‘Aladdin’ voices Scott Weinger, Linda Larkin reunite at Utah FanX
Scott Weinger, known for voicing Aladdin in the 1992 Disney animated film "Aladdin," will appear at the 2019 FanX Spring Salt Lake Comic Convention this week.
Linda Larkin, known for voicing Princess Jasmine in the 1992 Disney animated film "Aladdin," will appear at the 2019 FanX Spring Salt Lake Comic Convention this week.
Linda Larkin, known for voicing Princess Jasmine in the 1992 Disney animated film "Aladdin," speaks at the 2015 Magic City Comic Con. Larkin will appear at the 2019 FanX Spring Salt Lake Comic Convention this week. (Steve Cranston via CC BY-SA 2.0)
Scott Weinger, known for voicing Aladdin in the 1992 Disney animated film "Aladdin," appears on the red carpet at the 1993 Emmy Awards. Weinger will appear at the 2019 FanX Spring Salt Lake Comic Convention this week. (Photo by Alan Light via CC BY 2.0)
It now has been almost 30 years since Scott Weinger and Linda Larkin first voiced Aladdin and Princess Jasmine in Disney’s classic animated film “Aladdin,” but they still enjoy talking about it.
“It’s always fun to talk about this stuff,” Weinger told the Daily Herald in a recent phone interview. “I appreciate it now more than ever as a dad.”
Weinger and Larkin will give their first combined fan convention panel Saturday at the 2019 FanX Spring Salt Lake Comic Convention.
“It’ll be my first time in Salt Lake, so I’m very excited,” Larkin told the Daily Herald in a separate phone interview. “I love traveling to places that I’ve never been before.”
After being introduced to fan conventions herself in 2015 by Paige O’Hara, the voice of Belle in Disney’s 1991 “Beauty and the Beast,” Larkin was the one who convinced Weinger to start attending the events.
“She and I, we stayed pretty good friends,” Weinger said of Larkin. “Anytime we have an opportunity to hang out and reconnect and sort of reminisce about this whole thing and catch up is really fun.”
Larkin said she looks forward most to hearing fans’ stories at conventions.
“I really feel enriched at the end of the weekend because people have come to me and shared their personal stories and shared their challenges and triumphs and how it relates to Aladdin, how it relates to Princess Jasmine, how that was something in their lives at a certain time that really helped them through something or meant something to them,” Larkin said.
The actress said she wants to share with other people “the message of working hard, expecting great things for yourself and appreciating the gifts that come to you in life.”
“I really believe that Jasmine is someone who stands up for love and that she’s someone who represents the idea that confidence is beautiful and that true beauty isn’t just about how you look, but about who you are and what you’re willing to stand up for,” Larkin said. “I’m very proud to be connected to someone with such integrity and strong beliefs.”
Weinger said he thinks one of the core messages of “Aladdin” is “to believe in yourself and don’t try to be something you’re not.”
“Just be yourself, that’s good enough,” Weinger said. “I think that that’s a message that is very popular and resonates now with people more than ever.”
The actor said it was “unforgettable” working with Robin Williams, who voiced Genie, on “Aladdin.”
“Honestly, I was the biggest, the craziest Robin Williams fan ever when I got this job,” Weinger said. “I was kind of surprised when I met him that he was sort of quiet and just sort of doing a lot of thinking, and then when the red light went on, he turned into the Robin Williams that I was expecting and he blew my mind. … What a lucky break that I got to work with my hero.”
Weinger, also known for playing Steve Hale on TV series “Full House,” said it was “a shock and a dream” as well to be part of the show’s Netflix revival, “Fuller House,” which is now headed into its fifth and final season.
“I never in a million years would’ve thought that they would bring the show back, revive the whole thing with a new premise and that we would all come back and do it and that it would be such a big success,” Weinger said. “It’s been great to reconnect with the cast, who are like family to me, and it’s been awesome. It’s been a really fun journey.”
Larkin said it was also great reuniting with other original Disney princess voice actresses for “Ralph Breaks the Internet.”
“Aside from conventions, which has been great bringing us together, we really are in our own separate films and our own separate worlds,” Larkin said. “But it was just so great for us to be able to be in the same film together and work together as one cast promoting that film.”
Weinger and Larkin are both looking forward to seeing Disney’s new live action “Aladdin,” set for release May 24.
“For me, it’s really cool because on a personal level, it’ll introduce a whole new generation of kids who weren’t even close to being born yet when ‘Aladdin’ came out to ‘Aladdin,’ ” Weinger said. “I think whenever something like this happens, it gets people excited about the new movie, but also, it gets them excited about the original movie, so it’s always fun for me.”
ALADDIN SPOTLIGHT PANEL
What: Scott Weinger and Linda Larkin, known for voicing Aladdin and Princess Jasmine, respectively, in the 1992 Disney animated film “Aladdin,” give a combined panel at the 2019 FanX Spring Salt Lake Comic Convention.
Where: Salt Palace Convention Center Grand Ballroom, 100 S. West Temple, Salt Lake City
When: Saturday at 1 p.m.
Cost: Various passes available online for $30-$210.
Info: fanxsaltlake.com