Whatever the reason may be, lots of big Disney film fans can’t get on board with Disney’s live-action remakes of their classic animated films. For us, it’s always been hard for the newer adaptations to live up to the excitement and feelings of wonder and awe that we experienced when watching the originals. But all that changed when we saw Disney’s re-imagined Aladdin.
You see, we’d already blown through every episode of The Mandalorian and The World According to Jeff Goldblum on Disney+. We’d completed our required 80s-baby viewing of the original DuckTales series, TaleSpin, and Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers as well as revisited with Return to Oz, one of the spookiest Disney movies we can remember from our childhood. So out of sheer boredom one day (and a flicker of curiosity), we decided to give the live-action remake Aladdin a chance. After all, how bad could it be?
Spoiler alert: It wasn’t bad at all. In fact, it was quite good and downright entertaining! What was happening?!? Did Jafar put us under his hypnotic spell?
While there have been two camps of thought about Disney’s live-action remakes (those who are for ’em and those who are vehemently against messing with the originals), we think Disney’s remake of Aladdin might be finally blurring some of those dividing lines. Here’s why.
It’s directed by Guy Ritchie (yes, THAT Guy Ritchie)
Guy Ritchie lost us a little with some of his more recent works, but his early 2000s films such as Snatch and Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels are some of my favorite movies of. All. Time. Guy Ritchie lends his unique cinematography and storytelling skills to create a new Aladdin narrative that co-exists well with the original. The movie is packed with awesome action scenes, another one of Guy Ritchie’s strongest talents.
Will Smith is totally gettin’ jiggy with it as the Genie
We were especially apprehensive about watching the new Aladdin because of the Genie. How could anyone compete with Robin Williams and the mastery he brought to the iconic role? And when we saw previews for Aladdin with Will Smith looking like a Blue Man Group reject, it only added to our doubts that this would be a good movie. But Big Willie Style is back, y’all!
Rather than trying to capture the magic of Robin William’s original portrayal of the Genie (which would have literally been like trying to put the Genie back in the bottle), Will Smith went in his own direction with the part. While Robin Williams’ Genie was wild, audacious, and whimsically comedic, Will Smith’s version of the Genie is cool and funky! Will Smith dove into his background as a recording artist to bring his own attitude and hip-hop flair to the big musical numbers. And the result was really quite spectacular to watch. Instead of breaking the film, the Genie played by Will Smith made the film for us!
The Costumes are Gorg
We could wax on poetically about Will Smith’s Genie some more, but there are other amazing details in the new Aladdin we need to discuss as well — like the costumes! They really bring life to the film, in our opinion. Jasmine is always exquisitely dressed and features several different outfits throughout the film — almost all of which are truly breathtaking! The vibrant colors of her garments seem to jump right off the screen!
The sets are Ah-mazing
It’s not just the wardrobe in the new Aladdin that made our jaws drop. There are some really impressive moments from the animated movie that are spectacularly brought to life in the live-action film. Take, for instance, Aladdin’s grand procession! This scene in the movie is fantastic! From the Cave of Wonders to the palace of Agrabah, the ambitiousness of the live-action Aladdin set design and execution is truly breathtaking!
The Big Musical Numbers Don’t Disappoint
Aside from the Genie, the one thing you probably remember and love the most about animated Aladdin is the music. We love hearing all the familiar tunes again, and the new Aladdin even features a brand new song “Speechless”. Although the remake got snubbed by the Academy Awards, many fans of the film feel like the score is worthy of the Oscar nom. (Btw, the animated-feature film Aladdin won eight Oscar awards in 1992 including Best Original Score and Best Original Song for “A Whole New World”.)
While we can’t sway you into becoming a fan of Disney’s live-action movies, watching the new Aladdin might be all the convincing you’ll need. And with 15 upcoming live Disney classic remakes in the works (including Cruella, The Little Mermaid, Mulan, and more), you might want to find some way of liking these adaptations since they don’t seem to be disappearing anytime soon! The live-action Aladdin is now streaming on Disney+, so make some popcorn and watch it tonight!
Are you a fan of Disney’s live-action remakes or do you prefer the animated original movies? Tell us in the comments below!
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So far none of the remakes have been an improvement on, or even equal to, the originals.
Respectfully, no. Just no. I was very apprehensive to watch this Aladdin and when we did, I really wanted to like it but I just didn’t. For me, Will Smith was the worst part, bringing the different style of music to the songs made me want to cry.
Also, I found the way it jumps into the Agrabah scuffle at the start wasn’t well done. If you haven’t seen the original it doesn’t give you the chance to care about the characters before Jasmine steals the fruit for the hungry child.
I’m ok with remakes if there’s improvement on the original, takes the story further or a different turn. But if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.
So far none of the remakes have been an improvement, or even equal to, the originals. Is Disney running out of ideas?