Hammer Time

THE MOVIE: “Aladdin”

THE SCENE: Animated feature based on the Arabian Nights fairy tale set in the mythical kingdom of Agrabah sometime around 1450. A young, streetwise adolescent named Aladdin enlists the help of a genie, who grants him three wishes to win the heart of beautiful, lonely Princess Jasmine.

THE LOOK: Teeny-bopper Persian splendor. The animators have revisited the luxury and beauty of ancient Persia by taking liberties as only Hollywood can. The costume epic has a sensibility suitable for Melrose Avenue teen-agers. Aladdin is basically a well-toned guy with pumped-up pecs. You can bet he works on them, too, with a membership in the Sports Club Agrabah because he shows off his chest every chance he can. Instead of a droopy desert robe, Aladdin prefers harem pants, no shirt, a vest and a perky little fez.

Jasmine has a killer body, too. Historical sticklers know a young woman of her position would have been shrouded and draped to the nines. Here, she goes for the bare look, opting for a bra top and those unisex harem pants. She wears big gold jewelry and even bigger hair that’s done into a ponytail with two 15th-Century equivalents of scrunchies.

QUOTED: “If you look at TV programs like ‘Beverly Hills, 90210,’ ‘Bay Watch’ and ‘Melrose Place,’ you see that teen-agers are blooming a little earlier and revealing a little more. Aladdin is the super-handsome dream guy, and Jasmine is the sexiest character in any of the films we’ve done--as far as Disney (animated) heroines go,” says art director Bill Perkins.

ICONOGRAPHY: Heroes still wear white, as proven by Aladdin’s changes, and the villain, Jafar, dresses ominously in a long robe and turban of black and red.

SCENE STEALER: Genie’s impersonations and guises take him from Ray-Bans, tennis shoes, Hawaiian shirt, several different tuxedos and then back to harem pants. These looks not only offer a break from turbans and feathers, but when moviegoers look at the film in the future, these details will undoubtedly place the film in the year it was made.

THE RESEARCH: Persian miniatures were studied at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. LACMA’s catalogue from the 1989 show, “Timur and the Princely Vision: Persian Art and Culture in the 15th Century,” was also consulted. Other sources included rapper Hammer’s videos (for the movement of Aladdin’s low-crotch baggy pants) and the 1940s movie “The Thief of Baghdad” for Hollywood-style takes on the period.