Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', ,
ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a
Middle-Eastern
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (European ...
folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with
''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of the original text; it was added by the Frenchman
Antoine Galland
Antoine Galland (; 4 April 1646 – 17 February 1715) was a French orientalist and archaeologist, most famous as the first European translator of '' One Thousand and One Nights'', which he called ''Les mille et une nuits''. His version of the t ...
, based on a folk tale that he heard from the Syrian
Maronite
The Maronites ( ar, الموارنة; syr, ܡܖ̈ܘܢܝܐ) are a Christian ethnoreligious group native to the Eastern Mediterranean and Levant region of the Middle East, whose members traditionally belong to the Maronite Church, with the larges ...
storyteller
Hanna Diyab
Antun Yusuf Hanna Diyab ( ar, اَنْطون يوسُف حَنّا دِياب, Anṭūn Yūsuf Ḥannā Diyāb; born ''circa'' 1688) was a Syrian Maronite writer and storyteller. He is the origin of the famous tales of '' Aladdin'' and ''Ali Baba ...
.
[Razzaque (2017)]
Sources
Known along with
Ali Baba
"Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" ( ar, علي بابا والأربعون لصا) is a folk tale from the '' One Thousand and One Nights''. It was added to the collection in the 18th century by its French translator Antoine Galland, who hear ...
as one of the "orphan tales", the story was not part of the original ''Nights'' collection and has no authentic Arabic textual source, but was incorporated into the book ''
Les mille et une nuits
''Les mille et une nuits, contes arabes traduits en français'' ("The Thousand and One Nights, Arab stories translated into French"), published in 12 volumes between 1704 and 1717, was the first European version of ''The Thousand and One Nights' ...
'' by its
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
translator,
Antoine Galland
Antoine Galland (; 4 April 1646 – 17 February 1715) was a French orientalist and archaeologist, most famous as the first European translator of '' One Thousand and One Nights'', which he called ''Les mille et une nuits''. His version of the t ...
.
John Payne quotes passages from Galland's unpublished diary: recording Galland's encounter with a
Maronite
The Maronites ( ar, الموارنة; syr, ܡܖ̈ܘܢܝܐ) are a Christian ethnoreligious group native to the Eastern Mediterranean and Levant region of the Middle East, whose members traditionally belong to the Maronite Church, with the larges ...
storyteller from
Aleppo
)), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black".
, motto =
, image_map =
, mapsize =
, map_caption =
, image_map1 =
...
,
Hanna Diyab
Antun Yusuf Hanna Diyab ( ar, اَنْطون يوسُف حَنّا دِياب, Anṭūn Yūsuf Ḥannā Diyāb; born ''circa'' 1688) was a Syrian Maronite writer and storyteller. He is the origin of the famous tales of '' Aladdin'' and ''Ali Baba ...
.
According to Galland's diary, he met with Hanna, who had travelled from Aleppo to
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
with celebrated French traveller
Paul Lucas, on March 25, 1709. Galland's diary further reports that his transcription of "Aladdin" for publication occurred in the winter of 1709–10. It was included in his volumes ix and x of the ''Nights'', published in 1710, without any mention or published acknowledgment of Hanna's contribution.
Payne also records the discovery in the
Bibliothèque Nationale
A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...
in Paris of two
Arabic manuscripts
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
containing ''Aladdin'' (with two more of the "interpolated" tales). One was written by a Syrian Christian priest living in Paris, named
Dionysios Shawish
Dom Denis Chavis (as he was known in French) or Dīyūnisūs Shāwīsh (as he called himself in his native language, ar, ديونيسوس شاويش) was a Syrian priest and monk who flourished in the 1780s. He was a key contributor to the version ...
, alias Dom Denis Chavis. The other is supposed to be a copy Mikhail Sabbagh made of a manuscript written in
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
in 1703. It was purchased by the Bibliothèque Nationale at the end of the nineteenth century.
[Payne (1901) pp. 13-15] As part of his work on the first critical edition of the ''Nights'',
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
's
Muhsin Mahdi Muḥsin Sayyid Mahdī al-Mashhadani ( ar, محسن مهدي; cited Muhsin S. Mahdi) (June 21, 1926 – July 9, 2007) was an Iraqi-American islamology, Islamologist and Arabist. He was a leading authority on Arabian history, philology, and philosop ...
has shown that both these manuscripts are "back-translations" of Galland's text into Arabic.
[Mahdi (1994) pp. 51-71]
Ruth B. Bottigheimer and Paulo Lemos Horta
have argued that Hanna Diyab should be understood as the original author of some of the stories he supplied, and even that several of Diyab's stories (including ''Aladdin'') were partly inspired by Diyab's own life, as there are parallels with his autobiography.
Plot summary
The story is often retold with variations. The following is a précis of the Burton translation of 1885.
[Burton (2009) pp. 1 ff]
Aladdin is an impoverished young ne'er-do-well, dwelling in "one of the cities of China". He is recruited by a
sorcerer from the
Maghreb
The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...
, who passes himself off as the brother of Aladdin's late father, ''Mustapha the
tailor
A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century.
History
Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...
'', convincing Aladdin and his mother of his good will by pretending to set up the lad as a wealthy merchant. The sorcerer's real motive is to persuade young Aladdin to retrieve a wonderful
oil lamp
An oil lamp is a lamp used to produce light continuously for a period of time using an oil-based fuel source. The use of oil lamps began thousands of years ago and continues to this day, although their use is less common in modern times. Th ...
(chirag) from a
booby-trapped
A booby trap is a device or setup that is intended to kill, harm or surprise a human or another animal. It is triggered by the presence or actions of the victim and sometimes has some form of bait designed to lure the victim towards it. The trap m ...
magic cave. After the sorcerer attempts to double-cross him, Aladdin finds himself trapped in the cave. Aladdin is still wearing a
magic ring
A magic ring is a mythical, folkloric or fictional piece of jewelry, usually a Ring (jewellery), finger ring, that is purported to have Magic (supernatural), supernatural properties or powers. It appears frequently in fantasy and fairy tales. M ...
the sorcerer has lent him. When he rubs his hands in despair, he inadvertently rubs the ring and a
genie
Jinn ( ar, , ') – also romanized as djinn or anglicized as genies (with the broader meaning of spirit or demon, depending on sources)
– are invisible creatures in early pre-Islamic Arabian religious systems and later in Islamic mytho ...
appears and releases him from the cave, allowing him to return to his mother while in possession of the lamp. When his mother tries to clean the lamp, so they can sell it to buy food for their supper, a second far more powerful genie appears who is bound to do the bidding of the person holding the lamp.
With the aid of the genie of the lamp, Aladdin becomes rich and powerful and marries Princess
Badroulbadour
Badroulbadour / Badr ul-Badour / Badr al-Badur ( ar, بدر البدور ', "full moon of full moons") is a princess whom Aladdin married in ''The Story of Aladdin; or, the Wonderful Lamp''. Her name uses the full moon as a metaphor for female beau ...
, the
sultan
Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...
's daughter (after magically foiling her marriage to the
vizier
A vizier (; ar, وزير, wazīr; fa, وزیر, vazīr), or wazir, is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in the near east. The Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was a ...
's son). The genie builds Aladdin and his bride a wonderful palace, far more magnificent than the sultan's.
The sorcerer hears of Aladdin's good fortune, and returns; he gets his hands on the lamp by tricking Aladdin's wife (who is unaware of the lamp's importance) by offering to exchange "new lamps for old". He orders the genie of the lamp to take the palace, along with all its contents, to his home in the Maghreb. Aladdin still has the magic ring and is able to summon the lesser genie. The genie of the ring cannot directly undo any of the magic of the genie of the lamp, but he is able to transport Aladdin to the Maghreb where, with the help of the "woman's wiles" of the princess, he recovers the lamp and slays the sorcerer, returning the palace to its proper place.
The sorcerer's more powerful and evil brother plots to destroy Aladdin for killing his brother by disguising himself as an old woman known for her healing powers. Badroulbadour falls for his disguise and commands the "woman" to stay in her palace in case of any illnesses. Aladdin is warned of this danger by the genie of the lamp and slays the impostor.
Aladdin eventually succeeds to his father-in-law's throne.
Setting
The opening sentences of the story, in both the Galland and the Burton versions, set it in "one of the cities of China".
[Plotz (2001) p. 148–149] On the other hand, there is practically nothing in the rest of the story that is inconsistent with a Middle Eastern setting. For instance, the ruler is referred to as "
Sultan
Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...
" rather than "
Emperor
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
", as in some retellings, and the people in the story are
Muslims
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...
and their conversation is filled with Muslim platitudes. A
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
merchant buys Aladdin's wares, but there is no mention of
Buddhists
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
,
Daoists
Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the ''Tao'' ...
or
Confucians
Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or a ...
.
Notably,
ethnic groups in Chinese history
Ethnic groups in Chinese history refer to various or presumed ethnicities of significance to the history of China, gathered through the study of Classical Chinese literature, Chinese and non-Chinese literary sources and inscriptions, historic ...
have long included
Muslim groups, including large populations of
Uighurs
The Uyghurs; ; ; ; zh, s=, t=, p=Wéiwú'ěr, IPA: ( ), alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central and East Asia. The Uyghu ...
, and the
Hui people
The Hui people ( zh, c=, p=Huízú, w=Hui2-tsu2, Xiao'erjing: , dng, Хуэйзў, ) are an East Asian ethnoreligious group predominantly composed of Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam. They are distributed throughout China, mainly in the ...
as well as the
Tajiks
Tajiks ( fa, تاجيک، تاجک, ''Tājīk, Tājek''; tg, Тоҷик) are a Persian-speaking Iranian ethnic group native to Central Asia, living primarily in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Tajiks are the largest ethnicity in Tajik ...
whose origins go back to
Silk Road
The Silk Road () was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and reli ...
travelers. Islamic communities have been known to exist in the region since the
Tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...
(which rose to power simultaneously with the prophet
Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
's career.) Some have suggested that the intended setting may be
Turkestan
Turkestan, also spelled Turkistan ( fa, ترکستان, Torkestân, lit=Land of the Turks), is a historical region in Central Asia corresponding to the regions of Transoxiana and Xinjiang.
Overview
Known as Turan to the Persians, western Turke ...
(encompassing
Central Asia
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...
and the modern-day Chinese autonomous region of
Xinjiang
Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...
in
Western China
Western China (, or rarely ) is the west of China. In the definition of the Chinese government, Western China covers one municipality (Chongqing), six provinces (Sichuan
Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively r ...
).
[Moon (2005) p. 23]
For all this, speculation about a "real" Chinese setting depends on a knowledge of China that the teller of a folk tale (as opposed to a geographic expert) might well not possess.
[Honour (1973) - Section I "The Imaginary Continent"] In early Arabic usage, China is known to have been used in an abstract sense to designate an exotic, faraway land.
Motifs and variants
Tale type
The story of Aladdin is classified in the
Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index
The Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index (ATU Index) is a catalogue of folktale types used in folklore studies. The ATU Index is the product of a series of revisions and expansions by an international group of scholars: originally composed in German by ...
as tale type ATU 561, "Aladdin", after the character. In the Index, the Aladdin story is situated next to two similar tale types: ATU 560, ''The Magic Ring'', and ATU 562, ''The Spirit in the Blue Light''. All stories deal with a down-on-his-luck and impoverished boy or soldier, who finds a magical item (ring, lamp, tinderbox) that grants his wishes. In this tale type, the magical item is stolen, but eventually recovered thanks to the use of another magical object.
Distribution
Since its appearance in ''The One Thousand and One Nights'', the tale has integrated into oral tradition. Scholars Ton Deker and Theo Meder located variants across Europe and the Middle East.
An
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
n variant has been attested, titled ''The Magic Lamp'' and collected among the
Santal people
The Santal or Santhal are an Austroasiatic speaking
Munda ethnic group in South Asia. Santals are the largest tribe in the Jharkhand and West Bengal state of India in terms of population and are also found in the states of Odisha, Bihar and A ...
.
Adaptations
Adaptations vary in their faithfulness to the original story. In particular, difficulties with the Chinese setting are sometimes resolved by giving the story a more typical ''Arabian Nights'' background.
Books
* One of the many literary retellings of the tale appears in ''A Book of Wizards'' (1966) and ''
A Choice of Magic
''A Choice of Magic'' is a 1971 anthology of 32 fairy tales from around the world that have been collected and retold by Ruth Manning-Sanders. In fact, the book is mostly a collection of tales published in previous Manning-Sanders anthologies. ...
'' (1971), by
Ruth Manning-Sanders
Ruth Manning-Sanders (21 August 1886 – 12 October 1988) was an English poet and author born in Wales, known for a series of children's books for which she collected and related fairy tales worldwide. She published over 90 books in her lifetime ...
. Another is the early Penguin version for children, ''Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp'', illustrated by John Harwood with many Chinese details: the translator or re-teller is not acknowledged: this was a "Porpoise" imprint printed in 1947 and released in 1948.
* ''Aladdin: Master of the Lamp'' (1992), edited by
Mike Resnick
Michael Diamond Resnick (; March 5, 1942 – January 9, 2020) was an American science fiction writer and editor. He won five Hugo awards and a Nebula award, and was the guest of honor at Chicon 7. He was the executive editor of the defunct ...
and
Martin H. Greenberg
Martin Harry Greenberg (March 1, 1941 – June 25, 2011) was an American academic and anthologist in many genres, including mysteries and horror, but especially in speculative fiction. In all, he compiled 1,298 anthologies and commissioned ov ...
, is an anthology containing 43 original short stories inspired by the tale.
* "The Nobility of Faith" by
Jonathan Clements
Jonathan Michael Clements (born 9 July 1971) is a British author and scriptwriter. His non-fiction works include biographies of Confucius, Koxinga and Qin Shi Huang, as well as monthly opinion columns for '' Neo'' magazine. He is also the co-aut ...
in the anthology ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
Short Trips: The Ghosts of Christmas'' (2007) is a retelling of the Aladdin story in the style of the Arabian Nights, but featuring the Doctor in the role of the genie.
Comics
Western comics
* In 1962 the Italian branch of
Walt Disney Productions
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
published the story ''Paperino e la grotta di Aladino'' (''Donald and Aladdin's Cave''), written by Osvaldo Pavese and drawn by
Pier Lorenzo De Vita
Pier Lorenzo De Vita (21 November 1909 – 7 April 1990) was an Italian comic book artist.
Life and career
Born in Castiglione Olona, De Vita made his professional debut in 1934 in the magazine ''Jumbo (magazine), Jumbo''. In 1936 he started colla ...
. As in many
pantomime
Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...
s, the plot is combined with elements of the
Ali Baba
"Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" ( ar, علي بابا والأربعون لصا) is a folk tale from the '' One Thousand and One Nights''. It was added to the collection in the 18th century by its French translator Antoine Galland, who hear ...
story:
Uncle Scrooge
''Uncle Scrooge'' (stylized as ''Uncle $crooge'') is a Disney comic book series starring Scrooge McDuck ("the richest duck in the world"), his nephew Donald Duck, and grandnephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie, and revolving around their adventures in Du ...
leads
Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Donald is known fo ...
and their
nephews
In the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a niece or nephew is a child of the subject's sibling or sibling-in-law. The converse relationship, the relationship from the niece or nephew's perspective, is that of an ...
on an expedition to find the treasure of Aladdin and they encounter the Middle Eastern counterparts of the
Beagle Boys
The Beagle Boys are a group of cartoon characters created in 1951 by Carl Barks for the Donald Duck universe. They are a family clan of Organized crime, organized criminals who constantly try to rob Scrooge McDuck. Their introduction and first a ...
. Scrooge describes Aladdin as a
brigand
Brigandage is the life and practice of highway robbery and plunder. It is practiced by a brigand, a person who usually lives in a gang and lives by pillage and robbery.Oxford English Dictionary second edition, 1989. "Brigand.2" first recorded usa ...
who used the legend of the lamp to cover the origins of his ill-gotten gains. They find the cave holding the treasure—blocked by a huge rock requiring a magic password ("open sesame") to open.
* The original version of the comic book character
Green Lantern
Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, ...
was partly inspired by the Aladdin myth; the protagonist discovers a "lantern-shaped power source and a 'power ring which gives him power to create and control matter.
** In the ''
Elseworlds
''Elseworlds'' was the publication imprint (trade name), imprint for American comic books produced by DC Comics for stories that took place outside the DC Universe Canon (fictional), canon. Elseworlds publications are set in alternate realitie ...
'' series, there was even a story that combined the Green Lantern mythos with that of Aladdin called ''
Green Lantern: 1001 Emerald Nights''.
Manga
* The Japanese
manga
Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
series ''
Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic'' is not a direct adaptation, but features Aladdin as the main character of the story and includes many characters from other ''One Thousand and One Nights'' stories. An adaptation of this comic to an
anime
is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
television series was made in October 2012 in which Aladdin is voiced by
Kaori Ishihara
is a Japanese voice actress and singer managed by Style Cube. She was formerly part of Up-Front Agency in which she was involved with Happy! Style and Team Dekaris. She was affiliated with Sigma Seven from 2013 to 2017. She was a member of Styl ...
in Japanese and
Erica Mendez
Erica Mendez is an American voice actress who has voiced in English dubs for Funimation, Bang Zoom! and Studiopolis. She studied graphic design in college for three years prior to becoming a voice actress.
Career
Mendez's first major voice r ...
in English.
Pantomimes
* In the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, the story of Aladdin was dramatised in 1788 by
John O'Keefe for the
Theatre Royal, Covent Garden
The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Ope ...
.
[Witchard (2017)] It has been a popular subject for
pantomime
Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...
for over 200 years.
* The traditional Aladdin pantomime is the source of the well-known pantomime character
Widow Twankey
Widow Twankey (originally Twankay, sometimes Twanky) is a female character in the pantomime ''Aladdin''. She is a pantomime dame, played by an older man.
History
The story of Aladdin is drawn from the ''Arabian Nights'', a collection of Middle- ...
(Aladdin's mother). In pantomime versions, changes in the setting and story are often made to fit it better into "China" (albeit a China situated in the
East End of London
The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...
rather than medieval
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
), and elements of other Arabian Nights tales (in particular
Ali Baba
"Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" ( ar, علي بابا والأربعون لصا) is a folk tale from the '' One Thousand and One Nights''. It was added to the collection in the 18th century by its French translator Antoine Galland, who hear ...
) are often introduced into the plot. One version of the "pantomime Aladdin" is
Sandy Wilson
Alexander Galbraith "Sandy" Wilson (19 May 1924 – 27 August 2014) was an English composer and lyricist, best known for his musical '' The Boy Friend'' (1953).
Biography
Wilson was born in Sale, Cheshire, England, and was educated at Harrow ...
's
musical
Musical is the adjective of music.
Musical may also refer to:
* Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance
* Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...
''
Aladdin
Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of ...
'', from 1979.
* Since the early 1990s, Aladdin pantomimes have tended to be influenced by
the Disney animation. For instance, the 2007/8 production at the
Birmingham Hippodrome
The Birmingham Hippodrome is a theatre situated on Hurst Street in the Chinese Quarter of Birmingham, England.
Although best known as the home stage of the Birmingham Royal Ballet, it also hosts a wide variety of other performances including vi ...
starring
John Barrowman
John Scot Barrowman (born 11 March 1967) is a Scottish-American actor, author, presenter, singer and comic book writer. He is known for his role as Captain Jack Harkness in '' Doctor Who'' and ''Torchwood'', and as Malcolm Merlyn in the Arrow ...
featured songs from the Disney movies ''Aladdin'' and ''
Mulan
Hua Mulan () is a legendary folk heroine from the Northern and Southern dynasties era (4th to 6th century CE) of Chinese history.
According to legend, Mulan took her aged father's place in the conscription for the army by disguising herself as ...
''.
Other musical theatre
* ''
The New Aladdin
''The New Aladdin'' is an Edwardian musical comedy in two acts by James T. Tanner and W. H. Risque, with music by Ivan Caryll, Lionel Monckton, and additional numbers by Frank E. Tours, and lyrics by Adrian Ross, Percy Greenbank, W. H. Risque, ...
'' was a successful
Edwardian musical comedy
Edwardian musical comedy was a form of British musical theatre that extended beyond the reign of King Edward VII in both directions, beginning in the early 1890s, when the Gilbert and Sullivan operas' dominance had ended, until the rise of the A ...
in 1906.
*
Adam Oehlenschläger
Adam Gottlob Oehlenschläger (14 November 177920 January 1850) was a Danish poet and playwright. He introduced romanticism into Danish literature. He wrote the lyrics to the song ''Der er et yndigt land'', which is one of the national anthems ...
wrote
his verse drama ''Aladdin'' in 1805.
Carl Nielsen
Carl August Nielsen (; 9 June 1865 – 3 October 1931) was a Danish composer, conductor and violinist, widely recognized as his country's most prominent composer.
Brought up by poor yet musically talented parents on the island of Funen, he ...
wrote
incidental music
Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, or some other presentation form that is not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as t ...
for this play in 1918–19.
Ferruccio Busoni
Ferruccio Busoni (1 April 1866 – 27 July 1924) was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor, editor, writer, and teacher. His international career and reputation led him to work closely with many of the leading musicians, artists and literary ...
set some verses from the last scene of Oehlenschläger's ''Aladdin'' in the last movement of his
Piano Concerto, Op. 39.
* In 1958,
a musical comedy version of Aladdin was written especially for US television with a book by
S. J. Perelman
Sidney Joseph Perelman (February 1, 1904 – October 17, 1979) was an American humorist and screenwriter. He is best known for his humorous short pieces written over many years for ''The New Yorker''. He also wrote for several other magazines, ...
and music and lyrics by
Cole Porter
Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film.
Born to ...
. A
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
stage production followed in 1959 in which a 30-year-old
Bob Monkhouse
Robert Alan Monkhouse (1 June 1928 – 29 December 2003) was an English comedian, writer and actor. He was the host of television game shows including ''The Golden Shot'', ''Celebrity Squares'', ''Family Fortunes'' and '' ''Wipeout'.
Early ...
played the part of Aladdin at the
Coliseum Theatre
The London Coliseum (also known as the Coliseum Theatre) is a theatre in St Martin's Lane, Westminster, built as one of London's largest and most luxurious "family" variety theatres. Opened on 24 December 1904 as the London Coliseum Theatre o ...
.
* ''Aladdin''; Prince Street Players version; book by Jim Eiler; Music by Jim Eiler and Jeanne Bargy; Lyrics by Jim Eiler.
* Broadway Junior has released ''
Aladdin Jr.
''Aladdin Jr.'' is a one-act, eleven-scene theatre musical adapted from the 1992 Walt Disney Animation Studios film ''Aladdin'' which is an adaptation of the folk tale ''Aladdin''. The production runs between 60 and 80 minutes and includes five fe ...
'', a children's musical based on the music and screenplay of the Disney animation.
* The
Disney's Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular musical stage show ran in
Disney California Adventure
Disney California Adventure Park, commonly referred to as California Adventure or by its acronym DCA, is a theme park located at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Park ...
from January 2003 to January 10, 2016.
*
StarKid Productions
StarKid Productions, also known as Team StarKid, is an American musical theatre company founded in 2009 at the University of Michigan by Darren Criss, Brian Holden, Matt Lang, and Nick Lang. Originally known for the viral success of their fi ...
released the musical "
Twisted" on YouTube in 2013, a parody of the 1992 Disney film that is told from the royal vizier's point of view.
* A
Disney Theatrical Production of ''
Aladdin
Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of ...
'' opened in 2011 in Seattle, in Toronto in 2013, and on Broadway at the
New Amsterdam Theatre
The New Amsterdam Theatre is a Broadway theater on 214 West 42nd Street, at the southern end of Times Square, in the Theater District of Manhattan in New York City. One of the oldest surviving Broadway venues, the New Amsterdam was built from ...
on March 20, 2014.
Theatrical films
Animation: Europe and Asia
* The 1926 animated film ''
The Adventures of Prince Achmed
''The Adventures of Prince Achmed'' (known as ''Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed'' in German language, German) is a 1926 German Animation, animated Fairy tale, fairytale film by Lotte Reiniger. It is the oldest surviving animated feature film; ...
'' (the earliest surviving animated feature film) combined the story of Aladdin with that of the prince. In this version the princess Aladdin pursues is Achmed's sister and the sorcerer is his rival for her hand. The sorcerer steals the castle and the princess through his own magic and then sets a monster to attack Aladdin, from which Achmed rescues him. Achmed then informs Aladdin he requires the lamp to rescue his own intended wife, Princess Pari Banou, from the demons of the Island of Wak Wak. They convince the Witch of the Fiery Mountain to defeat the sorcerer, and then all three heroes join forces to battle the demons.
* The animated feature ''
Aladdin et la lampe merveilleuse'' by Film Jean Image was released in 1970 in France. The story contains many of the original elements of the story as compared to the Disney version.
*''
A Thousand and One Nights'' is a 1969
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
ese
adult
An adult is a human or other animal that has reached full growth. In human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social and legal concepts. In contrast to a " minor", a legal adult is a person who has attained the age of major ...
anime
is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
feature film
A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...
directed by
Eiichi Yamamoto
was a Japanese film director and screenwriter of anime. He is known for directing the Animerama film series conceived by Osamu Tezuka. Yamamoto directed ten films between 1962 and 1986. His 1973 film ''Kanashimi no Belladonna'' was entered into ...
, conceived by
Osamu Tezuka
Osamu Tezuka (, born , ''Tezuka Osamu''; – 9 February 1989) was a Japanese manga artist, cartoonist, and animator. Born in Osaka Prefecture, his prolific output, pioneering techniques, and innovative redefinitions of genres earned him such ...
. The film is a first part of
Mushi Production
or Mushi Pro for short, is a Japanese animation studio headquartered in Fujimidai, Nerima, Tokyo, Japan. It previously had a headquarters elsewhere in Nerima.
The studio was headed by manga artist Osamu Tezuka. Tezuka started it as a rivalry wit ...
's ''
Animerama
is a trilogy of thematically related adult anime feature films originally conceived and initiated by Osamu Tezuka and made at his Mushi Production animation studio from the late 1960s to early 1970s.
As well as the erotic themes, they are al ...
'', a series of films aimed at an adult audience.
*An elderly version of Aladdin appears as a protagonist in the 1975 anime series ''
Arabian Nights: Sinbad's Adventures''.
* ''
Aladdin and the Magic Lamp
Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of ...
'' was a rendition in Japanese directed by Yoshikatsu Kasai, produced in Japan by
Toei Animation
() is a Japanese animation studio primarily controlled by its namesake Toei Company. It has produced numerous series, including ''Sally the Witch,'' ''GeGeGe no Kitarō,'' ''Mazinger Z'', ''Galaxy Express 999'', ''Cutie Honey'', ''Dr. Slump'', ' ...
and released in the United States by
The Samuel Goldwyn Company
The Samuel Goldwyn Company was an American independent film company founded by Samuel Goldwyn Jr., the son of the famous Hollywood mogul, Samuel Goldwyn, in 1978.
Background
The company originally distributed and acquired art-house films from ...
in 1982.
* ''
Son of Aladdin
''Son of Aladdin'' is a 2003 Indian animated film based on the life of the Aladdin written and directed by Singeetam Srinivasa Rao. Produced by Pentamedia Graphics, the film had 1100 shots and 125 characters. The film won ''Special Mention in the ...
'' is a 2003 Indian
3D-animated fantasy-adventure film by
Singeetam Srinivasa Rao
Singeetam Srinivasa Rao (born 21 September 1931), commonly known as Singeetam, is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer, composer, and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the most versatile directors of India. He is credited with hav ...
, produced by
Pentamedia Graphics
Pentamedia Graphics, formerly known as Pentafour Software, is a software and digital media company based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. The main activities are projects, products, consultancy and training in software and digital media.
The compan ...
. It follows the adventures of the son of Aladdin and his fight with an evil sorcerer.
Animation: USA
* In the 1934 short film, ''
Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp'', Aladdin is a child laborer who finds a magic lamp and uses it to become a princ
IMDb* In the 1938 animated film ''
Have You Got Any Castles?'', Aladdin makes a brief appearance asking for help but gets punched by one of the Three Musketeers.
* ''
Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp
''Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp'' is a two-reel animated cartoon short subject in the '' Popeye Color Specials'' series, produced in Technicolor and released to theaters on April 7, 1939, by Paramount Pictures. It was produced by Max Fleischer, a ...
'' is a 1939 ''
Popeye the Sailor
Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar.[cartoon
A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images ...](_blank)
.
* The 1959 animated film ''
1001 Arabian Nights
''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...
'' starring
Mr. Magoo as Aladdin's uncle and produced by
UPA.
*''
Aladdin
Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of ...
'' is a 48-minute
animated film
Animation is a method by which image, still figures are manipulated to appear as Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent cel, celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited ...
based on the classic ''
Arabian Nights
''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...
'' story "
Aladdin and the magic lamp
Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of ...
", translated by
Antoine Galland
Antoine Galland (; 4 April 1646 – 17 February 1715) was a French orientalist and archaeologist, most famous as the first European translator of '' One Thousand and One Nights'', which he called ''Les mille et une nuits''. His version of the t ...
. ''Aladdin'' was produced by
Golden Films
Golden Films is an American production studio founded in 1994 by Diane Eskenazi, previously known as American Film Investment Corporation. The studio has produced a variety of animated films. The company's most notorious films were part of the ...
and the American Film Investment Corporation. Like all other Golden Films productions, the film featured a single theme song, "Rub the Lamp", written and composed by Richard Hurwitz and John Arrias. It was released directly to video on April 27, 1992 by
GoodTimes Home Video
GoodTimes Entertainment, Ltd. was an American home video company that originated in 1984 under the name of GoodTimes Home Video. Though it produced its own titles, the company was well known due to its distribution of media from third parties and ...
(months before Disney's version was released) and was reissued on DVD in 2002 as part of the distributor's Collectible Classics line of products.
* ''
Aladdin
Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of ...
'', the 1992 animated feature by
Walt Disney Feature Animation
Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS), sometimes shortened to Disney Animation, is an American animation studio that creates animated features and short films for The Walt Disney Company. The studio's current production logo features a scene fro ...
(currently the best-known retelling of the story). In this version several characters are renamed or amalgamated. For instance the Sorcerer and the Sultan's vizier were combined into one character named
Jafar while the Princess is renamed
Jasmine
Jasmine ( taxonomic name: ''Jasminum''; , ) is a genus of shrubs and vines in the olive family (Oleaceae). It contains around 200 species native to tropical and warm temperate regions of Eurasia, Africa, and Oceania. Jasmines are widely cultiva ...
. They have new motivations for their actions. The
Genie of the Lamp only grants three wishes and desires freedom from his role. A sentient
magic carpet
A magic carpet, also called a flying carpet, is a legendary carpet and common trope in fantasy fiction. It is typically used as a form of transportation and can quickly or instantaneously carry its users to their destination.
In literature
One o ...
replaces the ring's genie while Jafar uses a royal magic ring to find Aladdin. The names "Jafar" and "Abu", the Sultan's delight in toys, and their physical appearances are borrowed from the 1940 film ''
The Thief of Bagdad''. The setting is moved from China to the fictional Arabian city of Agrabah, and the structure of the plot is simplified.
** ''
The Return of Jafar
''The Return of Jafar'' (sometimes marketed as ''Aladdin: The Return of Jafar'' on re-release) is a 1994 American direct-to-video animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Television. It is the first sequel to the 1992 fi ...
'' (1994),
direct-to-video
Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...
sequel to the 1992 Walt Disney movie.
** ''
Aladdin and the King of Thieves
''Aladdin and the King of Thieves'' is a 1996 American direct-to-video animated musical fantasy adventure film produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. It is the second sequel to the 1992 film ''Aladdin'', and serves as the final chapter and ...
'' (1996), direct-to-video second and final sequel to the 1992 Walt Disney movie.
Live-action: English language films
* ''
Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp'' (1917), directed by
Chester M. Franklin
Chester Mortimer Franklin (September 1, 1889 – March 12, 1954) was an American film director and actor active mainly in the silent era. Born in San Francisco, he was the brother of Sidney A. Franklin. In the late 1910s, he co-directed wit ...
and
Sidney A. Franklin
Sidney Arnold Franklin (March 21, 1893 – May 18, 1972) was an American film director and producer. Franklin, like William C. deMille, specialized in adapting literary works or Broadway stage plays.
His brother Chester Franklin (1889–1954) a ...
and released by the
Fox Film Corporation
The Fox Film Corporation (also known as Fox Studios) was an American Independent film production studio formed by William Fox (1879–1952) in 1915, by combining his earlier Greater New York Film Rental Company and Box Office Attractions Film ...
, told the story using child actors.
It is the earliest known filmed adaptation of the story.
* The 1940 British movie ''
The Thief of Bagdad'' borrows elements of the Aladdin story, although it also departs from the original story fairly freely: for instance the genie grants only three wishes and the minor character of the Emperor's vizier is renamed
Jaffar and becomes the main villain, replacing the sorcerer from the original plot.
*''
Arabian Nights
''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...
'' is a 1942
adventure film
An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, an ...
directed by
John Rawlins and starring
Sabu,
Maria Montez
María África Gracia Vidal (6 June 1912 – 7 September 1951), known professionally as Maria Montez, was a Dominican motion picture actress who gained fame and popularity in the 1940s starring in a series of filmed-in-Technicolor costume ...
,
Jon Hall and
Leif Erickson. The film is derived from ''
The Book of One Thousand and One Nights
''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...
'' but owes more to the imagination of
Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
than the original Arabian stories. Unlike other films in the genre (''
The Thief of Bagdad''), it features no monsters or supernatural elements.
* ''
A Thousand and One Nights'' (1945) is a tongue-in-cheek Technicolor fantasy film set in the Baghdad of the One Thousand and One Nights, starring Cornel Wilde as Aladdin, Evelyn Keyes as the genie of the magic lamp, Phil Silvers as Aladdin's larcenous sidekick, and Adele Jergens as the princess Aladdin loves.
* ''
The Wonders of Aladdin
''The Wonders of Aladdin'' (Italian: ''Le meraviglie di Aladino'') is a 1961 Italian-French-American comedy fantasy film directed by Henry Levin (with second unit direction by Mario Bava—uncredited in U.S. prints but credited as sole director i ...
'' is a 1961 film directed by Mario Bava and Henry Levin and starring
Donald O'Connor
Donald David Dixon Ronald O'Connor (August 28, 1925 – September 27, 2003) was an American dancer, singer and actor. He came to fame in a series of films in which he co-starred with Gloria Jean, Peggy Ryan, and Francis the Talking Mule.
His best ...
as Aladdin. This film has a more working-class focus: Aladdin helps the prince (
Mario Girotti
Terence Hill (born Mario Girotti; 29 March 1939) is an Italian actor, film director, screenwriter and producer. He began his career as a child actor and gained international fame for starring roles in action and comedy films, many with longtim ...
) and princess (as does a
fakir
Fakir ( ar, فقیر, translit=faḳīr or ''faqīr'') is an Islamic term traditionally used for Sufi Muslim ascetics who renounce their worldly possessions and dedicate their lives to the worship of God. They do not necessarily renounce al ...
) but never becomes one and ends up in a romantic relationship with his neighbor, Djalma (
Noelle Adam
Noelle or Noëlle is the feminine form of the gender neutral name Noel. It derives from the old French Noël, "Christmas," a variant (and later a replacement) of nael, which itself derives from the Latin natalis, "birthday". Other nicknames a ...
). The genie (
Vittorio De Sica
Vittorio De Sica ( , ; 7 July 1901 – 13 November 1974) was an Italian film director and actor, a leading figure in the neorealist movement.
Four of the films he directed won Academy Awards: ''Sciuscià'' and ''Bicycle Thieves'' (honorary) ...
) can grant only three wishes (although what constitutes as a single wish is quite malleable, probably due to his sympathies with Aladdin) and shrinks with each one, which is leading to his eternal rest after 12,000 years.
* A 1998 direct-to-video movie ''A Kid in Aladdin's Palace'' directed by Robert L. Levy which is a sequel to ''
A Kid in King Arthur's Court
''A Kid in King Arthur's Court'' is a 1995 fantasy film directed by Michael Gottlieb (in his final directorial film before his death in 2014) and released by Walt Disney Pictures in association with Trimark Pictures and Tapestry Films. It is loo ...
''.
*''Adventures of Aladdin'' (2019), a
mockbuster
A mockbuster (also known as knockbuster or a drafting opportunity) is a film created to exploit the publicity of another major motion picture with a similar title or subject. Mockbusters are often made with a low budget and quick production to max ...
produced by
The Asylum
The Asylum is an American independent film company and distributor that focuses on producing low-budget, direct-to-video films. It is notorious for producing titles that capitalize on productions by major studios, often using film titles and sc ...
.
* ''
Aladdin
Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of ...
'', a
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
live-action remake of the
1992 animated film, released in 2019. It stars
Mena Massoud
Mena Mansour Massoud ( ar, مينا منصور مسعود; born September 17, 1991) is an Egyptian-born Canadian actor known for starring as the title character in the Disney fantasy film ''Aladdin'' (2019). He also starred as Jared Malik in the C ...
as the title character,
Naomi Scott
Naomi Scott (born 6 May 1993) is an English actress and singer. Born in Hounslow, she rose to prominence for her performances in the television film '' Lemonade Mouth'' (2011) and the science fiction series '' Terra Nova'' (2011). In 2015, Scree ...
as Jasmine,
Marwan Kenzari
Marwan Kenzari ( ar, مروان كنزاري; born 16 January 1983) is a Dutch actor born in The Hague, Netherlands. Starting his career in 2008, he first came to prominence for his role in the 2013 film ''Wolf'', which earned him a Golden Calf ...
as Jafar, and
Will Smith
Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his Will Smith filmography, acting career starring as Will Smith (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), a ...
as the Genie.
Live-action: Non-English language films
* ''Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp'' is a 1927
Indian silent film
The Cinema of India consists of motion pictures produced in India, which had a large effect on world cinema since the late 20th century. Major centers of film production across the country include Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Ko ...
, by Bhagwati Prasad Mishra, based on the folktale.
* ''Alladin and the Wonderful Lamp'' is a 1931 Indian silent film, adapted from the folktale, by Jal Ariah.
* ''Aladdin Aur Jadui Chirag'' (''Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp'') is a 1933 Indian
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
-language fantasy-adventure film by Jal Ariah. A remake of the 1931 film in sound.
* ''Aaj Ka Aladdin'' (''Today's Aladdin'') is a 1935 Indian Hindi-language film by Nagendra Majumdar. It is a modern retelling of the folktale.
* ''Aladdin Aur Jadui Chirag'' (''Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp'') is a 1937 Indian Hindi-language film adaptation by Navinchandra.
* ''
Aladdin Aur Jadui Chirag
''Aladdin And The Wonderful Lamp'' (Aladdin Aur Jadui Chirag) is a 1952 Indian fantasy film produced and directed by Homi Wadia. Made under the Basant Pictures banner, it had story, scenario and additional dialogue by JBH Wadia. The dialogues w ...
'' (''Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp'') is a 1952 Indian Hindi-language musical fantasy-adventure film by
Homi Wadia
Homi Wadia (22 May 1911 – 10 December 2004) was an Indian film director and producer in Bollywood (Hindi cinema). He was the co-founder of Wadia Movietone productions, established in 1933 and later after the closure of Wadiatone, he founded Ba ...
, starring
Mahipal
Mahipal (1919 -2005) was an Indian actor who worked in bollywood mostly in stunt films like ''Parasmani, Zabak, Cobra Girl, Jantar Mantar, Arabian nights themed movies such as Alibaba and 40 Thieves, Aladdin Aur Jadui Chirag, Roop Lekha, Sune ...
as Aladdin and
Meena Kumari
Meena Kumari (born Mahjabeen Bano; 1 August 1933 – 31 March 1972) was an Indian actress and poet, who worked in Hindi films. Popularly known as ''The Tragedy Queen'', she was active between 1939 and 1972. Kumari is widely considered one of ...
as
Princess Badar.
* ''
Alif-Laila'' is a 1955 Indian Hindi-language fantasy film by
K. Amarnath
K. Amarnath (1 Dec 1914 – 14 May 1983) was one of the earliest film makers of Indian Cinema. His career as a movie producer and director spanned over four decades in the film industry.
Early life
Amarnath Gelaram Khetarpal was born in Mianw ...
, Vijay Kumar portrays the character of Aladdin with actress
Nimmi
Nawab Bano (18 February 1933 – 25 March 2020), better known by her stage name Nimmi, was an Indian screen actress who achieved stardom in the 1950s and early 1960s in Hindi films. She was one of the leading actresses of the "golden era" of Hin ...
as the female
genie
Jinn ( ar, , ') – also romanized as djinn or anglicized as genies (with the broader meaning of spirit or demon, depending on sources)
– are invisible creatures in early pre-Islamic Arabian religious systems and later in Islamic mytho ...
.
* ''Chirag-e-Cheen'' (''Lamp of China'') is a 1955 Indian Hindi-language film adaptation by G.P. Pawar and C. M. Trivedi.
* ''
Alladin Ka Beta
''Alladin Ka Beta'' is a 1955 Bollywood film starring Chitra and Kammo.
Soundtrack
#"Aa Gaya Hai Waqt Maut Ka" - Mohammed Rafi
#"Bada Rangin Fasaana Hai" - Asha Bhosle, Geeta Dutt
Geeta Dutt (born Geeta Ghosh Roy Chowdhuri; 23 November ...
'' (''Son of Alladin'') is a 1955 Indian Hindi-language action film, it follows the story of the son of Alladin.
* ''
Alladin and the Wonderful Lamp'' is a 1957 Indian fantasy film by
T. R. Raghunath
Thimatchipuram Rajagopal Raghunath (16 July 1912 – 2 January 1990) was an Indian film director. He was the younger brother of film director Raja Chandrasekhar.
Career
Raghunath started his film career as an assistant director in ''Gnanasoun ...
. Based on the story of Aladdin, it was
simultaneously filmed in
Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India
*Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language
** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode
S ...
,
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
and Hindi with
Akkineni Nageshwara Rao
Akkineni Nageswara Rao (20 September 1923 – 22 January 2014), widely known as ANR, was an Indian actor and producer, known for his works majorly in Telugu cinema. He starred in many landmark films in his seventy five-year career, and became on ...
portraying the titular character.
* ''Alladdin Laila'' is a 1957 Indian Hindi-language film by Lekhraj Bhakri, starring
Mahipal
Mahipal (1919 -2005) was an Indian actor who worked in bollywood mostly in stunt films like ''Parasmani, Zabak, Cobra Girl, Jantar Mantar, Arabian nights themed movies such as Alibaba and 40 Thieves, Aladdin Aur Jadui Chirag, Roop Lekha, Sune ...
,
Lalita Pawar
Lalita Pawar (18 April 1916 – 24 February 1998) was a prolific Indian actress, who later became famous as a character actress, appearing in over 700 films in Hindi, Marathi and Gujarati cinema. She holds a Guinness world record of longest ac ...
and
Shakila
Shakila Mohseni Sedaghat ( fa, شکیلا محسنی صداقت, Šakīlā Moḥsenī Sadāqat), known mononymously as Shakila ( fa, شکیلا, Šakīlā; born May 3, 1962), is an Iranian singer-songwriter based in San Diego, California. She is ...
.
* ''
Sindbad Alibaba and Aladdin'' is a 1965 Indian Hindi-language musical fantasy-adventure film by Prem Narayan Arora. It features the three most popular characters from the Arabian Nights. Very loosely based on the original, in which the heroes get to meet and share in each other's adventures. In this version, the lamp's ''jinni'' (genie) is female and Aladdin marries her rather than the princess (she becomes a mortal woman for his sake).
* ''Main Hoon Aladdin'' (''I am Aladdin'') is a 1965 Indian Hindi-language film by Mohammed Hussain, starring
Ajit in the titular role.
* A
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
film ''
Volshebnaia Lampa Aladdina'' ("Aladdin's Magic Lamp") was released in 1966.
* A Mexican production, ''
Pepito y la Lampara Maravillosa
Pepito, the diminutive version of the Spanish name Pepe, may refer to:
* Pepito Arriola (1896–1954), Spanish child prodigy pianist and violinist
* César Tovar (1940–1994), Major League Baseball player, nicknamed "Pepito"
* ''Pepito'' (comic ...
'' was made en 1972, where comedian ''
Chabelo
Xavier López Rodríguez (born February 17, 1935), better known as "Chabelo", is a Mexican American actor, comedian, television presenter and children's music singer who has been working on television for over sixty years. "Chabelo" has particip ...
'' plays the role of the genie who grant wishes to a young kid called Pepito in 1970s Mexico City.
* ''
Adventures of Aladdin
''Adventures of Aladdin'' (Aladdin and the Magic Lamp) is a 1978 adventure fantasy film produced and directed by Homi Wadia. This was the last film produced/directed by him. The film was a Basant Pictures productions and starred Sachin, Nazneen ...
'' is a 1978 Indian Hindi-language adventure-film based on the tale, by Homi Wadia.
* ''
Allauddinum Albhutha Vilakkum
''Allauddinum Albhutha Vilakkum'' () is a 1979 Indian fantasy film directed by I. V. Sasi based on Aladdin's story from ''One Thousand and One Nights''. The film stars Kamal Haasan, Rajinikanth, Jayabharathi, Sripriya, Gemini Ganesan, Savitri ...
'' (''Aladdin and the Magic Lamp'') is a 1979 Indian adventure fantasy-drama film by
I. V. Sasi
Irruppam Veedu Sasidaran (28 March 1947 – 24 October 2017), better known as I. V. Sasi, was an Indian film director who made over 110 films predominantly in Malayalam, in addition to Tamil and Hindi languages. In 2015, he was awarded the J. ...
. It was simultaneously filmed in
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...
and Tamil with
Kamal Haasan
Kamal Haasan (born 7 November 1954) is an Indian actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, playback singer, television presenter and politician who works mainly in Tamil cinema and has also appeared in some Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Kannada and Bengali l ...
in the titular role.
* In 1986, an Italian production (under supervision of
Golan-Globus
The Cannon Group, Inc. was an American group of companies, including Cannon Films, which produced films from 1967 to 1994. The extensive group also owned, amongst others, a large international cinema chain and a video film company that invested ...
) of a modern-day Aladdin was filmed in
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
under the title ''
Superfantagenio
''Superfantagenio'' (also known as ''Aladdin'') is a 1986 Italian/American family comedy film starring Bud Spencer as the Genie and Luca Venantini as Aladdin, and with Spencer's daughter Diamy participating in a secondary role as Aladdin's love in ...
'', starring actor
Bud Spencer
Carlo Pedersoli (31 October 1929 – 27 June 2016), known professionally as Bud Spencer, was an Italian actor, professional swimmer and water polo player. He was known for action-comedy and Spaghetti Western roles with his long-time film partn ...
as the genie and his daughter Diamante as the daughter of a police sergeant.
* ''
Aladin'' is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
action film
Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...
directed by
Sujoy Ghosh
Sujoy Ghosh is an Indian film director, actor, producer, and screenwriter who works in Hindi films. He has directed ''Jhankaar Beats'' (2003), '' Home Delivery: Aapko... Ghar Tak'' (2005), '' Aladin'' (2009), ''Kahaani'' (2012), ''Kahaani 2'' (2 ...
. The film stars
Ritesh Deshmukh
Riteish Vilasrao Deshmukh (born 17 December 1978) is an Indian actor, comedian, television presenter, writer, director and film producer. He is the son of former Chief Minister of Maharashtra Vilasrao Deshmukh. He works in Hindi and Marathi cin ...
in the titular role, along with
Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan (; born as Amitabh Shrivastav; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor, film producer, television host, occasional playback singer and former politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the most succe ...
,
Jacqueline Fernandez
Jacqueline Fernandez (born 11 August 1985) is a Sri Lankan actress and model. She has worked in Indian films, predominantly in Hindi, besides appearing in reality shows and music videos. Debuting with ''Aladin'' in 2009 she has since then es ...
and
Sanjay Dutt
Sanjay Balraj Dutt (born 29 July 1959) is an Indian actor who primarily works in Hindi cinema. In a career spanning over four decades, Dutt has won several accolades and acted in over 100 films, ranging from romance to comedy genres, though u ...
.
* ''
The New Adventures of Aladdin
''The New Adventures of Aladdin'' (original title: ''Les Nouvelles Aventures d'Aladin'') is a 2015 French comedy film directed by Arthur Benzaquen and starring Kev Adams. A sequel, '' Alad'2'', was released on October 3, 2018.
Plot
On Christmas ...
'', France modern retelling of the tale of Aladdin.
** ''
Alad’2'', second sequel to the French movie ''
The New Adventures of Aladdin
''The New Adventures of Aladdin'' (original title: ''Les Nouvelles Aventures d'Aladin'') is a 2015 French comedy film directed by Arthur Benzaquen and starring Kev Adams. A sequel, '' Alad'2'', was released on October 3, 2018.
Plot
On Christmas ...
'' (2018).
* ''
Ashchorjyo Prodeep
''Aschorjyo Prodeep'' () is a 2013 Indian Bengali-language film directed by Anik Dutta. The film is based on a short story by Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay. It is Dutta's second feature film as a director. The film's theatrical trailer was released on ...
'' is a 2013 Indian
Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
-language film by
Anik Dutta
Anik DuttaSpelling according to The Times of India' is a Bengali film director who made his directorial debut in 2012 Bengali film Bhooter Bhabishyat. In 2012 he started working on a film on Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay's novel ''Aschorjo Prodip''. An ...
. This film is based on a
Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay
Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay ( bn, শীর্ষেন্দু মুখোপাধ্যায়; born 2 November 1935) is a Bengali author from India. He has written stories for both adults and children. He is known for creating the relativel ...
novel of the same name and deals with the issues of
consumerism
Consumerism is a social and economic order that encourages the acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing amounts. With the Industrial Revolution, but particularly in the 20th century, mass production led to overproduction—the supp ...
. It is a modern adaptation of Aladdin about the story of a middle-class man (played by
Saswata Chatterjee
Saswata Chatterjee (born 19 December 1970) is an Indian actor of television and films based in Kolkata. Born to actor Subhendu Chatterjee, Saswata Chatterjee began his career with a Hindi serial directed by Saibal Mitra, based on Samaresh Maju ...
) who accidentally finds a magic lamp containing a
Jinn
Jinn ( ar, , ') – also Romanization of Arabic, romanized as djinn or Anglicization, anglicized as genies (with the broader meaning of spirit or demon, depending on sources)
– are Invisibility, invisible creatures in early Arabian mytho ...
(played by
Rajatava Dutta
Rajatava Dutta (Bengali: রজতাভ দত্ত; born 11 August 1967) is an Indian actor who appears in Bengali, Hindi and English films. He is often regarded as one of the most celebrated and respected Bengali actors of his generation. O ...
).
* ''
Aladin Saha Puduma Pahana
''Aladin Saha Puduma Pahana'' ( si, ඇලඩින් සහ පුදුම පහන) is a 2018 Sri Lankan Sinhalese fantasy thriller film directed by Sumith Kumara and produced by Prasad Wijesuriya. It stars Dhananjaya Siriwardena and Udari Wa ...
'' was released in 2018 in Sri Lanka in Sinhala language.
Television
Animation: English language
*
Aladdin
Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of ...
is a 1958 musical fantasy written especially for television with a book by
S.J. Perelman
Sidney Joseph Perelman (February 1, 1904 – October 17, 1979) was an American humorist and screenwriter. He is best known for his humorous short pieces written over many years for ''The New Yorker''. He also wrote for several other magazines, ...
and music and lyrics by
Cole Porter
Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film.
Born to ...
, telecast in color on the ''
DuPont Show of the Month
''DuPont Show of the Month'' was a 90-minute television anthology series that aired monthly on CBS from 1957 to 1961. The DuPont Company also sponsored a weekly half-hour dramatic anthology series hosted by June Allyson, ''The DuPont Show with Jun ...
'' by
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...
.
* "Aladdin and the Magic Lamp", an episode of
Rabbit Ears Productions
Rabbit Ears Productions is a production company best known for producing three television series that feature individual episodes adapting popular pieces of children's literature. Rabbit Ears episodes have been released on home video, broadcast o ...
' ''We All Have Tales'' series, televised on
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
in 1991, featuring
John Hurt
Sir John Vincent Hurt (22 January 1940 – 25 January 2017) was an English actor whose career spanned over five decades. Hurt was regarded as one of Britain's finest actors. Director David Lynch described him as "simply the greatest actor in t ...
as narrator, with illustrations by Greg Couch and music by
Mickey Hart
Mickey Hart (born Michael Steven Hartman, September 11, 1943) is an American percussionist. He is best known as one of the two drummers of the rock band Grateful Dead. He was a member of the Grateful Dead from September 1967 until February 19 ...
. This version is set in
Isfahan
Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its Achaemenid empire, ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in Sassanian Empire, middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Regio ...
, Persia, and closely follows the original plot, including the origin of the sorcerer. The audiobook version was nominated for a
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
for
Best Spoken Word Album for Children in 1994.
* ''
Aladdin
Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of ...
'', an animated series produced by
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
based on their movie adaptation that ran from 1994 to 1995.
*Aladdin featured in an episode of ''
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child''. The story was set in "Ancient China", but otherwise had a tenuous connection with the original plot.
* ''
Magi
Magi (; singular magus ; from Latin ''magus'', cf. fa, مغ ) were priests in Zoroastrianism and the earlier religions of the western Iranians. The earliest known use of the word ''magi'' is in the trilingual inscription written by Darius th ...
'', Alladin, a young magi, befriends a Jin and goes adventuring with Alibaba. (2013) Japanese, English dub available
Live-action: English language
* Aladdin appeared in episode 297 of ''
Sesame Street
''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) a ...
'' performed by
Frank Oz
Frank Oz (born Frank Richard Oznowicz; May 25, 1944) is an American actor, puppeteer, and filmmaker.
He began his career as a puppeteer, performing the Muppet characters of Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, and Sam Eagle in ''The Muppet Show ...
. This version was made from a large lavender live-hand
Anything Muppet
The Muppets are an ensemble group of comedic puppet characters originally created by Jim Henson. The Muppets have appeared in multiple television series, films, and other media appearances since the 1950s. The majority of the characters listed ...
.
* A segment of the
Marty Feldman
Martin Alan Feldman (8 July 1934 – 2 December 1982) was a British actor, comedian and comedy writer. He was known for his exophthalmos, prominent, strabismus, misaligned eyes. He initially gained prominence as a writer with Barry Took on ...
episode of ''
The Muppet Show
''The Muppet Show'' is a sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and featuring the Muppets. The series originated as two pilot episodes produced by Henson for ABC in 1974 and 1975. While neither episode was moved forward as a ser ...
'' retells the story of Aladdin with
The Great Gonzo
Gonzo, also known as The Great Gonzo or Gonzo the Great, is a Muppet. Aside from his trademark enthusiasm for performance art, another defining trait of Gonzo is the ambiguity of his species, which has become a running gag in the franchise. He has ...
in the role of Aladdin and Marty Feldman playing the genie of the lamp.
* A 1967 TV movie was based on the Prince Street Players stage musical. This version is very close to the touring musical with about 15 minutes cut to be adapted into the 50 minutes tv program. It had Will B. Able as the Genii and Fred Grades as Aladdin.
* In 1986, the program ''
Faerie Tale Theatre
Faerie Tale Theatre (also known as Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre) is an American live-action fairytale fantasy drama anthology television series of 27 episodes, that originally aired on Showtime from September 11, 1982 until November 14, 19 ...
'' based an episode on the story called "
Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp
''Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp'' is a two-reel animated cartoon short subject in the '' Popeye Color Specials'' series, produced in Technicolor and released to theaters on April 7, 1939, by Paramount Pictures. It was produced by Max Fleischer, a ...
", directed by
Tim Burton
Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and animator. He is known for his gothic fantasy and horror films such as ''Beetlejuice'' (1988), ''Edward Scissorhands'' (1990), ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (1993), ...
and starring
Robert Carradine
Robert Reed Carradine ( ; born March 24, 1954) is an American actor. A member of the Carradine family, he made his first appearances on television Western series such as ''Bonanza'' and his brother David's TV series, ''Kung Fu''. Carradine's fir ...
as Aladdin and
James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones (born January 17, 1931) is an American actor. He has been described as "one of America's most distinguished and versatile" actors for his performances in film, television, and theater, and "one of the greatest actors in America ...
as both the ring Genie and the lamp Genie.
* In 1990 Disney made a direct to TV movie based on the Prince Street Players stage musical, starring Barry Bostwick.
* Aladdin features as one of five stories in the
Hallmark Entertainment
Halcyon Studios, LLC., formerly known as Sonar Entertainment, RHI Entertainment, Hallmark Entertainment, Qintex Entertainment, HRI Group and Robert Halmi Inc., is an American entertainment company specializing in the production and distribution ...
TV miniseries ''
Arabian Nights
''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...
'' in 2000, featuring
Jason Scott Lee
Jason Scott Lee (; born November 19, 1966) is an American actor and martial artist. He played Mowgli in Disney's 1994 live-action adaptation of ''The Jungle Book'' and Bruce Lee in the 1993 martial arts film '' Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story''. He ...
as Aladdin and
John Leguizamo
John Alberto Leguizamo Peláez (; ; born July 22, 196013:04) is an American actor, comedian, and film producer. He has appeared in over 100 films, produced over 20 films and documentaries, made over 30 television appearances, and has produced ...
as both of the genies.
* The characters of Aladdin, Jasmine, Jafar and the Sultan, along with Agrabah as the setting and the genie of the lamp were adapted into the
sixth season of TV series ''
Once Upon a Time
"Once upon a time" is a stock phrase used to introduce a narrative of past events, typically in fairy tales and folk tales. It has been used in some form since at least 1380 (according to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'') in storytelling in the ...
'', with Aladdin portrayed by
Deniz Akdeniz
Deniz Akdeniz (born 16 May 1990) is a Turkish Australian actor from Melbourne, Australia. He was nominated for the "Award for Best Actor" at the 2010 Inside Film Awards, for his role of "Homer" in the Australian box office hit ''Tomorrow, When t ...
, Jasmine portrayed by
Karen David
Karen Shenaz David (born 15 April 1979) is a Canadian actress, singer, and songwriter, best known for portraying Princess Isabella Maria Lucia Elizabetta of Valencia in ABC's fairytale-themed musical-comedy television series ''Galavant'', as we ...
, and Jafar portrayed by
Oded Fehr
Oded Fehr ( he, עודד פהר; born ) is an Israeli actor based in the United States. He is known for his appearance as Ardeth Bay in the 1999 remake of ''The Mummy'' and its sequel ''The Mummy Returns'', as well as Carlos Olivera in '' Reside ...
. Jafar previously appeared in the
spin-off ''
Once Upon a Time in Wonderland'', portrayed by
Naveen Andrews
Naveen William Sidney Andrews (born 17 January 1969) is a British-American actor. He is best known for his role as Sayid Jarrah in the television series ''Lost'' (2004–2010), for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and a Primetime ...
. Both were produced by ABC Television Studios and based on the Disney version of the story.
*
Syfy
Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...
released a made-for-TV horror adaptation called ''
Aladdin and the Death Lamp
Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part o ...
'' on September 15, 2012.
Live-action: Non-English language
* In ''
Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger
is a Japanese ''tokusatsu'' television series and the sixteenth installment in the long-running ''Super Sentai'' metaseries of superhero programs. Produced by Toei and Bandai, it aired on TV Asahi from February 21, 1992 to February 12, 1993, wi ...
'', the sixteenth installment of the long-running
Super Sentai
is a Japanese superhero team metaseries and media franchise consisting of television series and films produced by Toei Company, and Bandai, and aired by TV Asahi ("Sentai" is the Japanese word for "task force" or "fighting squadron"). The sho ...
metaseries
A media franchise, also known as a multimedia franchise, is a collection of related media in which several derivative works have been produced from an original creative work of fiction, such as a film, a work of literature, a television program or ...
, the Djinn (voiced by Eisuke Yoda) that appears in the eleventh episode ("My Master!" Transcription: "Goshujin-sama!" (
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
: ご主人さま!)) reveals that he was the genie from the tale of "Aladdin and the Magic Lamp", which did take place.
* The story of Aladdin was featured in ''
Alif Laila
''Alif Laila'' is an Indian television series based on the '' One Thousand and One Nights'', also known as the ''Arabian Nights''. It was produced by Sagar Arts. It was made in two seasons. The series from 1993 to 1997 for 143 episodes on DD ...
'', an Indian TV series directed by
Ramanand Sagar
Chandramauli Chopra ( ; 29 December 1917 – 12 December 2005) known professionally as Ramanand Sagar, was an Indian filmmaker, editor, playwright, poet and an author. He is best known for making the television show '' Ramayan'' (1987-1988). The ...
in 1994 and telecasted on
DD National
DD National (formerly DD1) is a state-owned public entertainment television channel in India. It is the flagship channel of Doordarshan, India's public service broadcaster, and the oldest and most widely available terrestrial television channel ...
.
* ''
Aladdin – Jaanbaaz Ek Jalwe Anek'' (2007–2009), an Indian fantasy television series based on the story of Aladdin that aired on
Zee TV
Zee TV (stylised as ZEE TV) is a Hindi general entertainment pay television channel in India. It was launched on 2 October 1992, as the first privately owned TV channel in the country. It is owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. Zee TV also ...
, starring Mandar Jadhav in the titular role of Aladdin.
* ''
Aladdin - Naam Toh Suna Hoga
Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of ...
'' (2018–2021), a live-action Indian fantasy television show on
SAB TV
Sony SAB (formerly SAB TV) is an Indian pay television channel owned by Culver Max Entertainment.
History
Sony SAB was launched as SAB TV by Gautam Adhikari and Markand Adhikari under their company Sri Adhikari Brothers (thus the acronym) on ...
starring
Siddharth Nigam
Siddharth Nigam is an Indian actor who works in Indian television and films. He is known for his role as young Sahir and Samar in ''Dhoom 3'', young Mauryan prince Ashoka in Colors TV's ''Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat'', Prince Bindusara in Sta ...
as Aladdin and
Avneet Kaur
Avneet Kaur (born 13 October 2001) is an Indian actress, dancer and model. She is known for portraying Charumati in ''Chandra Nandini'' and Princess Yasmine in ''Aladdin – Naam Toh Suna Hoga.''
Career
Kaur began her career in 2010 with ...
/
Ashi Singh
Ashi Singh is an Indian television actress. She portrayed the role of Naina Agarwal in Sony Entertainment Television's '' Yeh Un Dinon Ki Baat Hai''. In 2020, she appeared as Princess Yasmine in Sony SAB's ''Aladdin – Naam Toh Suna Hoga''. Si ...
as
Yasmine.
Video games
* A number of video games were based on the Disney movie:
** The
Genesis version (also on Amiga, MS-DOS, NES, Game Boy, and Game Boy Color) by
Virgin Games
Virgin Interactive Entertainment (later renamed Avalon Interactive) was the video game publishing division of British conglomerate the Virgin Group. It developed and published games for major platforms and employed developers, including Westwoo ...
.
** The
SNES version (also on Game Boy Advance) by
Capcom
is a Japanese video game developer and video game publisher, publisher. It has created a number of List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil' ...
.
** The
Master System version (also on Game Gear) by
SIMS
Sims, sims or SIMS may refer to:
Games
* ''The Sims'', a life simulation video game series
** ''The Sims'' (video game), the first installment, released in 2000
** ''The Sims 2'', the second installment, released in 2004
** '' The Sims 3'', th ...
.
** Th
Aladdin and the Sorcerer Slot(also on Pragmatic Play) b
Aladdin99**
Nasira's Revenge for the PlayStation and Windows by
Argonaut Games
Argonaut Games PLC was a British video game developer founded in 1982, most notable for the development of the Super NES video game ''Star Fox'' and its supporting Super FX hardware, as well as for developing '' Croc: Legend of the Gobbos'' and ...
.
** The Disney version of Aladdin appears throughout the Disney/
Square Enix
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational holding company, production enterprise and entertainment conglomerate, best known for its ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', ''Star Ocean'' and ''Kingdom Hearts'' role-playing video game ...
crossover series ''
Kingdom Hearts
is a series of action role-playing games developed and published by Square Enix (originally by Square (video game company), Square). It is a collaboration between Square Enix and The Walt Disney Company and is under the leadership of Tetsuya ...
'', with Agrabah being a visitable world.
* The video game ''
Sonic and the Secret Rings
is a 2007 platform video game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega for the Wii. A Spin-off (media), spin-off from the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series, it is the first title in the franchise for the system, and follows Sonic the Hedgehog ( ...
'' is heavily based on the story of Aladdin, and both genies appear in the story. The genie of the lamp is the main antagonist, known in the game as the Erazor Djinn, and the genie of the ring, known in the game as Shahra, appears as Sonic's sidekick and guide through the game. Furthermore, the ring genie is notably lesser than the lamp genie in the story.
* In 2010,
Anuman
Microids (formerly Microïds) is a French video game developer and Video game publisher, publisher based in Paris. Founded in 1985 by Elliot Grassiano, it attained early success with games published through Loriciel in France and other partners ...
Interactive launched ''Aladin and the Enchanted Lamp'', a
hidden object game
A hidden object game, also called hidden picture or hidden object puzzle adventure (HOPA), is a puzzle video game genre in which the player must find items from a list that are hidden within a scene. Hidden object games are a popular trend in casu ...
on PC and Mac.
* In 201
Saturn Animation Studioproduced an interactive adaptation o
The Magical Lamp of Aladdinfor mobile devices.
Pachinko
Sega Sammy
(also known as the Sega Sammy Group and generally Sega Sammy, stylized as SᴇɢᴀSammy) is a Japanese holding company formed from the merger of Sega and Sammy Corporation in 2004. Both companies are involved in the amusement industry (Sega ...
have released a line of
pachinko
is a mechanical game originating in Japan that is used as an arcade game, and much more frequently for gambling. Pachinko fills a niche in Japanese gambling comparable to that of the slot machine in the West as a form of low-stakes, low-st ...
machines based on ''Aladdin'' since 1989. Sega Sammy have sold over 570,000 ''Aladdin'' pachinko machines in Japan, .
At an average price of about $5,000,
this is equivalent to approximately in pachinko sales revenue.
Gallery
File:Robida Aladin illustration page4.jpeg, Aladdin trades the silver plates to a Jew for a piece of gold
File:Robida Aladin illustration page11.jpeg, The Sorcerer tricks a handmaiden
A handmaiden, handmaid or maidservant is a personal maid or female servant. Depending on culture or historical period, a handmaiden may be of slave status or may be simply an employee. However, the term ''handmaiden'' generally implies lowly ...
and offers "new lamps for old lamps".
File:Aladdinlookingup.jpg, Aladdin in Disney's stage show.
See also
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54521 Aladdin, asteroid
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Arabian mythology
Religion in pre-Islamic Arabia included indigenous Arabian polytheism, ancient Semitic religions, Christianity, Judaism, Mandaeism, and Iranian religions such as Zoroastrianism, and Manichaeism, and rarely Buddhism.
Arabian polytheism, the d ...
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Genies in popular culture
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The Bronze Ring
"The Bronze Ring" is the first story in ''The Blue Fairy Book'' by Andrew Lang. According to Lang's preface, this version of this fairy tale from the Middle East or Central Asia was translated and adapted from ''Traditions'' ''Populaires de l'Asie ...
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Jack and His Golden Snuff-Box
Jack and His Golden Snuff-Box is a Romani fairy tale collected by Joseph Jacobs in ''English Fairy Tales''. He listed as his source Francis Hindes Groome's ''In Gypsy Tents''.
Ruth Manning-Sanders included it in '' The Red King and the Witch: G ...
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The Tinderbox
"The Tinderbox" ( da, Fyrtøjet) is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen about a soldier who acquires a magic tinderbox capable of summoning three powerful dogs to do his bidding. When the soldier has one of the dogs transport a sle ...
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The Blue Light
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Three wishes joke
The three wishes joke (or genie joke) is a joke format in which a character is given three wishes by a supernatural being, and fails to make the best use of them. Common scenarios include releasing a genie from a lamp, catching and agreeing to re ...
References
Bibliography
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Further reading
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External links
''Aladdin, or, The wonderful lamp'' by Adam Gottlob Oehlenschläger, William Blackwood & Sons, 1863
in John Payne, ''Oriental Tales'' vol. 13
with additional material, including Payne's introductio
and quotes from Galland's diary.
{{Authority control
One Thousand and One Nights characters
Fictional Arabs
Fictional Chinese people
Male characters in literature
Male characters in fairy tales
Articles containing video clips
ATU 560-649