A thoroughly renowned as well as one of the most beloved celebrities in the industry, Tom Cruise has it all. Be it his looks, his acting, his body, the way he performs his stunts by himself, or even the way he treats his peers: he is marvelous in every angle. With a face full of handsome features and a personality full of stuff to people’s likeness, it wouldn’t be surprising if he inspired a character to stem from him.
That being said, a Disney character in the late legend Robin Williams starrer $504.1 million blockbuster did get created after being inspired by the Mission: Impossible star, even though it strictly went against his one stern clause.
Tom Cruise Inspired Aladdin’s Look
While most must have been used to seeing Tom Cruise in action and spy movies, the fact that his face actually inspired Disney’s super famous character Aladdin in his $540.1 million movie might come as a shock to a lot of fans. But that wasn’t all.
Initially, the prince was looked at as more of a Michael J. Fox kind of character. As per Entertainment Tonight, the supervising animator for Aladdin, Glen Keane, shared the same story behind developing Aladdin’s character. He said,
“At one point, when we were working on Aladdin, I was thinking of him more like a Michael J. Fox character.”
However, as the movie further developed, creators realized that while Princess Jasmine’s character had been well defined, Aladdin’s had not. Thus, Jeffrey Katzenberg, who was the chairman of Walt Disney Studios at the time, suggested that they use Tom Cruise’s face and persona from Top Gun as the base for developing Aladdin’s character.
“I got the film and I looked at him, and what I noticed was all of his poses. His attitudes. There was this confidence. The way his chest stuck out. There was a cockiness to him,” said Keane. “And Aladdin, we wanted to have a little bit of that edge on him.”
Thus, it was decided, and the Mission: Impossible star ended up unknowingly giving his face as the base for one of the most beloved characters of Disney in the Robin Williams starrer $540.1 million blockbuster, Aladdin (1992).
Aladdin’s Look Went Against Tom Cruise’s Strict Clause
Although Tom Cruise is renowned for being one of the finest-looking stars in the entertainment industry, his one strict clause bans everyone from even creating a character based on him. According to the Irish Independent,
“[Tom Cruise] doesn’t allow his likeness to be used to make any merchandise.”
Furthermore, to avoid running into any such situation, every time he signs up for a movie, he ensures that the contract he is getting into contains this above-mentioned clause as well. That means that fans won’t be seeing him in any sort of merchandise or even any games related to Mission: Impossible either.
Nonetheless, Aladdin’s on-screen character still stemmed from Cruise’s personality, and now, years later, even Tom Cruise himself can’t change that!
Source: Entertainment Tonight | Irish Independent
