Linda Larkin

There is a firmness to Linda Larkin’s speaking voice in Aladdin (1992) that suits Jasmine’s independence. Disney asked her to lower her natural pitch for the role, and the result gives the princess some strength without making her sound severe. She is pleasant company, but the film gives her and Scott Weinger’s Aladdin too little lively conversation. We are happy enough to spend time with them; we are seldom eager for their next exchange.

Directors John Musker and Ron Clements give the supporting voices more room to play. Jonathan Freeman’s sharply voiced Jafar and Gilbert Gottfried’s abrasive Iago make that imbalance audible. We were disappointed by the lovers’ conversations, because the interruptions were so much livelier than the exchanges themselves. The screenplay, credited to Musker, Clements, Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, leaves the songs to do much of the persuading. That helps the film, but it is no reason to overpraise the speaking performances.

Aladdin was Larkin’s breakthrough after small live-action parts, and the subsequent career has been unusually tied to one speaking role. She returned as Jasmine in The Return of Jafar (1994), Aladdin and the King of Thieves (1996) and the Aladdin television series (1994–1995). Supporting appearances in Basquiat (1996) and Runaway Bride (1999) continued alongside that voice work. Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018) brought another return to Jasmine, extending an association that had already lasted decades.

There is a temptation, with so durable an association, to praise the length of service instead of the acting. We would keep the claim modest: she makes Jasmine likeable in a film whose romantic leads are not its strongest element. Aladdin is worth an evening for the songs and visual comedy. Go to it for Larkin alone and the supporting cast will keep interrupting.