Why You Still Remember The Genie So Well

ever impressive but never there is only one man in the world that could do what you just saw that is not verbally it is a nostalgia it is unfiltered objectivity what Robin Williams created with Jeannie was not just a masterclass and comedy but proof that a voice a single voice truly can bring a character to life an ear full of sequels prequels and live-action remake is going back and watching Aladdin will be face to face with a realization that should have been obvious sometimes animation isn't just the best medium for a story it's the only one and I think that a lot of the conversation surrounding this year's Aladdin stems from something buried underneath the surface people still don't understand just how immense of a talent is required to be a voice actor to bring a character to life with nothing but sound Robin Williams didn't just understand that talent or define it he was a living embodiment of it phone calls were people that you know what I took a dump in your Dhruva Robin Williams a stand-up comedian who literally went from tending a bar in San Francisco to performing in it in the 70s and by the time he made his first TV appearance he was an established comic and that TV appearance would take him to film quicker than most TV Popeye in 1980 that make another starring turn and good morning Vietnam where we'd get this famous line before making his way into the world of one of my childhood favorites look so what's the point point is by 1992 when Aladdin would finally hit theaters Williams wasn't just a comic he was a star and stars didn't lead animated movies at least not at the time instead voice actors were usually lesser known talents and to this blue guy would change the entire animation industry was maybe most remarkable about the genie is that he is a direct reflection of Robins talents a man who could turn himself into anyone at any time the genie is a million characters wrapped into one blue shape and if you think that was the writers you're wrong there was a script it's just that well Robin changed it the genie was a character written for Williams he was the guy so much so that to convince him to take the role the directors of the film animated one of his stand-ups using the genie and when he did take on the role it changed how do you boys or even script someone who could turn into anything and anyone is once well you cast someone who can do that very thing Robin will go into the recording booth and treat the script like a reference points it was far from set in stone he would spend hours changing improving line after line after line when one was funny enough well they needed to be funnier and very quickly Robin began turning the genie into other people this was also not in the script originally instead when Robin came in and began improving with celebrity impressions the writers went back and rewrote portions of the script just to put them Amy and yes some of the more politically charged did not make it into the film the ones that did were there and had to be rewritten to the script because they were that good they became one of the defining elements of genies character in fact including the impersonations Genie is made up of 60 different characters that Robin created 60 different characters coming out of one lamp if you want to court a little lady you gotta be a straight shooter do you got it Robin was able to change the tone the inflection the mood of his voice in ways that very few people are even close to capable of Chris Nashua he once referred to Aladdin as a film that works as a fun film for kids and a joke delivery system for adults Robin's abilities to stand up in a comedian in general didn't just let these characters live it also allowed the animators to well what I think many people forget about voice acting is that it is inherently tied at least in good films of shows to the animation itself for just a second I want you to close your eyes and try to imagine what this Genie looks like what he's doing on screen be specific with your words the deal is in the detail got it which I don't really understand because if she already likes you why change I told now close them again and try to imagine what this Genie is doing oh I can't make anybody fall in love with anybody else [Music] people from it's not a pretty picture other than that you got it obviously this is just a rudimentary thought experiment but one that makes a simple fact abundantly clear robin's Genie is warm its eccentric and it allows the animators to match or just try to keep up with that energy the film's animators called genie one of the most challenging animation processes that disney yet dealt with referring to the style as zippy from a purely visual perspective Genie is inventive the animators managed to play with a single character in hundreds of ways that were relatively unique for that era of animation sure Ursula can do this but can she do this and this and what about this the reason the genie can is because of what I've seen referred to as elastic acting essentially Robins vocal tracks were able to stretch and pull the character in dozens of directions without ever snapping out of the mold of the genie almost like a rubber band so the animators in turn had Liberty to do the same the genie could be a B he could be Schwarzenegger he could be a slot machine in you the viewer would always know that that is still genie the best voice actors became their characters and the characters are animated as that very thing all too often today we see the inverse where a character becomes the actor instead of vice versa Will Smith an excellent job but this is more the genie as Will Smith than it is will as the genie and that's in part because well as great of an actor as he is is always kind of just will the character has to live in the actor and so the wider the actor can stretch the bigger the character can be but there's more to this than just funny guy talks funny bringing an animated character to life requires actual acting skills the genie is so revered today because underneath all of the jokes is that a per mentioned warmth that makes him the true hero of that story Robin's voice ranges from friendly to downright sad in that range makes a genie both and immediately familiar and at once comfortable character as well as a sympathetic one I think it's fairly easy to forget that if Genie was nothing but funny he'd very quickly turned into an annoyance to the viewer and I think that's because Robin was a man that knew the depths of both of these realities personally something you could see in all of his work he knew friendliness he knew funny he knew sadness and I think this ability to draw from the inside is what lent to a lot of his talent as both a comedian in a dramatic factor the genie was a result of this he was drama he was emotion he was comedy he was happy he was sad he very much so was Robin Williams in animation it's become increasingly easy to remember a character's face their giant eyes the way they shoot fire out of their head when they emotes the way their carrot nose is slightly off centered on their face but it's much rarer to remember the way a character sounds I don't remember how the side characters of big hero 6 sound I couldn't tell you how the Fox from Zootopia inflex its voice I forgot almost immediately after leaving the theatre yet after having not seen a lad in almost seven years i sat down in front of it and it was as though I was talking to my next-door neighbor like the genie was someone I interacted with on a daily basis I could never forget those sentence and I think that maybe that's the mark of a truly generational talent I will always know who the genie is I'll always know that voice also often I think we as human beings say things like I'll never forget you or your memory will live on in me and we don't really mean it but for millions including myself the genie Robin Williams is a part of us his voice his presence his talent for ever living on in every single person I got to see if struggling genie finally set free genie I'm I'm gonna miss you he to have no matter what anybody says you'll always be a prince to me that is a big rap on today's episode of neurologic if you enjoyed it as always press the like button to see more stuff like this on the channel better yet if you did enjoy it maybe press the subscribe button down below that way you don't miss any episodes of nerd songs you can also hit the little notification bell next to it that little Bell is really important it just make sure you guys are actually notified when an upload goes up in the channel it helps the channel and helps you see the stuff on the channel so press that little bell and on your screen right now are two more episodes of Nerdist all Jake you can click on either of those see more for me in this channel and I will catch you guys in the next video

Channel: Nerdstalgic

Views: 890,104

Rating: 4.9557214 out of 5

Keywords: aladdin, aladdin original, genie, robin williams, robin williams genie, aladdin songs, aladdin movie, aladdin genie, nerdstalgic

Id: XJ88OEfx4VE

Length: 10min 24sec (624 seconds)

Published: Sat Aug 24 2019

Reddit Comments

[u/loudog40]

I think Nerdstalgic must be too young to realize that the George Bush impression that never made it on film was actually George Bush Sr lol.

[u/muthaclucker]

I never realized that Robin Williams had a piece of my heart until he passed. I don’t think I’ll ever stop feeling a bit sad when I watch his films. Thank you for this.