Pruiksma. Jim Cummings as Razoul, the Captain of the Guards. He and the other guards were animated by Phil Young and Chris Wahl. Charlie Adler as Gazeem, a thief that Jafar sends into the Cave of Wonders at the beginning of the film, but is trapped inside for being unworthy. Gazeem was animated by T. Daniel Hofstedt. Corey Burton as Prince Achmed, an arrogant prince whom Jasmine rejects as a suitor. Production Script and development In 1988, lyricist Howard Ashman pitched the idea of an animated musical adaptation of Aladdin. Ashman had written a 40-page film treatment remaining faithful to the plot and characters of the original story, but envisioned as a campy 1930s-style musical with a Cab Calloway/Fats Waller-like Genie. Along with partner Alan Menken, Ashman composed several songs and added original characters such as Aladdin's friends named Babkak, Omar, and Kassim to the story. However, Michael Eisner did not think a story set in the Middle East would be commercially appealing, and their project was removed from active development. Ashman and Menken were later recruited to compose songs for Beauty and the Beast (1991). Linda Woolverton, who had also worked on Beauty and the Beast, used their treatment and developed a draft with inspired elements from The Thief of Bagdad (1940), such as a villain named Jaf'far, an aged sidekick retired human thief named Abu, and a human handmaiden for the princess. Then, directors Ron Clements and John Musker joined the production, picking Aladdin out of three projects offered, which also included an adaptation of Swan Lake and King of the Jungle—that eventually became The Lion King (1994). Before Ashman's death in March 1991, he and Menken had composed "Prince Ali" and his last song, "Humiliate the Boy." Musker and Clements wrote a draft of the screenplay, and then delivered a story reel to studio chief Jeffrey Katzenberg in April 1991. Katzenberg thought the script "didn't engage," and on a day known by the staff as "Black Friday," demanded that the entire story be rewritten without rescheduling the film's November 25, 1992 release date. Katzenberg requested for Clements and Musker to not be heavily dependent on Ashman's vision, and the removal of Aladdin's mother, remarking, "Eighty-six the mother. The mom's a zero." Katzenberg also influenced in changing the plot element about Jasmine's marriage, which originally had her required by law to be married by sixteen, to remove the