Aladdin (1992)

A Disney retelling of a classic tale, this film is a delight for audiences young and old, and still holds a special place in my heart, and always takes me back in my mind to events in my life at the time of its release.

The Sultan of Agrabah (Douglas Seale) is desperate for his only child - the Princess Jasmine (Linda Larkin) to find a suitor, so that she can marry and rule Agrabah in his absence. When we first meet the Sultan, he is largely under the control of his grand vizier Jafar (Jonathan Freeman) and his sidekick, the parrot Iago (Gilbert Gottfried).

Meanwhile, street urchin Aladdin (Scott Weinger) is barely surviving life on the streets. Forced to steal from street vendors just to stay alive, he lives life on the run from the city guards, and one day, finds himself thrown into the dungeons under the palace.

It is while he is in the dungeon that he meets Jafar (who is in disguise to begin with), who tells him of a Cave of Wonders, filled with more treasure than he can possibly imagine. Jafar needs Aladdin’s help to enter the cave, and retrieve a particular item, a golden lamp.

Aladdin agrees, and goes into the cave, but while trying to retrieve the lamp, finds himself trapped underground in the cave, with little hope of escape.

Trapped underground with the lamp, he rubs the lamp, and a genie (Robin Williams) appears, offering him three wishes.

I will leave the rest of the plot for you to discover if you haven’t yet seen this film.

The two directors of this film (Ron Clements and John Musker) have created a wonderful film, which I would consider a timeless classic in the tradition of earlier Disney films (early as in while Walt Disney was still alive). Together with screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, with whom the two directors worked on the script, they have brought this classic tale to a whole new audience.

With music by Alan Menken (who has composed music for so many other Disney films), and lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice (Tim Rice came in later after Howard Ashman sadly passed away during the making of this film) to round out the creative team, everything comes together to make this film the best it can be.

And it is truly great. Of course, one of the things that make this film so great is of course the performance of the late great Robin Williams as the Genie. I am sure that significant portions of the Genie’s lines didn’t come from the script, but were ad-libbed by Williams in the recording studio, as was the case with so many of his great characters throughout his career.

Gilbert Gottfried is also fantastic as the parrot Iago, with so many great quotable lines, and hilarious moments. In fact, all the voice casting is fantastic, with all performers bringing their own characters to life in such a beautiful way, bringing the viewer head-first into this amazing environment.

It is hard to believe that this film was still largely hand-drawn animation; the scenery, environments, and all the characters are so incredible. This film will continue to delight audiences for many years to come, I believe, and with a live-action version of Aladdin due to be released later this year, I think the legend will continue to delight a new generation of fans.

8 out of 10.

Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)

Based on the novel 'Alias Madame Doubtfire' by Anne Fine, this family comedy continues to delight me each and every time I watch it. Again. And again.

Daniel Hilliard (Robin Williams) is an out-of-work actor who has just been told by his wife (Sally Field) that she wants a divorce, because he isn't the man she fell in love with any more. He now only gets to see his children (Lisa Jakub, Matthew Lawrence and Mara Wilson) every second weekend, which to him doesn't feel like nearly often enough.

When he hears that his wife is looking to hire a housekeeper to clean, cook and also look after the children after school, he decides to pose as a woman, Mrs. Doubtfire, and applies for the job himself in order to spend more time with his kids.

Enlisting the help of his brother (Harvey Fierstein) and his brother's live-in boyfriend, who work as make-up artists, he transforms himself into this new character, and manages to fool everyone, at least for a while.

While working for his ex-wife, he enjoys being near to the children, but unfortunately, they don't know it's him under the outfit and the make-up, so it doesn't feel the same as it did, anyway. He also has to contend with his wife's new beau - old flame Stuart Dunmire (Pierce Brosnan).

I won't say any more about the plot. If you haven't seen this film yet, first of all, what is taking you so long? But seriously, if you haven't seen it, make sure you take the opportunity as soon as it presents itself; you won't regret it.

Robin Williams is perfect in the roles of both Daniel and Mrs. Doubtfire. Of course, his ability to perform brilliant improvised comedy is no secret, and he makes more than the most of every single opportunity in this film. There are so many brilliant moments that I'm sure were never in the script, but just came out of his mind on the day.

The rest of the cast are good, too. Sally Field and Pierce Brosnan of course have been acting for decades, and they bring a wealth of experience to their roles. But even the kids - relatively inexperienced when this film came out - take to their roles well.

The script does differ significantly from the original novel in many ways. I think the main reason for this is that the novel is very British, and the film made for a very American audience. This isn't necessarily bad, but if you've read the novel, don't expect the film to be the same. And if you've seen the film, don't expect the novel to be the same either. Other than the basic premise of a man posing as a woman to see his kids, the plots of the two mediums do not really align at all.

Chris Columbus, who directed this film adaptation, has put together a great film. There are a lot of great comedic moments, but also a lot of heartfelt moments, particularly towards the end of the film. Then again, this should come as no surprise to anyone who has seen any of Columbus's other films: this is something he can do really well.

All that being said, I will always love this film, and will continue to watch it on at least an annual basis. I encourage you to do the same; it will make you laugh and will touch your heart every single time.

9 out of 10.