Aladdin (2019)

[Spartan Girl]

I liked it! I will always love the original more, but it was a lot of fun. I generally treat these live action Disney movies like I treat fanfiction: as a different version of a show I love.

Will is not Robin, and he didn't try to be. He was just his own Genie and it was fine. And I liked his versions of "Friend Like Me" "Arabian Night" and "Prince Ali" fine enough.

Mena was great as Aladdin. He was easy on the eyes and had great chemistry with Genie and Jasmine. I liked that this version played up Aladdin as someone way out of his element when pretending to be a prince. The harder he tried the more he made a fool out of himself lol.

Naomi was definitely the scene stealer. We always knew cartoon Jasmine was a badass, but she didn't really get to show it until the sequels/TV series. This Jasmine got to be a badass from the get go! "Speechless" was the solo song she deserved for a long time -- crazy that she never got one up until now, she's the only Disney Princess that only got duets! I loved that she got to take a bigger part in the final battle AND got to be Sultana at the end. I loved that she had more political ambitions in wanting to rule her own kingdom. Call it shoved-in feminism all you want, but after Game of Thrones, some of us needed this.

I liked Dalia the handmaiden and was more than fine with her hooking up with Genie. LOL that both Genie and Aladdin suddenly become awkward whenever they tried to talk to her and Jasmine.

Hot Jafar was okay. We got to see him shirtless as a genie at least.

Agree that the Bollywood dancing was a little jarring, especially at the end. I guess they couldn't resist an homage to the end of Hitch?

So it may not be the diamond that the cartoon was but it sparkled and shone in just the right amount of places. And I hope we get more Mena in the future!

[Ms Blue Jay]

Love your review @Spartan Girl !    I thought that Jafar was a big ol' zero!  I get that in real life he's a hottie with an 8 pack or whatever, but on screen in this he was really lacking charisma for me!  He's the only casting that made me go ????????? besides Billy M., because he just wasn't that great.  I was really comforted by seeing a lot of people online who seem to agree.

Billy M. was HILARIOUS, I just really didn't like that Guy Ritchie felt the need to insert a white character for zero reason.

5 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

Agree that the Bollywood dancing was a little jarring, especially at the end. I guess they couldn't resist an homage to the end of Hitch?

You are really reading my mind!

I have to give a shoutout to the scene where the Genie introduces Prince Ali.  An AMAZING scene.  One of the best I've ever seen, not even just this year.

So far I've watched 10 new 2019 movies.  This is my second favourite, after "Us".  Next up:  "Rocketman". 

Edited May 27, 2019 by Ms Blue Jay

[Spartan Girl]

@Ms Blue Jay I thought Mena/Aladdin was way hotter than Marwan/Jafar. He has a nice smile, and he was so endearing even in his awkward dorky moments. And the way he reached out to tuck Jasmine's hair under her ear -- *swoon*. I hope this opens a lot of doors for him as a leading man.

My only gripe is we never got to see him shirtless. Of course his Prince Ali outfit was slit down the middle so we got to see some ;). He did a shirtless photo shoot for some magazine on the Internet, and all I can say is DAMN! 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

[Ms Blue Jay]

20 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

@Ms Blue Jay I thought Mena/Aladdin was way hotter than Marwan/Jafar. 😍

Mena was totally adorable!  Jasmine was very pretty too and she's a great singer.

[Diablo]

I saw this tonight, and I have to say, I was not expecting it to be as good as it was. It's totally unnecessary and misses some of the magic of the original, but it was a surprisingly respectful retread of the original.

Will Smith was surprisingly one of the best things about this. In retrospect, there really isn't a single other actor in Hollywood right now who could have taken on the Genie after Robin, and matched his larger-than-life, frenetic exuberance. I mean, who else is there, really? Smith was the only logical choice, and his performance here is proof positive of that. His Genie feels like it occupies the same stratosphere as Williams's, but is neither an imitation of nor disrespectful of Williams.

Mena Massoud captured Aladdin's winsome charm perfectly. He had the outward confidence combined with just the right amount of humility down. In the Prince Ali getup, with a huge smile on his face, he looked almost exactly like the animated version. My biggest critique of this version, however, is that Aladdin felt somewhat sidelined by the new emphases on Jasmine and Jafar. At times, Aladdin felt almost like a secondary character in his own movie.

Expanding Jasmine's character mostly paid off, but did not in the case of Jafar (whose motives, for all the added screentime, still basically amounted to his animated counterpart's: be evil and power-hungry). This was not helped by Marwan Kenzari's total lack of menace and gravitas, especially in comparison to Jonathan Freeman's over-the-top performance in the original (and on Broadway). I can understand if they thought they simply couldn't compete with Freeman's version and felt it safer to go in a totally different direction, but bland and one-note is not a good direction. 

Naomi Scott was great as Jasmine, as was Nasim Pedrad as her handmaid. The latter could easily have become a totally pointless and unfunny character, but Pedrad managed to sell it. I hated Jasmine's new song. It sounded like Pasek and Paul's other interchangeable, generic, angsty pop-ballads, but was especially jarring amidst the original Alan Menken material. Couldn't they at least have TRIED to match the musical feel of the original score? The song also felt very oddly placed and cringey in a particularly dramatic moment that stopped the plot cold for a few minutes. Did Jasmine deserve a song? Maybe? Naomi Scott sure can sing, though.

More on the music: I did appreciate their modifications to the original lyrics in "Arabian Nights." "A Whole New World" was a bit flat, and lacked the romantic aura of the original. I can't quite place my finger on what was missing there, but the original had something special. I think part of it was the soft, sweeping movements of the animation and the romantic color palette. The backbeats on the "remixed" versions of "One Jump" and "Friend Like Me" were a bit jarring, but the latter worked better for Smith's vocals and was among the best part of the movie. "Prince Ali" was excellent, and somehow captured the larger-than-life feel of the original.

[BitterApple]

My husband and I saw this tonight, and I thought it was a mixed bag.

I enjoyed Mena and Naomi. I was also pleasantly surprised at how good Will Smith was as Genie (aside from some dubious singing).

I thought Jafar was a total miscast. Nothing against the actor, but Jafar's supposed to be an ugly, wizened villain, not a pretty boy. 

I also thought the overall feel was way too Bollywood, from the costuming to the dance numbers. The production value looked great in some shots and really cheap in others.

If I were grading the movie, I'd give it a solid B. It was a fun way to kill a couple of hours but it didn't quite capture the magic and energy of the original.

[JessePinkman]

I went into this with extremely low expectations. Like singing crab under the sea expectations. Seeing as how Aladdin is my favorite Disney movie I was less than enthused by all of the promotional material. The movie looked too glossy and fake, the CGI was questionable, the singing was...there. And all of those issue held true.

That said I had a great fucking time!

Naomi Scott and Mena Massoud (swoon) had crazy good chemistry. Aladdin and Jasmine are one of the FEW Disney couples who have chemistry that feels palpable so that they were able to translate that into live action was pretty incredible.

I loved the seeds of Jasmine's need for independence that were planted in the animated version came to fruition here (though the new song for her was not great...it felt more like a pop ballad than a story specific song. That's the problem I have with a lot of Paul and Pasek's work, it's generic and could work anywhere. I guess you could say the same for A Whole New World too but Speechless felt particularly lifeless, Naomi Scott absolutely sold it however).

At times Mena Massoud felt like Aladdin come to life. He's very charming, that smile, those dimples. I'm crushing hard.

Will Smith is no Robin Williams (said the whole world) but he's so Will Smith. He oozes charisma and is just...a movie star. When the camera was on him you couldn't look away. The CG for the Genie was hella wonky (why couldn't they paint him blue, clean it up and remove his lower half in post?) but that aside I thought letting him be his own Genie and not just a version of Robin's was a good decision.

I think the re-interpretation of Jafar would have bothered me more if they hadn't nailed Aladdin, Jasmine and Genie so well. I can sacrifice the villain not living up to the classic timeless version we got in the cartoon since our protagonists were captured so well.

[Spartan Girl]

At first changing the "Prince Ali" lyric to "Heard your princess was HOT/Where is she" bugged me at first, but when I saw how it was used in the movie to give Jasmine the perfect moment to do her "nope" and walk away, I'm fine with it now!

Also, I thought Will's version of "Arabian Nights" was his best song in the movie.  Not that I didn't like "Friend Like Me" and "Prince Ali" too.

[doesntworkonwood]

I loved it! Aladdin is my favourite Disney movie, so I tried to go in with low expectations, and they were met and surpassed. 

It was really fun, I understood all of the changes they made and I think it made for a better film than if they were more faithful. It was close enough to the original but also different enough to make it worth watching (and I might go and watch it again haha). I'm very glad about the changes they made to Jasmines storyline. Whilst she was never weak or lacking in backbone in the original film, 'sexy!Jasmine' has never been something I was super comfortable with and I don't think it fits the Disney brand either.

[Scarlett45]

On 5/26/2019 at 2:55 PM, Spartan Girl said:

Hot Jafar was okay. We got to see him shirtless as a genie at least.

Yes I was waiting for the hotness to arrive!!! I wish they had given Jafar more do.

I thought Mena was very charming, a good dancer, and a great Aladdin. Oh and RAJA!! 

I want all of Jasmine’s hair accessories. 

Aladdin is my favorite Disney animated film from the renaissance and Jasmine is my favorite Disney princess of all time. I used to style my hair like her (I had a lot of hair then!) and I wanted a pet tiger like Raja. 

[Sarah 103]

On 5/26/2019 at 3:55 PM, Spartan Girl said:

Will is not Robin, and he didn't try to be. He was just his own Genie and it was fine. And I liked his versions of "Friend Like Me" "Arabian Night" and "Prince Ali" fine enough.

I agree. Will Smith brought the right kind of manic energy the role of genie needs. I was right in my earlier prediction. The Genie's two songs do not require a vast vocal range and Will Smith was able to do a good job with them. 

On 5/26/2019 at 3:55 PM, Spartan Girl said:

I liked that this version played up Aladdin as someone way out of his element when pretending to be a prince. The harder he tried the more he made a fool out of himself l

The yams/jams thing was fantastic. The whole thing just kept getting worse and worse and it was fun to watch, because almost all of us have said something stupid to our crush at one point or another. 

On 5/26/2019 at 3:55 PM, Spartan Girl said:

I loved that she had more political ambitions in wanting to rule her own kingdom. Call it shoved-in feminism all you want

I think it made sense for the story. It gave her a goal instead of wanting to marry for love. I didn't see it as shoved-in feminism because it came naturally and motivated her storyline. It gave deeper meaning to her scenes in the marketplace. Also, her facination with maps and the world beyond the palace walls gives the line "I can show you the world" a deeper meaning. 

On 5/26/2019 at 3:55 PM, Spartan Girl said:

I liked Dalia the handmaiden and was more than fine with her hooking up with Genie. LOL that both Genie and Aladdin suddenly become awkward whenever they tried to talk to her and Jasmine.

Dalia was a fantastic addition. It allowed the Genie to have a fun subplot. I also liked Dalia pretending to be the princess. It was a funny scene. 

Overall, I liked the movie. I agree with @VCRTracking. When the Genie was giving relationship advice to Aladdin, I started thinking of Hitch. 

I was not impressed with Aladdin's singing. I was dissapointed that they cut all of Iago's great lines. I have no problem with rewriting the dialogue, but the character barely existed.

I loved that the carpet was a more fully realized and developed character and I have no idea how they did it. I liked that Rajah tried to attack Iago. It fits with cat vs. bird, but also shows that Rajah is an excellent judge of character.  

[Dee]

Carpet building sandcastles in the desert cracked me up.

[Spartan Girl]

1 hour ago, Dee said:

Carpet building sandcastles in the desert cracked me up.

Yes!  That was so in character for him to do.

While I agree that maybe the timing of "Speechless" may have been a little misplaced, it was still a super powerful moment.  She'd spent the whole movie basically being told (by Jafar, mostly) to be quiet and stop nagging about things she didn't understand.  Even her father, though he obviously loved her and wanted her to be happy, kind of suggested that she needed to just stop and go with the flow.  It's not that she didn't get to speak, it's that no one was listening to her -- except for Aladdin, Dalia and Raja.

So when the guards were dragging her away, you can see something inside of her just snap, and when she pulls away with her "I won't be SIIIII-LEEENCED!" it was awesome.  

[Mellowyellow]

Loved it! Absolutely loved it!

I was never married to the original version and enjoyed the live musical in Australia (hehe complete with Aussie jokes) way more than the cartoon so I didn't have any expectations in regards to the movie. 

My only wish was for Jasmine to have a voice that could match Lea Salonga. After Beauty and the Beast (could they not have auto-tuned Emma Watson a bit more to try and vaguely live up to Paige O'Hara???!!!!) I needed a BIG Disney voice for Princess Jasmine! Naomi Scott definitely has the big Disney Princess voice! Thank goodness!

Will Smith definitely delivered! He was charming! He was his own Genie but make no mistake he was definitely Genie! I noticed they changed the songs slightly because I am assuming he can't sing as well as the musical guys can but it was still good enough to not be jarring like in Beauty and the Beast. 

His "larger than life" - ness made up for it!

Aladdin was adorable and I liked his singing voice more than the dude in the cartoon who was totally out sung by Lea! 

[Kel Varnsen]

Saw thos today and enjoyed it. Although I had only seen the original for the first time last week, when my kids found out I had never seen it. Although in my defense I was 14 when it came out.

But overall as an adult I think i enjoyed this one more. It was more serious, less cartoony. Plus I think I liked Wil Smith more than Robin Williams. Smith seemed to be an actual character while Williams was just doing his standard schtick (like Mork playing Mrs. Doubtfire playing a genie. Plus a Jack Nicholson impression?)

I didn't really care for the movie being a story thing but I really was impressed by the production design. And the actress playing Jasmine was gorgeous. 

[twoods]

Absolutely loved this movie! Since Aladdin is my favorite cartoon movie, I was going to see this even if it sucked and it was anything but that. The previews did not do justice to how beautiful everything was. The storyline was engaging and did not drag, and the leads were fantastic. I loved their singing voice and I had tears in my eyes during “Speechless” and Aladdin’s last wish scene with the Genie. Will Smith was very good, and even Jafar didn’t bother me that much. 

I can’t wait to watch it again.

[TigerLily20]

Saw this last night with my sister, it was fun and about what I expected it to be, I believe I have heard it referred to as the Fresh Prince of Agrabah, which fits pretty well.  I didn't mind Will Smith as the genie...he's just so....Will Smith but he did well with it I thought.  My sister and I were talking after the movie and I stated that even if Robin Williams had still be alive, I don't think he could have done live action Genie...he just fits that part better animated, just my opinion.  I will give Will Smith (or maybe the make-up department?) credit, he doesn't look his age or at least didn't in this film until the very end when he was hugging Aladdin.

[vavera4ka]

oh god... where do I start. (I guess with a disclaimer: Aladdin is my ABSOLUTE fav Disney movie. I've seen it gazillion of times and know it by heart.)

Did I enjoy it... I guess kinda for the most part. because it was a FRAME BY FRAME repeat of the animated movie. 95% of it. 

What happened to a great villain? This Jafar has absolutely no charisma or menace. Iago was one of my fav characters. I loved how they expanded on him in tv series. Here Iago was neutered to basic parrot with no personality.

Speechless song SUCKED. look I understand wanting to give Jasmine a solo, but make it good. "i'm not gonna be silent, i'm gonna speak, i'm not gonna be speechless, no you cant shut me up" ughhhhhhh

Also this whole girl power thing (to me) looked so convoluted and artificial BECAUSE they chose to do a carbon copy of a cartoon visually and verbally, and then clumsily insert a zeitgeist tribute.

Will Smith was great. This is the case of charisma just bursting through the screen. True, he's no Robin Williams, but who is? He did a great job with an iconic character done by another great actor. 

Yes I was smiling during the Never had a friend like me, and Prince Ali. I was singing along to A Whole new world. So I can't say it was a waste of my $5. But there is absolutely no reason to have made this movie. FRAME BY FRAME repeating the original. I would have had a lot more fun at the theater had they just screened that 90s movie. 

Aladdin and Jasmin were ok acting-wise. 

This movie didn't NEED to exist. It didn't bring anything new (that was good). It did an ok job recreating a classic. so why waste all that money and resources...

[dkb]

On 5/28/2019 at 10:36 PM, Scarlett45 said:

I want all of Jasmine’s hair accessories. 

Aladdin is my favorite Disney animated film from the renaissance and Jasmine is my favorite Disney princess of time. 

Um... yes to this whole part^^^. I was like to my cousin after the movie that I want Jasmine's hair accessories, and since I'm Indian, will try to get some outfits in the same colour combos Jasmine has. Just gorgeous!

On 5/29/2019 at 11:06 AM, Dee said:

Carpet building sandcastles in the desert cracked me up.

I laughed way to much at this part.

I thought it was a great movie, different enough yet for me it did have the magic of the original too.

[angora]

With both this movie and Beauty and the Beast, there's this weird thing where I KNOW it's like 80% cynical cash grab, I fully recognize it's not as good as the original, and I had plenty of grumbly moments in the theater, but at the same time I also liked it and came away with overall-positive feelings toward it?  Damn it, Disney - you got me again.

The most important takeaway I had from this movie is that Mena Massoud and Naomi Scott are great.  Massoud was just soooooo Aladdin (odd pacing aside, I loved "One Jump Ahead") and had great chemistry (albeit different kinds) with both Scott and Smith, and Naomi Scott was every inch a Disney princess.  If nothing else, they made this movie totally worth it, and I loved watching both of them.  I was slightly less sold on Will Smith, as there were parts where his performance felt a little uninvested to me, but when he was on, he was fabulous - "Prince Ali" was one of my favorite numbers, and the banter between him and Aladdin during the whole Ali sequence was great.

I couldn't help but compare Agrahbah to Wakanda (not fair, I'm sure, but it happened,) and while bringing Wakanda to life was obviously the huge labor of love for Ryan Coogler and his entire team, the creation of Agrahbah feels really half-baked.  As a kingdom, it feels flat, with no clear sense of what its traditions and people are really like.  The original movie of course had issues with its representation of a fictitious Middle-Eastern country, but I would've hoped we could've done a little better by now.  (Correction, someone could've done way better, but that someone was not Guy Ritchie.)  That was my biggest complaint.

Also, I like the angle of Jasmine wanting to be the next sultan, but why did the movie give us "empowered Jasmine" while simultaneously cutting her coolest bits from the original?  In the animated film, I love what a quick study she is with Aladdin in the market, playing along with the cover story he invents to get her out of trouble, and the moment where Aladdin jumps across the rooftop and then she does the same while he's setting up a board for her to walk across is a classic.  Both gone!  And is it just me, or does she not even say, "I am not a prize to be won"?  Did I just miss it somehow?  I know they cover the same sentiment, but that line is the first thing I always think of when I think of Jasmine.  Did the new crew want us to forget how awesome she was before so they could get even more credit here or something?  Bad Disney!  At least they kept her throwing in the Abu reference to trick Aladdin into blowing his Prince Ali cover.

As with Beauty and the Beast, I liked that we got a little more time to develop the connection between Aladdin and Jasmine:  when she was pretending, when they were both themselves, AND when he was pretending, we got new scenes between them in every area.  Both because it's nice to let the love story breathe a little more and because I enjoyed watching Massoud and Scott so much - their scenes together were a treat!

[SosaLola]

I thought it was spectacular. I really loved that they changed the story and added new characters, I never wanted a copy/paste of the 1992 movie because… we’ve already seen that. It makes it its own movie. The actress playing Jasmine in particular was simply perfection. 

In regards to the costumes, I remember back in the day when I watched 1992 Aladdin for the first time, my only complaint was the clothes. No Arab princess dresses like 1992 Jasmine. She clearly looked like a woman from India, not Arabia. Arab women, even pre-Islam, dressed very modestly. The only women who would show off their bellies were belly dancers. 

Aladdin was clearly a mix of three cultures: Arabia, Persia and India. I remember that Agrabah was supposed to be Baghdad (the capital city of Iraq and where Sinbad is from) but due to the gulf war in 1990-1991, the name was changed to Agrabah (which means “female spider” in Arabic.) The Sultan in the 1992 movie mentioned Allah a few times in the movie, so that means that those characters are Muslims. It doesn’t necessarily make them Arabs, though. ‘Cause lots of people in Persia and India are Muslims, too. 

The new Aladdin movie fixed the clothes problem because the women in the movie do dress like ancient Arabs. Kinda. But I don’t think it makes them necessarily Arabs, either, because the dance numbers are clearly Bollywood.

I do like including Arab actors! Marwan Kenzari (Jafar) pronounced the name “Hakim” correctly. I also loved Jasmine’s “baba” referring to her father, though she didn’t pronounce it right. It isn’t pronounced like the French Papa, but more like when little babies call their fathers “Dada.” I liked the change from “Sunday Salaam” to “Friday Salaam” because Friday is the Muslim’s holy day.   

[Sakura12]

I enjoyed this movie, it was fun and that's all I could ask from it. I thought most of the actors did a great job, the weak link being Jafar not being a menacing enough. Naomi Scott has a great voice. Mena Massoud's voice wasn't that strong but he did okay, he pulled off the charm of Aladdin and that's more important. 

I did like that Jasmine had more agency in this than the animated movie. Don't really know if her solo fit the movie. The message did but it felt too modern pop song than the rest of the songs. 

I was more worried with Will Smith being the Genie, but he made it his own and didn't try to take away Robin's version so it worked for me. 

[Minneapple]

Finally saw this last night and I loved it. The singing/dance numbers were a lot of fun. And I wouldn't want to follow Robin Williams in his iconic genie role, but Will Smith did a really great job. The scene where Aladdin/Genie meet the sultan and Jasmine was hilarious. And I loved Nasim Pedrad as Dalia. 

I do agree that Jafar did not live up to his good looks. He was a pretty face and nothing more. Jafar in the animated movie was such a fun, over the top Disney villain and while this movie had some nice "cartoon" elements, he wasn't one of them.

[roughing it]

My Jafar is repulsive inside and outside, and older; where there is no way in hell Jasmine would even consider being his wife <shudder> (not that she would anyway).  This Jafar wasn't repulsive looking, and wasn't menacing and wasn't older.  Total miscast (or mischaracterization).

I loved most of the movie.  I'm not a fan of Will Smith but he did ok here, and I appreciate that he didn't just try to copy RW.  I loved Dalia and her relationship with Jasmine, a great addition, and I liked the family story in the beginning.  

[topanga]

On 6/17/2019 at 11:14 AM, Minneapple said:

Finally saw this last night and I loved it. The singing/dance numbers were a lot of fun. And I wouldn't want to follow Robin Williams in his iconic genie role, but Will Smith did a really great job. The scene where Aladdin/Genie meet the sultan and

Just saw this last night. And I gree with your entire post. No need to write my own. LOL 

[choclatechip45]

I liked it. It reminded me of the Broadway show than the animated version. 

[JessePinkman]

Aladdin might be only the third of these Disney live-action remakes to get a sequel (and the first to warrant one IMO)

Aladdin 2 In Development At Disney, Will Follow Return Of Jafar

Quote

Our sources say that the plot will follow closely to The Return of Jafar though, the straight-to-video follow-up to the animated flick released in 1994.

As the title suggests, the sequel’s story saw the evil Grand Vizier-turned-Genie escape from the Cave of Wonders to wreak havoc on Agrabah once again. Honestly, the movie isn’t one of Disney’s finest hours, as the plot is pretty slight. But the filmmakers behind the new Aladdin could maybe just use the framework of the animated version to come up with something different – and not slavishly recreate the original for once.

[Spartan Girl]

I wouldn't necessarily trust that report based on one website alone, @JessePinkman

[Trini]

That site isn't credible. They frequently post "reports" from "sources" that are pure speculation.

[wingster55]

It's bizarre (to me) that the it's very close to a 1 billion dollar box office yet nobody seems to be noticing that instead focusing on Avengers and Avatar (as far as I know). 

[JessePinkman]

On 7/16/2019 at 12:22 PM, Spartan Girl said:

I wouldn't necessarily trust that report based on one website alone, @JessePinkman

Oh I know it's not official, I kind just wanted to say it's the only one of these I think makes sense to have a sequel lol.

13 hours ago, wingster55 said:

It's bizarre (to me) that the it's very close to a 1 billion dollar box office yet nobody seems to be noticing that instead focusing on Avengers and Avatar (as far as I know). 

It's having the box office run of something released in December. It's really incredible. Something like 8 weeks in the top 5?  With movies making a billion dollars in 1-2 weeks, sometimes we forget that often slow and steady wins the race.

[Guest]

15 hours ago, wingster55 said:

It's bizarre (to me) that the it's very close to a 1 billion dollar box office yet nobody seems to be noticing that instead focusing on Avengers and Avatar (as far as I know). 

I think it’s a result of being in the middle of Disney’s billion dollar movie block. Even when people start paying attention it will probably focus on Disney’s dominance. 

[tennisgurl]

Its not the cartoon, but as far as live action adaptations of these Disney cartoons, it was quite entertaining and I really enjoyed it. It probably helps that Aladdin is a story that already exists beyond the House of Mouse, so I can kind of just see this as another adaptation instead of just a full on remake, even if, yeah, this is clearly based around the Disney movie. 

I really liked the live creation of Agrabah, it had lots of great lived in details, and I especially thought the costuming was great. I loved every Jasmine outfit and accessory, and her hair was just so on point! The actors playing Aladdin and Jasmine had great chemistry, and while adding their meeting in earlier was weird for someone so used to the cartoon, it did give them a bit more time together and that was a nice change up. Generally, I think the show did a pretty good job of being cartoon-y but also trying to keep the movie more grounded in realism for a live action take. Well, as real as a world with flying carpets building sand castles, singing genies, and sentient monkeys wearing clothes.

I thought that Will Smith did an admirable job as the Genie, and it helped that he was clearly doing his own thing and not just trying to re-do the iconic Robin Williams performance. It was also interesting that he got more face time as a  human (well when you hire Will Smith...) and even got a love interest and kids! 

So as far as  Disney live action re-makes, I would rank it above Lion King, which I saw recently, and probably up there with Cinderella, as both seemed to be closer to telling their own versions of classic stories, and not just doing a shot for shot remake. 

[Spartan Girl]

For anyone's that's interested, here's the deleted "Desert Moon" duet with Aladdin and Jasmine.

[BetterButter]

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Critics' Choice Award nomination:

Best Song – Speechless

[Spartan Girl]

If anybody's interested, this will be on Disney+ January 8th.

[vavera4ka]

On ‎12‎/‎12‎/‎2019 at 2:49 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Critics' Choice Award nomination:

Best Song – Speechless

this was the biggest most unpleasant surprise.

that song is so cringe.

i'm not gonna be speechless i'm not gonna not speak I won't be silent I will be non silent

gaaaaah... it's one thing that this song exists, but to be nominated as one of the best songs...

[GHScorpiosRule]

On 12/19/2019 at 12:21 PM, Spartan Girl said:

If anybody's interested, this will be on Disney+ January 8th.

It’s already available there. Has been since the service started.

[Spartan Girl]

23 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

It’s already available there. Has been since the service started.

Really? A bunch of news articles about what's on Disney+ on January (like they do every month with Netflix) made it sound like it wasn't there yet.

[GHScorpiosRule]

10 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

Really? A bunch of news articles about what's on Disney+ on January (like they do every month with Netflix) made it sound like it wasn't there yet.

Yep. It’s there in the roster of live movies. I’ve been having too much fun watching old shows and movies to watch it. But it’s been there since day one.

[Guest]

On 12/21/2019 at 7:05 AM, GHScorpiosRule said:

On 12/21/2019 at 6:52 AM, Spartan Girl said:

Really? A bunch of news articles about what's on Disney+ on January (like they do every month with Netflix) made it sound like it wasn't there yet.

Yep. It’s there in the roster of live movies. I’ve been having too much fun watching old shows and movies to watch it. But it’s been there since day one.

It’s listed but it’s not available to watch. When you select it there is a message that due to existing agreements this title will be available on Jan. 9, 2020. It’s like that for all the recent releases and the movies that are still on other services. 

Edited December 22, 2019 by Guest

[Spaceman Spiff]

Saw this on Disney+

I don't know where to start. I guess with the director. Guy Ritche. I have not watched any movie of his except LSaTSB, but I can't stand his directing style. The unnecessary slow mo shot, the spin around the group in circle shot, I even think he sped up a few frames from time to time. Can. Not. Stand. Had I known he directed, I may have forgone watching it in the first place. But I did.

On 6/12/2019 at 10:38 AM, vavera4ka said:

Did I enjoy it... I guess kinda for the most part. because it was a FRAME BY FRAME repeat of the animated movie. 95% of it. 

What happened to a great villain? This Jafar has absolutely no charisma or menace. Iago was one of my fav characters. I loved how they expanded on him in tv series. Here Iago was neutered to basic parrot with no personality.

Speechless song SUCKED. look I understand wanting to give Jasmine a solo, but make it good. "i'm not gonna be silent, i'm gonna speak, i'm not gonna be speechless, no you cant shut me up" ughhhhhhh

This sums up a lot of what I was thinking.

Casting sucked. The only casting choice I liked was the actress who played Jasmine. But for some reason I could not stop seeing Sarah Michelle Gellar when she was on screen. I don't know if it was the eyes, the nose, the smile or all of the above. Regardless, I thought she did really good.

I didn't care for Will as the Genie. It's hard to replace Robin. But I probably would have had the same opinion had he still been around and done the role again. Maybe it's because I thought the CGI was off, I don't know. It was just odd watching it. I mean it was too Clutch Cargo-y for me (dating myself).

I didn't completely hate it. I watched the whole movie . But I'll watch the animated again before I ever revisit this.

[GHScorpiosRule]

It’s SULTANA!!!😒😒😒 Would it make sense if Jasmine said she wanted to be King?

My original criticisms of this movie still stand. They should have just set this in India, and not the fictional Agrabah, which was supposed to be an Arab country. The outfits for the women, were clearly those that women in India wore and wear. And while EVERYONE spoke with either an American or English (Jaffar’s actor) accent, every time someone said “Agribah”, they pronounced it like Agrrreeeebah, with an emphasis on the r and I with an Indian accent.
 

Didn’t like the changes they made, either. Like how Jasmine showed up BEFORE the Riff-raff song.

Yes, I’m peeved. The movie was stupid. The acting all very lack luster, except for Raja, Carpet, and Abu. And they were CGI. Okay, Navid  Negahban too. Though his sultan was too broody and not the happy go lucky leader as portrayed in the original. 

But the biggest piece of egregiousness was that stall person that Jasmine stole bread from: he invoked the name of Kali, who is an INDIAN goddess!

Jaffar was too young and not ugly enough. Plus this Jaffar was too whiny.

And I don’t CARE that the director thought it would be a good idea to pay homage to Naomi’s Indian heritage by having that last number a Bollywood/Bhangra theme. It was WRONG. They couldn’t find any Arabian music? Because the second part of the song that led to the closing titles, was using an Indian sounding music.

As I stated up thread, I am of East Indian descent, and I can’t hand wave any of the the things that I found problematic.

So glad I didn’t watch this in the theater.

And now I’m gonna go watch the original.

 

[starri]

On 1/18/2020 at 12:15 AM, GHScorpiosRule said:

It’s SULTANA!!!😒😒😒 Would it make sense if Jasmine said she wanted to be King?

"Sultana" is also what raisins are called in a lot of English-speaking countries.  I can see why they steered away from that.

[Trini]

Late to this, so I'll keep it short: I really liked this, wouldn't say I loved it. I wasn't expecting or wanting this to be like the animated movie, so I didn't have a problem with the changes, and I actually liked most of them. Some were big improvements, like expanding Jasmine's character, and being more culturally sensitive (although, I don't think they got 100% there).

Will Smith did great as his version of Genie; and I was really enchanted with Naomi and Mena (so cute, the dimples!) as Jasmine and Aladdin! Those two and the costumes were probably the best things about remaking this in live-action. However, overall, I don't think this film added enough to be a new classic - though I enjoyed it. It mostly made me want to rewatch the original.

My two biggest gripes were: 1) Jafar not being villainous (menacing?) enough; him being younger and handsome wouldn't even be an issue if he was threatening. 2) "A Whole New World" sequence being lackluster, to me. It's my favorite part from the animated version, and it just wasn't 'magical' enough.

[Trini]

BTW, a sequel is apparently in development, but there hasn't been any more info about it since that news broke last February.