Robin Williams secret magic behind Genie in 'Aladdin' revealed

The late Robin Williams was magical as Genie in the iconic Disney movie Aladdin. But there is more to it than meets the eye.

Eric Goldberg, animator at the studio, recalls the actor's extraordinary improvisations on set that stunned him.

In an interview with People, he said, “Working with Robin Williams as the Genie’s voice was amazing."

Whenever the late actor was in the recording room, Goldberg recalled, “It all comes out 100%, and he spoiled us for choice.”

The animator recounted that what made Williams a genius was the changes he brought to Genie behind the scenes.

Originally, the character was not flamboyant. 

In Goldberg's words, “we imagined him as a puff of smoke that can transform and do anything.”

“John Musker and Ron Clements wrote the character with archetypes like, ‘He’s an evangelist, he’s an army sergeant, he’s a game show host.’"

Then Williams showed his magic.

He initially shocked them with several famous-person impersonations to add Genie traits.

"But when Robin first recorded, out came all the celebrity impressions and we went, ‘We can’t not use this stuff. This has to be in the movie.'"

But besides the impressions, Goldberg said the greatest challenge they, as creators, faced was making the audience believe the Genie was genuine, especially in emotional scenes.

Expectedly, Williams pulled both eccentric and passionate sides of the character.

“Fortunately, Robin was such an amazing actor. He could do all the warm, subtle stuff as much as he could do the outrageous comedy,” the animator told People.

Aladdin was a stunning hit for Disney, raking in over $346 million globally and going on to win two Oscars.