Aladdin (found Howard Ashman treatment of Disney animated film; 1988)

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Young Ashman and Menken.png

Composer Alan Menken (left) and writer Howard Ashman (right); c. late 1970s

Status: Lost / Unreleased

Originally pitched as an animated film by producer and lyricist Howard Ashman to Walt Disney Studios, the story of Aladdin went through many different hands between 1987 and its final release in 1992, resulting in many different scripts, outlines, and treatments. However, the most famous and sought after treatment is Ashman's original 1988 treatment.

History

As he began work on Disney's upcoming feature The Little Mermaid, writer and lyricist Howard Ashman pitched an idea of a possible new animated feature to the studio[1], and in January 1988[2], he turned in a 40 page treatment of Aladdin, featuring a complete score, with lyrics by him and music by his frequent collaborator Alan Menken. Though the head of Disney animation at the time called it the best treatment he had ever read, Disney passed on it, and as per Ashman's contract, Disney owned both the treatment and the score.

Soon after, the story was handed off to writer Linda Woolverton, and, once his work on Mermaid was nearing completion, Ashman, along with Menken, was brought in by studio chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg to save the troubled Beauty and the Beast production.

Chosen as a follow up to Mermaid by directors John Musker and Ron Clements, the duo looked through everything that had already been done for Aladdin and decided to combine the best aspects off all the different drafts and treatments, as well as adding more animation friendly characters (namely Abu the monkey and Rajah the tiger), and began working on a new draft of the script. Around this time, it was decided that Ashman and Menken's original score would be used when possible with the duo coming on board to write new material when needed. Also around this time, as Musker and Clements were preparing to fly out to New York (where Ashman lived), Ashman told Musker during a phone call, "I just want to let you know before you come out here… I’ve been ill."[3] (Ashman, who had been diagnosed in 1988 as HIV positive, was beginning to show signs of his illness.) Due to this, the directors, along with producer Don Ernst, flew over and visited Ashman whenever possible to make sure he was involved.

Ashman died from complications due to AIDS on March 14, 1991, after completing a few new songs with Menken. Around the same time, the storyboard reel was shown to Jeffery Katzenberg, who told Musker and Clements afterwards, "I was so disengaged that all through the movie, I was working on the guest list for my wife’s surprise birthday party!” With the fate of the film in jeopardy, Musker and Clements brought on writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio to rewrite the script yet again. Due to this, various story elements were cut or streamlined, resulting in further cuts to Ashman and Menken's score. To fill in the holes now left in the score, Menken wrote various songs by himself, before lyricist Tim Rice was hired to complete the final film score with him.

Thankfully, all story problems were worked out by the film's release date of November 25, 1992.

Status and Revivals

According to Ashman's sister, Sarah Ashman Gillespie, after production was hauled on her brother's original draft, he thought about "getting the rights back from Disney [...] and doing something along the lines of Shelley Duvall’s brilliant Faerie Tale Theater with it."[4] However, these plans were abandoned, possibly due to his illness and Disney's continued work on the property,

In July 2011, a musical theater version of Aladdin premiered in Seattle, Washington, at the 5th Avenue Theatre. Though restoring much of Ashman's original vision and score, cuts and changes between the show's original production and 2014 Broadway production resulted in various other cuts and edits. For these writer / lyricist Chad Beguelin supplied the show with new lyrics.

Though much has been spoken about the original treatment, and most if not all of the songs have been released, it has yet to be fully released to the public. However, it is available for viewing at the Library of Congress, as a part of the Howard Ashman papers[5], and a copy most likely remains in the Disney Animation Research Library.

Plot

In the original story, originally set in Baghdad, there were two genies: The Genie of the Ring, who would serve as the film's narrator appear from time to time to comment on and explain various points of the story, The Genie of the Lamp. Aladdin is actually not an adult; instead, he is about fifteen years old and is motivated by the need to prove to his mother that he is responsible and capable of growing up and making her proud. Babkak, Omar, and Kasim are Aladdin’s gang of friends. Jafar was not “Jafar” yet; instead, he was called The Wazir, and his “smart-mouthed, back-talking sidekick” parrot was named Sinbad.

However, most surprising is the description of Jasmine as “a purely comic creation; the ultimate in pampered spoiled brattiness” as well as the character Abbi: “The tomboy female component in Aladdin’s gang. (In West Side Story she’d play ‘Anybody’s.’) She’s the Girl-Next-Door to Aladdin and he doesn’t even notice that she is a girl until fairly late in the proceedings. But when he does notice, boy are we happy.”

The original love-story of the film would be as follows: While on an epic adventure to save the princess, Aladdin would see Abbi’s love for him manifested as she protects him on his journey. Though he is offered the princess’ hand in marriage after saving her life and the kingdom, Aladdin ultimately refuses in favor of true love with Abbi.

Songs

Only two songs from Ashman and Menken's original score remain in the final movie: "Arabian Nights", and "Friend Like Me".[6]

  • Arabian Nights: Written to be sung by The Genie of the Ring, who was to be the narrator of the film, it was meant to introduce the setting and tone of film. Though making the final film, much like The Little Mermaid's" "Fathom's Below," it would be cut down.
  • Arabian Nights - Reprise #1*: To be sung by Genie of the Ring and meant to introduce The Wazir.
  • Babkak, Omar, Aladdin, Kassim: To be sung by, and meant to introduce, Aladdin and his friends, Babkak, Omar, and Kassim.
  • Arabian Nights - Reprise #2*: To be sung by Genie of the Ring as The Wazir leads Aladdin to The Cave of Wonders.
  • Friend Like Me: To be sung by Genie of the Lamp as he becomes Aladdin's master. This song would make it to the final film, earning Ashman and Menken their final Oscar nomination together.
  • Proud of Your Boy: To be sung by Aladdin to his mother. (Though it was included when production on the film was fully revived, it was cut soon after Ashman's death.)
  • How Quick They Forget*: To be sung by Babkak, Omar, and Kassim after Aladdin abandons them, presumably while trying to gain the love of the princess.
  • Arabian Nights - Reprise #3*: To be sung by the Genie of the Ring, after The Wazir has imprisoned either Aladdin or Princess Jasmine.
  • High Adventure: To be sung by the Genie of the Ring, Aladdin, Babkak, Omar, and Kassim (and possibly Abbi) as the group goes to save Princess Jasmine.
  • Arabian Nights - Reprise #4: To be sung by the Genie of the Ring at the end of the film as the finale, as Aladdin, Abbi, and their friends get their happy endings. (Recorded but cut from final film, and used for Aladdin and the King of Thieves. Though not fully used, the musical's finale is based on this reprise.)
*indicates that song was cut in recent musical adaptation

Along with the songs listed above, Ashman and Menken wrote other songs for Aladdin, including:

  • Call Me a Princess: To be sung by Princess Jasmine. Written for the original score, it was cut before Ashman was finished writing the original treatment. The song was reworked by Chad Beguelin for the original Seattle and Toronto productions of the musical, but cut from the Broadway run.
  • The Wazir's Song[7]: To be sung by Jafar / The Wazir and his parrot Sinbad as they're unmasking Prince Ali. Listed on the Aladdin Central website, the lyrics are supposedly from the July 15, 1990 draft of the script and written by Ashman. With what appears to be rough, unfinished lyrics, it's possible that "The Wazir's Song" is Ashman's rough sketch for "Humiliate the Boy" or placeholder lyrics by Musker and Clements, intended to give Ashman and Menken an idea of what they want.
  • Prince Ali: Sung by the Genie of the Lamp (now the only Genie in the film), the song was written after Ashman and Menken were brought back into production.
  • Humiliate The Boy: Sung by Jafar and his parrot, now renamed Iago, it was to take place when Jafar takes over control of Agrabah and unmasks "Prince Ali". This would the final song Ashman and Menken wrote for the film, as well as their final collaboration.
Possible scene from the Original Treatement seen on 2004 Platinum Edition DVD" Except Sinbad had his name changed to Iago at some point" .


References