Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp (1934)

This is How Movies Should Be Made

Thanks for the memories!

Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

While not one of my favourites, Ub Iwerks was responsible for a lot of interesting work. Especially when working with Walt Disney, his oldest friend and one of his best, and co-creating one of animation's most famous characters in Mickey Mouse. His career since opening his own studio had interest value but the quality was variable, often being successful in the animation and music but wanting in the story and variable in gags, lead characters and tone.1933 to 1936 saw twenty five cartoons, mostly based on famous fairytales and familiar stories, as part of Iwerks's "ComiColor" series. The "ComiColor" series is very much worth watching and interesting, as is the case with many series some cartoons are better than others but there are no real animation nadirs. 1934's 'Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp' is a pretty good pleasant watch, and a step up from the previous two cartoons, with a few issues but a lot of big strengths.'Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp', while faithfully adhering to the basic details of the story while putting its own spin, is slight with not quite enough content and is at times a little too cutesy.However, 'Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp' in no way disgraces the story and has enough freshness to stop it from being stale. It avoids the over sentimental factor and is never dull.There are amusing gags, that aren't too corny and never repetitive, it's very charming, has a lively pace and there is a genuine likeability and cuteness. The characters drive 'Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp' well, with a very likeable titular character and a fun genie, the princess is a little bland though and with little to do.Furthermore, the animation is great. Meticulously detailed, fluid in drawing, vibrant in colour and often rich in imagination and visual wit. The music is cleverly and lushly orchestrated, is infectiously catchy and adds a lot to the cartoon. Overall, pretty good. 7/10 Bethany Cox

The film begins with a nasty trader trading folks new lamps for their old ones. He's not doing this to find the magic lamp...he just uses his little slave boy (Aladdin) to clean them up to resell them. However, as Al is wiping one of them clean, a Genie pops out and begins granting him wishes....and Al uses this to try to get the Sultan's daughter in marriage (which is odd since they both are kids). Unfortunately, the slave owner returns and fights Aladdin for the lamp.This is not a great cartoon by any stretch. But the animation and color are very nice and the film is modestly entertaining. And, fortunately, unlike Ub Iwerks' poorer films, it's not saturated by cute singing characters.

Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp (1934) ** 1/2 (out of 4)Aladdin sees a Princess going down the street so he rubs his magic lamp and asks for a wish that will get him closer to the woman he loves. This Ub Iwerks short certainly isn't a masterpiece but there are enough entertaining moments in it to make it worth watching if you're a fan of his work. As with a lot of his films from this era, the animation and Technicolor is certainly the highlight. The best thing about the picture is the great use of color because it really makes the scenery come to life. With that said, the story itself isn't all that memorable and I'd argue that the characters aren't all that likable either. This includes Aladdin who is rather annoying here.

Don't confuse this story and the Popeye cartoon labeled "Aladdin And His Wonderful Lamp." This is another early 1930s Celebrity Productions Comicolor cartoon based on a famous novel.They did a number of these takeoffs such a this one, Don Quixote, Sinbad the Sailor, Ali Baba, Jack And The Beanstalk, Robin Hood, etc.Whatever, this one doesn't measure up to any of the above cartoons. It has a few quick moments of humor but nothing memorable and it's more a "cute" little story than a comedy. Unfortunately, it's supposed to be the latter so I can't really recommend this one. The color is decent, especially for a cartoon so old, but it just isn't funny nor entertaining. There is a lot of action in here but not the kind that will keep you enthralled. It winds up being more noise than anything else. It's not of the company's best.