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Trivia : Arabian Nights
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Trivia from the animated movie Aladdin-
Aladdin has no nipples.
In the original theatrical release of Aladdin, the opening song, "Arabian Nights" was different. American citizens of Middle Eastern descent took offense at the line referring to the Middle East as a place where, " They cut off your ear if they don't like your face, It's barbaric, but hey, It's home". This version still survives on the original music cassette release of the Disney Music, "Songs from Aladdin" tape, as well as on the movie soundtrack. The cassette was released the week of the movie in retail stores. The written lyrics are also in the various original Disney Music Publishing "Score from the Movie Aladdin", sheet music books. In the video release, the song was looped in with new lines" Where it's hot and immense and the heat is intense, It's barbaric, but hey, It's home".
In the scene where the Sultan is building a tower of animal figures right before Jafar comes barging in and makes it fall apart, one of the animal figures in the tower is the Beast from Beauty and the Beast. The king crab the genie pulls out from his cookbook is Sebastian from The Little Mermaid
The director allowed Robin Williams to ad lib through most of his voice recordings, as long as he stuck to the script where it was necessary. He was free to make his own jokes - the art crew then animated the Genie based on the best cuts of Williams' recordings.
When the tiger kitten transforms, if you watch it frame by frame its head bears a striking resemblance to Mickey's head. There is a long standing tradition for Disney to put 'hidden Mickeys' in their movies.
Disney created the fictitious Agrabah for the film because the story is traditionally set in Baghdad. This was done because of the notoriety of Iraq (whose capital is Baghdad) in the Persian Gulf War a year before the film's release.
In the first draft, Aladdin had three friends (Babkak, Omar, and Kassim), a magic ring and two genies.
The first part of the theme of 'Prince Ali', the parade song, is (unintentionall
y, I'm sure) almost chord for chord and note for note the same as 'To Life' from "Fiddler on the Roof." Duplicated chord structures are extremely common, and similar themes certainly aren't rare, but this is an unusually blatant example.
Following a dispute over his voicing rights for merchandise, Robin Williams decided not to return to voice the Genie in the film's sequel, "The Return of Jafar." The Genie was instead voiced by Dan Castellaneta. Williams later returned to the role for "Aladdin and the King of Thieves."
Early scripts included Aladdin's mother, who sang a song called ``Proud of Your Boy'', and another song for Jafar called `Humiliate the Boy''. Jafar's song was cut, as it was considered too cruel for Disney.
Trivia for the movie Arabian Nights-
Filming on Arabian Nights began November 16, 1998 near Goreme in the Cappadocia region of Turkey, 400 miles southeast of Istanbul. Thirty million years ago, three volcanoes simultaneously erupted in Cappadocia, spreading a thick layer of ash which hardened into towering, cone-shaped rocks called Fairy Chimneys. Churches, monasteries and underground cities were subsequently carved out of the porous rock. George Lucas used this stunning, utterly unique terrain for the moonscape scenes in Star Wars.
In Goreme, cast and crew were billeted in caves which had been turned into pensiones. Because the nights are so cold, the caves were heated. The $19-a-night "cave charge" included a traditional Turkish breakfast of olives, feta, cucumbers, tomatoes and boiled eggs.
After two weeks of filming in Cappodcia, the entire 235-person Arabian Nights company moved to the newly-built Antalya Studios, near Antalya, Turkey. Arabian Nights was the studio's first tenant. It features a giant soundstage (32,550-square feet) and an expansive back lot where many of the exterior scenes were shot.
An astonishing 48 sets were built on the Antalya soundstage during the 15-week-long shoot. Why so many? Because Arabian Nights encompasses six stories: the linking tale, starring Dougray Scott as Sultan Schahriar and Mili Avital as Scheherazade and five others which take place in different periods and in different places.
"Aladdin" played by Jason Scott Lee, is set in the Chinese mountains; "The Three Brothers" in the Yemen desert; "The Hunchback" in Constantinople, "Ali Baba" played by Rufus Sewell, in the mountains of Syria; and "The Sultan and the Beggar" set in Cairo. Six distinctive "looks" were needed.
The first-unit team numbered 190 (unusually large by either feature film or television mini-series standards); the second-unit was composed of 45 hard-working souls. Four Arriflex cameras were used during the production.
After Arabian Nights wrapped in Turkey, a slimmed-down unit of 30 flew to Erfoud, in southeastern Morocco, on the edge of the Sahara Desert. All the Lawrence of Arabia landscape scenes were shot there over an intensive four-day period.
In Morocco, 150 camels were drafted for use during the filming. They were recruited from throughout southeastern Morocco.
Because Arabian Nights encompasses six quite distinct stories; an astonishing 4,750 costumes had to be created. They came from a variety of sources. Some were rented in Rome, London and Los Angeles. The vast majority, though, were custom-made in Turkey. Ten Italian tailors, embroiderers and seamstresses supervised a small army of 42 Turkish artisans during the Herculean project.
Proverbs about deserts-
Sunshine without rain makes a desert. (Arabian)
Talent without skill is like a desert without an oasis. (Arabian)
Don't demand that what you write in the Nile will be read in the desert. (Ethiopian)
When the Nile knows a secret the desert will soon know it too. (Ethiopian)
Working on the land is better than praying in the desert. (German)
Pearls are of no value in a desert. (Indian)
All sunshine makes the desert. (Saudi Arabian)
Any water in the desert will do. (Saudi Arabian)
Who preaches in the desert loses his sermon. (Spanish)
Harem Trivia-
Plains zebras establish harmonious harems. Harem masters have exclusive mating rights with up to six mares. Zebra harems are so stable that the mares remain associated with each other for life. Their foals have the added protection from the family stallion's readiness to defend his wives and offspring against all threats to their survival.
During the seventeen century , the Sultan of Turkey ordered his entire harem of women drowned, and replace with a new one.
In parts of Malaya, the women keep harems of men.
Rocky Mountain Elk Bulls form harems consisting on average of 1 bull, 6 cows, and 4 calves in the early summer months.
Queen Kahena, a Berber in Northwest Africa kept a harem of 400 male athletes in her lockup.
Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses II had his own harem at age 10.
Eunuchs were often used to guard harems.
Sources:
http://www.moviemistakes.com/film35/trivia
http://www.dougrayscottinfocus.com/an/an_trivia.htm
http://creativeproverbs.com/
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