Aladdin

A live-action remake of one of Disney’s most popular animated classics, Aladdin, was released on May 24, 2019. It is the second Disney adaptation of Aladdin and the Magic Lamp, after the 1992 film. Starring Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott, and Will Smith, it is rated PG. It takes place in the Middle East.

Aladdin is a street urchin who gets by through thievery. He meets Princess Jasmine one day in the market and she is disguised so Aladdin doesn’t know who she is. As Aladdin gets to know Jasmine, he decides he wants to marry her but it would be against the law. He finds a way after discovering a genie in a magic lamp, who can grant him three wishes. He wishes to be a prince, but finds that he must defeat the grand vizier, Jafar, who also wants the genie for his own purposes of overthrowing the Sultan. Will Aladdin ever fulfill his dreams? Will Jafar take over?

The first thing to point out about this film are the comparisons to the original. It is pretty accurate to it, but with enough changes that it feels fresh and throws surprises in for the audience. There are also plenty of engaging chase scenes to entertain movie goers. The humor is effective and one scene in particular had me laughing out loud. One of the best things about the original was the songs, beautifully sung and composed. The songs in this film are comparable to the quality in the original, as well as some new songs. Naomi Scott’s performance as Princess Jasmine is something to appreciate, she’s more independent, strong, and refreshing than the original character, who I found mostly uninteresting and bland. These are all positive things to say about the movie. Unfortunately, it’s time to talk about the movie’s negative aspects.

Will Smith is not at his best as Genie. He comes across as more weird than funny most of the time. Not to mention that watching an actor perform in all blue for as long as he did was even more awkward. I also have to complain about Marwan Kenzari’s performance as Jafar. The original character remains one of the best Disney villains ever. He had so much charisma and craftiness. This Jafar is more average than anything else, which is a shame. Abu and Iago work well as entertaining animal sidekicks in animation, but really don’t work in live-action. The CGI isn’t anything special, just kind of lame.

So, this film has both positive and negative aspects. Is this a good movie or is this a bad movie? Honestly, I would lean more on the good side. I recommend it, although I also recommend people watch the animated movie for Robin Williams’s classic voice performance as Genie. Overall, a good Disney movie.