This adaptation stays remarkably true to its source material down to the smallest detail, except for a kangaroo‑rat that suddenly appears twenty minutes in and then follows Aladdin around, serving no purpose in the plot but acting as a whimsical mascot. The screenwriter needs no introduction; Akira Miyazaki singlehandedly wrote five of the classic WMT series—including Perrine and Rascal—and contributed to two others. The only other familiar name on the crew is Yukihide Takekawa, who composed music for the exquisite yet obscure Unico pilot film. The story makes some illogical and confusing jumps when Aladdin begins courting the princess, and the lavish animation that once defined Toei in the 1960s—when they boasted the finest animators—had long since faded by this point; nevertheless, it remains a solid film largely because the script stays so faithful to the original. Character designs lean slightly more western than typical anime.
Toei Animation Japan