The Making of Aladdin / Cel animation in video games

During the 16-bit generation developers started to use a variety of techniques to create in-game graphics, one of them being hand-drawn animation. In this episode the development process behind Aladdin for the Mega-Drive, Earthworm Jim and The Lion King and how they were able to leverage the craftsmanship of traditionally trained animators.
Huge thanks to Ken Horowitz from Sega-16.com for his awesome book "Playing at the Next Level: A History of American Sega Games"
Want to learn more about Maui Mallard? Max Nasikan wrote this elaborate article:
@maui_mallard-intervie...
///Support the channel:
All your views, likes comments and shares are really appreciated! My making of videos are part of bigger project. I set up a patreon for those who would like to financially support it: / strafefox
Narration by Steven Kelly
/ stevenmkelly
//Music and Sources
For the complete track-listing with time-codes skip to the end of the video
Sources used for this video are also listed there.

[@williamanderson7271]

I was the lead game play designer on Aladdin, Cool Spot and more games at Virgin Games at the time. It's cool they even showed my Aladdin level design work in this video, along with my game levels.

[@SufferDYT]

It would be great to see a youtube video of you talking about your experience as a designer in this era of games. Maybe you have some old design docs laying around you could show?

[@sebastienduffin4959]

congratulations for your work !

[@thehumbleone1983]

👍👍👍👍

[@NadjibBait]

Just wanted to thank you as you made my childhood awesome. I'm now a developer and I know the hard work you put, you and your team, in making this awesome game. God bless you!

[@1D0N]

Must have been cool to work at games back then.

[@dimitreze]

the level of this channel is unbelievable

[@2ero2nin3]

almost an understatement, love this channel 😻

[@SRC267]

Next level, brah

[@cocasurfboards]

"More entertaining than humanly possible"

[@balance-breaker9826]

Yes, bravo

[@michaelsierra9]

Highest level of detail and very entertaining.

[@burnsy96]

*Disney:* 2D animated games are dead. *Cuphead:* *makes millions* *Disney:* "Are we so out of touch? No, it's the children who are wrong."

[@ginogatash4030]

Cuphead also costed a good chunk of money and it took like 6 years to be done, partially because the process of animating stuff with real ink on actual paper to get the most authentic looking result was insanely slow and impractical compared to modern practices where they scan pencil lines and color them digitally or just draw and everything with a tablet. Disney has the money to do that if they wanted, but sadly there's many reasons that could make the gain feel not worth the investment, add to that the fact that 3d in games allows for greater interactivity and the fact that Disney never took gaming seriously enough to actually invest in it save for very few exceptions, and how overprotective of their properties the company in general is and you can see why they're not too great with games.

[@JonkariP]

Production value in these videos is insane

[@killerb2099]

I loved Aladdin as a kid, but I didn't realize how influential it was. This video has given me a deeper appreciation of a cherished childhood game.

[@sebastianmandrean]

This explains why some of my favorite 16-bit games from the 1990s have animations that surpass even modern 2D games in the 2020s: They involved the Disney movie animators to do the video game animations as well?! Just wow.

[@BlueAizu_]

The Aladdin game's animations were done by Disney's secondary studio in Florida (which sadly doesn't exist anymore), but still, yeah!! It's incredible they got Disney themselves to help make the game!!

[@webinatic216]

The only problem with this video is that I paused it 5 times to give it thumbs up only to see that I already gave it a thumbs up.

[@MidwinterMinis]

I remember Cool Spot coming out when I was 8. For almost all of 1993, I tried to walk like 3:47 The shame.

[@mr.fearingtoon3549]

Massive respect to you bro.

[@laziestoldman]

Chad stride

[@guidofedeli851]

At least now I know it's a children thing to emulate ways of walking. I personally tried to emulate the walking cycles of Alucard from Castlevania SOTN and Raziel from Soul Reaver. I thought they were super cool.

[@danielbueno8474]

@@guidofedeli851 ...Is it bad that sometimes I do that children thing of emulating ways fictional characters walk when I'm alone in my room?

[@guidofedeli851]

@@danielbueno8474 I think a good part of our personality and way of expressing ourselves, both in character and in motion, is due in part to emulation. I wouldn't say it's unavoidable but I wouldn't just exclude it absolutely. Some motions stick, some others don't. The way, for example, I stop and think about things for a moment has me stroking my beard. It's just such an universal gesture that it comes naturally to me. I'm sure you and many others "work" the same way in other everyday gestures and motions. It could also very well be a way of making mundane things less mundane and entertain ourselves. In short, I don't think it's weird or bad. We do a lot of things that would be considered embarrassing or weird on our own, and that's okay.

[@samuelthehobo4441]

I do wish this sort of channel was more popular, and I don’t care if others have said the same thing

[@jashinslayer]

Too many little kiddies clicking on memes, Fortnite, and idiotic let's players videos who upload crap 3 times a day. Actual quality and talent gets overlooked, because they don't spam videos constantly or make dumb children giggle.

[@yellowblanka6058]

This, it's a travesty that a channel like this, with all the research/careful editing and care that goes into the videos has 1/10th the subscribers of some man-child recording themselves overreacting to video-games or somebody "unboxing" electronics etc. Still, I'm glad channels like this with people putting obvious effort/love into their content exist amongst the sea of "me too" KZbinrs regurgitating the same gaming/general news drama etc.

[@digitalchewie]

I'm a simple man. I see a new strafefox video and my mood goes from ☹️ to 😊 in an instant 🥰

[@strafefox]

Ha! :) Awesome to hear! and big thanks for your support!

[@officialjikozy]

This guy has achieved a level of quality that we all can only dream of having.

[@chowdown]

I've never even heard of Maui Mallard until today.

[@khululyp]

I love that game, I played the PC version back in the day, still have the CD-Rom but it doesn't install on 64-bit systems sadly.

[@nasikan83]

@@khululyp It was released in Steam and GOG in May 2019

[@khululyp]

@@nasikan83 Completely under my radar, such releases sneak up on ppl. It's a fun game, not perfect but zany 90's platform action.

[@yellowblanka6058]

@@khululyp Yeah, I like it but (perhaps as a consequence of the elaborate animation) it feels like it could be more responsive at times.

[@digimaks]

lots of people never heard of that game 1) it was out in 16-bit consoles sunset, and 2) The name Maui Mallard doesn't associate with anything people normally know from Disney characters. If they would of called it "Donald Duck starring in Maui Mallard adventures" - this would of brought far more attention in gamers circles.

[@FloatingSunfish]

I hope you get to make a video on Metal Slug someday too. That series definitely has some neat stories behind the scenes! And some amazing sprite and animation work too!

[@jasonblalock4429]

Ooh, yes. I'd love to see more BTS stuff on SNK's classic arcade games and the process of making them. As you say, the artwork was frequently among the best of the 2D "pixel art" era.

[@astrumespanol]

As a child I couldn't appreciate the level of detail in those games. Thanks for this video

[@fredan421]

Production value of this caliber is too good for KZbin. Someone pay this man.

[@akpokemon]

i guess that's what his patrons are doing

[@sev2300]

We patrons are doing our best I think. I'd suggest you join the club, if you haven't already:)

[@fredan421]

@@sev2300 oh I would but my income is very tight.

[@YouOpaOpa]

I had NEVER thought of Cold Shadow as a spiritual sequel to Quackshot and now I'm scraping my brain from the ceiling.

[@Guernicaman]

I always wondered if it was, since rumor has it - that back in the day - they always wanted to make & even started to work on, a sequel to QuackShot. Nice to see confirmation/validation that it is! (Even if only "spiritually")

[@bleepintunes]

Yeah, I also wondered about that! I played Maui Mallard to death back in the day and loved it. I think that game deserves a lot more recognition. Those graphics were superb and it had some great music as well! :)

[@Guernicaman]

@@bleepintunes - Would seriously LOVE to see these games get a remaster, perhaps w/redrawn animation & background art in 4K, making the art look as close to the original as intended. Zero pixelation.

[@bleepintunes]

@@Guernicaman That would be really cool! Did you ever beat Maui Mallard back in the day? I could never get past that last level where you have to guard the bottle while you have to go up constantly. That was super hard! I think I made it to the boss only once but then died instantly :)

[@Guernicaman]

@@bleepintunes - Not back in the day, no. Was only able to play it as an adult, later on, since by the time Maui Mallard finally came out, I had moved on to next-level consoles & peripherals. I always felt it was a missed opportunity by publishers to not package the digicell games as a collection onto CD's, since they could've added redbook audio, extra levels, better audio & full screen animated clips. Just imagine!

[@PixelGameSquad]

Really cool fact. Some of these animators stopped us at a convention a few years ago and told us that they enjoy our show. My heart stopped and what a compliment! ❤️ Your channel is utterly amazing! The content you make and visuals are nothing short of perfect! Really been enjoying all your videos

[@shindousan]

2:37 Mentioning Castle of Illusion? Instant like

[@Styrophoamicus]

I'm so glad that hand-drawn game are making a comeback. Games like Aladdin and Earthworm Jim still look great today, while most 3D polygon games made around the same era look like mush.

[@SpaceyZee]

Top quality production as always!

[@strafefox]

Thanks so much!

[@DavidPerry.]

Wow, great job on making this. So fun to see all the assets you managed to collect up.

[@strafefox]

Awesome to hear you liked it! And thanks for your hard work on Aladdin :)

[@Gema92]

Holy cow! David Perry himself! Yeah!!! A video of one of my favorite Genesis game and programmer and made by my favorite video game channel! Kudos to you

[@redrustgame6646]

Aaaaaaa! Its David Perry! :00

[@DavidPerry.]

@@Gema92 Thanks!!! :) Was such a fun project to work on.

[@BrbZrk]

Last time i heard of you, you were involved in the cloud gaming program of Sony Interactive Entertainment. What are you doing now? Oh and in an interview around the time of N64 reveal you said that it was basically a higher res PlayStation. What are your thought on your comment now? I hated you as a kid back then for saying that as a Nintendo fanboy :p

[@TheWaveBloke]

We need more hand drawn games. Imagine something like Aladdin running in HD resolutions! There's a pretty great example on Steam called Intrepid Izzy, and Cuphead of course!

[@thepumpkingking8339]

I still believe that someone at RARE has all the original Hi-Res Silicon Graphics images that they made the low-res images for Donkey Kong Country series on the SNES. That's what I would like to see.

[@1D0N]

Seeing all the hand-drawn animations...man the tediousness...

[@Marc_Araujo]

The Jungle Book for the Genesis is so often overlooked. It was just as great as Aladdin and the Lion King.

[@Caydiem]

If it's anything like The Junglebook for the SNES, no way in hell. This game is forever edged into my brain as the worst one I've ever owned for this console.

[@thewindthatblows]

I'm not fond of Aladdin MD and Lion King. The level design specially in the latter is extremely cheap and the weight on the movements of the former is non-existant (Earthworm Jim has a tighter control barring the jumping, which feels as floaty as in Aladdin MD). When I saw in this video that this could mostly be due to the short development cycle, I thought maybe The Jungle Book was going to be a more uniformed game because it's based on a 1967 film with no pressure to catch up to its release like Aladdin and LK. But if you say it's as "good" as those games, then I won't make it a priority

[@orlanzo2621]

Man this was outstanding. The amount of information, attention to detail, etc is amazing. This channel deserves a million subscribers. As for the game, man I’ll always argue that Aladdin for the Genesis is one of the greatest platformers of all time. The game is great, I played the heck out of it as a kid, and even now as an adult I still go back and play it every now and then. The game is a classic.

[@seedofwonder]

Others have already noted the amazing production value, but let me just add that it's so refreshing to find objective content. No editorializing, posturing, etc. Just an amazing journey through the archives. Thank you!

[@mr.fearingtoon3549]

It's funny that this game is partly responsible for the creation of the Donkey Kong Country series

[@nesaiamon8727]

The pixel art style holds up so well over time! Still looks incredible

[@TheRogueCobra]

This channel proves that sometimes, good things happen if you wait.

[@TheConstantOne]

As someone who grew up on the Genesis, your channel is honestly unmatched. The backgrounds, music choices, and ambience add so much to the wealth of research you do on these videos. Thank you so much for all you do to preserve this wonderful era of gaming.

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

Oh. Oh wow. As if this just dropped! Golden stuff as always!

[@ashrafmartin4984]

Hi from twitter, thanks for recomending this chanel

[@pyxelpub8251]

Yo Dan, if you can make a follow up on strafe fox’s Aladdin video here, I think they would be really helpful for anyone trying to study the animation of the game. The making of this game deserve it’s on full length documentary and sadly we never got that, so it would be cool if all the KZbin animation/making of channels kind of covered it in ways that complemented each other.

[@htg4ever]

I sincerely appreciate the high-quality content featured in your videos, which adheres to top-tier broadcast TV standards. It is genuinely mind boggling why this channel has not yet garnered millions of followers.

[@thehumbleone1983]

Aladdin and Earth Worm Jim are some of my favourite Sega Mega Drive / Genesis game great video 👍👍👍👍

[@combeechan]

One of these days, we're going to be making hologram documentaries of how strafefox made his videos.

[@xXBlueSheepXx]

The somewhat modern software they used to make the art and music is really interesting. Great video as always.

[@nikoredone]

Bro I had to put this up on the tv...it deserved my full attention....I had zero desire to scroll 10/10

[@MegaManNeo]

The golden era of good quality license video games. I remember playing the DOS version of Aladdin a lot as a kid and it was pure fun.

[@MegaAedu]

New upload by strafefox = day improved by 100 percent.

[@MIke2reaper]

This guy is the ultimate quality content creator.

[@FilmmakerJ]

The production level on this video is amazing. So many 3D renders, 3D text, and effects work. Very very appealing.

[@schwarzenegger_begger8810]

The amount of attention to detail in all of your works is so staggering, it can almost induce tears!

[@basky7246]

This Channel Content is Gold..... Surely, You will reach 1 million subscribers in quick time.

[@MegaJessness]

I had always been impressed by the simple animation of the sprites in all the Disney-licensed Genesis games, but wow I had no idea they included actual animators from Disney's studios! And of course it led to the wonderful and wacky Earthworm Jim games xD. Man, the 16-bit era was something else. So glad I got to grow up during it.

[@UncleMike131]

Sega's Aladdin was such a classic!

[@Anfernee_G]

I still have my original physical Aladdin box and cart from my childhood. A true classic!

[@elgrau]

I don’t understand how this man does so much work or how any of these scenes are made

[@smash461986]

Deluxe Paint. Many days spent on that making pallette animations where you press Tab and the pallette cycles thus creating an animation.

[@BarrysGalaxy]

3:43 7-UP mascot Cool Spot with expressive SPRITE work, I see what you did there 😀

[@tinsaus5498]

I'm so happy that Disney decided to deviate from their guidelines on only using existing IP's for games. Because Maui Mallard is one of THE best games I've ever played.

[@nasikan83]

Hi there. I am the author of an interview with lead artist John Fiorito (my interview with him is indicated in the credits of this video) and a massive interview with 12 Maui Mallard creators in two parts (easily found by the name "Maui Mallard Story: A Giant Interview with the Creators") and the author of recent articles on the creation the original game and its canceled sequel in the 225th and 226th issues of the cult Retro Gamer magazine. Also, I am the creator of the only Maui Mallard fan community with a 10-year history on the VK social network (similar to Facebook). I do not leave direct links here, because KZbin does not like them in the comments. But you can find it in the description of this video. We will be glad to have new fans of Maui in our community!

[@pilouuuu]

I miss handmade animation! These day we still have things like Cuphead, but we need more movies and videogames that use it.

[@murderofcrows9942]

I never played this game, but I'm grateful it was released: Nintendo had to answer with the DKC series, one of my all time favorite game trilogy.

[@magicspiral3323]

Aladdin, Lion King, Earthworm Jim. Many of my personal favorites games of the 16 bit era. At the time it was mind blowing how much those games looked like an actual cartoon.

[@RyuFalchionX]

Always a good day when a strafefox video is in my subscription box!

[@abloogywoogywoo]

Oh great, now I'm humming to the Prince of Persia SNES music, again.

[@CorneliousRR]

I've said this on prior videos but like your content here is amazing, interesting, and well produced. A critically underrated KZbin channel that deserves far more regard than it gets.

[@gothakane]

I seriously felt I was watching a professionally made documentary for TV. Only this is more interesting than 99% of those documentaries. Such high quality and well researched content!

[@chrisjohnston8792]

Great work, the production quality on this channel continues to impress. Also here's my usual plug about how you should look into a Treasure game like Alien Soldier or Gunstar Heroes.

[@ultor7654]

I'm speechless... What a piece of art!

[@magicmagicman]

This in the only channel where i click like on all the videos before i watch them because i know its always good

[@Ponyj0]

God I learned more and new stuff with this video! How Aladdin's games were different between consoles but Lion King's were similar, how much attention Aladdin grabbed from representatives back at the reveal debut at CES, the amount of help that came from the animation studios for Aladdin to assist them in the game project, how Earthworm Jim actually came to be from some of the same team and how I never saw the similar fluid animations astounds me that I never made the connection between Aladdin and Jim. You've done terrific work once again! Can't wait to see future installments and hopefully one day one on SMRPG!

[@DanIel-fl1vc]

I can't imagine drawing a bunch of sprites and arranging them into a dozen levels would be this big of a deal.

[@saschaberger3212]

Your videos are really worth the wait

[@BingoClamshell]

Another amazing video, thank you!

[@mgrsdgfsdafsdgrsdgfsdg6980]

I used to love this game as a kid. I assumed this whole time they were somehow using animation directly from the movie as it seemed superior to most video game animation. Now I know the story!

[@infasis]

Man, this is so much more than Aladdin. What an awesome video. These videos give me so much more insight into the games I loved growing up. I can't believe how many people are still sleeping on this channel. We need to get them more subscribers so there's even more incentive to keep up the amazing work. Like and share these. (If anyone knows of any other channels that go in depth to this level please let me know. Splash Wave and DF Retro are the only ones I know of that really satisfy my curiosity and have this level of detail.)

[@TheMastersega]

Man, I'm so in love with this channel, I'm from Argentina and in my country the super nintendo was never a thing. Everyone was playing with the sega genesis, so this types of videos are like a journey through my childhood ♥️

[@thehumbleone1983]

I ❤️ Sega too 👍👍👍👍 TheMastersega

[@williamjeffery9653]

Every time you release a new video, it is a treat.

[@SaadNabil]

This Is A Whole New World for this KZbin Channel, StrafeFox! He reminds me of The Gaming Historian!

[@uknwtheusername]

Maui Mallard was one of my favorite games. I had no idea about its history

[@88nmartinez]

If you Google “Remaking an Icon, Maui Mallard,” you should find a series of 4 articles articles about the making of that game. It’s always fascinating to learn more about cool yet obscure titles.

[@metfan4l]

Always a treat to watch these. Great job once again!

[@thisisfyne]

The sheer quality of this channel is hard to match! Keep it up :D

[@mtsbrz]

This is great! Indeed Disney had a great impact in video games. Two big examples for me: Shinji Mikami who worked with Goof Troop and later made Resident Evil and David Jaffe who worked with Mickey Mania and made God of War.

[@BowserZeki]

Why you're not verified yet?! What the hell youtube

[@KingLich451]

who cares about a silly tick

[@mickantra]

sounds about as useless as reddit gold

[@Vespyr_]

@@KingLich451 It helps publicize you when posting in other channels. They deserve more views.

[@GlennDavey]

KZbin Verification requires a series of deadly challenges, each more dangerous and disgusting than the last. It's understandable.

[@XZ-III]

most small channel's I've seen that have it, just have it for recognition but it doesn't mean they have good content just a following. This is what I'm trying to do (is make interesting content) but it's hard to just make interesting content you have to have something. But I could i just upload a bunch of random shit and eventually my channel will grow but i don't like the sound of that approach it doesn't feel genuine when you go that route like the "please like subscribe, hit the bell" kinda channels.

[@PmmSoares]

You amaze me always with your content. The production is soooooo good...

[@MrFahrenheit2k]

Maui Mallard was a gem! I was blown away as a kid with how this game looks and sounds. I remember the digitized "howws" in the soundtrack to this day.

[@csebastian3]

It's amazing they were able to create such a high-quality product on such a tight schedule.

[@MarMaxGaming]

I’m amazing by so many graphics! How is it possible :0 definitely deserves a full watch 🤘 great job! Disney, Shiny, and everybody involved would be super proud.

[@uncaaj6242]

You produce such fascinating and high-quality documentaries. Every one of them is a delight to watch.

[@SylverstoneKhandr]

Maui Mallard is a classic and y'all should play it. Top-notch work as always, Strafefox!

[@MaidenHell1977]

Absolutely stunning episode, thanks for enriching our lives through this amazing content!!

[@zipzap8791]

Good morning Strafe, I missed you

[@elgiacomo]

The level of research, production quality, special effects, and presentation on offer here for this video, and for your channel in general, is superb to say the least. Yet, the KZbin algorithm will likely leave this brilliant content largely unwatched by those interested in the history of 16-bit gaming. And it's a damn shame. But those whom are lucky enough to have enjoyed this appreciate it tremendously. Thank you. \m/

[@olyna]

Very interesting Indeed, and very well done. It was really nice to have an insight of the hand drawn Animation in video game. The 16 bit era remains my all time favourite.

[@moath84]

I see you using SNES prince of Persia soundtrack. It's a good one.

[@pyxelpub8251]

Finally he's back!

[@mjpiano4386]

The production value and writing of this video is off the charts

[@aarongreenfield9038]

No need to rub a lamp to make magic happen, another great episode.

[@kushagra64]

Will you make a video about Mickey mania?

[@strafefox]

I don't have plans for a Mickey Mania video, but I can highly recommend the channel GameHut run by one of the developers of Mickey Mania and the Toy Story games.

[@ProtoSnake]

@@strafefox And Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island... Just saying.

[@MasterAlbert]

so..... did you just sell your house to afford the animation budget for this video? this is insane

[@thewalkerd]

The production level of this video was so high, that my finger moved unconsciously to the subscribe button.

[@dakritic]

This game was ahead of its time.

[@zerounit87]

* START * AABBAABBAABB (skips level )

[@MindBodyWhole]

Fuck those lava levels

[@izzieb]

1:47 Disney had values?!

[@the-NightStar]

...they've always strived for top quality in their work. What the hell are you talking about?

[@Gambit771]

@@the-NightStar Disney are known for being a shitty company. Top quality films and shows (at least in the past) but a shitty morally bankrupt company especially today.

[@kwkfortythree39]

They did the game in 4 months? Incredible... By the way amazing video sir, as always!

[@6sKi6z6]

This was the first game I got for my Genesis. I beat it on 'Hard' within a week. But man, what a week!

[@TerrorLTZ]

i expect a crossover with Ahoy some day.... because the quality of both surpass metal gear.

[@lemagreengreen]

Aladdin was such a good looking game for the Mega Drive, I remember being really impressed by it.

[@gaborkiss1425]

True, but have you ever seen it on the SNES? Mind blown...

[@the-NightStar]

@@gaborkiss1425 Yeah, I was about to say... the SNES version was hands down, the better game.

[@gaborkiss1425]

@@the-NightStar Thanks. I was 10 when it came out and my father came back from abroad work, carrying the cartridge with him...it was already midnight, but I begged him, so I could try it out at once. I put down the gamepad at about 6 in the morning (still have not finished the game, it was kind of hard at first). :) Good times.

[@Gambit771]

@@the-NightStar The Snes version was massively inferior. A bland generic platformer that looked slightly better than the average platformer it played like.

[@andreaswesterveld]

Woooh! Over 20 minutes of solid Splash Wave-entertainment!

[@cookiemint8439]

Great video Strafefox! Please do a Treasure/Gunstar heroes video next! Treasure’s story to fame is so interesting and unexpected

[@Floatillyboats]

I'm guessing who ever makes this channel has a full time job doing this kind of work for either TV or something else because the level of awesomeness in these videos is out of this world not to be doing this for a living.

[@dosdaysareover7781]

Memories... Those Disney platformers were awesome.