Best Known For: Marius Pontmercy in Les Miserables, Simba in The Lion King stage adaptation, and the title character in the stage adaptation of Aladdin
One of the main reasons I enjoy the work of this actor is because he portrays three of my favorite fictional characters, and he portrays them pretty well accurately to the source material as well as once again making the role his own like the rest of the actors on this list (if you haven't caught on, if an actor can make the role their own and put their own spin on a role, then they will more than likely make this list).If you see him as Aladdin, do not expect an imitation of Scott Weinger and Brad Kane, expect to see Adam Jacobs' interpretation of the character. The same can be said about his interpretation of Simba and Marius. I can say that based on what I have heard and seen, he absolutely kills it when singing Proud of Your Boy, causing me to have teary eyes whenever I see the stage version of Aladdin. If Disney someday remakes the film, I would want him reprising his stage role as well as him reprising his role as Simba.
Best Known For: Esmeralda in the stage adaptation of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Kendra Saunders/Hawkgirl in DC's The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow
As many of you may know, one of my favorite novels is Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and the Disney adaptation ranks pretty high on my list of favorite Disney films despite not being faithful to the source material. However, the stage adaptation of the Disney film is more faithful to the source material, blending material from both the novel and the film. Ciara Renee's portrayal of the gypsy La Esmeralda was no exception to this concept, as she not only borrowed elements from her film and literary counterparts, but she also brought some of her own material to make the character more likable and fleshed out. Renee brought her sense of wit and sarcasm (something she also brought over in her role as Hawkgirl in DC's TV Universe), as well as bringing a believable range of emotions to bring Esmeralda to life. If the show were to go to Broadway someday, I would definitely love to see her reprise her role. She is one of the few stage actresses on this list, with the other stage actress slated to appear later on in this list, mainly due to her ability to make a character relatable and believable.
Before we begin, I would like to apologize for not updating daily like I promised I would. I have been swamped with classwork, preventing me from frequently updating this list.
Now without further ado, let us continue the ten favorite actors and actresses list with number eight, and this time, I am focusing on how the actor contributed to a specific role!
#8: Tom Welling Best Known For: Clark Kent/The Blur/Superman in Smallville
When people ask me who my favorite actor that portrayed Superman is, I will most likely say Tom Welling's interpretation of both the Man of Steel and his alter-ego, Clark Kent. Usually when adapting Superman, the Clark Kent side of the character is often neglected or not expanded upon. Tom Welling in Smallville fixed this problem and allowed us to see a side of the character we rarely saw. We did not see a man in a blue suit and sometimes red tights, but we saw the man and personality of the character behind the suit. We saw the reporter for The Daily Planet, the young adult struggling through high school and learning of his Kryptonian heritage, and his relationship struggles with Lana Lang and Lois Lane. Matter of fact, we did not even see him don the iconic costume until the final episode of the series, and even then, we did not see him in the actual suit. Those portions of the episode were made using body doubles and CGI, further adding to the fact that this portrayal is all about Clark Kent and not Superman. As mentioned earlier, many actors bring their own to portraying Superman, but portraying and fleshing out Clark Kent is something rarely seen, which is why Mr. Welling has earned a spot on my list!
#9- Emma Watson
Best Known For: Hermione Granger in Harry Potter franchise
Number nine (as mentioned above) is an actress that co-starred with the previously mentioned Daniel Radcliffe in the Harry Potter franchise as the female lead in the series. She is best known for playing the roles of characters with high intelligence and intellectual prowess, such as Hermione in Harry Potter and Belle in the upcoming remake of Beauty and the Beast. Like Radcliffe, she fully immerses herself in each role she portrays and makes it her own, contributing her intelligence and cynicism.
To tide you all over until the release of my multi-part look at Batman: The Killing Joke, I thought I would give you an insight into ten of my favorite actors and actresses across media, including actors who have physically appeared in film as well as voice acting for animation. Every other day, I shall release a new actor or actress to this countdown until we have reached number one.
10- Daniel Radcliffe
Roles best known for: Title character in Harry Potter, Igor in Victor Frankenstein
Throughout my childhood and teen years, I was known as a bit of an avid reader (and I still am in case you are wondering, as evidenced by my favorite book being Victor Hugo's Les Miserables) and starting to becoming the film buff I am today (like Adam Goldberg in his youth). The main series that contributed to both of those aspects was a franchise known as Harry Potter. When I was a child, I would always go to a movie theater to see the premiere of the most recent film in the series, which created many fond memories throughout my life. I was hooked to the point of wanting to read the books, which sparked my passionate interest in literature. While I would love to talk about how much Harry Potter impacted my life and my interests, I must stay on topic and discuss why the man who embodied the role of the franchise's title character is one of my favorite actors, a trait he shares with one of his fellow costars. I enjoy seeing how Radcliffe immerses himself in each role he is involved in and able to put his own twist and interpretation to each character he plays. With each role I have seen him portray, I do not see him as simply "Daniel Radcliffe" playing (insert character name here), I see the character embodied by Radcliffe as he makes the role his own. Of course, my favorite role he has played is The Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter. If I had to choose a particular film in that series, I would say his portrayal in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
Before we begin, do not get me wrong. I am a huge fan of the works of Marvel Comics and anything related to Marvel Entertainment. I love the comics, I love the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and my favorite superhero is from Marvel (that would be Spider-Man). What I do not like is how the comics are being changed to accommodate the cinematic universe. For example, the significant reduction of mutants in favor of the increase of Inhumans, the latter of which were relatively unknown in the comic universe until being introduced as a replacement to mutants in the cinematic universe. The reason Inhumans are being used instead of Mutants is because Marvel Studios does not have film rights to Mutants, even the term "mutant" is unable to be used in the MCU. Now I know what many of you are thinking, "why can't Marvel Studios use mutants when Marvel created Mutant characters such as the X-Men, Franklin Richards, and Wolverine"? As mentioned before, Marvel may own the characters, but as for movie rights, that designation goes to Twentieth Century Fox, and the same can be said for the Fantastic Four. As a result, Marvel has been slowly phasing these characters out in the universe of the comics, going so far as to split up and essentially erase The Four from the new continuity known as All New, All Different Marvel, and significantly reducing the amount of mutant characters through the use of an event known as House of M, which also marked the deaths of Professor Charles Xavier and Cyclops. Also due to Fox owning film rights, Wolverine, a member of both X-Men and Avengers teams has also been offed. I am not a fan of Inhumans, and I believe mutants should still remain strong despite Marvel not owning the film rights to their own characters. I understand the MCU is popular and Marvel is changing its comic universe to reflect the MCU's popularity. However, the movies should be adapting the comics, not the other way around. As of now, Marvel's comics feel more like forty page advertisements for the MCU, giving the poor mutants and Marvel's first family "the shaft".
The passing of Howard Ashman had struck a heavy blow to the production teams of both Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin. However, production on the latter had to continue. It is a known fact at the Disney Animation Studio that animators and storyboard artists produce early versions of films on story reels to present to executives for critiques. Aladdin was no exception. The retrospective's finale begins with an event in the film's production history that proved to be a major turning point; Black Friday (and no I do not mean the day after Thanksgiving). John Musker and Ron Clements presented an early version of the film to Jeffrey Katzenberg, then chairman of Walt Disney Animation. After the presentation, his only response was "hey guys, that's a lotta movie! Gotta go!" and left the screening room. Taking the response as a sign of approval, the two went out for celebratory margaritas at El Toritos. However, upon returning to the studio, they were called by producer Don Ernst to his office. Ernst had some troubling news for the directors. Jeffrey's reaction to the story reel was not pleasant at all.
Ernst stated, "Jeffrey hated it! He hated everything!" The reaction was like a missile, causing a heavy blow and a major setback to the team.
They asked Katzenberg later on why if he had hated the film so much, that he did not stop the projector like he did during an early screening of The Great Mouse Detective. He replied. "I have too much respect for you guys to do that" and then followed up with "Guys, I gotta tell you, I was so disengaged that through all the movie, I was working on the guest list for my wife's surprise party!"
Clements and Musker asked Jeffrey what he did not like about the movie. Katzenberg revealed he did not like the mother character, which lead to her being cut from the story along with Proud of Your Boy later on, as they still considered having Aladdin sing the song to a deceased mother rather than one still living. Also, at the suggestion of writers Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio, the wishes were changed from unlimited to simply three, to increase the importance of each wish. Unfortunately, this lead to Humiliate the Boy being cut as well, another song Ashman had created. The project was quickly imploding and straying farther and farther away from Howard's intended vision. The mother was gone, two more songs he had written were cut, unlimited wishes became three wishes, and the score was incomplete. Iago and Jafar's personalities were also switched, with Jafar becoming the calm and collected character, and Iago becoming the short-fused, loud-mouthed parrot after seeing Gilbert Gottfried in Beverly Hills Cop II.
To complete the incomplete score, Tim Rice was brought in to work alongside Alan Menken. The first of the songs they wrote was a successor to Proud of Your Boy known as You Can Count on Me, which would later evolve into the reprise of One Jump Ahead once the song was written. Another early song idea they had written was another song for Jafar, known as Why Me. Why Me would later evolve into a reprise of the now truncated version of Prince Ali. The opening song, Arabian Nights, would also be truncated from its initial version. Friend Like Me surprisingly stayed consistent, aside from a few lyrical changes.Among the new songs written was one for the magic carpet ride sequence, which was an idea Clements and Musker suggested to Ashman during the earlier days of production. This idea would eventually evolve into what is A Whole New World in the final film. The song would also cause the film's final number to change from a reprise of Arabian Nights to a reprise of A Whole New World. Luckily, the Arabian Nights reprise would not go to waste, as it would be used to conclude not only Aladdin and the King of Thieves, but also the Aladdin franchise as well, which is fitting.
On November 8th, 1992, Aladdin finally premiered at the El Capitan Theater in Hollywood California to an overwhelmingly positive critical reception, with a general release occurring three days later on November 11th. The film was a critical and financial success, grossing over 500 million worldwide and even more in home video releases. The film was also nominated for several award nominations and won the Academy Awards for Best Original Score and Best Original Song for A Whole New World.
On home video, the lyrics were changed even further in the opening number to avoid further controversy caused by the lyric "Where they cut off your ear if they don't like your face" during its theatrical release. The lyric was changed to "Where it's flat and immense and the heat is intense" due to responses from the American-Arab Anti Discrimination Committee (ADC).However, the lyric change was not applied to the audio cassette release of the film's soundtrack, but it was later changed to the edited lyric in the Compact Disc and digital versions of the soundtrack.
Another controversy occurred between Katzenberg and Robin Williams. Williams agreed to voice the peddler and Genie in the film, on the condition of being paid SAG scale payment and his name and his character would not take up more than 25% of advertising space, along with his name not being advertised. For allegedly financial reasons, Katzenberg did not follow through with this agreement, and as such, Genie took up more space than the other main characters and was advertised as being played by Robin Williams. This dispute is why Williams did not return for the direct to video sequel The Return of Jafar and the Aladdin Television Series, and was replaced by Dan Castellaneta, best known for being the voice actor of Springfield's "village idiot" Homer Simpson from The Simpsons.
He eventually reprised his role for the aforementioned finale, Aladdin and the King of Thieves.
To conclude, Aladdin's production history was not a simple "magic carpet ride". Everyone involved went through intense trials and tribulations, such as harsh critiques from Katzenberg, song omissions and cuts, story changes, and even the loss of a valued team member. However, despite the tribulations and controversy, Aladdin went on to become a success, spanning a franchise of two sequels, a television series, and a stage adaptation that restored a majority of Howard Ashman's cut concepts and score. Speaking of Howard, I feel it would be best if he closed the book on this retrospective, since it was his film to begin with:
