But from the press junket the film on for the last 28 years, or 29 years, Gilbert would always (say), “Where’s my song? You never gave me a song!” Menken: Gilbert did not contribute musically (to the film). What about Gilbert Gottfried, who died this year? Robin was actually a very sensitive, nice, sweet man. Then of course when we got to the recording sessions, and after he delivered faithfully exactly what I wanted from the song – that kind of Fats Waller style of singing the songs – then everyone said, “Okay, Robin, can you just go have fun?”Īnd… that was where you just went nuts, because it was Robin “on.” And Robin “on” was incredible. I think he was a little sore from being in the harness on (the 1991 Steven Spielberg movie) “Hook” all day. He wanted to learn every note of “Friend Like Me” and “Prince Ali,” and so we rehearsed it dutifully. Menken: In the (recording) room, Robin (was) a serious artist.
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Specifically about making the movie and working with the actors: You have previously spoken about what it was like to work with the late Robin Williams. But that (lyric change) was the first spot where we actually said, ‘Okay, we gotta change that.’
There’s always a lot of back and forth about stereotype, and whether it’s the right stereotype and whether, possibly, it could be offensive or whatever. We’re winking at everything and making fun.” We were making fun of a genre, but making fun of a genre clearly can bleed over to making fun of a people.Īlan Menken, seen here this month, spoke to CNN about his memories of working on the animated 'Aladdin.' Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP The really irreverent lyrics were in “Arabian Nights.” Because they were setting up a world and we were saying, “This is our tone. So for the live action movie, when Benj Pasek and Justin Paul were my lyricists, that was adjusted as well. Menken: That was changed as soon as the picture came out.Īnd so we – Howard was gone – so I rewrote it to, “Where it’s hot and immense and the heat is intense, it’s barbaric, but hey, it’s home.” Now, even “barbaric” as an adjective for heat, still was overly sensitive. Did that serve as a hint of things to come, in terms of today’s standards of political correctness, etc.? Rather than remove this continent, we want to acknowledge its harmful impact, learn from it and spark conversations to create a more inclusive future together.”ĬNN: I remember at the time, one of the first lyrics in the opening song of the movie, “Arabian Nights” (“Where they cut off your ears if they don’t like your face”), had to be changed for fear of it being insensitive. The stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now. Disney was not about to (be) caught being PC-insensitive.Įditor’s note: Today, when viewers click on “Aladdin” on Disney+, a message appears first which reads in part, “This program includes negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures. Anytime you dealt with a stereotype on these pictures, it was very, very, very carefully scrutinized. Wokeness didn’t actually emerge out of nothing, and it’s not like it wasn’t there.
I remember when we were starting to do “Aladdin,” (we were) thinking about how (we) really wanted it to be a fun wink at the Hollywood take on the ‘Mysterious East’ and all of that because it had that kind of, I wanted it to have that Bob Hope/Bing Crosby road picture kind of tone to it, or the crazy wacky Fleischer cartoons. Part of the (reason) it was shelved, it was very irreverent, even more irreverent than it became, and there was a lot of concern about how it would affect Arab sensibilities.
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This conversation has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity.ĬNN: When it came to the development of “Aladdin,” was there a sense of hesitation at Disney in how to tell this story?Īlan Menken, composer: “Aladdin” was started almost simultaneously with “(The Little) Mermaid.” While we were still working on “Mermaid,” we had started “Aladdin,” had a whole take on it and it was shelved. The accomplished composer also reflects on how Disney, as a studio, dealt with the portrayal of the Far East in the film and how a previous in-development version was in fact shelved due to concerns that predated cancel culture by decades. While the film is beloved by many – not only for how it showcases the vocal prowess of the late Robin Williams – Menken says none of it would have been possible without his late lyricist partner, Howard Ashman, whom he called “not replaceable.” To mark the occasion, eight-time Oscar-winning composer Alan Menken, who nabbed two statuettes for his work on the movie, spoke with CNN about his memories from the making of the prescient classic. It might be hard to believe, but this holiday weekend marks 30 years since the release of “Aladdin” – the animated classic that set the stage for multiple sequels, a live-action reimagining released in 2019 and even a Broadway musical.
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