Voiced by Robin Williams it was a tour de force of improvisation in which the late comedian riffed in, around and under the script while the animators tried to keep up.
While there are some additions and subtractions in Disney’s theatrical version the Genie remains intact.
In the comfortably upholstered shape of Trevor Dion Nicholas he is the undoubted star of the show.
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He manages to deliver the lines with the same velocity without actually trying to imitate Williams.
From the moment he arrives out of trapdoor like a helium-filled barrage balloon the show comes to life.
The gobsmacking gilded cave in which he appears dispels the slight disappointment of the opening scenes.
Aladdin Musical Stage Performance London - Official Trailer 1769449067TWp0K7zO
The songs - including Aladdin’s mawkish ‘Proud of Your Boy’ - are far less rousing than the dancing girls who shimmy and sway in barely-there costumes like a cross between Moulin Rouge dancers and happy houris.
As Dean John-Wilson’s buff Aladdin flirts with a disguised Princess Jasmine (Jade Ewen) in the marketplace his trio of friends (Nathan Amzi, Rachid Sabitri & Stephen Rahman-Hughes, all superb) try to steal whatever they can.
But the big catch is the Princess whose dad is trying to marry off to a Prince.
Enter evil Jafar (Don Gallagher) who has designs on Jasmine and needs the magic lamp to help him accomplish them.
The big problem is one of over-familiarity. Too often it comes across like panto on a big budget.
The love story is pretty wet, even for Disney, and the characters, with a few exceptions, are unmemorable.
The big ‘but’ is the wonderful ‘Friend Like Me’ number which stops the show mainly because it is an entire show in itself, including tap-dancers, fab costumes, Bob Crowley’s shimmering gold set and real fireballs hurtling across the stage.
And the magic carpet scene in which Jasmine and Aladdin are whisked around the stage with no visible means of support singing ‘A Whole New World’ brings gasps from the audience.
It may not be The Lion King but at moments like these, you’ll believe in magic.
Tickets: 020 7492 1566 or princeedwardtheatre.co.uk (showing until 11 February, 2017)