Let me start by saying Aladdin was one of my favourite Disney stories growing up, so when I heard Disney had made a live action movie I was a little unsure. ( I did not like what they did with Dumbo) My children have seen the original and absolutely love watching it, who doesn’t?.
What is scary is the original came out nearly 30 years ago!! Now I do feel old.
The original Aladdin 1992
I try not to let others complaints get to my head, I like to make my own mind up regarding a movie. So when I first heard that Will Smith was playing the Genie I was ok with it as long as it wasn’t all fresh prince like. For me Genie was Robin Williams. No one will ever replace the amazing late Robin Williams but Will Smith is in his own world of WOW. Honestly just ignore those who say he is rubbish as the Genie because he is not!
The movie starts with a scene between The Genie and his two children, he begins to tell them a story and then it leads to a full blown version of Arabian Nights sang by Will Smith. This sets the scene for the movie.
We Meet Aladdin (Mena Massoud) in Agrabah, he is walking the streets performing tricks to steal whatever he can to get by. He is joined by his trusty friend Abu (Monkey) who looks just like the original.
Mena is just sensational. He can sing, dance and he looks the part too, he is instantly likeable. He is light on his feet and delivers a great version of Aladdin.
Aladdin hears a commotion and discovers a young woman getting into trouble for stealing some bread to feed a few hungry kids. This leads to them running away from the guards and we see some impressive scenes from them both.
Once they reach safety the woman goes on to tell Aladdin, that she works for the princess as her handmade when in fact she is the princess (Naomi Scott).
They share a connections because they feel trapped in a life they were born into and share great chemistry.
Naomi Scott plays Princess Jasmine. She was a great choice. She looks regal, she can sing and dance . However I can’t quite put my finger on why, but something wasn’t quite right with her.
Later in the movie they go on to sing “A Whole New World” whilst riding the Magic Carpet and it is just like the original. They both do this scene the justice it deserves.
Ok so, The Genie (Will Smith) I have seen so much hype around this. But honestly just go and see the movie and make your own mind up. I personally LOVED him playing the Genie. He brings fun and had us giggling away in our seats. His rendition of “Never had a friend like me”, had us dancing along too. He plays human genie great too and just brings something extra to the story.
Jafar (Marwan Kenzari) Don’t get me wrong here he is a great actor, I can see why they cast him in this role, however for me he wasn’t “evil” enough to be Jafar. For me Jafar is evil, cunning and well… Ugly. He should be someone you instantly dislike. He didn’t even sing either…..
We also get to see Nasim Pedrad as Dalia the handmaid & Genie’s love interest.
Numan Acar who plays Hakim the Chief soldier, we get to see him have his own moment later on in the movie.
Navid Negahban as the Sultan, he was wonderful and just like the original.
Guy Ritchie is the director. I was a little unsure at first, just based on his other movies. but he has done a really good job with Aladdin.
Everything about the movie was thoroughly enjoyable and I have no doubts that this will become a firm favourite in our house. The casting was absolutely amazing, Aladdin was just like in the original.
Bad Points
Jafar – He just needed to be more evil and cunning. Sorry.
Length – I feel as a family movie it was maybe a little too long the original was only 90 mins. This version was 128 mins. Personally I loved it but my boys said it was too long.
CGI – Overkill with the cgi in the final Jafar scene, it was like a bunch of Pixie’s had exploded.
Ending – This to me felt rushed. I felt like there was more to be told. ( Aladdin 2 maybe ?)
Fun Facts
The original Aladdin was released in 1992 and was 90 minutes long. Originally Aladdin was voiced by Scott Weinger but most memorable was Genie who was voiced by the late great Robin Williams.
Official Aladdin 2019 Trailer
Official Aladdin 2019 Trailer
If you do go and see it, do let me know what you thought.
Kelly X