Aladdin
If we’re talking about my favorite childhood movies, Aladdin is easily a Top 3 contender. Sword fighting, a hilarious genie, Princess Jasmine, a talking parrot, flying on a magic carpet, an evil sorcerer named Jafar – every part of me wanted to be Aladdin. Aladdin was one of the Disney cartoons that young boys could get into, mixing in action elements and fantastic comedy (Robin Williams and Gilbert Gottfried), choosing a male protagonist instead of the typical princess type.
We’ve seen the story of a poor boy dreaming of bigger things, but Aladdin mixes in the magic of Disney and the wonder of song, as you can’t hear the beginning of “Arabian Nights” without belting the song out yourself. Not only that, but Genie (Robin Williams) is easily one of my favorite Disney characters to this date, being both magical and hilarious, so it’s hard not to look at Aladdin and flash back to times when my best friend and I would run around the house like we were poor peasant boys fighting royal soldiers. Yeah, I was a pretty badass little dude, and Aladdin only made me even more adventurous.
I mean, how else was I going to win over the affections of Princess Jasmine?
Alright, maybe my childhood movie taste wasn’t as bad as I’d thought. What about you though? Which movies did you love as a kid that still hold their relevance today as critically pleasing films?
