"Prince Ali" and its reprise are two musical numbers from the 1992 Disney animated film ''

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 first part was performed by

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...

in his role as the

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 ...

and the reprise is performed by Jonathan Freeman in his role as Jafar. The song performed by Williams was nominated for the

Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song The Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song is a Golden Globe Award that was awarded for the first time in 1962 and has been awarded annually since 1965 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. The award is presented to the songwriters of a ...

at the

50th Golden Globe Awards The 50th Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and television for 1992, were held on Saturday January 23, 1993 at the Beverly Hilton. The nominations were announced on December 29, 1992. Winners and nominees Film The ...

in 1993.

Production

The film version cut a conceived intro for the song and two extra verses in the middle of "Prince Ali". Soundtrack.net explains how "Prince Ali (reprise)" was conceived:

Synopsis

"Prince Ali" is a flamboyant number sung by the Genie (

) as he introduces Agrabah to Prince Ali Ababwa, Aladdin's royal alter ego, with a giant caravan. A reprise of the song has Jafar ( Jonathan Freeman) unmask Aladdin as a poor thief. An early reprise of the song in the stage musical has the Sultan announcing to the city's residents that his daughter Jasmine is to marry the prince.

Cultural references

The Genie character is known for spouting elements of contemporary pop culture, so all his songs contain anachronistic references. During the song,

imitates a Thanksgiving Parade commentor ("Don't they look lovely, June?"),

Walter Brennan Walter Andrew Brennan (July 25, 1894 – September 21, 1974) was an American actor and singer. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performances in '' Come and Get It'' (1936), ''Kentucky'' (1938), and '' The Westerner ...

, and

Ethel Merman Ethel Merman (born Ethel Agnes Zimmermann, January 16, 1908 – February 15, 1984) was an American actress and singer, known for her distinctive, powerful voice, and for leading roles in musical theatre.Obituary ''Variety'', February 22, 1984. ...

Critical reception

AllMusic wrote "Robin Williams' bravura performance as the magic lamp on songs such as "

Friend Like Me "Friend Like Me" is a song from the 1992 Disney film ''Aladdin (1992 Disney film), Aladdin''. It was performed by Robin Williams in his role as the Genie (Disney character), Genie. The song is also performed by Will Smith in Aladdin (2019 film), t ...

" and "Prince Ali" are justifiably credited as the album's highlights." Director/choreographer of the stage musical, Casey Nicholaw said that "'Prince Ali', too, is a huge production number 'where the dancers wear four costumes each'". TalkingBroadway described the song as one of the three showstoppers of the musical, along with "Friend Like Me" and "

A Whole New World "A Whole New World" is the signature song from Disney's 1992 animated feature film ''Aladdin'', with music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Tim Rice. A duet originally recorded by singers Brad Kane and Lea Salonga in their respective roles as t ...

". NBC New York dubbed it "Act II's standout".

In popular culture

This song is playable in the video game ''

Just Dance 2014 ''Just Dance 2014'' is a 2013 dance rhythm game developed by Ubisoft Paris, Ubisoft Milan, Ubisoft Reflections, Ubisoft Bucharest, Ubisoft Pune, Ubisoft Montpellier and Ubisoft Barcelona and published by Ubisoft. The fifth main installment of th ...

''.

Ron Clements Ronald Francis Clements (born April 25, 1953) is an American animator, film director, screenwriter, and film producer. He often collaborates with fellow director John Musker and is best known for writing and directing the Disney films ''The Grea ...

John Musker John Edward Musker (born November 8, 1953) is an American animator, film director, screenwriter, and film producer. He often collaborates with fellow director Ron Clements and is best known for writing and directing the Walt Disney Animation Studi ...

, Amy Pell. ''Aladdin'' commentary track - ''The Filmmaker's''

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, performs the song in the 2019 live-action remake of ''Aladdin. This version incorporates some hip hop musical elements, and has made some changes to the lyrics. For example, "Sunday Salam" has been changed to "

Friday Friday is the day of the week between Thursday and Saturday. In countries that adopt the traditional "Sunday-first" convention, it is the sixth day of the week. In countries adopting the ISO-defined "Monday-first" convention, it is the fifth day ...

Salam" to reflect the

Islamic Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the mai ...

holy day. It also omits reference to Prince Ali having slaves by changing it to stating that Ali has "ten thousand servants and flunkies".

Charts

Will Smith version

Certifications

Will Smith version

References

{{Will Smith Songs about princes Songs about fictional male characters 1992 songs Songs with lyrics by Howard Ashman Songs with music by Alan Menken Disney Renaissance songs Songs from Aladdin (franchise) Songs with lyrics by Tim Rice Will Smith songs Song recordings produced by Alan Menken