Aladin film song movie#

“Friend Like Me” was an absolute blast, with Robin Williams delivering an appropriately animated performance to a finger-clicking, cabaret backing complete with fantastically raunchy horn parts. “Arabian Nights” made for an unforgettable opener.

Aladin film song movie#

That was hard enough right there.”ĭespite the circumstances, the songs in the finished movie sparkled. I was just so happy that I was able to somehow write through the death of my great collaborator Howard Ashman, start a new collaboration with Tim Rice, and have it feel like one movie. In a 2019 interview with Screenrant, Menken reflected on the experience, “The animated movie was done, was complete. Ashman died of AIDS-related complications in 1991, shortly before the release of Beauty and the Beast.Ĭhanges to Aladdin’s plot meant that only three of Ashman and Menken’s original songs – “Friend Like Me,” “Prince Ali,” and “Arabian Nights” remained in the film and additional songs were written to fit the new storyline by Menken and the experienced lyricist Sir Tim Rice ( Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, Chess). Ashman had discovered that he was infected with HIV during the production of The Little Mermaid and his health had deteriorated badly by the time work resumed on Aladdin. Tragically, the go-ahead came too late for Howard to finish the project he’d started. The original treatment was revived, and a script was drafted and adapted several times until Disney gave the green light. The enormous success of Beauty and the Beast and its soundtrack revived the studio’s interest in Aladdin. But early previews left Disney bosses cold, and the project went on the back burner, leaving Howard and Menken to work on songs for Beauty and the Beast, Disney’s next animated feature film. After The Little Mermaid wrapped, work began in earnest on Aladdin, with Ashman and Menken writing several songs around the concept. Listen to the Aladdin soundtrack on Spotify or Apple Music now.Īshman and Aladdin went way back – the writer had played the lead part in a Children’s Theatre Association production back in 1965 – and he put together a musical treatment that was faithful to the original story. Lyricist and playwright Howard Ashman pitched the idea for Aladdin back in 1988, while he and his musical partner, composer and songwriter Alan Menken, were working on The Little Mermaid, the film that would restore Disney’s fortunes upon its 1989 release. The writer who suggested that Disney adapt the much-loved tale never saw the finished film. The Aladdin story is not all happy, however. Aladdin was based on an Arabic folk tale from One Thousand And One Nights featured dazzling animation and star vocal turns (in particular the irrepressible Robin Williams as The Genie) and boasted a stunning score and soundtrack, with original songs that won hearts and minds the world over. When Aladdin was released in November 1992 it became an instant classic and box office smash, quickly becoming the highest-grossing film of the year and – until it was surpassed by another Disney film, 1994’s The Lion King – the highest-grossing animated film of all time.