New World, sung by Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle, reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and became the first Disney feature song to take the Grammy for Song of the Year. The VHS release grossed roughly $500 million in the United States alone.
Such success spawned two direct-to-video sequels, beginning with The Return of Jafar in 1994, a television series, a stage musical in 2011 and a live-action remake directed by Guy Ritchie in 2019.
Source: Aladdin (1992 Disney film)
