Aladdin (2019) - The Review
Use your wished carefully!
2019 was going to be a big year for the "live Action" retelling: Dumbo, Aladdin and the Lion king are all released this year.
Dumbo has already come and gone falling quite flat at the box office and the reactions were not amazing.
The Lion King trailer had looks to have pleased people so far.
Now its time for Aladdin's turn:
The trailers were didn't exactly excite people.
The first reactions to the reworked songs also seemed to appear disappointing.
It was not looking good!
Personally I love the original, Robin Williams performance is one of my favourites in an animated film. I cant say i was holding high hopes for this new version.
The Director Disney picked for this - Guy Richie, yes the same director from such family films as "Lock Stock and 2 Smoking Barrels" "Snatch" "Rock N Roller", and lets not talk about his "King Arthur".
To say i was worried is an understatement!
Just how was this going to be any good.
Then the cast - Aladdin, Jasmine, Jafar and the Sultan were cast in fairness buy relativity unknowns, but the big question.....
How do you cast the Genie? Who could take this huge challenge
Step up Will Smith!
Before the film started ill admit i was a little nervous about what I was about to witness.
15 mins in and I was pleasantly surprised.
You accept with these "live Action" remakes that there will be some creative changes, certain original animated elements just would not fit well in the remake.
The changes made in Aladdin were spot on.
A talking parrot running on a spinning wheel to power a diamond, is just 1 example that just wont transfer well, and the adjustment made seemed smooth and worked well.
Naomi Scott is perfect as Jasmine, the additional screen time this character has is a joy to watch. The new song written for Jasmine is also a musical highlight and this new version of Jasmine is certainly aimed at giving new younger girls a new strong princess to admire.
Mena Massoud is also perfectly cast as Aladdin, his really brings the character to life so well, his on screen chemistry with Will Smith creates some of the best scenes in the film.
Lets talk about Will Smith!
Things don't start of well for this film.
We start our film with Smith in human form on a boat recreating the original opening song. Its not great, and lets not talk about the dodgy beard!
However once that lamp is rubbed and we see the Genie in blue form its a great relief.
Don't get me wrong its not a touch on Robin Williams version but its a nice take on the role.
The best way for me to describe the way Will Smith plays this, he is the "Hitch" of the lamp. The comedy, quick wit and the way he plays off with Aladdin was very good.
Now for the songs, I have already mentioned the new song for Jasmine - Very good, easily the musical highlight, and will be a sure bet for an Oscar nod on original song.
How do you do the originals justice?
All of the hits are here, some with a new additional verse and for the most part done very well.
Being honest the Genie songs are prob bottom of the pile but that doesn't mean they are not good, they are the same song with a will smith freshness, but Will Smith isn't exactly known for his lovely singing voice, however i am glad they didnt take the Jungle Book route and complete change the songs so that all the greatness was lost, i feel they could of added a little more "Fresh Prince" to the Genies music numbers , but i am happy with what is left.
I had serious doubts with this version of Aladdin, with the director and cast I was sure this would be the big Disney flop that we all know is coming at some point (looks like that has happened with Dumbo).
Maybe Disney have now proven that they can take the Big classics and do them justice with this new live action format.
Rating - 7 / 10
Not as good as the original but a very good effort.
