'Aladdin', Disney's animated retelling of 'Aladdin and the Magic Lamp', wowed theater audiences at Christmas '92, sold a zillion video tapes in the fall of '93, and was finally available on laser disc in the late summer of '94. Because of the irrational paranoia about video piracy that prevades the executive suite at Disney, laser collector's have, as with 'Beauty And The Beast', been forced to accept an almost year long wait for a laser edition of 'Aladdin'. Well, there is an old saying that goes 'good things come to he who waits' and that seems, at least in this case, to be true.
Animation, being two dimensional by nature, seems to make the transition from film to video with less compromise. When done properly, the results can be quite impressive. And 'impressive' is a good way to describe the new CAV laser transfer of this film. The colors are simply incredible. Rich, highly saturated hues virtually explode across the screen. An artist's assortment of reds, oranges and yellows, colors usually the bane of the video medium, are rendered here with accuracy and precision that will have you shaking your head in amazement. There is a hint of chroma noise, but only in the most saturated reds and oranges, and then not enough to be objectionable. The image is always sharp with excellent detail. This THX transfer has been letterboxed with a ratio of about 1.60:1. The black bands are very slight and may be barely visible on many consumer monitors, but this framing is very helpful in offsetting the image loss due to monitor overscan.
The audio quality is easily the equal of the video. Deep, resonant bass and crystal clear highs are the order of the day. From the silky baritone of the evil Jafar to the staccato, rapid fire delivery of Robin Williams' Genie, dialog is clear and well balanced. The music track has excellent depth and range and the numerous effects are clearly defined and never overpowering.
'Aladdin' runs 90 minutes and has been wisely spread to 4 sides with well chosen side and platter breaks in this all-CAV presentation. The disc is also chapter encoded with 26 chapters for the film and the original theatrical trailer following at chapter 27. The two discs are housed in a rather attractive high gloss blue and purple gate-fold jacket with the title and trim in gold foil (for those that appreciate such things). List price is $49.95. A CLV edition is also available at $29.95, however, this transfer is full frame and lacking the THX stamp of approval. If you're buying for the kids, go for the CLV, but if you (like me) have a place for this highly entertaining film in your personal collection, then the CAV is the only choice.
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