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Original story:

    Original Story 
  • Aluminum Christmas Trees: Though the setting still has a large dose of artistic license, it isn't completely implausible because China does in fact have Muslims. If the story was always set in China, it was most likely set in one of China's far western provinces, such as Xinjiang, which has a culture similar to that of other parts of Central Asia. Or it could have originated in Central Asia among people with some but not complete knowledge of Chinese and Muslim traditions. Any number of intermediate versions could also be to blame as it could have been turned more Muslim as it spread through that part of the world but still kept the China as a vague far-east. Or Galland just goofednote . Needless to say, with many tales like this with so much uncertainty it's really unknown whether these aluminum Christmas trees have a practical or chance explanation.
  • Newer Than They Think: Not part of the original Arabian Nights tales, but added in Antoine Galland's French translation of the book in 1710. Since the story cannot be traced to authentic Arabic sources, its origin seems to be Galland's uncredited oral source for several tales in his translation (including Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves), Syrian Maronite writer and storyteller Hanna Diyab.
  • Values Dissonance:
    • During the courting process, Aladdin is tasked with bringing various treasures to the sultan which are delivered by African slaves.
    • Aladdin's plan to marry the princess is to kidnap her every night and go to bed with her without revealing himself. She is terrified and tells her father, who leaves a guard outside her door, who is no match for the Genie, who simply spirits her away each night (though Aladdin does leave a sword between them so she can defend herself and never actually has sex with her until they're married). She seems rather taken by the fact that he doesn't rape her.

Animated Disney film:

    #-L 
  • Accidental Innuendo:
    • The song "A Whole New World" offers countless examples in its lyrics:
      • "Over, sideways, and under on a magic carpet ride."
      • "Unbelievable sights! Indescribable feeling!"
      • "Hold your breath — it gets better!"
      • The clip also concludes with Aladdin and Jasmine holding hands as literal fireworks go off.
    • "Arabian Nights" has the line that the titular nights are "hotter than hot, in a lot of good ways". In the opening of the series, this line appeared over a clip of Jasmine twirling in a mirror.
  • Actor Shipping: There were rumors of a mutual crush between Brad Kane and Lea Selonga, the singing voices of Aladdin and Jasmine. It was fueled by the fact that after a "A Whole New World", they recorded another romantic duet, named... "We Could Be in Love".
  • Adaptation Displacement: Did you know that in the original tale, Aladdin had unlimited wishes instead of just three? Or that he had a second genie in a magic ring? Or that the story was set in China? Chances are that you don't.
  • Adorkable: Aladdin has enough street smarts to turn certain situations to his advantage because of how well he reads people, but that doesn't translate to him actually knowing how to interact with them. He is at his most awkward and clumsy when he tries to woo Jasmine as "Prince Ali", to the point where she clearly doesn't buy his lies one bit.
  • Alternative Character Interpretation:
    • When Jafar tried to wish that Jasmine would fall in love with him, was it because he was attracted to her? Was it to boost his own ego? Was it to torment her father and/or the Genie? Or was it just a means of gaining his ultimate victory over her?
    • Is Aladdin a nice guy who simply uses a good thing to his advantage and falters from time to time only to do the right thing in the end or is he a selfish opportunist who lies and uses people to get his way and frees Genie because leaving him enslaved would break Aladdin's bond with Jasmine?
    • Did Gazeem really have to slit throats to get the other half of the magic gold scarab or did he make up that story to impress Jafar?
    • When Genie granted Jafar's wish to become a genie himself, he was clearly horrified at having to do so. Jafar's wish then backfires when he's trapped in a lamp to accommodate his new form. Was Genie's horror simply at the prospect of Jafar becoming his equal, and he really Didn't See That Coming? Or did he know where Jafar's wish was going and only wince because he thought that was too harsh a fate even for Jafar? Or just playing along to the last second?
    • Jasmine abandons her plan to flee the palace and live in the marketplace as soon as she and Aladdin are caught. Is it because she realized how hard life on the streets was and felt she could deal with the struggles that came with being a princess more? Or is it more motivated by how she was easily able to stop the guards by announcing who she was - and therefore realizing that being a princess had its own advantages? Alternatively, was she unable to bring herself to due to the guilt from her believing she had caused Aladdin to be executed?
    • As we know, Jafar didn't find out "Prince Ali" was really Aladdin until after he had the guards try and drown him. So how was he able to persuade them to eliminate his competition? Were the Guards (for the moment) loyal to Jafar, or did he play on their loyalty to the Sultan and fabricate some story that Ali was plotting to overthrow and take over Agrabah? For that matter, is it possible that he influenced them with his Snake Staff?
  • Angst? What Angst?: While the Sultan confronts Jafar for executing a man without his permission, he never shows any concern for the fact that his daughter ran away from the palace. Likewise, despite being tortured by Jafar and Iago, he approaches Aladdin and Jasmine with a smile, saying that as thanks for Aladdin saving him, his daughter, and the kingdom, he is changing the law so that she can marry him. No anger about Aladdin for the deception, or trauma.
  • Award Snub:
    • There was some buzz about Robin Williams becoming the first voice actor to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Unfortunately, that didn't happen.
    • For an internal example, there are some who think "Friend Like Me" should've won Best Original Song over "A Whole New World", though it's downplayed by both being regarded as excellent.
    • Given both the praise he continues to get for his performance as Jafar as well as the popularity of the movie, it would've been nice for Jonathan Freeman to receive a Best Villain nomination at the MTV Movie Awards.
  • Awesome Art: This film is absolutely GORGEOUS; the character designs are heavily influenced by the art of Al Hirschfield, and Agrabah's design folds in a lot of artistic influences from Persia, Morocco, India and Turkey.
  • Awesome Music:
    • Between the jazzy instrumentals and Robin Williams' great singing, "Friend Like Me" is definitely one of the film's best songs. Likewise, "Prince Ali."
    • Both versions of "A Whole New World".
  • Comedy Ghetto: Not so much when it came out, but over time, Aladdin often got overlooked by the masses for having a comedian in a prominent role and being the most light-hearted out of the Renaissance films (except maybe Hercules) - that has led to lots of defensive fans reminding people that the movie still has a lot of heart despite the focus on comedy. It doesn't help that, out of the big four Disney Renaissance movies, Aladdin has the lowest average critics score on both Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes.note 
  • Common Knowledge: Jasmine is often assumed to be fifteen and about to turn sixteen, confusing her with Ariel based on an early story idea of where she would have been that age. That was actually nixed because Jeffrey Katzenberg was worried about fifteen-year-olds getting married. Jasmine's age is never stated in the film (just that she has to be married by her next birthday).
  • Crazy is Cool: The Genie, a creature that bends logic on a regular basis, is missing a marble or two, which makes his relentless over-the-top personality nothing short of amazing.
  • Crossover Ship:
    • There are a surprisingly large amount of people who like shipping Jasmine with Esmeralda, which most likely comes from their being Ms. Fanservice and their similar designs.
    • Aladdin has been frequently shipped with Hercules. They're kind, socially awkward, compassionate young men who have both been ostracized over something in their lives that they cannot control, and dream about escaping this by living in a more impressive environment, and Aladdin's wits and cunning decently contrast Hercules' simple-minded nature (this was exploited in an actual Disney-made crossover between them where Aladdin tells Hercules that he's on his way to becoming a great hero and they become good friends... though not before getting off on the wrong foot).
    • Jafar gets quite a bit of shipping with Maleficent, probably due to them both being tall, thin sorcerous characters who dress in dark colors, carry magical staffs, and have bird sidekicks.
  • Draco in Leather Pants: Jafar has fans that see him this way. They say that he just wants to save his home from ruin that's caused by an idiot sultan, a con artist, and an irresponsible princess. Remember that he commits treason, tries to murder Aladdin four times, enslaves the ruler and his daughter, lusts after and tries to kill said daughter, and turns into an evil giant snake and an evil genie. Jafar was also already in charge by hypnotizing the Sultan and tried to openly assume power out of egotism more than anything, and he hated the Sultan despite having the guy's trust and respect. Once Upon a Time, for example, gave him a very tragic backstory following on from this that there was not a hint of in the film, as well as Twisted: The Untold Story of a Royal Vizier, which takes this one step further by giving Aladdin the Ron the Death Eater treatment (albeit as a parody of Wicked.
  • Escapist Character: Aladdin is easily one of the biggest examples in the Disney Animated Canon. He's smart, athletic, handsome, can do whatever he wants to always outrunning the city guards, later befriends a shapeshifting all-powerful Benevolent Genie, who helps him get the girl of his dreams and now has a rich future as the Sultan ensured. It's easy to see oneself in his shoes.
  • Evil Is Cool: Jafar is up there with Maleficent, Scar, and Hades as one of Disney's most famous and popular villains.
  • Fair for Its Day: Even when it was first released, Aladdin was considered offensive, and a little racist, for boiling Middle Eastern culture down to its most recognizable stereotypes and for the fact that all the film's Middle Eastern characters were all voiced by white Americans and Brits, to the point where Disney added a content advisory warning viewers about it on Disney+. However, Aladdin is still pretty progressive as it was the very first film from Walt Disney Animation Studios to revolve around people of colornote  when they had been spending decades telling mostly white stories (it was also a fairy tale film much like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid (1989), and Beauty and the Beast, all of which marked crucial turning points for Disney and were known to be the studio's greatest financial and critical achievements), and the film contains largely friendly, sympathetic, and heroic Middle Eastern protagonists.
  • Fanon:
    • Jasmine is often thought of as a Sultry Belly Dancer, despite her being a princess and belly dancing as we know it not existing in her time period.
    • Jasmine being fifteen, and about to turn sixteen. See Common Knowledge for more information.
    • Fans often explain the Genie making pop culture gags that no one could know about in the time period with a Hand Wave that a supernatural being like him is able to time travel (with his line "you're not going to find another girl like her in a million years. Believe me, I know, I've looked" lending merit to this).
  • Franchise Original Sin: Many things that Hercules got slated for, and that Dreamworks Animation as a whole would be criticized for, showed up in Aladdin, where they got their inspiration.
    • Celebrity Voice Actor - Robin Williams and Gilbert Gottfried weren't cast as names to bring in audiences (and the latter wasn't exactly an A-lister) but people whom the roles were carefully tailored for. As such their presence enhances the story rather than detracts from it.note 
    • Pop culture gags - again, restricted to the Genie (and one line by Iago), which were ad-libbed by Robin Williams and thus made much more sense alongside everything else that was going on in the scene, allowing audiences to get a laugh out of the scene that didn't have to do with the fact that "hey, The Genie Knows Jack Nicholson!". Compare this to many Dreamworks films, which cram in as many pop culture references and gags as possible to get a laugh on recognition alone (which makes sense considering Jeffrey Katzenberg founded Dreamworks after being fired from Disney in part for his role in marketing the film, so he no doubt took heavy inspiration from this film) and while some did find it funny, others (mostly critics) found it distracting and have often criticized Dreamworks for shoehorning in so many pop-culture references into their films even when it does not make sense.
  • Genre Turning Point: Aladdin may not have invented the Celebrity Voice Actor trope note  but Robin Williams' performance as the Genie was the definitive Trope Codifier that almost single-handedly opened voice-acting up to all of Hollywood. With the overwhelmingly positive response to Williams' take on the character—which utilized his trademark comedic style to great effect—he turned voice-acting into a "respectable" gig that practically every actor in the business wanted to take a crack at. For perspective, Bea Arthur had previously turned down the role of Ursula in The Little Mermaid just three years before Aladdin hit theaters—but after it was released, we got James Earl Jones and Matthew Broderick in The Lion King, Mel Gibson in Pocahontas, Demi Moore and Jason Alexander in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Danny DeVito and James Woods in Hercules, Eddie Murphy in Mulan, and Minnie Driver and Rosie O'Donnell in Tarzan.
  • Harsher in Hindsight:
    • The Genie cuts off his own head to demonstrate that he can't kill anyone, complete with Aladdin grabbing his throat as the Genie is decapitated as if to say "Sheesh, that looks painful". Later on, the Genie also yanks on a tie he's wearing after he loses an important chess piece to Carpet. Both scenes are very uncomfortable to watch given that his voice actor would later commit suicide by hanging.
    • In one scene of the first movie, Jafar deceives Jasmine into believing that Aladdin has been executed "by beheading" (while Al is actually alive and imprisoned). In the first sequel, Al is condemned to death by decapitation and nearly beheaded by Public Execution when Genie arrives in time to save him in a Big Damn Heroes moment. In a TV series episode, Al finally gets his head "cut off" by Caliph Kapok... or rather separated, since the rest of Al's body is still alive while his friends find a way to reunite it with his head. Though since his brain and heart are no longer connected, he becomes a complete jerkass.
    • The Genie spends the whole film imprisoned with the hope that he'll one day be freed, and at one point Aladdin backtracks on his promise to free him - and the Genie briefly turns on him because of it. This rather uncomfortably foreshadows the real-life falling out between Robin Williams and Disney - as a condition of his voicing the Genie was that his voice would not be used to sell toys or for marketing. That happened anyway, leading to a very public feud that lasted until the end of the decade.
  • Heartwarming in Hindsight:
    • It's made clear several times that Aladdin doesn't like Jasmine because she's the princess; he likes her because she's "funny, smart, and beautiful!" In fact, he'd be willing to marry her and stay poor, if that was what she wanted. The TV series had a few episodes where either he or Jasmine became an Insecure Love Interest, with Jasmine worried that if she lost her looks then he would no longer like her. Each time, they reaffirm their love for each other After a run-in with a cream that turns the user into a snake, Aladdin uses it on himself when Jasmine seems permanently stuck in the reptilian form, telling her You Are Worth Hell. He also goes toe-to-toe with a mermaid that turned him into a shark because she took Jasmine hostage and he wants his girl back.
    • Likewise, the Sultan changes the law that a prince has to marry a princess, deeming Aladdin worthy enough to marry his daughter. The series would show that as a result, the Sultan became a Parental Substitute to Aladdin, helping him learn his courtly duties as a future sultan slowly, and welcoming him fully into the family. Aladdin and the King of Thieves caps it off by Aladdin bowing to him formally during the first wedding, with the Sultan giving him an affectionate nudge and a chuckle, reminding him it's okay to relax around him. He also forgives Aladdin for busting out the King of Thieves, knowing Aladdin did it to give his father a second chance especially after Jasmine reveals she would do the same for him.
    • Aladdin sings a Dark Reprise of "One Jump Ahead" about how he wants people to see him more than a street rat. He proceeds to do that in the sequels in TV series by saving Agrabah a few times and giving treasure to the citizens. Aladdin and the King of Thieves has most of Agrabah, save one or two Jerkasses in the genie's presence, celebrating the wedding and saying, "Amazing how Aladdin has got so far!"
    • The Genie becomes a Shipper on Deck when he sees that Aladdin doesn't want to make Jasmine love him, he wants to be worthy of courting her. In the end, he tells Aladdin that he won't find another girl like Jasmine. Aladdin and the King of Thieves shows the Genie serving as their wedding planner and best man, cheering up Jasmine when she's worried about Aladdin going to the Forty Thieves' hideout to find his father.
  • Hilarious in Hindsight:
    • Aladdin and Jasmine's world tour in "A Whole New World" includes visits to Greece and China, two locations which Disney would explore in subsequent animated films. In the former case, there was also the crossover between the Aladdin and Hercules spin-off cartoons. And Jasmine's singing voice (Lea Salonga) would do the singing for Mulan as well.
    • The first lyrics in "Friend Like Me" include a reference to the Forty Thieves. Flash forward to the third movie and learn that Aladdin's father is their leader (and would've been during the first movie's events).
      • In the same vein, a woman in "One Jump Ahead" says "I'd blame parents, except he hasn't got'em".
      • The big obstacle keeping Aladdin from marrying Jasmine is that he is not a prince. The third movie reveals his father is the King of Thieves, making him the Prince of Thieves.
    • While telling her And Now You Must Marry Me, Jafar tells Jasmine, "You're speechless, I see." Jasmine received her own song in the live-action adaptation called "Speechless" with the refrain "I won't go speechless!"
    • The last line Aladdin says before he convinces Jafar to wish to be a genie is, "Face it, Jafar — you're still just second best!" In the 2019 live action version, being reminded he's "second to the Sultan" throughout the movie is Jafar's Berserk Button, which is why he snaps when Aladdin says the same line there.
    • The Brazilian voice actor for the Genie (Márcio Simões) was later known for voicing Will Smith in the Men in Black film series. The fact that Smith was cast as the Genie in the 2019 film is purely coincidence, but it didn't stop Simões to reprise the character's role in the live-action.
    • The Genie's impression of Jack Nicholson, when Williams would later take a role originally written for Nicholson in One Hour Photo.
  • Ho Yay: This line from Genie: "Oh Al, I'm getting kinda fond of you, kid. Not that I want to pick out curtains or anything..."
  • Informed Wrongness: The apple vendor that accuses Jasmine of theft when she takes one of his apples without paying for it may have overreacted when he threatened to cut off her hand, but given his livelihood was disregarded by a girl whom the audience witnessed running away from a life of privilege that the vendor would likely never attain through an honest day's work, it's kind of hard to deny his right to be outraged.
  • Iron Woobie: The Genie. Even with his predicament of being trapped inside the lamp and forced to serve whoever rubbed it, he never loses his smile and optimism.
  • Just Here for Godzilla: Really, the trope could be called "Just Here For The Genie". His vocal performance and personality is just so fun that he's considered by far the best part of the movie.
  • Launcher of a Thousand Ships:
  • LGBT Fanbase: Thanks in no small part to the lead character being a buff young man who's almost always bare-chested and the plot largely concerning his frustration of pretending to be something he isn't, this film is extremely popular with gay men. The Genie also has a lot of fanboys, for his build and mannerisms, plus occasionally turning into a woman has also gained approval of some transgender folks.
  • Love to Hate: In spite of his lack of motivation beyond "power for its own sake" and latent sexism in how he treats Jasmine, Jafar has always been a contender on "Top 10 Disney Villains" lists for his cool design, bombastic personality, the funnier, more humanizing moments he has with Iago and imaginative use of magic when he becomes an Evil Sorcerer. Sometimes viewers have even taken to arguing in his favor more than that of the other human characters, thinking Aladdin is a Jerkass for stealing and lying, Jasmine is too whiny for complaining about her life of luxury, and the Sultan is an idiot blissfully ignorant of his own kingdom's hardships.

    M-Z 
  • Mandela Effect: Some people have stated that they remembered the Genie being voiced by Tim Allen rather than Robin Williams.
  • Memetic Badass:
    • Prince Ali, Aladdin's alter-ego, thanks to some of Genie's embellishments during his his song ("strong as ten regular men!")
    • Jasmine herself is often considered one of the most badass Disney Princesses, after Mulan, thanks to her feisty personality and her active participation in the finale. In the spin-off TV series and sequels, she establishes her Action Girl credentials.
  • Memetic Mutation: Has its own page.
  • Mexicans Love Speedy Gonzales: There has been a lot of controversy concerning the film's heavily stereotyped, Orientalist depiction of Middle Eastern culture, but it's also received positive responses from many Middle Eastern viewers who were more than happy to see themselves represented sympathetically through Aladdin and Jasmine, and not as bloodthirsty, warmongering monsters. In fact, the directors consulted one of their layout supervisors Rasoul Azadani (who is of Iranian heritage), because they didn't want to offend anybody, and he thought everything was fine.
  • Misaimed Fandom: Jasmine draws a lot of ire from certain feminist circles, often being regarded as poorly as the first three Disney Princesses because "all she wants to do is get married". This sentiment reached its peak when the 2019 live-action adaptation changed Jasmine's motivation to wanting to be the sultan, because the film's director, and the character's actress, Naomi Scott, felt that the original movie didn't give her "enough of a goal, it was really just to meet a guy", completely ignoring the fact that Jasmine didn't even want to be royalty and that it was a matter of if, not when, she decided to get married. In fact, "A Whole New World", one of the most iconic songs from the movie, was all about Jasmine finally experiencing the life of freedom that she's always wanted after Aladdin humbly offers to take her a magic carpet ride around the world, as a chance to see it and get out of the palace. Jasmine's voice actress, Linda Larkin, had this to say when questioned about whether or not Jasmine is a good role model:
    Linda Larkin: "Jasmine says to a generation of little kids about marriage that the law is wrong. She risks everything — her safety, her comfort, everything she knows — and goes out and finds a way to change the marriage law. And this generation of kids who saw that movie in 1992 grew up and did that in real life! I'm like, 'Yeah, she's a good role model!' Really good! Whether it's connected or not, that person that the writers created that I got to portray, I'm so proud of her. And I feel like she was ahead of her time."
  • Moral Event Horizon: Jafar attempting to kill Aladdin with a dagger when he tries to escape the Cave of Wonders after giving him the lamp, abandoning him to die instead after being foiled by Abu. After this scene, Jafar is cast in a significantly darker light.
    Aladdin: What are you doing?!
    Jafar: Giving you your reward! (pulls out a dagger and prepares to stab him) Your eternal reward...!
  • Not Badass Enough for Fans: Jasmine has sometimes been hit with this for her storyline largely involving an Arranged Marriage and ending up a Damsel in Distress in the climax, but these criticisms ignore that she is actively turning down her arranged marriages and says she'll give up being a princess if it means she has to marry. In the climax, she's among every other character who gets incapacitated by Jafar (the Sultan is chained up, Abu turned into a toy, Carpet unravelled) and she gets trapped in the hourglass while actively trying to stop him.
  • No Yay: Jafar and Jasmine. Jafar is old and ugly, while Jasmine is a young, beautiful princess. Jafar wants to marry Jasmine (to gain the powers of the sultan, but still...) and Jasmine has to kiss him in one scene to try and keep him from discovering Aladdin. Jafar orders the Genie to make Jasmine fall in love with him, and calls her "pussycat" and "my dear". Iago (who suggested the idea of Jafar marrying Jasmine in the first place) and Abu both make disgusted sounds when Jasmine kisses Jafar. Aladdin also looks squicked out.
  • Older Than They Think:
    • Aladdin is actually the fourth attempt at the "three wishes" rule for genies by Disney; it had been used twice on DuckTales (1987), on one regular episode and in that show's feature film, and it was on one episode of Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers.
    • Aladdin's princess being called Jasmine happened in an obscure 1952 film called Aladdin and His Lamp.
    • Robin Williams's appearance is often mis-heralded as the trope maker for celebrity voice acting when it's more of a trope codifier in terms of selling a film based on a celebrity's voiceover role (against Williams' own request), but was far from being the first to employ notable film actors (Williams was even in a second animated film that year, FernGully: The Last Rainforest). Disney's own The Rescuers Down Under a few years prior starred not only TV legends Bob Newhart and Eva Gabor (reprising from the 1977 film), but also Oscar winner George C. Scott and in the comic relief role, John Candy around the apex of his popularity as one of the most in-demand comedic leading men in Hollywood.
  • Once Original, Now Common: Though not the first film to have a Celebrity Voice Actor, it was one of the first to sell itself on that aspect and be a huge success. And as much of it was the brainchild of Jeffery Katzenberg, one can make a direct line from this film to his films at Dreamworks Animation and the various studios which followed their lead to the point that nearly every wide-release animated feature these days is expected to have an All-Star Cast as opposed to the more traditional casting of small-name character actors (ironically, Disney is one of the only studios to still do it the "old fashioned" way). As mentioned on the trivia page, Robin Williams specifically asked that his part be downplayed because he didn't want this to happen.
  • One True Pairing: Aladdin and Jasmine are considered among the iconic Disney couples - thanks to their well-developed love story, equal balance of helping each other out and the sequels and series exploring their relationship even further.
  • Periphery Demographic:
    • Mostly because Robin Williams was allowed to ad-lib most of his lines as the Genie, resulting in him throwing in a lot of irreverent humor and pop culture references that would easily fly over a kid's head, but have the parents laughing hysterically.note 
    • When it first came out, the movie's marketing and merchandising was very gender-neutral. But it got a strong female fanbase due to its Cinderella-like story, the romantic atmosphere, and the attractive hero. Disney has seemingly taken notice of this, for better or worse, to the point that Aladdin is now officially classified as one of the "Princess movies", and most merchandise based on it nowadays is aimed strictly at girls.
  • Rainbow Lens: Aladdin decides to keep a part of his identity secret, having faced a legal system run by people whose constant hostility towards those like him led him to believe that he was worthless. Aladdin realizes that he should not try to pretend to be someone he's not, and he resolves to openly declare the truth about who he is as the Sultan announces an upcoming wedding between him and Jasmine. However, before he has the chance to do so, it is purposefully revealed for him by a malicious Jerkass. As a result, Aladdin nearly parts ways with Jasmine because the law only recognizes "traditional" marriages, but in the end, everybody accepts him for who he is and the Sultan even changes the law after seeing that he has proven himself a worthy man. As mentioned above, there's a reason this movie resonates so much with gay men. Also important to remember, the lyrics and story were written by Howard Ashman, who was himself openly gay at a time when it was still controversial to be so (and who died of AIDS when the movie was in production. The AIDS crisis rose in large part out of homophobia and classism). The Cut Song "Proud of Your Boy" was even said to have been inspired by Ashman's own complicated relationship with his mother due to his sexuality.
    Aladdin: "Riffraff", "street rat", I don't buy that. If only they'd look closer. Would they see a poor boy? No, siree. They'd find out there's so much more to me.
  • Ron the Death Eater: The film's Honest Trailer claims that Aladdin is a Jerkass Designated Hero who never faces any consequences for his lying, because he already got everything he ever wanted by the time he wished for Genie's freedom. However, since Jafar exposed Aladdin as a fraud with his sorcerer magic and reverted him back into a street rat, he's not eligible to marry Jasmine anymore by the end of the film because the law says that Jasmine must only marry a prince. In fact, Aladdin finally learns his lesson and decides to keep the promise he made to use his third wish to free Genie, under the pretense that, in doing so, all would be lost for him and Jasmine, and it's only then that he gets everything he ever wanted.
  • Signature Scene: Two scenes, that is.
    • The showstopping "Friend Like Me" number is the most famous part of the film.
    • A close second is the magic carpet ride of "A Whole New World". Any sequence that has two lovers flying through the sky together is going to be accused of ripping it off.
  • Signature Song: However, it's the reverse for this trope. Indeed, "Friend Like Me" is very beloved and fun to listen to in its own right thanks to Robin Williams giving it his all. However, "A Whole New World" stirs up more emotions with its beautiful melody, great lyrics written by the legendary Tim Rice, and captivating vocals of Brad Kane and Lea Salonga. "A Whole New World" is so iconic a song that not only did the Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle end credits version top the Billboard Hot 100—the only Disney song to achieve this feat so for almost thirty years until it was joined by "We Don't Talk About Bruno" in 2022—it won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year, still the only Disney song to do so to date (as of 2023).
  • Smurfette Breakout: Jasmine is a supporting character while the story is about Aladdin, but she is included in the Disney Princess franchise and is the only princess (aside from Aurora) in the lineup who isn't the main character in her film.
  • Special Effects Failure: While the CGI head of the Cave of Wonders and the integration of CGI and hand-drawn animation with the magic carpet and the lava still holds up well today, some of the CGI bits inside of the cave (e.g. the escape sequence) are really showing their age now, especially if you watch it on Blu-Ray.
  • Squick: Jafar isn't particularly attractive on his own, but any scene where he puts advances on Jasmine makes him look even slimier, causing major squick! Even in the movie's own universe, Abu and Iago have a Squick noise at Jasmine and Jafar's kiss. Jasmine looks pretty grossed out as well during that. Even Jafar was initially squicked by the idea of "marrying the shrew" until Iago pointed out that he would become the sultan if he did.
  • Superlative Dubbing: The Finnish dub is not only regarded by many Disney fans as the best Finnish dub of the Disney canon, but according to the dub's director, Pekka Lehtosaari, Disney themself called it the best foreign dub of the movie. The show stealer of the dub was easily Vesa-Matti Loiri as the Genie, who, due to him already being a beloved actor and comedian, many Finnish Disney fans even prefer over Williams. Loiri's performance was so well-regarded that Eric Goldberg, Genie's lead animator, himself sent him a personal thank you illustration
  • Testosterone Brigade: Jasmine has a huge one, and may have the biggest of any of the Disney Princesses (possibly behind Ariel). This is due to her very sexy Bedlah Babe outfit, making her one of the more scantily clad princesses, and the additionally revealing red number Jafar traps her in.
  • They Copied It, So It Sucks!: Aladdin and The Thief and the Cobbler are both accused of ripping off the other one. The latter went through Development Hell (and Aladdin itself wasn't exactly sitting in development heaven, so that's saying something), so it was only released after Aladdin, and in a heavily meddled-with cut at that, making it look like the rip-off to people who didn't know that it was in production before Aladdin was.
  • Tough Act to Follow:
    • An extremely downplayed example. The Unshaved Mouse noted that Aladdin is often forgotten about when discussing the Disney Renaissance films because it was following The Little Mermaid (1989) as the film that brought Disney back to prominence, Beauty and the Beast as the one that got a Best Picture nomination and came right before The Lion King (1994) — which became a hallmark of the 90s. So while Aladdin was a huge success, it's often forgotten that it was just as beloved as those three in its time.
      The fact that Aladdin is such a showy, glitzy, thrill ride I think leads some to dismiss it as the airheaded "pretty one..."
    • Genie is widely considered to be one of, if not the best Plucky Comic Relief character in the Disney Animated Canon, so when subsequent movies in the Disney Renaissance, and later on in the Disney Revival, would go on to attempt to capture Genie's lightning in a bottle, the results ended up varying. Timon and Pumbaa, Mushu, Terk, Ray, and Olaf ended up being quite divisive characters, whereas the Gargoyles ended up being widely disliked, with very few ever reaching the same consistent highs that Genie provided.
  • Values Dissonance: The "Prince Ali" song casually mentions that Ali has slaves, immediately after the line "he's generous; so generous", none the less. This was already Deliberate Values Dissonance in 1992, but nowadays Disney would most likely not even include it at all. At least they were just imaginary slaves made by the Genie. The remake changed the line from "he's got slaves, he's got servants and flunkies" to "he's got ten thousand servants and flunkies".
  • Viewer Gender Confusion: Despite Rajah having a male name, Jafar saying "down, boy!" when zapping him, and supplementary materials referring to him as "he", viewers are often puzzled about his gender.
  • Viewer Name Confusion: Some people think that the magic carpet's name is Carpet. It actually has no name— while Aladdin does say, "Carpet, let's move!", that's more the equivalent of saying, "Hello, cat" to your cat.
  • Viewer Species Confusion: Iago is a red lory, but a lot of people refer to him as a scarlet macaw.
  • The Woobie:
    • Aladdin. As a child, his father abandoned him and he lost his mother shortly afterwards (as revealed in this film's second sequel, Aladdin and the King of Thieves), leaving him to grow up an orphan forced to steal food that he can only barely survive on in the slums of Agrabah. However, this petty thievery eventually leads to him facing constant harassment from the palace guards as well as being shunned and ridiculed by the rest of the community because of his status, with only the hope that he will one day start a new life of wealth, luxury, and privilege to keep him going. This — as well as his feelings of inferiority internalized by years of social rejection following the reveal that a woman with whom he fell in love was actually Agrabah's princess — is exploited by Jafar to lure him into the Cave of Wonders in the hopes of getting a lamp that contains the all-powerful Genie. It is here where Aladdin ultimately is left to rot until he gets rescued by Genie, and he almost dies a second time when Jafar outright attempts to drown him to death. Jafar successfully following through on his plan means that Aladdin has to helplessly watch the Genie with whom he had found himself forming a bond (his only other friend being Abu, his pet monkey) unwillingly serve under a power-hungry madman. To make matters worse, this only happened because the two had a bitter falling-out over Aladdin feeling greatly pressured to be a perfect prince to the point where he started lashing out and pushing Genie away. Aladdin eventually becomes overcome with guilt when he's outed as a liar to everyone he loves and gets banished to the ends of the earth where he is left to die again, this time without having his best friend around to rescue him, as he openly blames himself for not having wished Genie free sooner. He does hold together pretty well even after all of this, however.
    • Jasmine's mother is hinted to have died when she was very young, she spends most of her life being cooped up in the palace with no one other than her pet tiger Rajah to really call a friend, and she finds herself getting pressured into marriage because Agrabah's laws say that she must find a husband eventually — if she refuses, her father legally must take the choice out of her hands entirely, forcing her into an Arranged Marriage if she fails to choose a husband by an appointed deadline. All of this ultimately motivates Jasmine to sneak out of the palace in order to have any sense of freedom. Over the course of the movie, her father is also unwittingly brainwashed by Jafar to set her up in an arranged marriage, with Jafar.
  • Woolseyism: In some translations of "Prince Ali" the lyrics get pretty naughty, especially for the harem girls admiring him for much more than his manners and his clothes - for example in German the girls sing "I'm so hot I'm about to start groaning", "I'll file for Divorce" and "I'm really ravished by him". In Latin American they sing "I've never seen a body like that, oh I can't breathe". Genie sings in the French dub "It's crowded/packed at the balcony" which is slang for having large breasts, "Prince Ali, Sexy like never" in German, which in German context would mean, "Nobody is sexier", and "I know there's a hottie around here" in Latin American to the Sultan.

Stage musicals:

    Stage Musicals 

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