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Scott Weinger, voice of 'Aladdin,' looks back on favorite moments from movie

Scott Weinger, who voiced the title character in Disney's "Aladdin," reminisced about his memories of filming the animated classic, and working with Robin Williams, in this interview with TODAY.
/ Source: TODAY

There's one line Scott Weinger often hears that never gets old: "Dude, you were my whole childhood."

"I get approached by 'Aladdin' fans pretty much daily," Weinger, who voiced the title character in the 1992 Disney movie, told TODAY. "It's a really weird coincidence that the two biggest elements of my kid-acting career from the '90s were 'Aladdin' and 'Full House,' two things that are just never going to go away forever."

Weinger, who also played D.J. Tanner's boyfriend Steve Hale on "Full House," added, "People always make the connection, especially now because of 'Fuller House.' It always blows my mind how many people know that the guy who played Steve on 'Full House' is the voice of Aladdin. And then you get the sorta latecomers who are like, 'Mind blown. I had no idea.'"

The actor said he won the part of Aladdin before being cast on "Full House" — but was already a series regular on the ABC sitcom by the time the animated film hit theaters.

"After work one day, I said to Candace (Cameron Bure), 'I got this movie premiere for this animated movie. You want to be my date?' And so we went out for sushi and went to see 'Aladdin' for the first time. It was pretty exciting — me and Deej at 'Aladdin.'"

Weinger says there's one scene in the movie he still considers a favorite.

"After the magic carpet ride, after 'Whole New World,' they're in China, and they're sitting on the roof of the Forbidden City or something, and they're just watching fireworks go off. And Princess Jasmine catches him and she says, 'It's a shame Abu couldn't be here to see this.' And Aladdin says, 'Yeah, you know, but he hates fireworks.' And then he realizes that he screwed up. I think that's a cute moment. And it shows how Aladdin can be a little dopey when he's falling in love. And how you can't pull one over on Princess Jasmine."

"The Aladdin-Jasmine relationship was very interesting to me because Jasmine was such a cool, independent, 'ahead of her time' Disney princess," Weinger added. "And I loved the way they portrayed that character. And I love the way that she would reject the fake Aladdin, the Prince Ali Aladdin. The only Aladdin she was ultimately interested in was the real kid, the authentic guy being himself. And I really liked that relationship."

One of Weinger's most cherished memories of filming was working with the late Robin Williams, who unforgettably voiced the Genie character.

"The jackpot of memories for me was recording with Robin Williams, who was my hero and my favorite movie star, my favorite actor and comedian," he said. "When I was a tiny little kid, I had a 'Mork & Mindy' doll. And then I had a wall-sized 'Dead Poets Society' poster on my wall when I was 14. So to be in a tiny little room recording with him was intimidating, but he made it not intimidating. It was a big thrill. It was one of those great experiences that I'm glad they were filming that day, so I have proof that it happened."

A Signature Collection edition of “Aladdin” in 4K Ultra HD, with new bonus features that include original cast recordings and a sing-along version, will be released on Movies Anywhere Aug. 27 and Blu-ray Sept. 10.