10 Disney Supporting Stars That Need Their Own Movie
6. The Genie
This one is more of a what if, than a please do.
The late, great Robin Williams defined '90s animated cinema with his incredible performance as the Genie in Aladdin. The backstory here was turbulant, with some shady dealings going on over rights and recompense, one that led to a serious falling out between Williams and Disney for a long time.
Williams was recast with Simpsons star Dan Castellaneta for the sequel and for the TV series. This however was not a reflection of how much Williams enjoyed playing the role.
There was close to sixteen hours worth of material to work with when Williams finished recording his lines as the Genie. He was allowed to go into tangents, run on, play with his lines and improvise. The filmmakers were delighted, although much of his material was unusable in a film marketed toward children.
If only there could have been a film made with Williams, one centering on the Genie himself, rather than having his as a supporting character. Although the second sequel was a stronger film than Return of Jafar, it still suffered from the Disney-direct-to-video issues, with lower quality output.
The Genie could very easily have held up his own film, delighting not just younger audiences but older alike, those who were more familiar with Williams' body of work. Unfortunately, it will remain forever in the realm of what could have been.