Aladdin (Review)
The New Aladdin Might be Pointless, but it’s Still Fun.
Aladdin is yet another entry in the new line live-action Disney remakes bombarding theaters in a ploy to milk 90s kids nostalgia for all its worth. This new version of the film manages to fall back on the template that the animated feature laid out before it while adding just enough new to make it not seem like a complete ripoff. While that might seem like a complaint, it’s actually a pretty high compliment seeing as how beloved the original Aladdin was. Still, this new trend that Disney is pouring all its time and money into is bound to get old fast.
Aladdin’s tale of a street urchin (Mena Massoud) who discovers a magical lamp and summons a genie (Will Smith) to grant him three wishes in order to woo a princess (Naomi Scott). This new take on the classic fable feels like it follows the playbook of the original almost to a T, and that’s what makes it work for the most part. However, it stumbles as it tries to capture the same sense of whimsical adventure, because, well, a lot just doesn’t translate as well into live-action. Of course, it’s not fair to simply stand here comparing the live-action film to the animated one, but even without the comparison, the new Aladdin feels like it falls just short of being truly excellent. Still, that doesn’t stop it from at least being fun.
Guy Ritchie initially seems like an odd choice to direct a Disney movie given the fact that he cut his teeth on British gangster movies. However, his approach to Aladdin thankfully subscribes to the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality. Sure, there are a few new flourishes tossed in there. For example, Will Smith’s genie doesn’t totally rip-off Robin Williams takes on the character but instead honors the spirit of it (and isn’t as nightmarish as the initial trailer made him seem). Another minor change is Alan Tudyk’s Iago (the second bird character he’s played for Disney), who no longer speaks in complete sentences but instead emphasizes moods with his commentary. Thankfully, one thing that Ritchie didn’t mess with was the background of the characters. The only white actor to be seen in the film is a goofy, but loveable foreign prince played by Billy Magnussen. Not all the actors are traditionally Middle Eastern (take Naomi Smith for example) but the film doesn’t try to whitewash an Arabian folktale, which is a welcomed relief.
The cast is pretty solid for the most part. I’ve been a fan of Scott’s since the Power Ranger film in 2017, and she’s actually the best singer in the film (no offense to Will Smith). I’ll admit that I had a huge crush on Princess Jasmine as a kid and Scott manages to make it easy to have a crush on the character once more. Even the films titular Aladdin gives a decent performance. Massoud has a mischievous charm to him and brings a great amount of energy to the role. It’s clear that he takes his performance very seriously, but at times it feels that he, like Aladdin, might be trying a bit too hard. The real shining star is Will Smith as the genie. I’ll go ahead and say it upfront that there is no replacing Robin Williams, so push that thought from your mind. However, Will Smith gives one of his best performances in years as he returns to his comedic roots. He might not have the same trapped chaos that Williams had, but he brings a sense of cool with just a dash of dad humor to make the character memorable once more. I have to say that I found myself truly enjoying Aladdin the most when Smith was on screen.
Aladdin has a lot of energy in it, from the parkour chase sequences to the Bollywood inspired dance numbers. Ritchie does his best to capture it with some impressive tracking shots and gorgeous views of the city. However, it feels a bit too restrained, almost as though it’s trying too hard to play it safe. In fact, the film feels almost more like a translation of a stage production and doesn’t feel like it takes advantage of the incredible things that can be done through the magic of film. Well, that is unless you count the CGI animals that border on creepy at certain points. Still, Aladdin is a pretty enjoyable movie overall, if not more than a little underwhelming at parts.
I guess the real question is if this new Aladdin is worth the price of admission, which I would say it is. It’s certainly better than the recent Dumbo live-action remake though a far cry from the source material. I honestly, had quite a bit of fun during it, especially because of the fond memories it constantly stirred up. On its own, it’s good but not great. The nostalgia factor certainly pads adds to it but doesn’t cut it much slack. Still, Aladdin is a fun family film that does its best to do right by a classic film I grew up loving. Even if it does fall short it’s still a pretty good movie overall and I wholeheartedly respect the effort that went into trying to do it right.
