Aladdin (1992)
4K Ultra HD | Blu-ray
Director: Ron Clements, John Musker
Writer: Ron Clements, John Musker, Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio
Cast: Scott Weinger, Robin Williams, Linda Larkin, Jonathan Freeman, Frank Welker, Gilbert Gottfried, Douglas Seale
Distributor: Walt Disney Studios
Rated G | 90 Minutes
Release date: September 10, 2019

Disney adapting their animated classics into live-action films are sometimes predicated on the critical and commercial success of the predecessor, though the studio’s recent wave of live-action adaptations has been met with varying degrees of success. But what matters most is how these films perform at the box office, and as long as they at a hit, the studio will come out with more and more. And, of course, none of these live-action films would be here without their animated origins.

Take, for instance, 1992’s Aladdin, before we can get into reviewing the live-action film from Guy Ritchie (to come soon), we must look back at the animated film by Ron Clements and John Musker. Considered to be one of the best from the Disney film era known as the Disney Renaissance, Aladdin is a beautifully animated musical that continues to hold up well. But with new technologies and televisions bringing us higher definition and better picture quality, it was only a matter of time before Disney started to go back in their vaults to release upgraded versions of their greatest hits.

Back in May, Disney gave their classic animated hit Aladdin a live-action makeover by director Guy Ritchie. Now, both versions of the film will be getting a release on Digital, Blu-ray, and 4K Ultra HD this Summer.

Both versions of the film will be released to Digital and Movies Anywhere on August 27, 2019 and in 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD edition on September 10, 2019. The 1992 animated film will be a part of the studio’s Walt Disney Signature Collection, and will be available for the first time in 4K Ultra HD.

Garry Marshall, who brought some of the most remembered and successful sitcoms of the 1970s to American television and directed some notable films such as Pretty Woman, died on Tuesday in Burbank, CA, of complications from pneumonia following a stroke, according to Variety. He was 81.

Marshall’s programs, which pretty much dominated ABC-TV for the entire decade of the 1970s, consisted of The Odd Couple and Happy Days and its spinoffs, Laverne and Shirley and Mork and Mindy. With each of them came a kind of innocuous hilarity that had healthy doses of mild slapstick, easily resolved narratives, and always an emphasis on a slight surreal aspect of fun. Unlike say the socially conscious programs of the time that were being churned out by the stable of TV pioneer Norman Lear (like All in the Family and Maude), Marshall’s sitcoms, although they were rather perfunctory and innocuous by way of social redemption or awareness, held almost equal footing in terms of ratings success. And indeed, like many of the characters on Lear’s programs (Archie Bunker, Maude, Fred Sanford), Garry Marshall also helped create and was instrumental in bringing characters that were and have remained almost as iconic, such as The Fonz, Mork from Ork, Laverne, and Shirley.

Last year, I shared with you readers some of my favorite editions of Disney In Depth over the course of the past several years. But those selections only scratched the surface. I take pride in each piece I write, though some, of course, especially excite me. Let’s revisit some more editions that take us from Disney-related destinations across the country, to areas within our own lives and recollections.

More below.

Following the showdown of live-action Disney films from the 2000s, we harken back to a separate decade with a different set of movies.

These are films we all return to again and again because of their impact on The Walt Disney Company. Here are some my favorite characters, scenes, and elements in a Disney 1990s Animated Films Showdown.

Aladdin
Diamond Edition Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack
Directors: John Musker and Ron Clements
Cast: Robin Williams, Scott Weinger, Linda Larkin, Gilbert Gottfried, Douglas Seale, Frank Welker
Music: Alan Menken; Lyrics: Howard Ashman
Walt Disney Home Entertainment
Release date: October 13, 2015

Disney’s Aladdin was part of the studio’s great animated musical boom in the 1990s that saw massive hits with Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, and The Little Mermaid (released November 1989). While Walt Disney Pictures’ animated wing had cornered the market previously with classics like 1939’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and 1940’s Pinocchio, Aladdin began a new trend that would propel the studio even further — signing on major celebrities to their voice cast. In this case, they snagged the great comedic actor Robin Williams.

For Aladdin, Williams, who had had recent success with dramatic roles in Good Morning, Vietnam, Dead Poets Society, Awakenings, and The Fisher King, voiced Genie, a spirit with phenomenal cosmic powers, and as we learn, itty bitty living space (he lives inside a magic lamp!). What could have been just another retelling of a classic tale — for this, the story of Aladdin in the Arabic folktale One Thousand and One Nights — accompanied by catchy tunes, was instead transformed into something much more captivating, humorous, and lovable thanks to Williams’ voice work.

Voice artists often do not receive credit for their work on pieces of content that individuals cherish. These individuals define the characters as much as the animators’ designs, for the power of a suitable voice with much range can lead us to value the characters’ dreams and fears.

Over three editions of Disney In Depth in the coming months, I will highlight 25 actors and actresses whose voice performances for some of Disney’s most treasured animated film characters deserve kudos. For the sake of keeping the list “brief” and fair, voice artists for Pixar films are excluded from the list.

In no particular order, here part one of my 25 Best Disney Animated Film Voice Artists list.

As 2014 comes to a close, we take a moment at Geeks Of Doom to remember all the fallen entertainment figures in film and television who left us this year. This year, we gave a farewell to a large array of heavyweights, cult heroes, pioneering figures, and sentimental favorites who were among those who have passed on in a physical sense, but leaving the memories, the ones that they made in the past and the ones each of their fans have in regards to them.

Back in 2012 we found out about a movie that would reunite the comedy group Monty Python (with Terry Jones leading the project as both writer and director) titled Absolutely Anything. The movie was to be a combination of live-action and CGI, following a teacher who’s given the ability to do absolutely anything he wants by aliens (voiced by Python members) so they can see how badly the human messes things up with this newfound power.

Way back then, apart from knowing that Monty Python members were involved, the only actor who was attached to the project was Robin Williams, who plays a talking dog named Dennis in what looks like will be his final role. The lead role was eventually cast with the great Simon Pegg. A new clip from the movie has been released of Pegg using his helpful ability, including having a chat with Dennis. You can watch it below.

A new trailer has been released for Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, the third installment in the Night at the Museum franchise.

The trilogy-maker heads to London for this adventure, which is again directed by Shawn Levy and stars Ben Stiller, Robin Williams, Owen Wilson, Steve Coogan, Rami Malek, Skyler Gisondo, Ricky Gervais, Rebel Wilson, and Ben Kingsley.

You can check out the trailer for Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb below.