A look inside Hollywood and the movies. : LEAVE IT TO GENIE : ‘Aladdin’: <i> POOF</i> ! We’re in a Museum

After the strong response to a work-in-progress screening of “Beauty and the Beast” at last year’s New York Film Festival, Disney has decided to show an unfinished print of “Aladdin”--an animated feature based on the Arabian Nights tale--at a Museum of Modern Art gala on Sept. 26.

The museum, says the studio, is a natural. Not only was Walt Disney a trustee of the institution, but holding the event at a leading repository of American art hits home a point they’re trying to make.

“We’d like to reinforce the idea that animation is an art form,” explains one Disney executive. “We want people to think of ‘Aladdin’ as a movie, not a cartoon--something you watch on Saturday mornings. It’s not the same battle we fought last year, though.”

“Beauty and the Beast” makes the task easier. After winning over critics at the festival, the movie became the first animated feature to land a best picture Oscar nomination. It went on to gross more than $135 million in the U.S. and Canada alone.

“Aladdin” will be shown at Manhattan’s Loew’s Astor Plaza, to be followed by a reception in the museum sculpture garden. Tickets will range from $50 for the screening only to $350 for the film and a supper buffet.

Scheduled for release in November, the movie is said to be more of a comedy than “Beauty and the Beast,” which will be released on video a month before. Not surprising, given the fact that Robin Williams is playing the genie in what amounts to an animated version of himself.

Early press screenings have spurred talk that Williams should be nominated for best supporting actor--although he never actually appears onscreen. Disney has already contacted the academy with regard to his eligibility and, so far, the outlook is good. Though no actor whose voice is dubbed can receive Oscar consideration, there’s no prohibition, it seems, against nominating a “voice.”