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Aladdin (2019)

Spartan Girl

By Spartan Girl
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Wiendish Fitch

Wiendish Fitch

(edited)

It hurts, it hurts, it hurrrrrrrts....

I hope Robin Williams haunts Will Smith but good. Look, I miss Smith's brash, fast-talking, youthful charm, too, but he aged out of it a long, long time ago. It's gone, and bending over backwards to recapture it will never bring it back. At this point, it's like Kevin James still dressing like Silent Bob. 

Will Smith used to specialize in playing the smooth-talking superego. Robin Williams, on the other hand, was the human embodiment of the id; he didn't care about being attractive or charming, he did his own thing, like it or lump it (who else could have played Mork?). That's what made him so ideal as the Genie: Williams was basically a cartoon already.

 That rendition of "A Whole New World" sounds like ass to me. And Jasmine's costumes look cheap and chinzy, like those Disney Princess knockoff costumes at Ross or Costco.

Edited by Wiendish Fitch
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ruby24
ruby24

They just have to do it completely differently and not worry about it. The role of the genie was actually tailored TO Robin Williams in the cartoon. After him they started casting celebrity voice

VCRTracking
VCRTracking

This made me LOL:

tennisgurl
tennisgurl

I love the animated Aladdin, I grew up with it, its one of my favorite Disney movies, but the existence of this movie doesent offend me or "ruin my childhood" or whatever. I mean, the cartoon still ex

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Trini

Trini

(edited)

New trailer is good. The only thing off for me is how they're trying to mix Robin William's (animated) Genie with Will Smith's Genie. They both have their own particular schtick; which may not be entirely compatible. [ETA: Or what Wiendish Fitch said more eloquently above.]

Looking forward to a more fleshed out/well rounded Jasmine.

Edited by Trini
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Bill1978

Bill1978

I'm a wary of this after Beauty and the Beast, but after watching that trailer at least it sounds like they got people who can actually sing for the leads. I have the right to change my opinion when all the songs are released. And I'll be upfront I am more likely to enjoy this than BatB because it's not one of my all time fav movies, unlike Beast. But I totally sympathise with all those that are seeing their fav 'cartoon' being destroyed. Cause it does hurt, it really does when Disney destroys their own legacy.

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tennisgurl

tennisgurl

I love the animated Aladdin, I grew up with it, its one of my favorite Disney movies, but the existence of this movie doesent offend me or "ruin my childhood" or whatever. I mean, the cartoon still exists, I own it, I can watch it any time I want to, Disney isnt going to destroy every copy of the original movie and force us all to watch this one instead. This movie does not affect my enjoyment of the original at all. The thing that makes me annoyed about these live action remakes (although I have actually liked many of them!) is that Disney is focused so much on telling their old stories again, and not telling new ones. 

As for this trailer, I think it looks a bit cheap, but the actors can really sing this time, and I think this has potential to be a fun movie if they do their own thing, and dont just do a shot by shot remake of the cartoon. Will Smith as the Genie is still freaking weird though.

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Trini

Trini

2 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

The thing that makes me annoyed about these live action remakes (although I have actually liked many of them!) is that Disney is focused so much on telling their old stories again, and not telling new ones. 

See, this is why this one is looking a better to me than the BatB and Lion King remakes, because they actually do seem to be changing some things and expanding on the story and characters. (IMHO)

13 minutes ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

Dammit! My bad. 2 pathetic Kevins, I can't tell 'em apart!!

Aw, Kevin Smith would be so sad; he's lost so much weight!

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JessePinkman

JessePinkman

5 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

I love the animated Aladdin, I grew up with it, its one of my favorite Disney movies, but the existence of this movie doesent offend me or "ruin my childhood" or whatever. I mean, the cartoon still exists, I own it, I can watch it any time I want to, Disney isnt going to destroy every copy of the original movie and force us all to watch this one instead. This movie does not affect my enjoyment of the original at all. The thing that makes me annoyed about these live action remakes (although I have actually liked many of them!) is that Disney is focused so much on telling their old stories again, and not telling new ones. 

I don't think this movie will destroy my enjoyment of the original Aladdin at all, I don't think anything could. I'm not mad about a live action version, I LOVE the idea of a live action version. I'm upset that it doesn't look particularly good. If it did I would totally say so. I love me a well made remake, rei-magination, what have you. I hope the movie turns out great, I really do.

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Bill1978

Bill1978

3 hours ago, JessePinkman said:

I'm not mad about a live action version, I LOVE the idea of a live action version.

I think this is one reason why I'm cautiously optimistic about this redo, cause at least its a legit live action remake with touches of CGI. For me it makes sense. Whereas that Lion King think confuses me to why we need another animated version, and there was far too many CGI characters in Beast for me to truly see it as a real live action re do. Beast may have worked for me if they took the Broadway representation of the objects instead of going CGI.

I think it was Roger Ebert who once said (paraphrasing) "Animation is the ideal medium to create 'non real' stuff cause we have been conditioned that the laws of physics and nature don't apply, so we can accept anything we see on the screen without question" (which I could find the review he said that in to get the real quote). I feel with some of the stories Disney (and other studios) want to tell fail to allow me to be fully immersed in the story because the CGI is so jarring with the live action. ANd since it is live action, I expect the laws of nature and physics to be followed.

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Spartan Girl

Spartan Girl

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8 hours ago, JessePinkman said:

I don't think this movie will destroy my enjoyment of the original Aladdin at all, I don't think anything could. I'm not mad about a live action version, I LOVE the idea of a live action version. I'm upset that it doesn't look particularly good. If it did I would totally say so. I love me a well made remake, rei-magination, what have you. I hope the movie turns out great, I really do.

The trailer doesn't always prove how good or bad the movie will be. Look at how well Captain Marvel turned out! 

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Sakura12

Sakura12

(edited)

Aladdin was my favorite Disney movie. I still want to see this. It's not going to ruin the animated version since I can still watch that if this one sucks.

I'm fine with some changes if it adds more depth to the story. And I thought "A Whole New World" sounded great. The base was a little much but I'm going to assume that was to make the trailer more exciting.

Edited by Sakura12
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ruby24

ruby24

They just have to do it completely differently and not worry about it.

The role of the genie was actually tailored TO Robin Williams in the cartoon. After him they started casting celebrity voices all the time in animated movies, as if that was all it was, but it actually wasn't. How they did this was that he'd come in and go off on his tangents and the animators would sketch TO his monologues, whatever direction they went in. There's apparently hours of unused audio in the vault somewhere. 

That is NOT the way it normally works, I don't even know if they ever did that with anyone else again. Even popular comedians like Eddie Murphy and Ellen Degeneres, who did animated movies later on, they didn't work like that.

Robin Williams and the Genie was sort of a one-of-a-kind situation, catered to his particular manic style. It can't be duplicated.

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Spartan Girl

Spartan Girl

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On March 13, 2019 at 9:53 PM, irisheyes said:

I think whoever played the Genie was in a no win situation. Robin Williams as the Genie was iconic, and anyone who tried to mimic is would fail miserably. I don’t know if Will Smith is the best choice, but, honestly, I’m not sure who would be willing or able to step into that role. Maybe the original Broadway actor?

Nobody will ever replace Robin. Will has stated that he's not going to try to duplicate him, he's just going to do his own version of the character. And in a sense, that's what James Monroe Inglehart and all the other Broadway Genies did too, and you know what? People loved it. James would have been awesome in the movie, but I'll give Will a chance.

On March 13, 2019 at 11:56 PM, ruby24 said:

They just have to do it completely differently and not worry about it.

Yes, exactly.

On another note, Mena Massoud is pretty 😍

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darkestboy

darkestboy

I love the animated movie and it's something I rewatch often. Regardless of how this live action movie pans out, it won't deter my enjoyment of the animated movie.

Now for the live action - it looks decent enough, I'm intrigued to see how the changes/expanded story/new songs and characters will work in this adaptation and hopefully it won't be a misfire.

Not entirely feeling Will Smith as the Genie, but who could surpass Robin Williams though?

Naomi Scott looks amazing as Jasmine and I can see her giving a strong performance in this movie. Mena Massoud is gorgeous as is Marwan Kenzari as Jafar. Feels a bit weird to find Jafar attractive though.

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snickers

snickers

14 hours ago, darkestboy said:

Feels a bit weird to find Jafar attractive though.

Haha...yes! 😄

That guy is way better looking than the one playing Aladdin! 😐

So I thought this looked...decent....probably will not be the best Disney live action, but I am giving it a shot....it will be worth it as long as they can do the magic carpet scene done right 😊

I actually liked the scenes I saw of Will Smith 🤷‍♀️

ruby24

ruby24

19 minutes ago, Bill1978 said:

Can someone help me out, and it may be because the past week has just be full on for me but I don't understand the joke surrounding Aladdin's request to 'Make me a prince'. What am I missing with the Genie's joke? I have tried really hard but I just don't get it.

Like "make me a separate prince." He just produces some other prince out of thin air.

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GHScorpiosRule

GHScorpiosRule

(edited)
On 3/13/2019 at 11:56 PM, ruby24 said:

The role of the genie was actually tailored TO Robin Williams in the cartoon. After him they started casting celebrity voices all the time in animated movies, as if that was all it was, but it actually wasn't. How they did this was that he'd come in and go off on his tangents and the animators would sketch TO his monologues, whatever direction they went in. There's apparently hours of unused audio in the vault somewhere. 

That's not quite true. There was a script. But when Robin started riffing, going off-script, and being, well, Robin, they let him have free reign and tried to keep up with him, animating to his monologues. There are interviews in the bluray version of Aladdin that I got, where they discuss this.

Edited by GHScorpiosRule
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GHScorpiosRule

GHScorpiosRule

I saw the trailer tonight when I went to see Avengers: Endgame. It looks stupid.

Jasmine looks more like a princess from India, than an Arabian princess. The outfits are in the style of those from India.

The line readings from Aladdin and Jasmine sound flat.

Unless someone convinces me otherwise, a hard pass on seeing this on the big screen.

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Wiendish Fitch

Wiendish Fitch

6 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Jasmine looks more like a princess from India, than an Arabian princess. The outfits are in the style of those from India.

I had a similar reaction: if Disney want to make a Bollywood movie, then why don't they make a Bollywood movie and be done with it?! They didn't have to remake Aladdin to do that!

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Wiendish Fitch

Wiendish Fitch

My two cents on the "Prince Ali"number in the remake: just from the little bit I've seen,  it looks so static, basic, and bland in a scene that's supposed to be big, fun, colorful, and exciting. Cut, medium shot, cut, medium shot, cut, medium shot, are you sure this was directed by Guy Ritchie and not Chris Columbus?! Guy Ritchie's films haven't all been winners, and lord knows he can be self-indulgent... but at least he's not boring!  Ritchie always manages to make visually arresting films with memorable editing (hell, even a reprehensible, steaming turd like Swept Away somehow looked good).

Will Smith also looks uncomfortable and sounds wobbly (some hype-man the Genie is) . And why does Aladdin look so awkward during the number? Becoming a prince was his idea!

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Bill1978

Bill1978

That Prince Ali clip shows that Menken's music really isn't suited for live action. Or at least it's hard to adapt a song written for the animation medium is hard to adapt to the live action medium. It happen with Be Our Guest. They have to slow it down to dealwith the fact characters can be 'flying' all over the place and overall the scene falls flat.

And even though Robin Williams' singing wasn't perfect what he lacked in technique he made up with in enthusiasm. Will Smith is lacking both. And at one stage it even sounds like he misprounces where Prince Ali is from.

I also noticed that I have to brush up for my Friday salaams instead of the Sunday ones? Anyone know the reason for this change, do Sunday salaams not exist??

I expected more crowds in the short, more choreography and the song is definitely missing the ad libs of Robin that's for sure. I had decent hopes for this movie but the more they release the more I realise this is gonna disappoint almost as much as the Beauty remake.

Spartan Girl

Spartan Girl

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6 hours ago, Bill1978 said:

I also noticed that I have to brush up for my Friday salaams instead of the Sunday ones? Anyone know the reason for this change, do Sunday salaams not exist??

Friday is the holy day for Islam. People are happy with that change for that reason.

I guess I'm in the minority that thought the Prince Ali clip was fine? If Will Smith copied all of Robin's ad libs people would be pissed off at that too.

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Bill1978

Bill1978

9 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

Friday is the holy day for Islam. People are happy with that change for that reason.

Thank you, I understand the slight change in lyrics now. And now it will not bug me. Haha.

8 hours ago, starri said:

I would argue Little Shop of Horrors disputes the first part of that statement.

That's why I decided to put that extra sentence on the end, Menken's songs written for animation weren't written to be performed by live actors at the same speed. Even the Broadway musicals are slowed down. Songs he writes for live action are fantastic and the speeds are written for humans not drawings.

Bill1978

Bill1978

I'm just thankful Aladdin and Jasmine can hold a tune without obvious autotuning based on the samples I heard. A Whole New World sounds gorgeous. Will Smith is the weakest link as expected. I am a little bit disappoint that Jafar's song got cut. I know it's short but I do enjoy, I.m gonna guess the story has been tweaked a bit and it was deemed superfluous. 

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Pink ranger

Pink ranger

Saw it yesterday in England. Overall it’s a solid trip to the cinema, 7/10.

Jasmine is the best part about it and one aspect that I think is better than the 1992 original, the part is more fleshed out. She is a feminist in a  misogynistic Middle Eastern world. 

Spoiler

Her ambition is to take over as Sultan from her father when he retires instead of being married off to a prince.  Eventually, after seeing how kick ass she was against Jafar, her father agrees so she ends the movie as the next leader of Agrabah. 

Will Smith wasn’t as bad as I thought he was going to be. The blue make up still looked weird  but he works as Aladdin’s mentor/BFF if you picture him as the fresh prince instead of Robin Williams.

Aladdin was a great dancer and the choreography, hip hop meets Bollywood, was fun to watch particularly during  a party scene at the palace mid film.

The animal parts where well done. Iago looked and talked like a real parrot. Rajah was guard  like protective of Jasmin and Abu has kleptomania.

I didn’t like Jaffa, too soft spoken and boyish looking to be scary in the sense that the cartoon portrayed.

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phalange

phalange

It was fun and funny and bright and happy and I came out of the theater smiling. Will Smith is hilarious as the Genie, and I was dying at his gigantic hat during the "Prince Ali" number. That scene seemed to be a big hit; a lot of people at my showing were clapping along.

I'm happy that Jasmine has so much more agency than in the original and that she rightfully becomes the sultan at the end. Her song, "Speechless" was a nice addition, too. 

"A Whole New World" is my favorite scene, and I think Naomi Scott and Mena Massoud sang it really well. I'm also super in to the version from the end credits. 

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Miss Slay

Miss Slay

(edited)

I saw it yesterday and I have to say I really enjoyed it! I have been previously underwhelmed by other Disney efforts like Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella but I think Aladdin has the strongest story, which it makes it fantastic to retell.

I did have my doubts because the 1992 version was highly problematic and had a lot of racist undertones. The “bad” characters were dark skinned (Jafar) and the “good” characters (the Sulton) were almost white. I’m glad to see that a lot of this was remedied in this new version. The leads did have curious American accents while the people in the village had Middle Eastern accents but I suppose you can’t have it all.

I thought Will Smith really made the genie his own. Of  course no one can replace Robin William’s genie but Will’s interpretation was part Fresh Prince, part Hitch, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Yes, he isn’t the best singer but he made up for it with charisma.

I really enjoyed the actor who played Aladdin. He’s very talented and I hope to see him in more projects. I also think the actress who played Jasmine is a star. She will definitely be the breakout of the movie.

That said, my main critique of the film is that it seemed to steer clear of seeming too Middle Eastern. There are very few television shows or movies that have Middle Eastern characters in a positive light and Aladdin was a great opportunity to showcase a wonderful tale and highlight a different culture in a positive way. While Naomi Scott is talented, I believe it would have been nice for the role of Jasmine to go to a Middle Eastern actress. It reminded me a bit of the Crazy Rich Asians casting, groundbreaking in having an all Asian cast. Yet, in the lead, when Asian men are often seen as least desirable, they cast a half white and half Asian actor. In the role of Jasmine, they cast a half  Indian and half white actress. This gives a message about who is truly desirable.

Also, the kingdom had a lot of Indian influences – dancing, clothes, ect. And leaned away from the more Middle Eastern influences. I know that Indian and Middle Eastern countries do have overlaps, but it seemed deliberate in it’s Bollywood feel.

That’s said, I thought it was the best live action effort that I’ve seen from the remakes.

Edited by Miss Slay
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dmeets

dmeets

Yeah it skewed very Bollywood when inside the palace. The one thing I found most distracting was Guy Ritchie messing with the frame rates, especially during "One Jump." The leaps would go in slo-mo, then everything speeds up when Aladdin and Jasmine are walking hand in hand. And when Jafar first spies Aladdin from afar in the palace, the speed of his leaps and falls was way too quick.

I was 50/50 on Will Smith's singing. I thought he was great in "Prince Ali," good for the most part in "Friend Like Me," and was awful doing "Arabian Nights" especially the chorus.

Aside from those critiques though, I still really enjoyed the film. Agrabah and the palace looked absolutely gorgeous. Mena Massoud and Naomi Scott absolutely nailed the characters and the singing. Hopefully we see a lot more of them in the future. I know she's got the Charlie's Angels movie coming up... looking forward to that.

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