 On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 86 out of 100 based on 25 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a rare "A+" grade.Most critics' praise went to Robin Williams' performance as Genie, with Janet Maslin of "The New York Times" declaring that children "needn't know precisely what Mr. Williams is evoking to understand how funny he is", and Roger Ebert commenting that Williams and animation "were born for one another".