Boston Herald Review of Aladdin DVD

Aladdin' fans take ride that's pure magic
Review by Lauren Beckham Falcone
Friday, October 1, 2004

Three words of advice if you plan to buy the ``Aladdin'' DVD: Clear your weekend.

This two-disc set is so jammed with extras that it comes with both written instructions on how to navigate through the menus and Leonard Maltin explaining the machinations of finding games, videos and featurettes.

``Aladdin,'' starring the voices of Robin Williams, Gilbert Gottfried, Scott Weinger and Jonathan Freeman, was released in 1992, and it's a terrific movie, as most Disney fans know.

But the film is a mere footnote to this collection. The real treasures are the backstage extras, including deleted songs (``Proud of Your Boy,'' a Alan Menken/Howard Ashman collaboration, re-recorded by ``American Idol'' runner-up Clay Aiken), the ``A Diamond in the Rough: The Making of `Aladdin' '' documentary, deleted scenes and pop-up trivia facts. Games consist of ``A Magic Carpet Ride Adventure,'' a ``Three Wishes Game'' and a cute 3-D tour inside ``Genie's Lamp,'' among others. To secure the MTV set, ``Newlyweds'' Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson add their own version of ``A Whole New World.''
For those with plasma TVs, the digital presentation and enhanced home theater mix will add to the magic carpet ride. But even if you're watching on an old 20-inch Panasonic, ``Aladdin - Special Edition'' is everything you could wish for.
Computer/Web Hosting Services Provided by Blogger and HostDepartment.com. Thank you.