Director: Guy Ritchie
Genre: Family, Adventure, Comedy
Runtime: 128 Minutes
Main Cast: Will Smith, Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott, Marwan Kenzari, Navid Negahban, Nasim Pedrad, Billy Magnussen, Numan Acar
Plot: “Street Rat” Aladdin is convinced by the Vizier Jafar to venture into the Cave of Wonders to seek out the magic lamp – with the power to make wishes come true.
My Thoughts: It feels like the internet has been complaining about Will Smith playing the Genie for years now – and now we can finally see him in the role! I honestly felt neutral about the casting choice…I mean, would anyone have been happy with any casting choice? All I ever saw were complaints, not suggestions. Anyway – I thought Will Smith did a brilliant job. The Genie’s story was slightly changed anyway, and I thought Will brought a ‘Fresh Prince’ vibe to the character that really worked. Colour me impressed!
In fact, with the exception of Jafar (he shouldn’t have been so young and good-looking!) the casting choices here were second to none. Mena Massoud is adorable as Aladdin, he has the boyish charms he was meant to have, and Naomi Scott takes the already wonderful character of Jasmine and gives her this sense of power that she never had before.
I feel like the general consensus is that people don’t want these remakes but honestly? Keep them coming, Disney! Will they ever replace the originals? Absolutely not – but if they’re bringing a new, younger audience to these beloved stories who don’t want to watch ‘dated’ animated movies, then I don’t see what’s wrong with that.
Best Bit: Guy Ritchie as Director seemed like an odd choice but he’s injected a lot of humour into the movie that wasn’t there before, and it works so well. My favourite moment will always be the A Whole New World sequence, but Prince Ali introducing himself at the palace comes a very, very close second.
Worst Bit: It was a bit too long (how is this almost 40 minutes longer than the original, there isn’t that much new content!) and Jafar is the weak link here. He isn’t menacing, and I thought his unsightly appearance in the original added a lot to his character. Am I complaining because Jafar is hot in 2019? Yes, I guess I am.
Fun Trivia: During the scene when Aladdin asks Genie to “make him a prince”, Genie produces an actual prince in the background. The prince is dressed in colors of pink & lime green, the same colors in the title logo & a nod to Will Smith’s comedy The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990). So, the Genie created the Fresh Prince for Aladdin.
My Rating: 4 and a half jars of jam that Prince Ali can’t stop talking about – better get some bread!
From the trailers it actually looked like Smith was the only person with pulse involved in this 🙂 the dude playing Jaffar must be insanely bad everyone mentions he is the weak link 🙂
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Considering with these remakes Disney seem to be trying to keep as close to the originals as possible, Jafar just sticks out like a sore thumb!
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My mom was laughing so hard at Prince Ali’s introduction scene in the palace that she was in tears. Will Smith did a good job making the Genie role his own and it was nice to see the role tailored to his style the same way the animated Genie was tailored to Robin Williams’ style. I’m with you in that it felt like it dragged on at points but it was enjoyable and is one of the more decent live-action remakes so far. Great review, Allie!
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Omg I was the same, I think I missed half of the scene from laughing so hard! Aladdin has always been one of my favourite Disney movies so I’m just so relieved they did a good job with the remake!
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I just don’t think this movie is for me, but it seems like it has been a good surprise for a lot of people.
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I can totally appreciate that, Keith. I’m glad it’s been a pleasant surprise for most, especially after the casting controversy.
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Great post! This one’s not my cup of tea, but I’d certainly give it a shot if it’s on Netflix. I do think remakes are fine too, so long as they aren’t shot for shot. Live action takes are almost always interesting, and I just love the new perspectives that come with modern adaptations.
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I agree, I think that’s what I liked about the Beauty & the Beast remake. This one has a few changes too which I liked but I know will make many others groan!
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Is Jafar really that hot, lol?
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Ha! I mean he’s not going to be cast in the next Magic Mike movie but compared to his animated self, they have very different looks!
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I know many girls who crush on him in the animated film because they like older men, lol!
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I keep reading Jafar was miscast in this! I tend to agree just based on the photos alone. But your review made me less tentative about seeing it, so hopefully I’ll go and enjoy!
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I hope you like it if you do give it a chance! You’ll probably just get distracted by Jafar now though, ha!
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Jafar totally throws me off to! And usually complaining about the hot guy is the last thing I do 🙂
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Haha I know right, I feel like I’m being really ungrateful here!
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I wouldn’t have even thought to compare run times to the original. An extra 40 minutes? Damn. lol
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It really doesn’t feel like an extra 40 minutes!
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I don’t understand why the animation would feel dated. Is it because it’s hand drawn and most kids now are only used to CGI. I mean yeah if it gets a new audience to be into a story I’m down with it but you could make it diffferent enough. I just hope it’s better than the live action Beauty and the Beast I shut that of after the opening song This may not be for me and that’s OK. Most of the big blockbusters never are…. Except John Wick.
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Honestly – I don’t know. I grew up with the originals but I have a teenage younger brother who refuses to go near classics like The Lion Kingbecause they’re “too old”! Kids, eh!
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I wasn’t sure whether I should watch this one as I wasn’t exactly over the moon with the live-action version of Beauty and the Beast. However, your review really sparked my interest!
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Arrrrgh it’s a tough one! I’d say this one is very similar to the BatB remake because it does the same kind of thing, takes what was originally there and just adds to it a bit. I really, really hope you like it if you give it a go!
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