Re: The Walt Disney Signature Collection
Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2018 7:59 pm
Cultural Impact - aside from being a pop-culture phenomenon at the time (it basically captures the essence of early 90s with a timelessness that makes its anachronistic presence more charming than off-putting), the film hired Robin Williams at the height of his career (a string of highly-successful and enduring films such as Good Morning, Vietnam, Dead Poets Society, Awakenings, The Fisher King - the last of which is in The Criterion Collection). His enduring legacy as a performer is preserved within its 90 minutes, and his continuing popularity even after his death showcases a lasting legacy that few Disney films have. Would anyone make the same kinds of tributes for passed-away performers of such films as The Fox and the Hound or The Hunchback of Notre Dame? Although Aladdin is an ensemble piece, the breakout character and performance has always been Robin Williams, and his own legacy on pop culture carries on with this film.Disney Duster wrote:I feel like Aladdin was not really so big a film for people to be considered a great classic worthy of the registry. I just don't think it's as culturally, historically, or aesthetically signifigant as the other Renaissance films
Historical Impact - Disney's Aladdin has endured as long as it has while most other Hollywood Arabian Fantasies have faded away. The few that maintain a popularity today usually are separated generationally, cinephiles today would probably point to 1924's The Thief of Bagdad, 1958's The 7th Voyage of Sinbad and 1992's Aladdin as the most popular Hollywood iterations of stories from One Thousand and One Nights. And the forgettable fantasies from the 1940s and '50s remain historical curios today, losing their relevance because of their politically-incorrect white casting of the time. Aladdin, too, suffers from this as the entirety of their voice cast (save for Lea Salonga as Jasmine's singing voice) are all white. But at least they have a better mask of animation to hide that. At the time, Aladdin was still one of TWO Disney animated features with a minority lead, the only other being The Jungle Book). And its continued popularity over the past 26 years has resulted in a long-running theme park stage show, a popular Broadway musical, and of course, a live-action remake.
Aesthetic Impact - The design of the film is basically a blend of Disney's house look with the whimsy of Al Hirschfeld, two iconic styles that come together in a beautiful way. Few Disney films ever gave such attention to the curvature of each character, the geometry of each set. Sleeping Beauty and One Hundred and One Dalmatians likewise have a very specific "look" to them that adhered to strict guidelines, and Aladdin also follows suit by presenting artwork and animation that relies on the story that a mere line can tell, how it moves, where it starts versus where it ends. It's got a look to it that no other Renaissance film comes close to imitating, because it's that unique to the era. Ron & John would continue to find new ways to design their animated films with their 1997 film Hercules, which similarly decides to base its aesthetic on the art of Gerald Scarfe.
In conclusion, for me at least, Aladdin meets the cultural, historical, and aesthetic qualifications that keep it in my nomination list every year until it gets inducted.
Albert