Full Details: Disney's "Aladdin"! (1 Viewer)

[Stephen J*]

Looks like another DVD from Santa that will have its shrinkwrap disappear by the time Christmas morning comes around. You know, for a 'test' viewing.

 

[James Sarno]

I lost my copy on VHS over 12 years ago...20% or no 20% redrawn,I can't wait to see this again.

I'm sure there will be some problems with the disc as there were with Nemo,Lion King,etc.But that hasn't kept me away from multiple viewings of those disc,and I'm sure Aladdin will be played over and over just to hear Robin Williams crack jokes

can't wait til October

 

[Josh Simpson]

Haven't seen this since probably 8th grade in 1993 or so. Looking forward to it.

 

[ThomasC]

This is the first I've heard about this, what did they change?

 

[Ruz-El]

I'm eager for this as well, I haven't seen it since the theatrical run.

What was the changed lyric?

I'll buy this on release day!

 

[Phil Carter]

Russell G. and Thomas C.:

In the opening song, the first stanza went like this in the theatrical cut (and on early editions of the soundtrack release -- they may have changed it by now, I don't know, I have the early version, fortunately):

Oh, I come from a land from a faraway place
Where the caravan camels roam
Where they cut off your ear if they don't like your face
It's barbaric, but hey! it's home!

Apparently there was a backlash that this lyric was "discrimination against Arabs" and so Disney caved in and changed the lyrics in the VHS release to:

Oh, I come from a land from a faraway place
Where the caravan camels roam
Where it's flat and immense and the heat is intense
It's barbaric, but hey! it's home!

The change was VERY noticeable because it sounded like what it was: a cut-and-paste, with EQ levels that didn't match the original (I don't even think they had Robin redo that single line), and extremely irritating to those of us who hate revisionism.

cheers,
Phil

 

[Jesse Skeen]

"I lost my copy on VHS over 12 years ago"

Wow, you lost the VHS copy before the movie even came out in theaters?

 

[Geoff_D]

Twenty percent redrawn? That's saved my CAV LD from going on ebay - but as I love this movie I'll still be picking up the DVD. I'll be waiting for the R2 release though, given how Disney add dts tracks to their European discs (and don't bother with space-hogging full screen versions in their two-disc sets).

 

[Tom_Bechet]

I bet the UKR2 will ahve DTS again (just like Lion King)
sou you can get that one.

I'm glad taladdin finally comes out. can't wait for it, even with slight alterations.

 

[Jonathan Dagmar]

I don't know why everyone is getting so bent out of shape about this 20% redrawn business. Honestly every single person mentiones it as if it is some terrible misfire...

Please keep in mind that the Lion King was given the same treatment...

 

[Ernest Rister]

"For the most part this was done to background characters that were badly off model and inconsistant with the rest of the film."

There's some pretty rough work in Aladdin -- check out the scene where two men (caricatures of co-directors Muskers and Clemens) talk about "another suitor for the Princess." Fixing highly-visible flaws like that don't bother me, as long as they are done under the supervision of the original creative team, who probably wished they had time and money to fix them in the first place (akin to the tasteful repair job Robert Wise performed to his Star Trek the Motion Picture, and the removal of glass reflections for the DVD of Raiders of the Lost Ark).

Corrections don't bother me -- "re-imagining" bothers me, like Greedo shooting first, Federal Agents wielding walkie-talkies, etc.

And just one last point, there really wasn't a backlash against the song in Aladdin, Disney was simply pressured by Arab Anti-Defamation groups, who were getting attention in the media by using Aladdin as the latest example of anti-Arab bias in Hollywood films. Disney met with them and promised to change the lyrics to earlier suggested lyrics by the late Alan Menken.

Personally, I don't see much difference between the two...Arabia is still described as "barbaric" in both. The biggest problem with the revised song is that you can clearly tell that Robin Williams is no longer singing the lines in question. They were performed by another voice artist who sounded nothing like Williams' impish Merchant. If they want to keep the revised lyrics, fine, because they were penned by Menken, but for the love of Pete, get Robin Williams back in to the studio to perform that line himself.

 

[DaViD Boulet]

Brazil has a region 1 or region 0 disc that's NTSC compatible with a DTS track for the "enhanced" mix for Lion King (no PAL speedup). I think I'll be placing a double order for LK and Aladdin

 

[Jake Lipson]

Davud - If Brazil does have a region 0 disc as you say, it's a bootleg. The Platinum Edition will be the first-ever legit DVD of Aladdin. And I can't wait. It's my single favorite movie of all time.

The 20% redrawn business means it's going to be the version that was all ready to go for IMAX release before the suits pulled the plug on that because Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King didn't deliver the green on IMAX screens.

 

[TonyD]

it would be nice if at least as a sup we could see what the differences are in the changes.
i restroation doc of some type.

 

[Ray H]

Alan Menken is still alive. However, Howard Ashman worked on Aladdin but died during the production of Beauty and the Beast. :frowning:

 

[Lars Vermundsberget]

Quote: "I don't know why everyone is getting so bent out of shape about this 20% redrawn business. Honestly every single person mentiones it as if it is some terrible misfire...

Please keep in mind that the Lion King was given the same treatment..."

---

...which is problematic for the very same reasons, I guess we could say...

However, I'm sure I'll buy the Aladdin DVD and I'm sure it's a great version but I'll keep my LD which is the one I'll consider the original.

 

[Keith Paynter]

Well, I'm happy to have my original CAV Aladdin LD, the original soundtrack CD (unedited), and my computer to make a version more closely resembling the original release.

I think it's rather presumptuous to approve of the "Warner Brothers Cartoon Special" edition (20% new footage). Most people are watching it on a 21-27" TV, far smaller than the average multiplex projection anyway. It's going to look much sharper though, but that LD looks so-o-o-o good.

Oh, if only Robin Williams could do a commentary...

 

[Chris Farmer]

I'm all over this one. Robin Williams kept me in stitches as a kid, and that was before I knew half the jokes. I never realized he played the merchant as well. And has he ever done a commentary track for any of his other movies?

 

[Michael St. Clair]

I think that is really exaggerating.

And I'll be getting the new DVD, just keeping my old LD. Why get so bent out of shape about that?

 

[Edwin-S]

Yeah, what's the big deal. I figure on the next iteration of Citizen Kane Warner Brothers should take out 20% of the actors and digitally replace them with some "new blood". After all who wants to watch a bunch of dusty old actors.