Aladdin is a lovable street urchin who meets Princess Jasmine, the beautiful daughter of the sultan of Agrabah. While visiting her exotic palace, Aladdin stumbles upon a magic oil lamp that unleashes a powerful, wisecracking, larger-than-life genie. As Aladdin and the genie start to become friends, they must soon embark on a dangerous mission to stop the evil sorcerer Jafar from overthrowing young Jasmine's kingdom.
Here we are with another remake of a classic Disney Animation film, preceding the upcoming Lion King remake. Aladdin was originally released in 1992 and is a film that holds significance for many people today, which is why there was such controversy when the trailer was released showing a very non-Robin Williams Genie. That would not be a surprise to anyone really, as Robin Williams, unfortunately, passed on nearly five years ago now. But it's safe to say that there isn't really a character and voice actor duo quite as iconic as Robin Williams and Genie.
Credit where credit is due, Will Smith does a really well-done job in the film. Robin Williams was a master of improvisation (an aspect that the animation style was really able to take advantage of) and that was his strength in the original film. In the 2019 edition, I'm happy to be able to say that Will Smith does not just try to replicate Williams performance. They have changed the character of Genie quite considerably, even going as far as give him a new personalised story arc that really allows Will Smith's charisma to shine through.
While Will Smith's acting and dialogue are quite good at conveying his charisma, the same isn't able to be said about his singing and dancing. The songs are mostly translated word for word from the original song, and when that is the case, it is really, really difficult to be able to improve upon it in a way that will make this new iteration feel fresh. They have modernised many of the dance moves, but there is nothing spectacular.
Naomi Scott's performance as Princess Jasmine is actually one of the better ones in the entire film. The characterisation of Jasmine is incredibly strong, and her vocal performances are impassioned and engaging. Despite the obvious irony about singing a song about not being silent, to an empty room, the composition is gorgeous, and Scott injects real attitude into it.
When you have a classic film like this, the studios need to remember that Millenials are already showing the original animated film to their kids, so when you remake it, you need to ensure that you are adding something to the original. Something that says to the audience that this isn't just a cash grab. The 2019 film is over half an hour longer than the 1992 version, and yet it simultaneously feels longer and rushed. The film skips over much of the content involved in the establishing scenes of the film, and yet it also adds so much additional stuff that doesn't really develop into anything. So many side characters are given significant screentime, with little to no payoff.
Where the film really let me down, was in its climax. The build-up to the climax and the final "fight" combined took up much less time than the epilogue of the film. The whole big payoff was written off in a couple of minutes, which really never allowed any sense of tension or suspense to be built up.
Overall, Will Smith did a great job, and while his new story arc can catch you off-guard, his charisma really carried the film. Naomi Scott came in a close second for outstanding performance, but outside of them, the rest of the cast were rather mediocre. It might come down to the direction given to them by Guy Ritchie, but the over-exaggerated style of much of the acting came to the detriment of the film.
Aladdin is much better than the "live-action" Dumbo, but leagues from the far superior Jungle Book. Lavish with some vivid colours (a little too clean, some would say) and fast-paced dance scenes, there is nothing abysmally bad about Aladdin, but there is nothing that would make me feel a sense of wonder; nothing that would make me ever feel the need to see the film again.