An Arabian Day

It was a tension-filled afternoon (the cause of which I might write about someday), and to loosen up, I popped the Aladdin trilogy in the player.

Of all the Walt Disney cartoon adaptations of fairy tales and legends I've watched so far, none is as modern as Aladdin, from the dialogues to the songs. You wouldn't expect less from a cartoon where the Genie calls Aladdin 'Al', would you? So anyway, I was later treated to an afternoon of wise crackin', lamp rubbin' Arabian fun.

While the original was everything a Disney movie should be - smooth animation, witty dialogues, and the rich, rich colors - the second and third installments, while with stories as exciting as the original, paled in comparison. The colors were just dull. And what happened to the elaborate markings on the flying carpet? And where were the other thieves? A 40 thieves song-and-dance ensemble would have been pretty impressive. Surely sequels, while only for video release, deserve as much attention to details as the original?

However, whatever disappointment I had with the animation aspect was well compensated by the wise-cracking Iago and the simply funny Genie. The songs were lovely, too. I noticed that while this cartoon has every right to go pop vis-a-vis the songs, the singers delivered wonderfully with just the right amount of pop and classical; so unlike Cinderella II: Dreams Come True, where there was much wailing going on in the singing in a bid to make it pop.

The trilogy is worth the watch if only for those really funny dialogues and delightful songs...well, the second and third installments, anyway. The original: Definitely worth the watch for everything.