It was as clumsy and aimless as all the '80s trash the studio had been trying to sweep under the carpet.įortunately, Disney animation head Jeffrey Katzenberg was no longer prepared to accept such shoddy workmanship, and that particular version never limped past storyboard stage. The title character's pubescent naivety sat uncomfortably with the determined sensuality of the princess, his exasperated mother sapped the film's energy and the villain was upstaged by his parrot. Suggested as a project by composers Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, the directors' take on the story about a street boy who finds a magic lamp was an undeniable mess. Right? Enter Ron Clements and John Musker - the animation directors responsible for starting the Disney revolution with The Little Mermaid - who came in and screwed up Aladdin with astonishing panache. Yes, the Mouse House was justifiably brimming with confidence. The Little Mermaid had dragged it back from the tedium of The Black Cauldron and Oliver & Company, while Beauty And The Beast had heralded Disney's most adoring reviews since a pasty princess shacked up with seven midgets - not to mention the only ever Best Picture Academy Award nomination for an animated film, a feat which will likely never be repeated due to the new Best Animated Film category. At the beginning of the '90s, Disney's animation division was fully enjoying its time at the top, contentedly tanning itself in the glow of a new golden age.

Aladdin old release date