1001 Arabian Nights | |
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Directed by | Jack Kinney |
Written by | Dick Shaw Dick Kinney Leo Salkin Pete Burness Lew Keller Ed Nofziger Ted Allen Margaret Schneider Paul Schneider |
Based on | One Thousand and One Nights by Czenzi Ormonde |
Produced by | Stephen Bosustow |
Starring | Jim Backus Kathryn Grant Dwayne Hickman Hans Conried Herschel Bernardi Alan Reed Daws Butler The Clark Sisters |
Music by | George Duning |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 75 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $2 million [1] |
1001 Arabian Nights is a 1959 American animated comedy film produced by United Productions of America (UPA) and distributed by Columbia Pictures. Released to theaters on December 1, 1959, the film is a loose adaptation of the Arab folktale of "Aladdin" from One Thousand and One Nights , albeit with the addition of UPA's star cartoon character, Mr. Magoo, to the story as Aladdin's uncle, "Abdul Azziz Magoo". [2] It is the first animated feature to be released by Columbia Pictures.
In a distant Middle Eastern Kingdom, the young Aladdin lives with his nearsighted and stubborn uncle, Abdul Azziz Magoo, who owns a lamp shop. Believing that Aladdin is growing up to be a lazy and irresponsible man, Magoo encourages Aladdin to get married.
Meanwhile, the wizard Wazir has been siphoning money from the royal treasury and manages to persuade the now-bankrupt Sultan to ask his daughter, the Princess Yasminda, to marry the richest man in the land - which now happens to be Wazir.
During a royal procession, Aladdin and Yasminda fall in love. In his quest for absolute power, Wazir seeks the genie of the magic lamp, which is sealed in a magic cave, and needs Aladdin to get it for him. However, he is unable to obtain the lamp after it falls back into the cave with Aladdin still inside. Aladdin meets the genie and escapes the cave with a chestful of treasures. Magoo then takes the treasure to the palace as a dowry and manages to unintentionally spoil Wazir and Yasminda's wedding with his naivety and nearsighted physical handicap.
The genie conjures a palace and wealth for Aladdin, which is enough to persuade the Sultan to agree to let Yasminda marry him, but the vengeful Wazir manages to steal the lamp and the allegiance of the genie, thus exposing Aladdin as a fraud. Aladdin is sent to the scaffold.
As Wazir kidnaps and attempts to woo Yasminda back, the clueless Magoo inadvertently manages to obtain the lamp from Wazir and thus the allegiance of the genie, while also managing to dodge all of Wazir's attempts to kill him. Wazir falls into the sea and devoured to death by sharks. Only wanting the best for his nephew, Magoo wishes for Aladdin and Yasminda to live happily ever after; thus, the genie saves Aladdin from execution and he and Yasminda wed.
The film was originally directed by Pete Burness, who was the series director on the popular series of Mr. Magoo theatrical cartoons produced for Columbia by UPA between 1949 and 1959. [3] Disagreements with producer and UPA owner Stephen Bosustow led to Burness resigning and Bosustow recruiting Jack Kinney, the director of many of Disney's Goofy cartoons, as the film's new director. [3] The voice of Magoo in the short cartoons, Jim Backus, reprises his role in the feature, with Kathryn Grant, the singer/actress wife of Bing Crosby, as the voice of Princess Yasminda and Dwayne Hickman, from TV's The Bob Cummings Show and The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis , as the voice of Aladdin. [4]
1001 Arabian Nights was the first full-length feature produced by UPA, [3] a studio which had revolutionized animation during the 1950s by incorporating design and limited animation. [5] The film was not a box-office success, and was UPA's final release through Columbia, which had ended its distribution for the UPA short subjects in favor of lower-cost Loopy De Loop cartoons from Hanna-Barbera Productions. [6] Following the film's release, Bousustow sold UPA to Henry G. Saperstein, who moved the studio into television production and a second feature production, Gay Purr-ee , before closing the animation studio and moving UPA on to other ventures. [3]
1001 Arabian Nights was released on VHS videocassette by RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video in 1985. It was released on DVD in 2011 as a manufactured-on-demand release from the Sony Pictures Choice Collection, now available through Warner Archive.
In 2014, 1001 Arabian Nights was included as disc four of the four-disc DVD boxed set Mr. Magoo: The Theatrical Collection 1949-1959 from Shout! Factory. [7]
In 2018, 1001 Arabian Nights was included in the compilation A Thousand and One Nights: The Story of Aladdin - 8 Magical Tales from Mill Creek Entertainment. [8]
Aladdin is a 1992 American animated musical fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution under Walt Disney Pictures. It is based on the Arabic folktale "Aladdin" from One Thousand and One Nights. The film was produced and directed by John Musker and Ron Clements from a screenplay they co-wrote with the writing team of Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio. Featuring the voices of Scott Weinger, Robin Williams, Linda Larkin, Jonathan Freeman, Frank Welker, Gilbert Gottfried and Douglas Seale, the film follows the titular Aladdin, an Arabian street urchin who finds a magic lamp containing a genie. With the genie's help, Aladdin disguises as a wealthy prince and tries to impress the Sultan of Agrabah to win the heart of his free-spirited daughter, Princess Jasmine, as the Sultan's evil vizier, Jafar, plots to steal the magic lamp.
Gerald McBoing-Boing is an animated short film about a little boy who speaks through sound effects instead of spoken words. It was produced by United Productions of America (UPA) and given wide release by Columbia Pictures on November 2, 1950. It was adapted by Phil Eastman and Bill Scott from a story by Dr. Seuss, directed by Robert Cannon, and produced by John Hubley.
United Productions of America, better known as UPA, was an American animation studio and later distribution company founded in 1941 as Industrial Film and Poster Service by former Walt Disney Productions employees. Beginning with industrial and World War II training films, UPA eventually produced theatrical shorts for Columbia Pictures such as the Mr. Magoo series. In 1956, UPA produced a television series for CBS, The Boing-Boing Show, hosted by Gerald McBoing Boing. In the 1960s, UPA produced syndicated Mr. Magoo and Dick Tracy television series and other series and specials, including Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol. UPA also produced two animated features, 1001 Arabian Nights and Gay Purr-ee, and distributed Japanese films from Toho Studios in the 1970s and 1980s.
Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol is a 1962 animated musical holiday television special produced by UPA. It is an adaptation of Charles Dickens' 1843 novella A Christmas Carol, and it features UPA's character Mr. Magoo as Ebenezer Scrooge. The special first aired on December 18, 1962, on NBC and was the first animated Christmas special to be produced specifically for television.
Aladdin is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with One Thousand and One Nights, despite not being part of the original text; it was added by the Frenchman Antoine Galland, based on a folk tale that he heard from the Syrian storyteller Hanna Diyab.
The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo is an American animated television series produced by United Productions of America that aired for one season on NBC from September 19, 1964 to April 24, 1965. It is the follow-up to the 1960/61 series Mister Magoo, with Jim Backus reprising the title role.
J. Quincy Magoo, better known as Mr. Magoo, is a fictional cartoon character created at the UPA animation studio in 1949. Voiced by Jim Backus, Mr. Magoo is an elderly, wealthy, short-statured retiree who gets into a series of comical situations as a result of his extreme near-sightedness, compounded by his stubborn refusal to admit the problem. However, through uncanny streaks of luck, the situation always seems to work itself out for him, leaving him no worse than before. Bystanders consequently tend to think that he is a lunatic, rather than just being near-sighted. In later cartoons, he is also an actor, and generally a competent one, except for his visual impairment.
Arabian Nights is a commonly used English title for One Thousand and One Nights, a Middle-Eastern folk tale collection.
Stephen Reginald Bosustow was a Canadian-born American film producer from 1943 until his retirement in 1979. He was one of the founders of United Productions of America (UPA) and produced nearly 600 cartoon and live-action shorts. He is chiefly remembered for producing a string of Mr. Magoo and Gerald McBoing-Boing cartoons in the 1950s, three of which earned Academy Awards. He is the only film producer in history who received all the Oscar nominations in one category (1956), guaranteeing him the winning Oscar. Magoo's Puddle Jumper was the eventual winner.
Abraham Levitow was an American animator who worked at Warner Bros. Cartoons, UPA and MGM Animation/Visual Arts. He is best known for his work under Chuck Jones' direction.
Aladdin and His Magic Lamp is a 1970 French animated film directed by Jean Image. It is loosely based on the Arabian Nights tale of Aladdin. Made by Image's fifty-artist crew on a limited schedule in 1969, the film proved successful with children upon its original release.
When Magoo Flew is a 1955 animated short produced by UPA for Columbia Pictures. Directed by Pete Burness and produced by Stephen Bosustow, When Magoo Flew won the 1955 Oscar for Short Subjects (Cartoons). In addition, it was the first UPA short to be made for the CinemaScope widescreen format. When Magoo Flew is also the title of a 2012 book by Adam Abraham on the history of the UPA studio.
A Thousand and One Nights is a 1945 tongue-in-cheek American adventure fantasy film set in the Baghdad of the One Thousand and One Nights, directed by Alfred E. Green and starring Evelyn Keyes, Phil Silvers, Adele Jergens and Cornel Wilde.
Henry Gahagen Saperstein was an American film producer and distributor.
Shirley Silvey was an American animator, whose credits included Mr. Magoo, The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, Dudley Do-Right Show and George of the Jungle. Silvey was considered a pioneer in animation, as she was one of the first women to work in the field.
Magoo's Puddle Jumper is a 1956 animated short produced by UPA for Columbia Pictures. Directed by Pete Burness and produced by Stephen Bosustow, Magoo's Puddle Jumper won the 1957 Oscar for Short Subjects (Cartoons).
Wilson David "Pete" Burness was an American animator and animation director. He was perhaps best known for his work on the Mr. Magoo series. He also contributed to the Tom and Jerry series, Looney Tunes, Merrie Melodies, and Rocky and His Friends.