Williams is the film's not-so-secret secret weapon. As soon as the Genie opens his mouth, you know there's only one person who could be supplying that voice. Disney veterans John Musker and Ron Clements, who wrote and directed Aladdin, conceived the idea of the Genie with Williams in mind. "We didn't know if we would get him or not, but we were hoping," says Clements. "We pictured the Genie as a shape-shifter, as someone who constantly takes on different forms and identities, if we took Robin with his mercurial nature and shifting voice and put the two together, we felt we would have something special."