If you love Robin Williams, as so many people do, you probably already know that he was the voice of the beloved character of the Genie in the famous Disney film Aladdin.
But there is so much more to this animated character and its connection to Williams than you could believe!
As the producers, writers, and behind-the-scenes team from Disney started planning what the movie would look and sound like, one voice came to mind immediately: Robin Williams.
They knew that they wanted the character of Genie to be loud, hilarious, warmhearted, and able to make plenty of impressions, essentially turning himself into a variety of famous people and characters with just his voice.
And at the time, Williams was an incredibly popular stand-up artist who was doing precisely that! The idea was to get a big name on the cast and have a professional who could bring a spark of comedy to the script.
Although they all knew they wanted Robin Wiliams on the team, the comedian had to be convinced. So they sketched up the soon-to-be character of the Genie acting out Robin’s stand-up routines, which he absolutely loved!
As they say, the rest was history! But although many people think of the Genie from Aladdin as one of Robin William’s most successful roles, most don’t know that he ad-libbed the majority of the lines.
In fact, in addition to the dialogue that was used in the final version of the film, there are 16 hours of unused comedic gold that Williams created during recording.
He said several of the same lines in dozens of voices, as different characters, and with small or big inflections adjusted to get the perfect fit for the scene.
Many of the outtakes from Williams’ Genie recording have been released, much to the excitement of fans around the world.
And in the video, we can hear Williams trying his wide variety of voices and characters, as well as different lines that didn’t get used in the final cut.
While some of the jokes Williams’ made were simply too inappropriate for a children’s film, at the end of the day, they just couldn’t use all the great material he created for the character.
When you look back and watch Aladdin again, of course, you can hear Robin Williams’ voice and comedic genius shining through the character of the Genie.
But after watching this clip of outtakes, you can also realize how much the Genie is Robin Williams himself!
And how much effort and creative energy the great comedian put into making this character and why the Genie is one of the best in Disney history.
