Hey, there! Today I have some amazing news. I just adopted a sweet little kitten. Her name is Genie, she's a domestic shorthair mix, and she's just over three months old:
I love my sweet, nervous little baby. I was wearing my Genie t-shirt when I adopted her, but you unfortunately can't see it because of my jacket.
Yes, of course I named my sweet little baby after Genie, my favorite movie character of all time. She will grant me way more than three wishes, and I won't ever have a friend like her.
Okay, enough of the Genie puns.
I made this post partly so I could find another venue to talk about my sweet little kitten whom I love so much. But since I named her Genie, I thought this would also be a great time to talk about some of the reasons I love Genie (the character, but yes the kitten too) so much.
You know that I ranked Genie as my favorite Disney sidekick, and obviously I named my blog after Genie too. I could spend hours talking about why Genie is the best character, but here are just a few quick reasons:
Genie has spot-on impersonations
Whether he is impersonating Arnold Schwarzenegger or Groucho Marx or Ed Sullivan or even Robert De Niro, Genie's celebrity impersonations are pretty iconic.
Check this out to see side-by-side comparisons of the people Genie impersonates
Genie also rocks it with his personas
When Genie isn't impersonating someone, he is often adopting a new persona, many of which are even funnier than the impersonations. My personal favorite is the flight attendant.
Sadly, I couldn't find a high-quality video. You'll just have to trust me that flight attendant Genie is an iconic Genie.
Photo Retrieved from Touring Plans.
Genie saves Aladdin's life. Multiple times
Many sidekicks just assist. At times, it seems like Genie does everything. He gets Aladdin and Abu out of the cave (with some trickery from Aladdin, I will add). He saves Aladdin from drowning. Honestly, where would Aladdin be without Genie?
The bonus of Genie saving Aladdin from drowning is that we get a touching Genie and Aladdin scene afterwards.
Photo Retrieved from Pinterest.
Genie gives great advice (that Aladdin ignores)
Another role of the sidekick is to tell the hero the exact advice they need that they also don't want to hear and choose not to follow. Aladdin eventually gets it right. But Genie got it right much sooner.
Genie makes Disney references that don't seem pushed.
Normally Disney easter eggs work best when they're subtle or hidden like puzzles. Otherwise, if they're too overt, they seemed pushed and cringey. But since Genie can make literally everything work because...he's genie...we get several fun Disney easter eggs.
Bonus: The Pinocchio scene was ad-libbed.
Genie delivers some absolute bops that are equally fun to watch and listen to.
"Friend Like Me" and "Prince Ali" are catchy, but what really makes the songs shine is the visuals. In "Friend Like Me," Genie makes transformation after transformation after transformation. It's visually stunning from an animation standpoint, but it's also just plain fun to watch.
And finally...Genie is played by Robin Williams
Genie isn't the Genie without Robin Williams. He essentially created the character, and he ad-libbed 16 additional hours of acting in addition to the normal dialogue he had. There's no doubt about it—every single reason why I love Genie so much is due to the legendary Robin Williams.
If you ever need to smile, I recommend watching Genie's funniest moments on YouTube.
Any other reasons you love Genie (the character or the kitten)? Leave a comment or send me a message, and don't forget to check out @genielampofstories on Instagram for more Disney content.
Until later, have courage and be kind.
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