Aladdinis one of the best 2D animated Disney movies that helped revitalize the brand after a small drought. Getting talent like Robin Williams onboard certainly helped it stand out but there are so many other things about it that keep Aladdin holding up. The music, for example, is catchy and hard not to get out of your head with a single verse.
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November 2022 celebratesAladdin’s30th anniversary from when it first launched in theaters in 1992. For retrospective purposes, let’s go through the film and rank the songs from worst to best. It’s a fun movie for kids along with it beingan underrated musicalsince non-animation fans can be prejudice against the medium. There’s no bad song in the movie, but some may resonate better with others.
6Prince Ali (Reprisal)
“Prince Ali (Reprisal)” is naturally a reprisal of a song that was featured earlier inAladdin. The original is a parade showcasing how amazing the revamped version of Aladdin is, aka Prince Ali, thanks to Genie’s powers. The reprisal is sung by Jafar, thevillain of the film, toward the end of the movie and is pretty short, but fun all the same.
Most great Disney animated feature films have villain songs. Many of them turn out to be the star pieces of music in their productions. There is “Be Prepared” fromThe Lion King, “Poor Unfortunate Souls” fromThe Little Mermaid, and the latesthit fromEncanto“We Don’t Talk About Bruno” which is different but it still counts. It’s odd then that Jafar never got a proper song of his own.
5A Whole New World
“A Whole New World” is this film’s love ballad. Love songs in movies made for kids can go one of two ways. Kids may not have liked the mushy sentimentality of this song initially but they could have grown into it. That is seemingly what happened with most ofthe 90s kidsthat grew up watchingAladdin.
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As far as love songs go, “A Whole New World” has to be at the top of the Disney pile. There is a lot to sort through but the mystical aspect of the animation is captivating, to say the least. Aladdin takes Jasmine literally around the world in a single night, seemingly ending somewhere in China. That’s a pretty baller first date and can be hard to top.
4Arabian Nights
“Arabian Nights” is the perfect song to open up this movie with. It begins as a journey through the desert as a peddler is teasing a tale of excitement and mystery while showcasing the wondrous city of Agrabah. Some of the lyrics were changed for the live-action version to better adhere to more modern ethics. For example, “Where they cut off your ear if they don’t like your face” was replaced with “Where it’s flat and immense and the heat is intense.”
The lyrics and melody help create a vibe no matter which version fans prefer. Afterward, the peddler’s proper introduction is fun like when he tries to sell the viewer a Dead Sea Tupperware collection or a fry maker. The bits are corny but that goes with the territory of Disneyanimated feature films.
3Prince Ali
“Prince Ali” is the aforementioned original take from Jafar’s butchering. It happens soon after “Friend Like Me” wherein Genie has come up with an elaborate plan to help “Al” win Jasmine over. The following series of events have plagued Disney fans for years. The extent of Genie’s magic is extraordinary for Aladdin to have used just one wish.
He was able to become a prince, get a roster of servants, food, and gold to showcase in Agrabah? It is an astounding feat that no one questions later in the movie. What happened to everyone? What about the money thrown? Were the peasants of Agrabah cheated out of their coin? Logic aside, the sequence is another upbeat song that will be hard to get out of your head.
2One Jump Ahead
“Arabian Nights” is a short song, barely reaching a minute, so in many ways “One Jump Ahead” is the first proper song ofAladdin. It’s a fun, bouncing tune that sees the titular hero trying to run away from soldiers. He seemingly does this on a daily basis which is a good strategy. A thief has to know his routine inside and out if he wishes to succeed in life.
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There are some great moments in this sequence that aren’t part of the song too including Abu whipping out a sword and one of the soldiers screaming, “He’s got a sword!” Another soldier points out the obvious in that they all have swords to which Abu drops his before dashing off. At leastthis iconic monkeytried to get the one up on them. The song gets a reprisal as well, in a sadder form, but it isn’t as big as Jafar’s. So, it doesn’t count as a new song but it does deserve a mention.
1Friend Like Me
“Friend Like Me” is the best song inAladdin,without a doubt. Romantic fans may prefer “A Whole New World” which, again, is a great ballad. However, this song showcases just how well the music and animation teams were in sync. Robin Williams knocks it outside of the park with all of the impressions leading up to this number.
It’s a shame that genies don’t exist in real life. If they did, people would probably be disappointed that they don’t sing like Robin Williams’ version. Of course, they could wish for a dance number but this is all hypothetical anyway. At the end of the day, “Friend Like Me” is an all-time classic forAladdinand the entire pantheon of Disney animated feature films. Genie is indeed a friend like no other, but he’s alsolike a fatherthat Aladdin can confide in.
