The DVD Fairy

A sudden change in animation quality and why I like Iago as a character

Okay first off, take a look at the design differences here:

and here:

Okay yes the picture quality has changed because my copy of the movie had some problems. But note how they’re drawn. It’s because we’ve suddenly changed animators halfway through the movie.

This is probably my favorite part so far, though, when Genie’s not taking the hint that Aladdin and Jasmine want everybody to go away so they can make out:

Because THIS happens:

Iago is the only person in this scene with half a brain who understands the hints being dropped.

And he chases them off. This shows kind of the role that he’ll play in the show, to an extent, in that yes, he remains loud and obnoxious as ever, but usually, he’s one of the first to figure things out. In fact, if there’s something going on that the Genie for whatever reason DOESN’T understand, he usually does.

In this case, he knows when it’s time to make oneself scarce.

Wat.

This monkey understands how I feel.

Can I reiterate how extremely uncomfortable it makes me that they keep making ape-like background characters, especially common the darker their skin is? What the fuck, Disney?

Jasmine you were getting anvil-sized hints that he was lying; you should be angrier at yourself for not figuring it sooner.

I had to cap this because it’s so weird to see the Sultan this angry. He is one of the most non-threatening father figures in all of creation, after Goofy.

Jasmine is upset because she thought Aladdin changed. Aladdin actually hasn’t changed. He’s consistently just the same dopey teenager he’s always been because it’s hard to grow out of those things. Especially when people consistently give you reasons to lie like your life or sense of honor depends on it.

And Iago sings again. This time a duet with Jasmine. Because y’know. That’s what this movie needed. More of that. Let me just leave you with some of my favorite visuals from that sequence:

These two will consistently look as though they are in two different movies.

Seriously.

The dissonance.

It’s almost surreal.

Iago is as over this song as I am.

Barf.

Aladdin’s still kind of a jerk, but character!

I like to imagine that the writers for the Genie’s antics imagined most of their viewers to react the same way the Sultan does.

This is Aladdin’s face when the Sultan says he has “strong moral character.”

Y’know,the guy that ~~deals blood money to the citizens of Agrabah~~ is lying his ass off.

I kind of appreciate the range of expressions we get when Genie starts to make a big deal out of the Sultan wanting to make him the new Royal Vizier. On one level, it would mean Aladdin could do something substantial about poverty in the city where he grew up in poverty. But he’s also a kid and he has shown signs more than once that he’s not really ready to settle down.

This is a conflict that will only really be touched on again at the very end of the movie, if I remember correctly.

And then of course Genie brings up Jafar and spends MORE TIME TALKING ABOUT HOW EVIL IAGO WAS THAN ABOUT JAFAR. Y’KNOW. THE GUY IN CHARGE.

I know they’re trying to drive home that Aladdin’s gotten himself into trouble, but this is too much.

They’ll call iago a “traitor” but that’s never said about Jafar in this movie. THEY CARE MORE ABOUT A FUCKING BIRD THAN THEY DO ABOUT THE GUY WHO WAS BEHIND EVERYTHING.

Sultan, I don’t know if you realize this but birds don’t swear fealty to you.

And at last, Jafar.

Almost halfway through this movie and we only just now get to Jafar getting out of the lamp. And his name’s on the cover.

But first more foolishness with Abis Mal and his entourage, who decide as one that they’re going to kill him. “No witnesses.” As though he’s not a wanted criminal who’d be dead if he were caught anyway.

What struck me as the most odd in this scene was Mal ranting about suing the owner of the well because the lamp fell on his head. I think that might be Jason Alexander’s other characters bleeding through.

Of course he rubs it and out comes Jafar, scaring his would-be murderers and their RED EYED DEMON HORSES into the desert:

Much as I hate Mahl, I love this face:

There is something about this animation. I can say with some certainty that this team of animators only worked on some of the episodes in the show, or their technique evolved overtime. There is something odd about it, especially the proportions on the Genie and how his jaw doesn’t seem to be attached to the rest of his skull. But they draw some great expressions. (Stylistically I’m pretty sure the same animators who worked on DuckTales: Treasure of the Lost Lamp also worked on this film. Certain expressions, like this one, are way too similar.)

Anyway, Jafar:

He is actually posing in this one:

Goddamnit, Jafar.

In this first sequence, at least, the animation on him is pretty well done, if a bit overexaggerated at times, but then that’s the design, too. Even when he takes his more human form.

I also just like watching him torment this character that I intensely dislike.

I also actually kind of like their interactions, here, probably because it reminds me so much of Abis Mal’s interactions with Haroud in the series. (Haroud is the only good part of most Abis Mal episodes, which will be discussed when he comes up. Haroud serves as the avatar of most viewers who don’t like Abis Mal episodes, just kind of quietly suffering through it, tight-lipped and annoyed as Hell while waiting for Gargoyles to come on.)

I’d be willing to bet that the writers liked their interactions a lot too, and that was why Haroud was created. Mal works best when he has someone smarter than he is, passive-aggressively undercutting him all the time. Frequently, it saves his life.

You tried, Dan Castellaneta.

Get ready for a whole lot of nonsense.

Which I’m going to try to balance out with some worthwhile commentary.

I think it was the Nostalgia Chick who said that it is not easy to take on a role like this, where you’re essentially told to be another actor. In this case, “Be Robin Williams.”

AM I ROBIN WILLIAMS YET?

That’s a tall order for anyone. I let this guy slide as far as the character consistency goes, probably because I grew up watching the TV show and saw more of a character in Dan Castellaneta’s Genie than Robin Williams’ Genie. Because, y’know. An entire series gives you way more room to explore conflict and growth and such. And despite being a running modern-pop-culture-references machine, the Genie DOES get to develop some in the series, and even starts to here when he has to deal with being only slightly as powerful as he was before he was bound to the lamp. So again, I let the character differences slide. Dan C gets a chance to make the character his own.

Oh, apparently we’re singing again.

This song is okay. It’s not spectacular but the people behind the direct-to-video sequels were pretty hit and miss when it came to music. This song “There is Nothing in the World Quite Like a Friend,” deserves some distinction because as “meh” as it is, by virtue of its chorus, it’s probably the most catchy and melodic of the offerings in this film.

It goes from a general sound that’s a clear imitation of Friend Like Me, and then in the chorus slips into something almost sweet. I really think they were on to something and the song just needed to cook more.

It’s the song that stuck with me when I was a kid, and I remember looking forward to hearing it whenever it came up.

But yeah, beyond that the visuals are well-animated, but pretty disorganized because Genie has a lot of references to make and only about 2 minutes to do it.

Also, suddenly it’s nighttime:

Those last two frames were back to back.

Jasmine how much more obvious does it need to be that he’s lying to you?

Jasmine is made deliberately unintelligent in this movie so far. Not only does she seem to think Aladdin bought that jeweled flower for her (with what money, Jasmine? WHY DON’T YOU EVER SEEM TO KNOW WHAT MONEY IS?), but a lie she would have seen through in about a millisecond in the first movie is totally legit for her here:

Come on, even the monkey knows he’s full of shit. Look at this totally vacant expression she has. And Aladdin isn’t even trying as hard to look not guilty, look at the facial acrobatics he goes through:

Jasmine you are looking right at him how can you not tell he’s lying through his teeth. I know you’ve only had one boyfriend but this is ridiculous. You were smarter in the last movie. What happened to you?

“Help usssss.”

Aladdin what the Hell is this face you’re making 😐

The bird is the most capable character in this movie.

Iago has learned that living outside like all the normal birds just isn’t for him anymore.

His proposed solution is to find a way to get back into the palace. This means kissing up to this possible asshole:

(Aladdin, who in this scene is proposing to Abu that they go and see what the “common folk” get up to. I know he’s just pretending to be an asshole right now, but geez, Aladdin. You’re kind of an asshole.)

Iago’s attempts to garner pity go about as well as you think they would. Aladdin pretty much tries to pummel him to dust before he can get five words out. Even lying and saying he was mesmerized doesn’t seem to work, and then these guys show up again:

They are so done with your shit, Abis Mal.

Because this is a group led by a man who makes Swiper from Dora the Explorer look like a criminal mastermind, you shouldn’t be surprised that Iago pretty much single-handedly sends them packing.

Realizing he’s unintentionally saved Aladdin’s life, he decides to call in a favor. Which is probably a good thing because I have no idea where this was going to lead otherwise:

Aladdin says he’ll talk to the Sultan on his behalf and throws him in a birdcage on the palace grounds. Iago is understandably dubious, and with this feat of writing consistency that (with the exception of the third Aladdin film and the Kim Possible movies) will pretty much never happen again, I have to admire the writers for actually watching the original movie and remembering exactly why leaving Iago’s fate up to the Sultan would be a bad idea. Considering the bird sort of helped Jafar torture him and all.

In most all cases, this movie is good for that. Character motivations change and evolve in a fluid manner.

…Except Jasmine appears to have lost several brain cells between movies. More on this in the next post.

Reaction to Gilbert Gottfried’s Real Voice: A Conversation

Friend: OH MY GOD HIS REAL VOICE.
Me: I KNOW RITE?
Friend: I WOULD SLEEP WITH THE OWNER OF THAT VOICE.
Me: THE OWNER OF THAT VOICE IS GILBERT GOTTFRIED.
Friend: NOOOOO.

Aladdin Might Be An Asshole, Part 2

So Aladdin ~~takes the loot back to the people who were robbed~~ returns to Agrabah.

And just as Abu is prepared to enjoy their wonderful spoils (because shiny), Aladdin takes the loot and drops it down on the people below.

Because gold and jewels aren’t heavy or anything.

“We’re not the ones who need it,” he explains.

This is a nice sentiment and everything but how about the people who were robbed? Probably violently? Hello?

Are you listening?

Fuck the 1%!

I understand. He’s feeding children. It’s not like he can’t do this by more legitimate means. Like telling his girlfriend’s father that there’s a poverty problem in his city. OH WAIT.

We can’t assume these are the people that were robbed. He would have said “we need to give this back to who it belongs to.” He would not have expressed that someone needed it more. This is stolen loot.

But he’s giving to the poor! So much conflict. So selfless –

Except for when he wants to impress his girlfriend. This screenshot perfectly encapsulates his douchery.

I bet you thought I was joking.

Like you wear the same thing every day, Aladdin.

But yes. Aladdin might be an asshole.