Commercialization kills relations made out of love. Robin Williams, the American actor known for voicing the iconic role of the Genie from the 1992 animated movie Aladdin, was double-crossed by Disney however after the movie became famous.
The actor, in an interview years later, recalled that Disney did not keep their end of the deal and used his image in selling toys and products which Robin Williams absolutely hated. The actor and Disney had made a pact that the role was for the good of his children and should not be commercialized and sold and yet, that is exactly what the mass media company did.
When Disney Double-Crossed Robin Williams
The 1992 movie Aladdin made every kid across the world happy for being one of the finest animated movies to exist. The iconic character of Genie who gibber-gabbers his way through any problem faced by Aladdin was voiced by legendary voice actor Robin Williams.
After the success of the movie, Disney made every kind of toy available of the character of Genie and sold it as merchandise. This was however, not liked by Williams who did not want to be commercialized, a deal that Disney broke. After being commercialized as the voice of Genie, Robin Williams spoke in an interview some years later about how Disney essentially betrayed him since he did the role only for the sake of his children and children all around the world.
“The one thing I said was I will do the voice. I’m doing it basically because I want to be part of this animation tradition. I want something for my children. One deal is, I just don’t want to sell anything–as in Burger King, as in toys, as in stuff.”
The actor further stated that regrettably, Disney did commercialize his voice and the character of Genie.
“Not only did they use my voice, but they also took a character I did and overdubbed it to sell stuff,” he shared. “That was the one thing I said: ‘I don’t do that.’ That was the one thing where they crossed the line.”
After the whole affair, Disney sent a Picasso painting to Robin Williams as a form of apology which the actor happily accepted.
Robin Williams Changed Due To This Stanley Kubrick Movie
In 1964, legendary director Stanley Kubrick made a war/comedy movie titled Dr. Strangelove. The movie followed a former Nazi scientist getting recruited by U.S. officials at the end of World War II. Although it was a war movie, there were some comedic scenes in it which had a lasting impression of Robin Williams.
“For me, the most influential actor in films was Peter Sellers, because of the Pink Panther but mainly because of Dr Strangelove, to see one person play that many characters and to play each one of them differently, and each one so committed — especially in Dr Strangelove.”
After suffering from paranoia, depression, and insomnia, Robin Williams later died by suicide back in 2014. Aladdin later was remade starring Will Smith which received mixed reviews and a sequel is rumored in development. Aladdin (1992) is available to stream on Disney+.
Source: Cheatsheet
