Aladdin

*WARNING SPOILERS*

Seen 5/27/19

I will admit, I am not the biggest fan of the “let’s make live action versions of all our animated movies” idea that Disney has been going with recently. However, like most other people, I still go see these remakes because of the nostalgia factor. So of course I was going to see Aladdin, being that Aladdin is my favorite Disney animated movie. I’ve been told that as a child I wore through the tape of the Aladdin VHS because I watched it so many times. So going in to this movie I wasn't really sure how I felt about seeing it. I wasn't exactly excited but I still wanted it to be good.

The overall story is pretty much exactly the same as the animated version. There are minor changes to some scenes but nothing that is drastically different. One of the minor changes actually clears up a questions I (and many other) have had from the original and that is what is Aladdin’s second wish? In the original Aladdin makes his first wish of becoming a prince and never officially makes his second wish so by the end when he is wishing Genie free it seems like he still has one more wish. In this movie they make it clear that in order for Genie to save Aladdin from drowning it would waste one of his wishes.

The movie starts out pretty rough. Everything going on happens super quick. For example the movie introduces you to Aladdin and Jasmine at the same time and just jumps in to their interactions. It would have been much more affective if they took the time to set up who these characters are separately before they meet each other. Everything in the beginning just felt rushed.

Thankfully this problem does not last for too long. As soon as the Cave of Wonders scene begins the movie starts to find its rhythm. Everything slows down and the movie keeps this pace for the remainder of the film.

Now, everyone was super skeptical of Will Smith and how he would do as the Genie. I personally think Will Smith did a great job. He added his own style to the role and he wasn't trying to be Robin Williams' version. 

The musical numbers, for the most part, worked really well for me. My favorite one of them all was Prince Ali. Now it also happens to be my favorite musical number from the original movie but in this version there were a couple of key things that worked for me and really made it stand out. The first being the musical arrangement of this song. It still has the original sound but it is modernized just a bit to make it fresh. The second were the visuals of the scene. I thought the color and the scale of the scene made it look great. Together, these 2 elements makes the whole scene just lively and fun. I had a huge smile on my face during this whole part.  

There is a new song written for Naomi Scott, who plays Jasmine, that she sings twice in the movie. This was the one musical part I didn’t really care for. The first time the songs happens I thought it was fine and even a nice little addition to the movie. But the 2nd time it happens the scene pulls me right out of the movie. Now I get the point of the song and why it fits in the movie where they placed it however the way it was pulled off just was awkward. Thankfully, the scene doesn't last too long and I was able to get right back in to the movie after it was over.

I still don't think the remake was really necessary but we were going to get it regardless. Overall I enjoyed my time watching this movie and as far as remakes go I was pleasantly happy with this one.