Wish granted, Disney theorists!
More than twenty years after well-loved Disney movie "Aladdin" was released for the world to see, directors finally validated one fan theory about the Genie that will have "speculators" exclaiming, "I told you so!"
"Aladdin" directors Ron Clements and John Musker confirmed in a statement to Entertainment! Online, as per Entertainment Weekly, that the peddler at the bazaar scene, was the Genie himself. Both were also notably voiced by late comedian, Robin Williams. "I saw something that speculates that the peddler at the beginning of 'Aladdin' is the Genie," Clements noted as per E! Online. "That's true!"
Clements furthered as quoted by EW: "That was the whole intention, originally. We even had that at the end of the movie, where he would reveal himself to be the Genie, and of course Robin [Williams] did the voice of the peddler. Just through story changes and some editing, we lost the reveal at the end. So, that's an urban legend that actually is true."
With characters voiced by Scott Weinger, Linda Larkin, Robin Williams, and Jonathan Freeman, Disney's "Aladdin" is regarded as one of the most successful animated movies produced by the company having won two Academy Awards: Best Music, Original Score and Best Music, Original Song. On top of that, the franchise has also produced two spin-off films, a Broadway adaptation as well as official merchandise to match.
Independent UK notes in a report that the animated film was, in fact, planned to be set at Baghdad -- however, the "Gulf War happened" which prompted Musker to make the appropriate changes resulting to the anagram, "Agrabah."
The Genie and the peddler being one and the same gained hype for two reasons, according to Clements as told by EW -- one, because Williams voiced both roles, and two, because both the peddler and the Genie have four fingers. In a possible move to provide greater detail to the confirmed theory, Aladdin's composer Alan Menken along with Musker and Clements, were interviewed by EW on the 1992 animated movie.
"Really, the Genie was Robin Williams," said Clements as per EW. He fondly recalled: "When he first came in, he was like, 'Should I play this with an accent? Should I create a character?' And it was like, 'No, really, the Genie is sort of like a stand-up comedian who's been trapped in a lamp for 1,000 years and is suddenly released and is looking for an audience and wants to perform.' And that's Robin."
"I think Robin as a person, he wanted to make people laugh. It was like a Genie, like a wish-granter: I know that people enjoy humor, so I'm going to give them the gift of my comedy. So I feel like, yeah, he really was the Genie," Musker furthered in the interview as told by EW.
Did you get it right about the Genie?