Robin Williams: 5 Awesome Performances & 5 That Sucked

4. The Genie - Aladdin (1992)

There are few animated voice performances as immediately iconic and memorable as Williams' performance as the Genie in Disney's classic Arabian Nights redo, and that is down to far more than just the charitable writing of the character (he gets all of the comic opportunities and all of the most quotable lines - which is clearly no accident). Williams' colourful, multi-layered performance, which included genuine pathos (he's an infinite prisoner who has suffered years of inevitable disappointment), is the crowning glory on the entire film, and the decision to give a good chunk of wages over to bringing him in proved to be an inspired one. He is on top form, ad-libbing, jumping through his repertoire of vaguely familiar comic voices and injecting charm and a relatability to the character that threatens to steal focus in every scene. But then that's sort of the point. He basically pulled the same move with Batty in Fern Gully the same year, but the Genie was twice the performance (in thrice the movie).