Aladdin Central Messageboard

[imekitty]

Does anyone here know when Robin actually recorded his lines for Aladdin? Specifically, was it before or after the July 3rd, 1991 script? I know Robin agreed to be the voice for Genie in March or April of 1991, but then I don't know the timeline beyond that. During one part of the special features on the PE, there's a line from the July 15th, 1990 script set to a reel from April 1991 that sounds like Robin Williams (correct me if I'm wrong, but it really does sound like him). So, did he record lines from that script and then have to come back to record the new story after Black Friday?

I ask because there's that rumor that Robin improvised most of his lines in the movie, but the July 1991 script proves that to not be true UNLESS all of those lines were improvised during his initial April recording and then added to the July 1991 script later (which seems like an odd thing to do for a completely new story, but hey, maybe).

And a side question, Scott wasn't officially hired until August of 1991, right? I have that date in my head because I read that he auditioned in February of 1991 but didn't get hired until half a year later.

[AladdinsGenie]

Definitely before. They started re-auditioning Jasmine in July 1991 while Linda had the part for at least six months prior to that because she was the only one Jeffery was unsure about. So Robin had to be signed on before July 1991 because Eric Goldberg was already pitching design tests since September 1990 that would become the standard for the whole production and finally showing Robin in early 1991 the material that got him to say yes using his stand-up. Plus, Linda stated she really wanted to see Scott and Robin work once she did secure the part (so that sounds right for Scott, too, since that would have been after July 1991). Also, there's at least two drafts after the July 3rd one, March 1992 being the final draft, so I can't imagine them waiting that long to lock him in to the project.

Robin was, as always, a great ad-libber and notorious for going off-script which they ended up using some of that material but not all. They did have a script with lines for him and if Robin did something particularly funny with the material they tried to accommodate for that. The script, however, was written with him in mind so it wasn't particularly hard to do (save for the part where he'd often be not G-rated ) because he often did his lines in multiple takes. That rumor that he made up every line or that he ad-libbed so much Aladdin was eligible for nomination that year is completely bogus.

Also, I don't think people realize Friend Like Me/Genie's introduction has been part of this film process for a loooong time. I have an old work tape of the movie with it in there before they did the major changes and it was fully animated in terms of drawing. He was the hardest person to secure so I imagine they would have convinced him early on since he was only available for a few sessions due to having multiple projects going on at the time.

[imekitty]

I know he was hired before the script (in either March or April, I would guess). I was just wondering when he actually recorded his lines for the first time after Black Friday since it seems that he did record for the April reel (unless I'm an idiot and that's not his voice).

My understanding of the rumor is that it is a misunderstanding of what really happened. I have no doubt that there were hours of ad-libbed material from Robin, but it sounds like the majority of what was actually in the film was in fact scripted. I've never read the scripts that came after the July 1991 script (ah, I so wish I could get my hands on them), but that script is certainly close enough to the final movie to disprove the rumor.

But then I started having doubts when I heard Robin's voice on the April 1991 reel, like maybe he ad-libbed some things and those lines were added into the July script. I just felt compelled to ask. :b But he definitely did some recording in August as well since there are clips of him recording with Scott, and Scott wasn't hired until August.

I do wonder what lines were ad-libbed in the movie because so many lines that I thought would've been ad-libbed turned out not to be when I read the script for the first time. Certainly when the merchant in the beginning is trying to sell stuff, maybe some of the parts when Genie is a bee, maybe the "Not that I wanna pick out curtains or anything" line.

[AladdinsGenie]

Calluna did a rough outline here, but that still doesn't solve the reel question

Where are you hearing the April reel? I feel like I know what you're talking about in terms of that maybe/maybe not being Robin. It's possible he did record a few lines just to try it out and for them to get a feel of how they're going to be working with Robin in terms of his ad-libbing and how to structure the material around him a bit more especially since it would be after Black Friday and they're looking for ideas.

I know the Making of Aladdin book mentions a few of the ad-libs like "oh you little punim, there!" and almost his entire introduction out of the lamp starting with "Does it feel good to be out of there!" up until the whistle for the Scotsman. And yeah, the opening with the peddler was basically them giving Robin a table with items and letting him go

[imekitty]

Ha, I guess I can't post a URL as a guest. Anyway, you can watch part of it in a video on YouTube titled Aladdin (Platinum Edition) The Making: Reflections On Black Friday.

Starting at 2:29 and ending at 2:36. The line at 2:29 sounds identical to the delivery in the final movie, so I don't know about that one, but at 2:34, that's a line from the July 1990 script ("You know? You rub, I show! You ask, I do!") which doesn't appear at all in the July 1991 script nor in the final movie, so if that is Robin (and it really does sound like him to me), that means he definitely recorded lines before the big rewrite...which is interesting.

The 1991 script has the entire introduction scripted (almost) exactly as it is in the movie, so was that really improvised? Even the "Can we call you 'Al'? Or maybe just 'Din'? Or how about 'Laddie'?" part is in the script.

...unless that's something he said during the April recording, and they thought it was funny enough to add it in. :/ Which would make it improvised, and then that means maybe it happened with other lines as well which would then make the rumor (somewhat) true. I'm so confused, haha.

[AladdinsGenie]

[imekitty]

I've been browsing this forum for a long time, but I was always too afraid to join (social anxiety, even online). It took a long time for me to build up enough courage to finally ask this question!

[Salukfan]

(I can't help with the topic, but welcome, imekitty! If you love knowing or discussing incredibly detailed Aladdin minutia, you'll do well here! )
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"This cow's been covered with flour!"

[AladdinsGenie]

[imekitty]

I don't think they have any social media accounts, or if they do, they're not easy to find. Otherwise, I'd probably flood them with questions.

Well, okay, not really because like I said, I have social anxiety, but I would think about flooding them with questions and then maybe ask one or two, haha. I would definitely ask this question, at least. I really am curious about just what was scripted and what wasn't now that I know he recorded back in April.

I'm all about "incredibly detailed Aladdin minutia." I once analyzed the spectrogram for the infamous "take off your clothes" line (because I'm a linguist with a strong interest in phonetics and phonology). That was a fun but totally nerdy experience. xD

But yeah, it's not as much as fun to discuss Aladdin in my own head, so if I work up the courage to start a new discussion about Aladdin, I'll definitely register.

[AladdinsGenie]

Maybe the animators remember? Someone on this cast has a social media account of some kind, surely. A facebook, a twitter, something

[imekitty]

Should we go through the credits and look up everyone? :b Haha. Eric Goldberg might know.

I really would love to talk with the directors/writers, even if just to tell them how awesome they did. I wish I had those connections. I wonder how many degrees of separation there are between us?

[Salukfan]

Terry Rossio has a twitter account (@TerryRossio), but he doesn't tweet much.

I don't really know who else has one, besides Gilbert (@RealGilbert), Scott (@ScottWeinger) and Linda(@MissLindaLarkin), but they won't be much help here probably. I just learned Will Finn does too (@WillTheFinn). I don't know about anyone else involved in the production.
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"This cow's been covered with flour!"

[imekitty]

It looks like Terry just posts inspirational quotes.

[imekitty]