#Jim fink program movie
#Jim fink program full

John Musker then said “We still remember Jeffrey Katzenberg’s reaction at the time. They invited their boss to a screening room and played him a clip from ‘Beverly Hills Cop II’ in which Gottfried, as cranky accountant Sidney Bernstein, steals the scene from his former ‘Saturday Night Live’ castmate Eddie Murphy. Beverly Hills Cop II and Jeffrey KatzenbergĪlan Siegel of The Ringer recently shared how Musker & Clements sold then–Walt Disney Studios chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg on the idea of hiring Gottfried to voice Iago. It was around this same time that “Aladdin” ‘s directors then began toying with the idea of getting Gilbert to come voice this character. Making Jafar the cool & calculating one while Iago then became the loud & obnoxious one. It was then Ron & John decided to try flipping these two characters’ personas. But it didn’t really do much to help Musker & Clements with their the-first-30-minutes-of-this-movie-needs-to-be-a-lot-funnier problem. This sort of character contrast - Jafar loud & flamboyant / Iago cool & understated (The parrot - in this version of “Aladdin” - was the actual brains behind the Grand Vizer’s scheme to unseat the Sultan) - was admittedly fun. That butler character which the late Sir John Gielgud had played in “Arthur,” that Academy Award-winning Dudley Moore comedy from 1981). Whereas Iago was supposed to be this cool understated character (At this time, Ron & John sort of envisioned Jafar’s parrot as Hobson.

Prone to throwing tantrums whenever he didn’t get his way in the Sultan’s court. At this point in production, Jafar the Grand Vizer was this dramatic, flamboyant character. Which is why Musker & Clements decided that they needed to bring another strong comic voice into this project early on to tide the audience over / keep them entertained & engaged until Robin Williams finally officially entered the picture. But that scene was eventually eliminated as ‘Aladdin’ continued to evolve and move through the production process.”Īnyway … We were talking about how the Genie character doesn’t officially enter “Aladdin” ‘til almost 40 minutes.

#Jim fink program movie

That the end of “Aladdin” would be this reveal – that this Peddler with the turban who we met in the very beginning of the movie was, in fact, the Genie. “That was always the intention in making this movie. Here’s what Ron Clements had to say about this matter in an August 2019 interview with USA Today: Where - after that character sang a brief reprise on “Arabian Night” - it would then be revealed that the Peddler (this storytelling / narrator character) had been the Genie all along. This is also why the original end of “Aladdin” circled back around to the Peddler character. Which - again - wouldn’t be ‘til 40 minutes in. Which would then give the audience a taste of the off-the-wall humor Williams would bring to this film when the Genie character finally officially entered the story. So that they could then have Robin voice the Peddler’s character. This is why Ron & John wrote the opening scene for “Aladdin” the way that they did. Aladdin’s Peddler Character – Genie All Along But that character doesn’t actually enter Aladdin’s storyline until nearly 40 minutes into that film. And it certainly would be once the Genie (voiced by the late, great Robin Williams) officially entered the picture. This animated feature was supposed to be this wild, over-the-top fantasy comedy. Ron Clements & John Musker were working on Disney’s “Aladdin” and realized that they had a problem. Perhaps you would like to hear the tale? It begins on a dark night where a dark man waits with a dark purpose.Įr … No … Sorry … This story actually begins in 1989 or thereabouts. So how did Gottfried get that gig? There’s a great, great story about how Gilbert wound up being cast as Iago.

#Jim fink program full

Gainfully employed by the Mouse House as he recorded lines for Iago which would then be folded into Disney’s next big full length animated feature, “Aladdin.” Gilbert Gottfried – Working for Disney But just three years later, here was Gilbert in a recording studio. Which - you’d think - would have landed Gottfried on Disney’s naughty list for the next few decades. Gottfried then began flapping those drink trays back & forth around his head like he was Dumbo - while at the same time, in Mickey’s high-pitched voice - Gilbert kept screaming “I’m freaking out!” Credit: Brett Gibbens/YouTube Holding them up to the side of his head, Gilbert announced that his next impression would be Mickey Mouse on acid. One moment that really stood out for me - as a Disney fan - was when Gottfried grabbed two round trays that the staff then used to ferry drinks around that comedy club. Anyway … Gottfried performed lots of great material as part of this episode of the “Cinemax Comedy Experiment” show.