Four-Star Films : ‘Aladdin’

This 1992 Disney release is a film of wonders. To see it is to be the smallest child, open-mouthed at the screen’s sense of magic, as well as the most knowing adult, eager to laugh at some surprisingly sly humor. This Arabian Nights tale expands both the visual boundaries of mainstream animation and its possibilities for extravagant humor. And it gives Robin Williams what just may be the role of a lifetime. Williams, the voice as well as the inspiration for the Genie, has never had a role that so showcased his genius for improvisational humor. The brilliant lyricist Howard Ashman did half the songs before his death, and his composer-partner Alan Menken then teamed up with Tim Rice to finish the words. This meeting of Williams’ sensibility and Disney technology results in the the purest kind of joy (Disney Channel Sunday at 7 p.m., Monday at 4 a.m., Saturday at 10 a.m. and 9 p.m.).

Other four-star films airing this week:

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / AMC, Sunday, 10:15 a.m.

Foreign Correspondent / AMC, Monday, 5:05 p.m., again at 9 p.m.

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington / Disney, Monday, 9 p.m.; Tuesday, 3:45 a.m.

From Here to Eternity / Showtime, Thursday, 4:25 p.m.

Rear Window / USA, Saturday, 11:30 a.m.

Vertigo / USA, Saturday, 4:30 p.m.