ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Saturday, August 10, 1996              TAG: 9608120101
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: B-8  EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO

SPEAKING FOR ALADDIN, IT'S BEEN A REAL SURPRISE

Scott Weinger credits his success as the voice of Aladdin to ignorance.

He was only 15 years old when he first tried out for the role, and he had absolutely no idea what he was getting into.

"I auditioned for 'Aladdin' before 'Beauty and the Beast,' but after 'Little Mermaid' came out," he said in a recent phone interview.

"Nobody knew the success Disney was going to have with these animated movies. I didn't realize what 'Aladdin' was. I didn't know if it was going to be a feature film or a Saturday morning cartoon. So I went into the audition very relaxed and it helped my performance."

Of course, the first film was a huge hit, and in the past five years it has since generated two sequels, "The Return of Jafar" and now "Aladdin and the King of Thieves." In those same years, Weinger's "real" voice, which sounds nothing like his character's, changed slightly. But, he said, "When I go into the studio, I can do the Aladdin voice."

And what is "the Aladdin voice"?

"The key to it is the energy, extremely high, high energy. He's always anxious about something. Also, the voice cracks. That's important."

LENGTH: Short :   30 lines