Aladdin (2019) review

Disney’s ever-expanding line of live-action remakes of their animated classics continues with one based on their 1992 release, Aladdin. The original Aladdin was very much another big success for Walt Disney Animation during their big Renaissance period in the ’90s. It was the second film of the era to be directed by the duo of Ron Clements and John Musker following The Little Mermaid, AKA the film that officially launched the Renaissance in 1989. And upon its release, Aladdin became the first animated film to gross over $500 million worldwide, effectively making it the highest-grossing film of the year and the studio’s highest-grossing film to date until The Lion King (which will get its own remake later this summer) surpassed it just two years later. It won two Oscars for Best Original Score and Best Original Song for ‘A Whole New World’, which also notably became the first (and, to date, only) Disney song to win the Grammy Award for Best Song of the Year. But, of course, for those who grew up with this classic, arguably its most definitive highlight is Robin Williams’ legendary turn as the friendly, pop-cultural savvy Genie, which won him a Special Achievement award at that year’s Golden Globes ceremony. With all this in mind, this new version of Aladdin has arguably faced some of the toughest expectations that any live-action Disney remake has faced so far, especially after it had to deal with a bunch of controversies during its production that ranged from casting decisions to poorly-received bits of marketing. However, it is now upon us, with veteran filmmaker Guy Ritchie behind the camera and Will Smith taking on the difficult task of following in the footsteps of Robin Williams, and the end result is a film that may not surpass the original but is still a fun time to be had as a retelling of the story of the ‘Diamond in the Rough’.  

In the bustling streets of the desert kingdom Agrabah, a charismatic street rat named Aladdin (Mena Massoud) spends every day scraping around for food and staying out of trouble with his monkey sidekick, Abu (voiced by Frank Welker). On one fateful day, Aladdin helps a young woman out of a troubling predicament and the two begin to hit it off. However, Aladdin soon learns that this girl is none other than Princess Jasmine (Naomi Scott), who aspires to be Sultan but is being forced by law to marry a prince from one of Agrabah’s neighboring kingdoms. Recognizing that he has no chance of being with her, Aladdin agrees to an offer made to him by Jafar (Marwan Kenzari), the Royal Vizier to the Sultan (Navid Negahban) who secretly aspires to take over the kingdom. Per Jafar’s request, Aladdin enters the mythical Cave of Wonders to retrieve a magic lamp that’s hidden inside. Once Aladdin finds it, he unleashes the lamp’s sole occupant, an omnipotent Genie (Will Smith), who informs him that he’s now been granted three wishes. Thus, with Genie’s help, Aladdin becomes the majestic ‘Prince Ali Ababwa’ in his attempt to try and woo Jasmine. But as Genie reminds him, it’s going to take a lot more than just his new princely status to win her over. Plus, there’s also the pressing situation of having to deal with Jafar’s sinister plot to use the Genie’s powers to become the next Sultan of Agrabah.

On paper, Guy Ritchie may seem like an odd choice to be this film’s director as most of his films tend to be either gritty crime dramas (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch) or flashy period pieces (the Sherlock Holmes duology starring Robert Downey Jr., Man from UNCLE). At the same time, though, Ritchie’s also been known for his extremely stylish action sequences, which is arguably quite fitting for a swashbuckling adventure flick like Aladdin. Sure enough, this film’s action sequences are solidly done, and Ritchie’s directorial flair also factors well for the musical numbers. As was the case with the original film, Alan Menken handles the score and all the classic songs that he created with Tim Rice and the late Howard Ashman are featured once again, with La La Land/The Greatest Showman songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul providing some updated lyrics. Pasek and Paul also provide the film with its sole new song, ‘Speechless’, a big solo for Jasmine that’s an undisputed highlight of the soundtrack. As for the plot, it admittedly follows the same beat as the remake of Beauty and the Beast by not making any major narrative changes. It’s still the same story of Aladdin wooing Jasmine with the help of Genie while also dealing with the threat of Jafar; as such, the biggest changes compared to the original film are primarily cosmetic ones (e.g. new characters, a different spin on Jasmine’s character arc, etc.). Because of this, it does put this film in the same boat as the Beauty and the Beast remake as some will undoubtedly ask “Why remake this, then, if you’re just going to tell the exact same story?”, and to that, I have no answer. At the very least, Guy Ritchie does a solid job handling the source material and keeps everything at a solid pace throughout.  

As you can probably guess, easily one of the most talked about aspects of this film was finding someone to play the Genie. It goes without saying that Robin Williams’ version of the character from the animated film still stands as one of the most beloved performances of his career. Thus, finding someone to follow in his footsteps was undoubtedly one of the most daunting tasks in recent cinematic history. As such, the way I see it is that the only way to have a Genie that’s up to par with Williams’ version is to find someone with a bona fide screen presence… Will Smith is one of those actors, and sure enough, Smith does manage to hold his own against Williams’ Genie. Instead of just copying Williams’ comedic style (e.g. his knack for impressions), he implements his classic Fresh Prince persona into the role, and ultimately, it does work very well for this version of the Genie. Smith’s then backed by the film’s excellent lead duo of Mena Massoud and Naomi Scott. As Aladdin, Massoud is properly charismatic, has phenomenal camaraderie with Smith, and wonderful chemistry with Naomi Scott. Scott, meanwhile, benefits greatly from the film providing some very satisfying updates to the character of Jasmine by focusing more on her desire to be Sultan as exemplified by her compassion for the kingdom of Agrabah. This especially comes into play during a key scene in the finale, which generally gives her a lot more to do when compared to her animated counterpart. It also helps that the film gives Jasmine a new ally in her loyal handmaiden Dalia (Nasim Pedrad), who gets plenty of the film’s best humorous moments. But if there is one weak link in this film, it is, unfortunately, Jafar. Marwan Kenzari does his best with what he’s given, but the film never really gives Jafar an opportunity to be as delightfully sinister as he was in the animated film.

As noted in the intro, this Disney remake faced quite a bit of controversy prior to its release when compared to others from its subgenre, and not just because it was a remake of a Disney Renaissance film. Prior to filming, controversy arose over certain casting choices, namely Naomi Scott as Jasmine because she isn’t primarily Middle Eastern and Billy Magnussen as one of Jasmine’s princely suitors AKA the sole white guy of the main cast (though, to be clear, he’s only in it for about 3-5 minutes). Once filming began, another scandal came into play over reports that white extras were being made up to look Middle Eastern, which Disney claimed was only for some rare instances of safety precautions. And then finally, once the marketing for the film kicked in, let’s just say that the first reveal of Will Smith as Genie in his traditional blue form didn’t exactly go over well with people on the internet. Simply put, this film faced a lot of scrutiny going in, and yet, at the end of the day, it’s another solid entry in this current line-up of Disney’s live-action remakes. No, I’m not saying that it’s ‘better’ than the original, but thanks to an enthusiastic trio of performances from Will Smith, Mena Massoud, and Naomi Scott, this new take on Aladdin is still a very entertaining romp. And really, that’s what I’ve been saying all along with these recent Disney live-action remakes. For the most part, they’ve been generally respectful takes on their source material, and their mere existence doesn’t harm the legacy of their animated counterparts as much as some may claim. After all, I’d argue that most Disney animated films are strong enough to stand the test of time regardless of how dated some of them may be, and that is very much the case with the original Aladdin. And to its credit, the new Aladdin does manage to be a fun, nostalgic trip down memory lane.   

       

Rating: 5/5!