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Hey-yooo, sorry for holding up the show !

With the 58th overall selection Team Clint Eastwood selects Disney's Aladdin (1992) in the Musical category.

Edit number 4:

Got pretty pissy this morning when I couldn't get this damn thing posted due to technical constraints. Gonna try again now that I've got a glass of wine and am (therefore) more relaxed. After all, I am trying to compile a compelling list of films and don't want to appear pressed to make a decision that would lead to my 'team' having any weak spots.

Do I hate musicals? No. They generally drive me up the wall because in terms of storytelling disrupting the pace of a good film with a song and dance routine is to me a nuissance. Because of this I find only a certain style of storytelling fits the musical apparatus: it has to be zany or otherwise possess enough freemoving energy that there isn't a total sense of disconnect between the story and the musical numbers (this dichotomy was parodied effectively in Mel Brooks' version of "The Producers" - I can't speak for the remake). I called the genre illegitimate but this was terse and shortsighted; movie musicals are just an insular genre with less room for cross-genre manipulation due to their strict principles. Unique and often grating, yes; illegitimate certainly not.

I find animated films possess enough of the zany quality that might befit the odd unprovoked musical number; they can appear almost natural (I do applaud animated features for recently moving away from this formula, however). This leads me to my selection: Disney's take on Aladdin. Who better to personify the zany/musical crossover than the one and only Robin Williams? Say what you will about a performer who has often seemed out of place or confused for his part in some of his roles ("What Dreams May Come" anyone?) - Aladdin was the perfect venue for Williams and he effortlessly steals the show - and performs the most memorable numbers - as the manic Genie. The movie overall has a playful tone which once again seems to mesh well with the concept of the musical format; this is the main reason I chose this over the more dramatically complete Beauty and the Beast, which itself has one or two entertaining productions and as I originally mentioned wins the Battle of the Disney Hotties hands down.

There are many other things about Aladdin I enjoyed thoroughly as a youngster seeing the movie for the first time: the delightfully campy but nonetheless sinister villain Jafar, the edgy humor of Gilbert Gottfried as Jafar's parrot sidekick, and of course some spectacular visuals - the main setpiece being Aladdin's escape from the Cave of Wonders. This is by no means a deep, meaningful film, but it achieves what it sets out to and for me is one of the few movie musicals I am not compelled to turn off moments in.

And, for fun - make of it what you will (ignore the spelling errors too!):