Written by Kiara Co
Disney’s live-action Aladdin was entertaining and enjoyable to watch with director Guy Ritchie’s interpretation taking a different path. Indeed, with the new additions, this version was not disappointing as the film felt adventurous while also being comedic, romantic, and action-packed!
Firstly, the trailer and clips did not do the film justice. At first glimpse, many have said it looks cheap or a typical Bollywood movie, but they’re wrong. These new additions made sense and while the original animated film, which released in 1992, was memorable for many individuals, this version is just as memorable.
So, in case you’ve forgotten, Aladdin is a street urchin who meets Princess Jasmine of Agrabah. He eventually comes across a magic lamp that surprisingly releases a powerful genie and as Aladdin and the genie start to become friends, they must soon embark a dangerous mission to stop the evil sorcerer Jafar from overthrowing Princess Jasmine’s kingdom.
Small spoilers ahead!
This version had a very strong opening and confirms that all along, as many theorised for years, this story was from the Genie’s perspective. The opening was completely different from the original with the song “Arabian Nights”, sang by Will Smith playing during the opening scene. While the song was playing, it showed each character doing their own thing and also showed the beautiful city of Agrabah.
Additional scenes in this version was the “Jam” scene and “Dancing Party” scene, which both saw most characters present. The “Jam” scene was mainly improvised by Will Smith and Mena Massoud, while the “Dancing Party” scene had an Indian feel to it.
The music from this film was also impressive as well and surprisingly, all the singing was not obviously autotuned! All the well known songs such as “Prince Ali”, “One Jump Ahead”, “Friend Like Me”, and of course, “A Whole New World” got its justice! As a movie musical, it made sense with the storyline and each scene and the transition from dialogue to musical numbers went smoothly. What clearly stood out the most when it came to the musical number was Jasmine’s new song “Speechless.” This song was composed by Alan Menken and Tim Rice, then written by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. While this pop ballad may not fit in at first into the story, it actually does make sense once you watch the scene based on the situation Princess Jasmine is in. This song proves Jasmine has a voice and tries to prove she can rule Agrabah without a man. In an interview, Naomi Scott herself confirmed she sang the song live without any pre-recordings used while filming. This explains her facial expressions that looked surreal and left the audience feeling emotional.
As mentioned previously, the film really does have an “Indian feel”. This is due to Princess Jasmine’s mother. In the movie it was mentioned her mother is from the Kingdom of Sherebad and this suggested her mother is of South Asian descent. This explains the dancing and the vibrant coloured clothing Jasmine wears in the movie. This also should let the people lessen their disappointment because actress Naomi Scott is not of Middle Eastern descent, but Indian & English descent. So all along, casting Princess Jasmine was not a miscast. Either way, Naomi has done a phenomenal with her acting and singing.
There were many cultural details that wasn’t just the music in the background. For example, the oud, which is an instrument played in Arab countries. Another is Iago transforms into a larger bird that is a type of bird common in the Middle East. Speaking of animals, Abu (monkey) and Rajah (tiger) aren’t often showed in the film compared to the animated version. Iago the parrot was still annoying in this version, but was less talkative.
While the sets of the movie felt authentic to the original, the CGI could’ve been better, especially in “A Whole New World.” Now, we don’t expect showing Egypt, Greece, and China like shown in the animated film, but this scene felt as though it wasn’t the “world.” It felt like they were only going around Agrabah and other surrounding countries. However, at the end of this scene, it showed that all of Agrabah is Jasmine’s “world” as it showed how much she cared about the city and her people.
Princess Jasmine (Naomi Scott) was portrayed as fierce and independent. Naomi has shaped Princess Jasmine majestically with her own version while still having the character’s spirit from the animated film. Aladdin (Mena Massoud) was portrayed as youthful and charming and Mena’s version was similar to the original animated film. In fact, the way he sang in the film, it sounded similar to the original voice from the 1992 version, which was originally sang by Brad Kane. Meanwhile, Genie was played by Will Smith and it was hilarious! Will Smith had some big shoes to fill in because Robin Williams originated the role of the Genie, but it was still as good, in a different way! The Sultan (Navid Negahban) was just as childish and innocent as well like in the original. Although unfortunately, Jafar (Marwan Kenzari) was considerably underwhelming. This Jafar looked younger than the original and was not as strong. Marwan didn’t sing a “Prince Ali” reprise in this version and it’s possibly because Disney didn’t want to force a non-singing actor to sing, especially after the Emma Watson fiasco from Beauty and the Beast (2017). This Jafar in the film had a backstory just like Aladdin and Jasmine as well. At the end of the day, Jafar was still creepy. A new character in this movie is Jasmine’s handmaiden: Dalia (Nasim Pedrad). She was a funny side character who actually did have a purpose in the movie and didn’t ruin anything from the original story and this version. Another addition to this version is Prince Anders (Billy Magnussen) who only appeared in the film for 2 minutes. He doesn’t serve much of a purpose in the story, but his character definitely contributed to the comedic side of the film. Lastly is Hakim (Numan Acar), the guard of the palace. His character was emphasised compared to the original and his character really proved his loyalty to the Sultan and Princess Jasmine.
Each character had impressive chemistry throughout the entire movie. Firstly, is Jasmine and Aladdin. One of the best things is how both characters spent time together by having more conversations that were cute and helped build up their relationship throughout the movie. In the beginning of the movie, both characters talked about their mothers as Jasmine’s mother passed away and Aladdin being parentless throughout his entire life. Secondly is Aladdin and Genie! Most of their scenes together saw the audience laughing because it was pure comedy! In this version you could tell their friendship was something special and showed the depth of their friendship.
Overall, leaving the cinema will not lead you to disappointment. It could be said that this film filled in plot holes and questions that been unanswered for years, or in short, what lacked in the 1992 animated version. Based on this version, it seems like Disney took some notes and took criticisms seriously. From the vibrant costumes, authentic singing, cultural details, and becoming more creative with this version, especially after Beauty and the Beast (2017). This version may not be the same magic, but it is still magic and brought to you by Disney!
