1001 Arabian Nights

The Near-Sighted Mr. Magoo (amiably voiced by Jim Backus) gets his own starring vehicle in this not-bad animated comedy-fantasy from UPA. Lamp-seller in Budapest demands that his loaf-off nephew Aladdin get married; the boy becomes smitten with the Sultan's daughter, but she's in danger of being snatched by the Sultan's assistant, the Wicked Wazir, who worships a magical flame. With so much going on, the more familiar elements of this story (the magic lamp, the genie, the flying carpet) almost get lost in the stampede of quips, jokes, puns, satire and slapstick. The animation is best in the montages, most often resembling the Fractured Fairy Tales for television. George Duning's perky score keeps things lively, though too much time is spent on rambling set-pieces. The attention to story detail is good and funny bit characters do emerge. ** from ****