Mickey and Company

Middle eastern/arabic words and foods used in Aladdin.

aladdin + other disney references.

The original voice of Snow White, the fabulous Adriana Caselotti, in a glamour still around the late 1930′s. In addition to being Walt’s original princess, she was a successful business woman after Disney banned her from doing other voice work and pursuing a singing career, her sister was Maria Callas’ singing teacher, her best friend was a gay man, she lived in a replica of the cottage from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, she had four husbands- one of whom was in charge of the wardrobe and set design at CBS television, she had cameo appearances in a Joan Crawford film, The Wizard of Oz, and It’s a Wonderful Life, she rerecorded the song ‘I’m Wishing’ as Snow White for Disneyland when she was in her sixties- which still plays in the parks to this day, and she believed she was visited often by the ghost of Walt Disney near the end of her life, even intending to write a book about it.

Ilene Woods, the original speaking and singing voice of Cinderella, looking through storyboards for the deleted Cinderella Work Song. As she later mused, “I was the first non-soprano the studio ever hired.” Ilene came from a very musical family, her mother Eunice (James) Woods and her aunt Ruth had performed for several years as ‘The James Sisters’, including radio appearances. They also ran a performing school in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Ilene’s grandmother, Hattie (Waldron) James was a pianist, who often played at her daughters’ recitals. 

Mary Costa, the original singing and speaking voice of the Princess Aurora in Sleeping Beauty. Mary had reportedly been so excited by the prospect of meeting Walt Disney, it had been her initial trigger to continue with the auditioning process. “I knew I wouldn’t get the part, but I wanted to meet Walt Disney.” Recalling the first day she met: “I told him I was excited about recording, and he asked me if I was going to use a lot of colors. I laughed, because I didn’t know what he meant. He said, ‘Everyone has a unique set of colors, like a kaleidoscope. I want you to go to the studio and visit Marc Davis, look at his storyboards, and ask questions. You must know Briar Rose so well that you actually become the character. How does she feel about her godmothers, and living in the forest? How does she feel about the many shades of green in the trees and shrubs, and the different colors of the flowers? Does she laugh and cry with her godmothers? I want you to let all of those vibrant colors respond to each thought that comes from your mind and heart. Memorize your lines and when you get in front of the microphone I want you to become Briar Rose. Let all of those rich colors in your mind drop to your vocal palette, and paint with your voice.”

Mary Costa, the original singing and speaking voice of Princess Aurora in Sleeping Beauty, pictured above in a 1950s glamour shot. Despite the fact that Mary grew up to become a model and had been the most significant influence and physical inspiration for Disney’s most beautiful princess, she had been far from confident. “I used to hide when I was a little girl. My eyes were too small, my nose too big, my legs were so thin the kids called me ‘Bird Legs’, I wore braces and tried to talk without opening my mouth so nobody could see them. I was so blond I looked like an albino rabbit. Later, they told me I’d never make it in television with my nose. But I refused to have it bobbed. Finally, one day, somebody said it was pretty and I think that was my greatest compliment.”

The original voice of Snow White, Adriana Caselotti, posing in a publicity still for the premiere of the film in the 1930′s. Adriana breathed life into the title character and imbued Snow White with the endearing qualities of innocence and grace. Just what Walt was looking for. It’s difficult to imagine the film without her. And yet, it’s interesting to note that at the 1937 Carthay Circle premiere, she was not considered to be one of the invited guests. The main artists and animators were given tickets, but apparently the voice actors were not. This didn’t stop Adriana. She showed up with Harry Stockwell, the voice of the prince, on her arm. When they reached the ticket booth, they were told by the attendant that their names were not on the list. ’Tickets? We don’t have any tickets- I’m Snow White and this is Prince Charming!’ The attendant, of course having no idea who these two were, refused their request. The two stars of the film stepped aside and waited until no one was looking. Then quietly they slipped upstairs to one side of the balcony to watch the movie. “The audience was filled with people like Carole Lombard, Judy Garland, Charles Laughton, Marlene Dietrich and Charlie Chaplin- all applauding for me, and I’m standing upstairs in the very back of the balcony looking down because there weren’t any seats for two of the film’s stars. Harry was so darned angry. I didn’t mind, though. I was having so much fun. Each time any little thing happened, whether it was happy, sad or cute, the audience would clap and cheer. It was an amazing situation. When the credits came on every animator, illustrator and ink girl had their name up there. But I didn’t get any mention at all.“

Fun Fact: The iconic Lady And The Tramp spaghetti kiss almost never happened. The scene in which two dogs nuzzle over a plate of noodles was cut from the film’s first storyboards by Walt Disney himself. He wanted the dogs to have human emotions but thought fine dining might be pushing it. “Walt wasn’t convinced that that would be a very clean-cut scene,” tells Steven Vagnini. “As you can imagine, if you have two pets and they eat a plate of spaghetti, it’s hard to envision that being too graceful.“ Directing animator Frank Thomas saved the day and the scene by working up a rough version to convince Disney. (x)

The orchestra conductor of Ernesto de la Cruz’s concert in the climax is modeled after the film’s composer, Michael Giacchino. The costume matches the outfit that Giacchino wore to the premiere of Zootopia (x)

A deleted scene from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, 1937. Grumpy protests against the dwarfs housing Snow White as she’s hiding from her stepmother’s homicidal attempts toward the little Princess, and ultimately instigates a fight with Doc about it which turns physical. Witnessing the toxicity Snow White, exuding pure sass and autonomy, marches toward the door and declares she can find shelter elsewhere- and if she doesn’t, she isn’t afraid to stick it out in the woods alone. Fragments of this chapter, along with the soup sequence and a longer version of Someday My Prince Will Come, was ultimately trimmed for time but the overall, shortened scene was still included in the final completed film. 

aladdin trivia: 6/12 “in the preview screenings for the movie, audiences did not applaud after the big song numbers. the animators wanted applause and so somebody stuck the genie with an “applause” sign at the end of “friend like me.” the joke worked and the sign was kept for the movie.”

aladdin trivia: 4/12 “in the cave of wonders, there was supposed to have been an extended version of the lamp-grabbing scene. in it, aladdin would have approached the lamp and, before he would grab it, would look up and see images of others, including gazeem from the beginning, who attempted to take the lamp and were killed. as it turned out, the lamp he was going for was a fake and, by stepping away from it, would have been granted access to the real one.”

Adriana Caselott photographed in the late 1930′s. Seeking out to find stardom, Adriana was signed to MGM studios as a contract player in 1934. After appearing in uncredited roles for a few films, Adriana overheard her father talking to Walt Disney on the phone and insisted, much to the dismay of her family, she be hired for some voice work. Not much later, she was hired for the voice of Snow White. Most of the money she had been paid, Adriana gave to help her mother who had been in a financial burden, and she spent a majority of her time at the studio with only a candy bar to sustain her for the day. After Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs premiered, Adriana was called on to do the biggest radio show in America, and make a few other appearances- even MGM revived their interest in her, but Disney put a stop to it. Wanting to keep the illusion of Snow White, he banned Adriana from appearing in any other credited work until the late seventies. Aside from a single line she sung in The Wizard of Oz and appearing in the background of a James Stewart scene in It’s A Wonderful Life, Adriana’s film resume remains blank. Facing hungry days, when she would write back to the studio multiple times up until the late fifties to find work, either reprising her role as Snow White or doing other voice work, she was told she wasn’t needed. Disney, did, however end up buying a house for Adriana to live in to make up for the fact that she had only been paid $970 for Snow White, while the film went on to make nearly two billion dollars. Though Caselotti never succeeded in breaking through in the film industry as she once hoped, she ended up having a successful career in the stock market and in real estate. 

aladdin trivia: 3/12 “aladdin’s monkey abu was named after the ancient egyptian city of abu. this translates to elephant, because the city was known for it’s trade in ivory. therefore it is not surprising that when enchanted, abu shifts shape into an elephant.”