Tim Burton rewatch! After working with Burton on the short film Frankenweenie, Shelley Duvall enlisted him to direct an episode of her Showtime anthology series Faerie Tale Theater, “Aladdin and his Wonderful Lamp.”

Here’s what happens: Street urchin Aladdin is recruited by an evil wizard to secure a magic lamp. Aladdin rubs the lamp himself, and, yep, out comes a genie. Then we’ve got wishes granted, romance with a princess, a flying carpet, and more.

Origin story: Faerie Tale Theatre was a passion project for actress Shelley Duvall, who wanted children’s programming made by top-notch talent. As such, any given episode features some of Hollywood’s biggest names. This one has James Earl Jones, Leonard Nimoy, and Valerie Bertinelli.  

Outsider theory: The opening narration tells us that the whole city has dismissed Aladdin as nothing but a troublemaking ne’er-do-well, but that he actually has a good heart.

Reality breaks through: One scene has the Sultan asking Aladdin to bring him an invention. Aladdin has the genie create a “box with a window,” which is basically television. The Sultan delights in watching it.

Best bits: Genie: “What’s wrong with this house? It’s a palace compared to a lamp.”

Someone was watching: The similarities between this and Disney’s 1993 Aladdin are striking, especially the wizard coercing Aladdin to enter the cave and fetch the lamp for him. To be fair, it has also has a couple shout-outs to the story as it appears in the Book of 1,001 Nights, a.k.a. The Arabian Nights, translated by Richard Burton (no relation?).  

Thoughts upon this viewing: We get occasional flashes of Burton’s visual style in this, although not much as fans would want. It’s fun to see Leonard Nimoy and James Earl Jones totally hamming it up, but an hour is too long for this much childish whimsey.

Next: Daylight come and I wanna go home.

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Want more? Check out my ongoing serial, THE SUBTERKNIGHTS, on Kindle Vella. A man searches for his missing sister in a sprawling city full of far-out tech and secret magic. It’s a sci-fi/fantasy hybrid full of action, romance, mystery, and laughs. The first three chapters are FREE! Click here for a list of all my books and serials.