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Aladdin is a 2019 movie remake directed by Guy Ritchie retelling the original 1992 animated classic of the same name. It tells the story of a street thief named Aladdin (Mena Massoud) bumps into Princess Jasmine (Naomi Scott) of Agrabah. In order to try and win Princess Jasmine’s heart, Aladdin must be a prince in order to marry her. Therefore, he strikes a deal with the main antagonist of the film, Jafar (Marwan Kenzari). If Aladdin helps Jafar steal a special lamp from the cave of wonders, Jafar will make Aladdin rich and powerful. Aladdin then finds the lamp and discovers that by rubbing the lamp, a magical genie (Will Smith) will appear and grant the user three wishes. We then follow Aladdin journey in winning Jasmine’s heart while also fighting against Jafar, who is trying to take the throne.
The movie received very mixed reviews with many people saying that the movie was much too similar to the original. This is a common problem in most remakes as most movies assume that most of the people have seen the original. Therefore, the movie rushes to the climax of the movie without developing their characters enough. Michael L., a senior who just recently watched Aladdin, says, that he feels like “the character Aladdin should’ve got more character development because he starts off as a charming character, but at the end, he is still a charming character. Where’s the change?” I think this is slightly true because it is mostly following elements of the original. While some elements may work in animation, it does not mean that it will be good in live action.
Arguably one of the best parts of the movie was Will Smith’s genie. Will Smith had big shoes to fill after the iconic Robin William’s iteration of the genie. Will Smith himself stated that he almost turned down the role due to the anxiety of not living up to everyone expectation of the Genie.
Esther M., a sophomore who has watched both the animated version and live action version says, “Robin William’s genie will forever be in my heart. Williams just brings so much charm and humor to the character that I don’t think anyone can replace him. I appreciate Will Smith as the Genie and I think he was the best part of the movie. I think with a few tweaks he could’ve been better.”
Another great character in the movie is princess Jasmine played by Naomi Scott. In the live action version, Princess Jasmine gets much more character development, a more definitive arc, as well as her own original song. In the animated version, Princess Jasmine did not want to be treated as property to men. However, in the live action version, Princess Jasmine’s arc revolves around her wanting to be in a position of power where her voice will be heard. Instead of not wanting to marry a foreign husband because she wants to fall in love for real, this version does not want to marry a foreign husband because the husband would end up having the throne and she would have no power.
Heer P., a freshman who has seen both versions, says, “I like this version of Princess Jasmine better because the character is more relatable because I’m sure many people are in this type of situation and just want to overcome it.” Instead of having the stereotypical princess that wants to fall in love, the live action version provides a more fresh perspective with a more relatable problem.
On Rotten Tomatoes, Aladdin scores 56% from critics, but, it earns a 96% audience score. We can see the difference between what the critics and audience say. The critics believe that it follows the original story too similarly and does not live up to its predecessor. However, the audience says that the movie gives off “nostalgic vibes”, and the humor in the movie is great.
In my opinion, I thought the movie was quite decent. I thought Will Smith’s iteration of the genie was completely fine and funny in a way that reminds the audience of Robin William’s version of the character. The only downside of the movie is the pacing at the beginning. I believe that the creators expect the audience to have already watched the original, therefore, they move past scenes that actually have great significance such as the introduction of Jafar and the Cave of Wonders. Other than that, I believe that Aladdin is a great movie for both children and adults because it gives a sense of nostalgia for viewers who have seen the animated version. For children, I believe they will absolutely love the humor and the light-hearted tone the movie provides.
What did you think of Will Smith’s iteration of the genie? Did he match or do better than Robin Williams? Comment down your opinions about Aladdin below!
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