PUBLISHED ON June 1, 2019 
BY George Chrysostomou Reactions have been mixed for the latest Disney live action offering, as Aladdin continues to hit cinemas across the world.
This magical re-telling of the animated classic has been controversial for it’s production, with Will Smith’s CGI genie drawing the most criticism. However, despite some of this initial feedback, Aladdin is an incredibly enjoyable movie, which manages to capture the spirit of the original whilst fleshing out some of its core characters.
To start, the film looks fantastic, with a combination of digital wizardry and practical sets bringing the fictional world of Agrabah to life. The costumes are vibrant and the musical numbers visually pop as some of the more over the top animated spectaculars get faithfully adapted to live action.
The cast manage to continue this momentum throughout, with Will Smith’s Genie and Mena Massoud’s Aladdin, playing off of one another with some quality chemistry. The star of the show though is absolutely Naomi Scott as Princess Jasmine. She’s managed to elevate the character from her hand drawn roots, with a great portrayal and brilliant performance of the film’s newest song, Speechless. The sub-plot about Jasmine wishing to be Sultan continued to develop the character further and was an addition that made complete sense for the narrative.
Jafar has also been garnering some negative feedback as fans felt like the character was under-served. However, Marwan Kenzari’s portrayal of the ambitious sorcerer was fitting of what a Disney villain should be. He was complex enough that we understood his motivations but didn’t stray too near to becoming likeable; as some blockbuster villains have recently gotten close to, therefore lessening their villainy.
Aladdin overall is an enjoyable addition to the Disney archive, which not only sought to do something different with these famous characters, but also managed to honour the original production. Families will have a lot of fun with this magical movie, as they sing along to some absolute classics and discover a whole new world at the cinema.
We give Aladdin a 3.5/5.
Don
June 1, 2019Great review! I think the translation to live-action is perfectly done. I give it 4.75/5.0. I don’t know what could have been improved.
The characters were realized better than I could have imagined. Jasmine was excellent like you stated.
I appreciate the extra tunes but didn’t need them. I’d go see it again!
Dillon Johnson
June 2, 2019I’m glad all the Disney Princesses are coming to life thanks to English actresses; they are perfect and beautiful for all of them and I already know the first three.
Lily James as Cinderella. She later starred as Donna in Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again.
Emma Watson as Belle. She previously starred as Hermione Grainger in all eight Harry Potter movies, Ila in Noah and an American technology company associate in The Circle. I will hire her to voice my normaliteer character, Drayton Peddlestocke.
Naomi Scott as Jasmine. She previously starred in Lemonade Mouth and Saban’s Power Rangers. I will hire her to voice my normaliteer character, Imelda.