If you’re looking for that special personable gift for Christmas, might I recommend the Diamond Edition of Aladdin which comes with all of the bonus features of the original DVD plus a handful of totally new features – including one feature dedicated to the Broadway musical adaptation of Aladdin. There’s so much to love about the Diamond Edition! Let’s dive in…
Disney’s beloved masterpiece will make your heart race and your spirit soar. Experience the laughter, adventure and Academy Award®-winning music (1992: Best Music, Original Song, “A Whole New World,” Original Score) for the first time on Blu-ray and Digital HD. And now Aladdin shines even brighter with never-before-seen tributes to the enchanting talent of Robin Williams, the “Genius behind the Genie”.
Release Date: October 13, 2015
Rating: G
Running Time: Approx. 91 Minutes
The Genie Outtakes (Approx. 9 minutes) – Directors, Ron Clements and John Musker as well as Supervising Animator, Eric Goldberg introduce a number of outtakes from Robin Williams’s recording sessions. The outtakes are set up with a short snippet of the scene Robin is playing to and the audio of his sessions is told over early sketches. In between the outtakes, the three reminisce about the genius that is Robin Williams. And watching this feature, it’s such a treat to see just how fast Robin Williams was, just how many comedic beats he could hit from the top of his head. Truly brilliant.
Aladdin: Creating Broadway Magic (Approx. 20 minutes) – Darren Criss (Glee) takes us to the New Amsterdam Theatre in New York City and hosts this feature in which we meet the creatives and Broadway cast of Aladdin. I loved, loved, loved this feature. It was a wonderful, in depth look at the evolution of Aladdin the musical from before it hit Broadway, rehearsals, and preview performances around the country to the success of the Broadway show and everything in between – diversity talk included (which I was so happy to see). Such a wonderful feature.
Appearing in this Feature:
President Disney Theatrical, Thomas Schumacher
Composer, Alan Menken
Director, Choreographer, Casey Nicholaw
Book Writer, Chad Beguelin
Broadway Cast Members, Jonathan Freeman, James Monroe Iglehart, Courtney Reed, Adam Jacobs
Unboxing Aladdin (Approx. 5 minutes) – Joey Bragg (Disney Channel’s Liv & Maddy) delivers up all of the easter eggs in Aladdin in a very entertaining way. I loved the feature because I didn’t know about many of these easter eggs. As for Bragg, I don’t know who he is so at first, it took me a second to settle into the bubbly acting but I enjoyed it after the first minute. Fun feature!
Genie 101 (Approx. 5 minutes) – Scott Weinger (the voice of Aladdin) hosts this feature in which we look back on Robin Williams’s impersonations throughout the movie. From Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ed Sullivan, Groucho Marx, Robert de Niro, Arsenio Hall, Jack Nicholson, Julius Caesar, etc… as well as the genie’s many transformations. This is a quick, entertaining feature that’s also a great reference, all of the impersonations in one place!
Ron & John: You Ain’t Never Had a Friend Like Me (5 minutes) – Directors, John Musker & Ron Clements are on the Disney lot as they recount how they met, working on The Little Mermaid, and their journey working together on Aladdin and beyond. It’s a sweet feature and very much appreciated given all that they’ve done for Disney. Beautiful!
Classic Bonus – All of the classic bonus from the original DVD release, including Deleted Songs, Deleted Scenes, Music Videos, Disney Song Selection, Inside the Genie’s Lamp: Guided Tour, The Genie World Tour, Audio Commentaries, A Diamond in the Rough: The Making of Aladdin, Alan Menken: Musical Renaissance Man, The Art of Aladdin: Art Review with Filmmakers’ Commentary, and Trailers are on the Blu-ray Diamond Edition. If you’re as big of an Aladdin fan as any other, chances are you’re already familiar with all of these features, so enjoy the new ones!
Own Aladdin The Diamond Edition on Blu-ray and DVD today.