I am a little late on this review due to the fact I went on vacation to Disney World this week, but I saw "Aladdin" this past Saturday and I LOVED it! The singing, dancing, the colors, all of it, flowed so well with the film. You would not think there would be spoilers for a remake, but yes, there are spoilers and this review will have them so...SPOILER ALERT.
For the most part, the movie followed the order of the original animated feature, however there were different things thrown in and scenes were switched around. The movie opens with a man, his wife, and his two kids on a boat. The kids beg their dad to sing them a song with a story to it. That is where the song "Arabian Nights" starts and we are introduced to Agrabah and the characters. The scene shows Jasmine (Naomi Scott) walking through the town square undercover, which is different from the original film where Jasmine is not seen until a little bit later. She is accused of stealing food by giving a child a piece of fruit off a cart. Aladdin (Mena Massoud) shows up to her rescue and together, they make a run for it. Aladdin starts singing "One Jump" and after the musical number, he shows Jasmine his hideout. Needing to leave, Jasmine tries to find her bracelet and accuses Aladdin of stealing it and runs off.
The movie's sequence of events starts to compare to its predecessor, except for a scene where Aladdin sneaks past the guards and shows up at Jasmine's room door to give her back her bracelet. We are introduced to Jafar (Marwan Kenzari) and we find out he was once a common "street rat" like Aladdin. He promises Aladdin if he carries out a mission in the Cave of Wonders that he will make him rich.
Kenzari's performance was a little too forced in my opinion, but I really liked how they gave Jafar a little bit of a backstory to relate to Aladdin and draw him into his plan. Personally, I also liked how he appeared younger in this film than older in the animation. Although I am slightly disappointed he did not say one of his famous lines from the animated movie which is "It's time we say goodbye to Prince Abu-bu".
We get to the scene everyone is waiting for, and that is when the Genie appears. The Genie is played by Will Smith and he was such a great Genie. I know people were skeptical and I feel like the teaser we first got months ago did not do him justice. In my opinion, the camera angle of the CGI after he comes out of the lamp made it look off. Will Smith was so animated, cheerful, hilarious, and everything and more the Genie is known for. He was the perfect choice. Plus he can rap and sing!
We also meet Carpet and the team of Aladdin, Abu, Genie, and Carpet make it out of the cave and Aladdin has Genie turn him into a prince to impress Jasmine. The story goes on and even Genie has a little sidestory to himself. He falls in love with Jasmine's maid, a new character named Dalia (Nasim Pedrad). He takes the form of a regular human and sweeps her out into the night while Aladdin takes Jasmine for the famous carpet ride singing "A Whole New World". This rendition of the song for the movie is so good and I love the beat.
Another moment that differs from the original shows Jasmine is portrayed as a princess wanting to become sultan in a culture where she legally cannot. She cares deeply for her people and knows what they want. She has a breakout song called "Speechless" where she talks about not being silent anymore and making a difference. This particular scene is after Jafar takes the lamp and wishes himself to become sultan. Despite wanting to force her into marrying him, Jasmine firmly stands her ground and remains brave. I really liked Naomi Scott's performance and thought she was a fantastic choice for Jasmine as well as Mena Massoud for Aladdin. Massoud sounded just like the original Aladdin and had a charming smile that Aladdin is known for.
The ending does have a small twist. After Aladdin wishes the Genie to be free, Genie sweeps Dalia off her feet and together, they marry and travel the world in a boat with their two children. I loved that tie back into the beginning.
The music arrangements were the best part in my opinion. Alan Menken once again nailed it and I am still listening to the soundtrack one week later. Will Smith sings "Arabian Nights", "Friend Like Me", and "Prince Ali" and they are so catchy and upbeat. There is also a rap version of "Friend Like Me" featuring Will Smith and DJ Khaled. The new song "Speechless" is also on the soundtrack as well.
As far as special effects go, Abu, Carpet, and Rajah looked fantastic! Will Smith's Genie also looked great too. Between the CGI, motion capture, and tons of blue body paint, we had a great Genie. With the live action Lion King coming out in July, we got a taste of what we can expect for that film with Rajah. They look exactly like the real deal lions and tigers and I am always in awe at how far animation and CGI has come.
In the video above, it shows the sets and the blue/green screens that they can key out and put their own backgrounds in.
The following video is not from this movie, but from "The Jungle Book" live action film. It talks about the VFX breakdown that gives us characters like Abu, Rajah, and Lago. I will probably refer back to this film and video when I review "The Lion King" remake in July.
"Aladdin" is a timeless Disney feature and it will always be a classic hit. I am sometimes skeptical about these live action remakes coming out, but this one really produced. I encourage people to take some time to go see this because it is so fun and entertaining. You will laugh, dance, and want to sing along.
What were your thoughts on the "Aladdin" remake?
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