Disney loves making live action remakes of their beloved animated classics. They do it for extra bucks in their pocket and that’s pretty much it. Sometimes they are pretty good like 2016’s The Jungle Book and other times they are legit cash grab disasters like 2020’s Mulan. Now in 2019 there were 3, yes THREE, live action remakes of their animated films. Dumbo was one of them and I don’t think anyone cared for it except with the fact that the live action version of Dumbo is adorable. We also had a live action Lion King but I already made my review on that and defiantly don’t ever want to go back into talking about it so let’s just say it was a movie that happened. But the final live action remake that pretty much got the entire buzz was a movie that angered fans because of a certain character. 2019’s Aladdin was the big talk of the town when it’s first trailer came out and the Entertainment Weekly cover came out and all we saw were Aladdin, Jasmine and Will Smith Genie but without the CGI blue skin added in. Fans were very on the fence with this movie, as was I, mainly due to Will Smith’s portrayal of the beloved Robin Williams character “Genie”. In the end the film did pretty well in the box office, grossing over a billion dollars and becoming the 9th highest grossing film of 2019. Critics were mixed with the film as well as they loved the costume designs, the music and the portrayals of multiple characters but hated the CGI, Jafar and Guy Richie’s direction. But as a whole the main focus in general was this simple question: was it a decent live action remake. Now obviously every live action remake Disney makes is pretty much following the same story with some things being added and a few things being taken out but did Aladdin do a great job at being a live action remake or did it destroy the legacy of the original film. So I think it’s time to rip off the band aid and give my opinion on this film. So now we must answer the question: Was 2019’s Aladdin a Decent Live Action Remake?
*SPOILER WARNING*
Now this one is going to be obvious but I will try my best not to compare this version of the film with the 1992 animated film. Now yes the original one is obviously way better than this film but there will be a couple of things I will need to compare between both films but other than that I will try my best not to compare the two throughout the review. Now while we are in this topic I will say going into seeing this film for the first time back in 2019 I was going into the film reviewing it to see how Will Smith’s portrayal of Genie was compared to Robin and thankfully I didn’t do that in this viewing. So I will bring it up later but for now let’s move on to the official review.
2019’s Aladdin was directed by Guy Ritchie, an actor/director who is known for directing action films including Snatch, Sherlock Holmes, The Man from U.N.C.L.E and King Arthur: Legend of the Sword. As you can see Aladdin is more of a fantasy/romance film and having Guy Ritchie as the director for this timeless classic seems odd to be honest but I guess we will talk a little bit more about it later. The cast includes Mena Massoud (Aladdin), Naomi Scott (Jasmine), Will Smith (Genie), Marwan Kenzari (Jafar), Navid Negahban (The Sultan), Nasim Pedrad (Dalia), Billy Magnussen (Prince Anders), Numan Acar (Hakim) with Alan Tudyk (Iago) and Frank Welker (Abu). I think most of the cast did a pretty good job including Mena Massoud and Naomi Scott as Aladdin and Jasmine. I will talk more about Genie and Jafar’s portrayal in a minute but I want to say that I obviously love their portrayals in the original animated film but with obvious reasons that I will get back to in a minute. The costume design in this movie though is phenomenal and gorgeous looking. I’m baffled that the music, costume design and the new song “Speechless” wasn’t nominated for any Academy Award as all three were spectacular. And visually in most cases the film looks stunning. Agrabah in general looks amazing and while not everything about the film is visually stunning, I will say Agrabah looks perfect and feels like an actual kingdom/city in the Middle East. There are a lot of things I liked about the film and a lot of things I didn’t like about the film and will be flip flopping around the review and talking about them. So let’s start off with my main reason to seeing this film, Genie.
Now everyone knows that no one will ever portray the Genie like Robin Williams did. That character was literally written for him and I will always say that no one should voice or play the character, to a certain extent. I think the Broadway version of the character is done pretty well but when it comes to film however Robin Williams takes the mantle. So the question now is: did Will Smith do a great job with his portrayal of the character Genie? Honestly I’m not going to lie, while not everything about the character is perfect aka the CGI and some dialogue, I have to say I really liked Will Smith’s version of the character. It’s nowhere close to Robin’s version but I think it does a decent tribute to the character with his quirkiness and doing some randomly silly things but I also liked that he made it his own and added in his own characterization to the character; something that I feel like the Broadway musical actor James M. Iglehart did as he made that character his own while also giving tribute to Robin’s version. Meanwhile, Dan Castellaneta tried too hard to be like Robin and didn’t add anything new to his version of the character; rather he was a Walmart version of Robin William’s Genie but without any of the soul. Will Smith’s version of the character felt very entertaining and most of the time it was when he wasn’t in his blue CGI form, something I didn’t think I would care so much about but rather I did after seeing the backlash from when we first saw what the character would look like. I’m not a big fan of not having the Genie being blue throughout the entire film but the CGI version of the character looks a bit odd as the CGI itself in most parts of the film looks undone and creepy. He honestly looks like Genie if Shaq was the full body. But the crazy thing is I loved the human version of Genie a lot more as it added more to his character and I liked that this approach was done as it gives us a way to see Will Smith’s version as its own rather than us having to compare it to Robin’s. Plus I loved the additional story of him having a crush on Jasmine’s handmaiden, I feel like that added some more personality to the character and it also created a couple of cute moments between Dalia and Genie. Finally I really enjoyed the chemistry between Aladdin and Genie in this film. Both actors did a phenomenal job working with each other as they both had this chemistry with one another. I feel like there were a couple of scenes where both characters shared time on screen together and it was rushed and the scene felt off at times because of it but other than that I enjoyed their chemistry on screen. This movie’s version of Genie really grew on me after a few viewings and I can say that Will Smith does a great job in bringing the character to life. It’s no Robin Williams Genie but Robin would have been very proud of this portrayal of the Genie.
Now while I loved Will Smith’s portrayal of the Genie, I didn’t like this version of Jafar at all. Now I’m not saying Marwan Kenzari is a bad actor but his version of Jafar was awful and I didn’t see any piece of Jafar in this portrayal at all. In the original animated film, Jafar has this menacing look and seems like a threat and seems like a person you do not want to mess with and also the type of person that will find ways to manipulate you to do his bidding. This version of Jafar however doesn’t have any of that and feels like there wasn’t enough menacing juice inside the character. He looks pretty cool in costume but I feel like the wrong actor was given the role. Jafar should have been played by an actor in his mid 40’s and look a bit older. Kenzari looked like he was Jafar but in just cosplay. Not only that but in the original animated film Jafar had this tone in his voice when he acted menacing and threatening to either the Sultan or even Aladdin and in here The Sultan looks more of a threat than Jafar does. I also hated how they never made Jafar into a Cobra in the finale. That part of the animated film is a big part of his character as in a way it parallels to the idea that Jafar is a snake because he betrays The Sultan in multiple ways. In this film he becomes this mess of a CGI huge sorcerer and that’s it really. It also doesn’t help that the character in general for this film feels nothing like a villain. Like yes I know Jafar is the villain of the film but the way the actor is speaking the dialogue and his actions in the scenes, he doesn’t at all seem like a villain and more a angry man who isn’t getting what he wants so he uses a Cobra staff to manipulate and mind control his way to get what he wants. At least when the animated version did that he was already being menacing with the help from Jonathon Freeman’s amazing voice acting, but in here it feels either too rushed or is being pushed down our throats too much and the actor is trying too hard to be evil and in the end it doesn’t work out well and is done poorly in execution.
Now while the film isn’t entirely a “remake” I can say the new additions in the film make the entire story feel somewhat new. No not everything they added was great but it was at least average at best. First off I need to talk about the new original song “Speechless” because it is spectacular. So this movie really made Jasmine a better character than the original as it gave her a interesting character arc unlike the original. The animated film tells us that Jasmine is tired of being in the palace and then she falls for Aladdin/Prince Ali and that’s pretty much it. In this movie she wants more than just being known as a princess and she wants a say in how she lives and falls in love. But she also want to voice her opinion including trying to find a relationship with her mother’s kingdom. I liked that Jasmine’s character changed completely compared to the animated original. The additional added bonus was her own original song which pretty much states her wanting to have a voice and speak up and be heard, something most woman at that time never got to do. I think Speechless and Jasmine’s character change really worked well for this movie. Other new additions I liked were the addition of Jasmine’s handmaid Dalia as I thought she was a very enjoyable/funny character. I also really liked seeing Aladdin try to be a prince and impress Jasmine; it added comedic effect with both the story and great comedic dialogue with Genie and Aladdin. I also really loved a small little addition that I don’t think anyone noticed but Abu/Carpet’s friendship in this movie is adorable and I didn’t notice it until this recent viewing. Now I didn’t like every addition as well as some I thought were like I said average. It was cool to have Iago actually talk like a parrot but at the same time Iago was a very enjoyable sidekick character who had great banter with Jafar. In here he was just a parrot doing some of Jafar’s bidding. If you’re not going to commit to the whole character then don’t make him talk at all. Another addition that was average was having Jamsine and Aladdin meet like 5 minutes into the film. In the original film they meet a couple minutes after the musical number of “One Jump Ahead”. In here they pretty much met right before the number and she was added into the song visually. It wasn’t something that bothered me but the pacing of the scene was kind of all over the place and sometimes felt rushed.
Speaking of that scene feeling rushed, the pacing of this entire movie was very weird. In some scenes it feels rushed and we move on quickly to another scene. Other times the scene drags on and it feels like we are taking too long to get to the next part of the film. The pacing in this film is a rollercoaster ride as it’s one of the film’s biggest weaknesses and while it didn’t hurt the film in any way for me, for others it might take their engagement away a bit. The pacing wasn’t bad in the entire movie but a good portion of it. Friend Like Me felt pretty rushed and that’s a shame considering it’s one of the best songs in the entire film, I feel like we stayed with A Whole New World for too long, Jafar’s rise to becoming a powerful Sorcerer was both rushed and felt like it dragged; which is weird I know but I mean it’s pretty noticeable. The pacing wasn’t the only problem I had with the film as the direction of the film from Guy Ritchie was all over the place too. Guy Ritchie directing this movie still feels misplaced as a man who directs action films doesn’t seem to be the best fit for a romantic/fantasy family film which is also a live action remake of a classic Disney animated film. It’s a weird pairing if you ask me but it worked in some scenes. The action scenes where Aladdin is running away from the guards and when he is parkouring around the castle look pretty cool. I’ll use the scene where Jafar becomes a sorcerer as an example of the not so great direction of Guy Ritchie. Jafar should had been mighty and threatening in this part of the movie and I mean in the entire film in general but he should have been but a poor casting choice and direction of his character thanks to Mr. Ritchie didn’t help either. Anyway Jafar should be acting like an evil madman and in the end it just feels like a teenager who didn’t get what he wanted from his parents so now he is going to be a troublemaker and make every person’s life a living hell. Yes I just compared this scene, a scene where Jafar should be threatening but thanks to Ritchie’s direction of the character/scene/film, we now are comparing this scene to a teenage boy who is being a dickhead and isn’t getting his way and is bullying others. Yup one of Disney’s most iconic/badass villains was ruined….thanks Guy. Also there were a couple of scenes where they had used slow motion in the scene and it wasn’t really needed. That one is a nip pick for sure but it wasn’t needed at all and was just used for dramatic affect but I mean it was just stupid looking. Now I don’t know if I could put the full blame of the pacing directly to our main director but I mean while I’m in the middle of pointing fingers to his direction of this film I guess let’s put the blame on Guy Ritchie for now and later when I find out it was the editor’s fault I will apologize and say I was wrong to say that. Now his direction of this film wasn’t all that bad but it wasn’t great. This might be one of his more weaker films that he directed but for what we got I can’t be all that mad because in the end it is….well its…pretty good.
Yes you heard it right I called this movie pretty good which is shocking considering I also liked the live action “remake” Lion King even though it wasn’t all that great but for this film while not everything about it is great, it actually is pretty good and feels kind of like a remake. Yes I know the plot/story is the same and we pretty much have a Disney live action Broadway musical on the big screen just without the Broadway and half of a musical but at the same time it’s a very different film compared to the original. It’s has more darker themes like invading kingdoms and it also gives some older characters better character development like Jasmine and Aladdin. Hell visually this film is stunning from the set to the costumes. The visual effects were okay and the CGI was all over the place but this film as a whole is actually a pretty good film.
I’m not going to lie going into my first viewing of the film back when it first came out into theaters I was going into the movie comparing both Robin’s Genie and Will Smith’s Genie but also seeing what they did differently that I hated and that was it but after watching it I actually barely compared the two and just said it as a decent film and gave it a 7/10. If you go back into my Instagram you can see the post I made about it but after a couple more viewings and even after this recent viewing I actually just wanted to review the film and see if it actually can be considered a remake and while I know I compared the two films from time to time it was kind of needed when talking about certain plot points but also because I wanted to say how this movie did something different that the original movie didn’t even do. I feel like many people didn’t care to see this movie because it was just another Disney cash grab movie and they have every right to think that cause I mean it kind of is, but those people should kind of re-think of their original feelings towards not watching the film and actually give this movie a chance cause they might actually like it and worse comes to worse they don’t but at least they tried it. I was on the fence to watching this movie but that was because I had so much anger towards how the Genie was being presented and my head was centered on the live action Lion King and pretty much every other Disney owned film coming out that year aka Toy Story 4, Avengers: Endgame, Star Wars: Rise of the Skywalker and pretty much Disney Plus. Yeah Disney really distracted me in 2019 but I still took my time to watch Aladdin and I came out of the theater with a smile on my face and even now that smile kind of grew a bit because I am happy that this film was really good and deserves more love and appreciation. I know not everything about it is great and I know not everyone is going to agree with my opinion or like certain things being added or taken out of the film but I mean just take my word on this one, give it a chance. Don’t go into watching this movie comparing it to the original and certainly don’t say it’s just a Disney cash grab that added nothing to the film because you might be wrong and you might actually like it. I guess this is my way of saying “I could show you a world”……I’m not singing or typing up lyrics from A Whole New World but my point is I can show you a film that you might actually find splendid and might actually want to check out because in the end you might smile as big as I did after watching it this time around.
Final Review: 3.95 out of 5 Stars, 79 out of 100
* Oh yeah I forgot to add this into the film review but the song in the credits with Will Smith and DJ Khaled is horrible. Disney never ever let DJ Khaled do a Disney song again thank you. =)
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