The History of Aladdin Introduction

I have been waiting for such a long time to do this series of posts. However, I felt that I would not be doing justice to this topic if I did not do extensive research beforehand, as this pertains to my favorite animated film and its history as it faced multiple trials and tribulations throughout from its earliest draft in 1988 to the Broadway musical released in 2014. Of course, I am talking about the classic Disney film, Aladdin. Before we begin this magic carpet ride through Disney history, I would like to give thanks to the sources of my information and thank those who have helped me research this topic, such as the creator of the Aladdin Musical Blog as well as the site, The Lost Media Wiki, The Howard Ashman Website, and the two documentaries Waking Sleeping Beauty and A Diamond in the Rough: The Making of Aladdin as well as my two friends who have helped me with the research for the past three years. In this weekly retrospective starting next Thursday, I will be going over the complete history of Aladdin and dividing it into eras, such as the era of Howard Ashman's original treatment, the Menken-Ashman era, Black Friday and its effects on the film's production, the Menken-Rice Era, the release of the 1992 film, and conclude the retrospective with the history of the stage adaptation now playing on Broadway as well as how the film has impacted and inspired me throughout my life. If this series is successful, I may do a series of retrospectives on other Disney animated films such as Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.