Editing Aladdin (1992 Disney film) (section)

=== Controversies ===
One of the verses of the opening song "Arabian Nights", in which the speaker uses the lyric "where they cut off your ear if they don't like your face" to describe his homeland, was altered to "where it's flat and immense and the heat is intense" following complaints from the [[American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee]] (ADC). The revision first appeared on the 1993 video release.<ref>{{cite news |last=Fox |first=David J. |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-07-10-ca-11747-story.html |title=Disney Will Alter Song in 'Aladdin' |work=Los Angeles Times |date=July 10, 1993 |access-date=September 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922162834/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-07-10-ca-11747-story.html |archive-date=September 22, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="adc">{{cite web|url=http://www.adc.org/index.php?id=283|title=Arab Stereotypes and American Educators|website=[[American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee]]|access-date=March 16, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070405005650/http://www.adc.org/index.php?id=283|archive-date=April 5, 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> The original lyric was intact on the initial [[Compact disc|CD]] soundtrack release, but the rereleases use the edited lyric. The [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] adaptation also uses the edited line.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://adamjacobs.net/aladdin-gets-big-changes-broadway-debut/|title=Aladdin gets big changes for Broadway debut|first=Gregory|last=Miller|work=[[New York Post]]|date=March 9, 2014|access-date=May 8, 2016|archive-date=August 16, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160816093003/http://adamjacobs.net/aladdin-gets-big-changes-broadway-debut/|url-status=live}}</ref> The subsequent line, however, "It's barbaric, but hey, it's home", was left intact.

The film has also been subject to criticism for its use of [[Orientalism|Orientalist]] stereotypes that depict Arab societies as exotic and foreign.<ref name="h476">{{cite web | title=Arab Stereotypes and American Educators | website=ADC - Truly Arab, Fully American. | date=November 18, 2009 | url=https://adc.org/arab-stereotypes-and-american-educators/ | access-date=May 17, 2024}}</ref> The [[American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee|ADC]] has pointed out that the characters in the movie that the viewer is supposed to identify and sympathize with are generally presented with more [[White people|white]] features, while the villains are presented with more [[Arab]] features.<ref name="h476"/> Other people have pointed out that the movie is quite inaccurate in its depictions of Arab societies. The main palace is inspired by [[Mughal architecture]], but many of the clothes are [[Ottoman Empire|Turkish]] in origin, and the outside environment is closer to that of the [[Arabian Desert]].<ref name="j430">{{cite web | title=Orientalism in Film: Aladdin Over the Last Century. – Orientalism in Pop Culture | website=Orientalism in Pop Culture – Christina, Angelissa, Grace, Diamond | date=November 29, 2020 | url=https://wgst2013.domains.drew.edu/christina-bevianos-post/film-aladdin/ | access-date=May 17, 2024}}</ref>

''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' ranked ''Aladdin'' in a list of the most controversial films in history due to this incident.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/ew/article/0,,1202224,00.html |title=The 25 Most Controversial Movies Ever |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |access-date=March 16, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070314000859/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0%2C%2C1202224%2C00.html |archive-date=March 14, 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The number has been described in reviews as "simultaneously glamorizing and barbarizing the Arab world".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/69162/Soundtrack-Disney-Aladdin/|title=Soundtrack (Disney) - Aladdin (album review) {{!}} Sputnikmusic|website=www.sputnikmusic.com|access-date=August 11, 2018|archive-date=May 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512082213/https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/69162/Soundtrack-Disney-Aladdin/|url-status=live}}</ref> The ADC also complained about the portrayal of the lead characters, Aladdin and Jasmine. They accused the filmmakers of [[anglicize]]ing their features and giving them Anglo-American accents, in contrast to the other characters, which have "foreign accents, grotesque facial features, and appear villainous or greedy".<ref name="adc" /> In October 2020, in response to the criticism and in acknowledgment of racial stereotypes in the wake of the [[George Floyd protests]], Disney added a disclaimer to many of their features, including ''Aladdin'', on [[Disney+]], acknowledging the content as racist.<ref>{{Cite news |last=O'Kane |first=Caitlin |date=October 19, 2020 |title=Disney adding disclaimer about racist stereotypes to some old movies |work=[[CBS News]] |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/disney-disclaimer-racist-stereotypes-old-movies/ |access-date=October 8, 2023}}</ref>

Another scene in which Aladdin is threatened by the tiger Rajah on the palace balcony was controversial as well. In the scene, some viewers reported hearing Aladdin quietly utter the phrase, "Good teenagers, take off your clothes",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.snopes.com/disney/info/aladwsj.htm |archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20091001072715/http://www.snopes.com/disney/info/aladwsj.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 1, 2009 |title=Take Off Your Clothes! |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=October 25, 1995 |access-date=April 2, 2013 |publisher=[[Snopes]] }}</ref> which they considered a [[subliminal message|subliminal reference]] to [[promiscuity]]. However, according to the commentary track on the 2004 [[DVD]], while Musker and Clements did admit that Scott Weinger [[Ad libitum#Drama|ad-libbed]] during the scene, they claimed that "we did not record that, we would not record that", and said that the line was, "Good tiger, take off and go...", and that the word, "tiger", is overlapped by Rajah's snarl.<ref>Ron Clements and John Musker, "Filmmaker's Commentary". ''Aladdin: Platinum Edition'' DVD, Disc 1, Bonus Features, Backstage Disney, Walt Disney Home Entertainment.</ref> After the word "tiger", a second voice can be heard that can be assumed to have been accidentally grafted into the soundtrack.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.snopes.com/disney/films/aladdin.asp|title=Disney (Take Off Your Clothes!)|date=April 24, 2000 |publisher=[[Snopes]]|access-date=March 24, 2007}}. The source compiles and cites four major newspaper references.</ref> Later editions of the movie edit the line to avoid further speculation.

Animation enthusiasts have noticed similarities between ''Aladdin'' and [[Richard Williams (animator)|Richard Williams]]'s unfinished film, ''[[The Thief and the Cobbler]]'' (also known as ''The Princess and the Cobbler'' under [[Allied Filmmakers]] and ''Arabian Knight'' under [[Miramax]] Films). These similarities include a similar plot, similar characters, scenes, and background designs, and the antagonist Zig-Zag's resemblance to character design and mannerisms to the Genie and Jafar.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dvdsnapshot.com/January07Review/ThiefAndCobbler.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216141735/http://www.dvdsnapshot.com/January07Review/ThiefAndCobbler.html|archive-date=December 16, 2008|title=The Thief and the Cobbler review|publisher=DVD snapshot|author=Savino, Cris}}</ref><ref name="nytimes">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/08/26/movies/film-review-a-late-finisher-about-old-araby.html|title=A Late Finisher About Old Araby|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=August 26, 1995|first=Caryn|last=James|access-date=February 14, 2017|archive-date=July 17, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180717100319/https://www.nytimes.com/1995/08/26/movies/film-review-a-late-finisher-about-old-araby.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Although ''Aladdin'' was released first, ''The Thief and the Cobbler'' initially began production in the 1960s, and was mired in difficulties, including financial problems, copyright issues, story revisions and late production times caused by separate studios trying to finish the film after Richard Williams was fired from the project for lack of finished work.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://movies.tvguide.com/movie-news/Best-Animated-Movie-7953.aspx|title=The Best Animated Movie You've Never Heard Of|magazine=[[TV Guide]]|date=November 28, 2006|access-date=March 17, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120615171326/http://movies.tvguide.com/movie-news/Best-Animated-Movie-7953.aspx|archive-date=June 15, 2012}}</ref> The late release, coupled with Miramax purchasing and re-editing the film, has sometimes resulted in ''The Thief and the Cobbler'' being labeled a rip-off of ''Aladdin''.<ref name="nytimes" />