Aladdin (2019)

Watch Movies TV -***DISCLAIMER*** The following review is entirely my opinion. If you comment (which I encourage you to do) be respectful. If you don't agree with my opinion (or other commenters), that's fine. To each their own. These reviews are not meant to be statements of facts or endorsements, I am just sharing my opinions and my perspective when watching the film and is not meant to reflect how these films should be viewed. Finally, the reviews are given on a scale of 0-5. 0, of course, being unwatchable. 1, being terrible. 2, being not great. 3, being okay. 4, being great and 5, being epic! And if you enjoy these reviews feel free to share them and follow the blog or follow me on Twitter (@RevRonster) for links to my reviews and the occasional live-Tweet session of the movie I'm watching!  90s Kids claimed this live-action re-imagining would ruin their childhood because a version of this story dared to exist without their toxic nostalgia standards.  90s Kids have very fragile childhoods.

Aladdin (2019) – 4 out of 5

Since I don’t get bogged down by the toxic impulse that is nostalgia, I don’t get upset when Disney decides to take their animated films and redo them in a live-action or photorealistic CGI setting.  Partially because I’m an adult who understands the features that I adore will never be erased from existence when a new adaptation is made but also partially because I understand that the Disney cartoons I love were re-imaginings and re-adaptations themselves.  When it was announced that Guy Ritchie was going to direct a live-action Aladdin feature, the 90s Kids who treat entertainment properties like they own them hit the comment sections and said it was sacrilegious to remake the story because Robin Williams passed away and that no one else could play the genie and this was a blatant insult to the man by Disney.  I, meanwhile, said, “Guy Ritchie?  The director of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch is doing a Disney film?  That I wanna see!”  Well, I recently checked it out and, I gotta say, I really enjoyed this new take on Disney’s classic animated feature.

I tried to enter the Cave of Wonders and it told me that the camels waiting
outside had a better shot of being the diamond in the rough.

First Aladdin isn't shirtless and without nipples and now
the Sultan isn't fat?!?  It's almost like Disney is out to
kill all 90s Kids' childhoods.

In the Arabian city of Agrabah, Princess Jasmine (Naomi Scott) desires to see the world and not just be trapped within the palace walls and to be married off by her father the Sultan (Navid Negahban).  On the streets, the crafty Aladdin (Mena Massoud) and his pet monkey Abu do what they can to survive but, after he runs into Jasmine sneaking out of the palace, he falls in love.  Meanwhile, the Sultan’s grand vizier; Jafar (Marwan Kenzari), seeks to overthrow and take the kingdom as his own and, to do so, he plans on using a magic lamp in a hidden cave but the cave can only be entered by a single worthy person.  Jafar believes Aladdin is the worthy person and sends him to retrieve the magical item but, after rubbing the lamp, Aladdin meets the Genie (Will Smith) and is promised three wishes.  Aladdin plans on uses the wishes to get close to the princess but Jafar isn’t far behind trying to reclaim the lamp and make Agrabah his own.

"I think I hear music coming out of this...something about getting 'jiggy with it.'"

I look the same way at pizza.

The story, for the most part, remained the same in this live-action Aladdin.  There are some changes here and there since the translation from cartoon to real might not work the best but, essentially, it’s still the same.  One notable change is the inclusion of a new character named Dalia (played by Nasim Pedrad), a handmaiden to Princess Jasmine.  Sometimes this new character feels superfluous but she does have some fun moments and ultimately does play an important role when it concerns one of the main character’s fate.  This production didn’t mess too badly with the working formula but also didn’t get lazy and just make a shot-for-shot remake—but even then in those cases it can still resonate with my inner child.

"After Uncle Phil kicked me out I ended up here..."

One of my favorite aspects of the film is just how vibrant and colorful the entire feature is.  The sets and costumes all look amazing and really help craft the world.  Whether it is Agrabah itself or how Aladdin is dressed (sorry folks, he has a shirt on and isn’t his nipple-less self from the cartoon) or the treasure trove in the Cave of Wonders, this film is incredibly visually appealing.  This visual feast not only works to showcase the world (that Aladdin can show you from a magic carpet) but it also plays terrifically during the musical numbers and helps paint a visual spectacle for the eyes.

Genie farts or magic?

I really enjoyed that the songs remained in this reimagining because those songs are so iconic for the world of Disney and so synonymous with Aladdin that it would be hard to imagine that the story was once told without them.  To promote the film for its theatrical release, the “Prince Ali” number was released online and, to say the least, it didn’t really wow me.  It felt flat and lifeless and had me a tad worried that the rest of the songs might not be very strong.  However, I found I really enjoyed the musical numbers.  There are some awkward points to them like some needless speed adjustment to the footage during the “One Jump Ahead” and Will Smith does feel a tad lifeless in “Prince Ali.”  However, the overall feeling I had towards the music was positive as it capture the emotion of the story and kept that trademark Disney magic.  I really enjoyed Will Smith’s take on “Arabian Nights” and “A Whole New World” feels even more momentous in a live-action rendering and sung by Mena Massoud and Naomi Scott.

She closed her eyes in outright defiance.

I really enjoyed Naomi Scott as Princess Jasmine.

The cast, for the most part, I really enjoyed.  Massoud is a lot of fun as Aladdin, Scott had that rebellious nature of Princess Jasmine down perfectly and I thought Will Smith was very enjoyable as the Genie—he never tried to replicate Robin Williams’ performance and just did his own thing and that’s what made it work.  I thought it was cool to have Frank Welker return as the ominous voice of the Cave of Wonders as well as the voices of Abu and Jasmine’s tiger Rajah and, since I’m just a fan of the guy, I loved that Alan Tudyk was Iago—let’s be real here, having Gilbert Gottfried reprise the role would have been weird and his voice wouldn’t have fit the reality that Guy Ritchie made.  One member of the cast I was on the fence for was Marwan Kenzari as Jafar.  His performance isn’t bad but there is definitely times he doesn’t feel very menacing or like he’s a threat.  Most of the time he has this cool demeanor with a conniving lining to it that works but there were moments where I just wasn’t feeling it.  However, by the end of the film he definitely feels like a great antagonist but it just felt a bit like a working progress to get there.

Dammit, Jafar is cropdusting the room.

I won’t make the argument that Guy Ritchie’s Aladdin will replace the animated film that was released in my formative years and has since become a pop culture staple.  However, I still found it to be an extremely entertaining and fun feature that captured the spirit of the animated feature and added something new.  The cast is great, the music is terrific and the visuals are just astounding thanks to colorful sets, decor and costumes.  Overall, it was a fun new way to watch the tale of Aladdin and Jasmine.