Genre:
Adventure, Comedy, Family
Produced by:
Marc Platt, Dan Lin
Directed by:
Guy Ritchie
Written by:
John
August, Guy Ritchie
Production Company: Walt Disney Pictures
Starring: Will
Smith, Naomi Scott, Mena Massoud, Billy Magnussen, Marwan Khenzari, Navid
Negahban
Runtime: 128 minutes
SYNOPSIS:
Aladdin (Mena Massoud), a young street urchin, stumbles across the
mysterious Cave of Wonders, one which holds a magical lamp. When Aladdin rubs
the lamp, a Genie (Will Smith) suddenly
appears, one with the ability to make his wish come true. And soon, Aladdin and Genie’s encounter takes
them on an exciting adventure where they learn about love, friendship and the
meaning of being true to one’s self, while also dealing with the conniving Grand
Vizier Jafar (Marwan Khenzari), who
seeks the lamp to put his evil plans into action.
REVIEW:
The Disney Renaissance era was renowned
for its groundbreaking contribution in animation, and Aladdin (1992) was no exception. Concept-wise, the movie didn’t
stray too far from the company’s animated musical formula. Cast-wise through,
that’s where the difference lies.
In fact, Aladdin changed the way the industry perceived animated films
through its casting of Robin Williams
as Genie. In a field usually reserved for classically trained voice actors, the
idea of a celebrity, particularly one as high-profile as Robin Williams, voicing an animated character was almost unheard of
back then. It’s no mystery by now that it was a gamble that paid off.
By the sheer strength of Williams’ virtuoso turn alone, he elevated
Aladdin from being just another
Disney Renaissance movie to its most quintessential. And even until today, when
the animated film industry is oversaturated with celebrity voice actors, not a
single one has matched Robin Williams’
performance.
And with that, 1992’s Aladdin became a box office hit. In this
day and age of remakes, it was only a matter of when rather than if there is
going to be an Aladdin remake. Fans
certainly wouldn’t mind, unless Robin
Williams is involved. And to them, Robin
Williams’ death confirmed one thing: there is never going to be an Aladdin remake.
So, it came as no surprise that fans
went mad when Disney decided to remake Aladdin
anyway. From then on, 2019’s Aladdin
underwent a tumultuous journey to the silver screen, facing continuous
filmgoers’ wraths from having gangster comedy filmmaker Guy Ritchie helm the remake, the casting of non-Middle Eastern
actors to play Middle Eastern characters, a younger version of Jafar to then replacing
the irreplaceable Robin Williams
with Will Smith as Genie. And
several first looks and trailers that follow do the movie no favor either. Out
of the many Disney live-action remakes coming out this year, Aladdin stands out as the one with a lot
to prove.
2019’s Aladdin proves that marketing is not always an accurate reflection
of what the final product is going to be. Bad marketing doesn’t necessarily
translate into a bad movie. Guy Ritchie’s
live-action Aladdin isn’t as fresh
and groundbreaking as Ron Clements
and John Musker’s animated version, but
it is much better than what its underwhelming marketing campaign might have suggested.
Even more than that, it delivers exactly what everyone expects: a charming, mostly
well-crafted retelling for all ages that delicately balances nostalgia trip with
timely update.
Story-wise, 2019’s Aladdin is a slavishly faithful adaptation of the 1992 cartoon, to
the point that it’s the same script. John
August and Guy Ritchie are
credited as the screenwriters here, but their interpretation contains plenty of
the source material’s all-too-familiar ideas that one must wonder how Terry Rossio and Ted Elliott didn’t receive any credits here.
Much of what propels the live-action story
along often hinges on the tried-and-tested formula of the animated original,
leaving a movie that’s broadly a recycling of old plot points. Aladdin steals a
magic lamp, rubs it, unleashes the all-powerful Genie, makes a wish and by the
time the second act rolls along, he becomes Prince Ali. Oh, and let’s not
forget the epiphany moment when Aladdin finally realizes that having all his
wishes come true isn’t always a good thing, a twist that anyone who had seen
1992’s Aladdin many times would have
smelled from miles away.
That is not to say that 2019’s Aladdin has no new ideas. There are attempts
by August and Ritchie at adding some substance to the narrative. And the duo’s
attempts eventually pay off, evident from a highly entertaining and
character-driven second act filled with odd flashes of originality. The palace
sequence here is elongated, rightfully so for stronger emotional reason.
For one, it gives the narrative an
opportunity to flesh out Aladdin and Genie’s friendship better. It helps that
Genie is in his human form throughout the whole sequence. Aladdin is a movie about two characters whose relationship starts off
as nothing more than a master and his all-powerful slave and ends with them
being the best of friends, and it takes its time to build that up so that their
evolution feels more profound and earned. And the writers could not have taken
their relationship to a more compelling dramatic and comedic direction than by
having Genie play wingman to the nervous Aladdin/Prince Ali. Through their
constant zingy, endearing bantering, their chemistry has a finer balance of
levity and heart than the cartoon did. For entertainment’s sake, it’s fun to
see Will Smith’s Genie pep-talks
Aladdin with his ladies man’ wisdom and puppeteer him into performing over-the-top
dance sequence.
And talking about over-the-top dance
sequence, it gives the narrative an opportunity to add a heightened sense of
desperation in Aladdin’s continuous failed attempts at impressing Princess
Jasmine (Naomi Scott). Such approach
makes the progression of their relationship seem more realistic. Not everything
in the cartoon can work in live-action. It would be unrealistic to have Aladdin
succeeds in tackling like the It girl in town with only his second attempt. Jasmine’s
acceptance of Aladdin’s feeling has to feel like Aladdin actually deserves it rather
than rushed. Their romantic musical number “A Whole New World” would have meant
nothing without the proper build-up.
August and Ritchie also use their new ideas to
revitalize themes and character arcs established from the story of yore. For
that reason, 2019’s Aladdin stands
out as a timely update of 1992’s original. Aladdin
might have been a tale from an ancient time, but its personal exploration on
themes like freedom and imprisonment could not have been any more relevant. Just
ask Meghan Markle. It is the most
obvious real-life comparison since, well, both stories are set against the
royal backdrop. But the similarities don’t just end there.
Aladdin focuses on
characters that are outsiders, whether they’re inside or outside the palace,
just like Meghan Markle is an
outsider coming from a non-royal
blood and American background trying to impress a very, very British monarch. It
is in essence a tale of a world that imprisons themselves from any sort of culture
that goes against their own traditions and beliefs. Just the idea that a story
that represented the 18th century value and 20th century value also
represents the 2019 value is quite eerie. In 2019’s Aladdin, the script draws so much from what happens in real life
and transfers it into not just one fictional outsider in Aladdin, but also two
others in Princess Jasmine and Genie. In that aspect, the latter characters
benefit from a script that takes them to deeper places than the cartoon ever
did.
Aladdin’s character arc hits all the
familiar beats. Like in the cartoon, thematically, the live-action movie deals
with Aladdin, a street thief, who is imprisoned by his kid-in-the-slums
lifestyle. Safe to say, people just could not take him seriously. While there’s
that brief encounter where he manages to attract Princess Jasmine with his
kid-in-the-slum charm, somehow he knows that it will not be good enough,
especially with Agrabah’s law stating that only a prince can marry Princess
Jasmine. The only way he thinks he can get both fame and romance is by
transforming into Prince Ali, which gives him all the fame he ever wanted, but
not the heart of the girl he loved. And worst, it makes him forget where he
came from. Aladdin’s arc serves as a reminder that the true prison is when we
become someone we’re not.
But it is what the script does with
Princess Jasmine where this remake takes its chances. She is imprisoned by royalty
life, so much so that her only route towards freedom is by not being a princess.
It’s the means of getting there that are similar. The movie introduces Princess
Jasmine as a character leading a double life, just like Aladdin. Inside the
palace, Princess Jasmine is Princess Jasmine, but outside, she’s her servant. And for a while, it works until Aladdin comes
to her life, which sets up a lot of funny, intriguing sequences early on between
the two where she fumbles around places, trying to making sure that her real
identity is not exposed.
In all seriousness, Jasmine’s story comes
from a young woman who feels oppressed despite her position of power. In the
palace, only the men speak the truth, which drives Jasmine to take her words
elsewhere. She eventually gets what she wants, but not what Agrabah wants: a
princess. Her arc revolves around accepting her role as princess without losing
her own self, and when she gets to that point, it culminates into her musical
number “Speechless” that purely exudes girl power.
Another thing that the script improves upon
the original: 2019’s Aladdin makes
Genie more of a character, one with a clear arc. Obviously, Genie is imprisoned by the lamp and
his own powers. He might be an all-powerful immortal being, but at the same
time, he never really experiences what it’s like to live. Life, as Genie knows
it, is all about serving one master to another. And to him, humans are only
masters, not friends. On the one hand, he doesn’t really have a choice
considering who he is, but on the other, if he does, he would have preferred to
settle down and have kids. And the movie displays Genie’s gradually changing
perspective of humanity beautifully and comprehensively, through his friendship
with Aladdin and later, his various romantic run-ins with Princess Jasmine’s
servant Dalia (Nasim Pedrad).
As far as technicalities go, 2019’s Aladdin delivers another grand offering bursting
with the sort of childlike spectacle and wonder that people are already accustomed
to with Disney’s conveyor belt of live-action remakes. One thing’s for sure, it’s
nowhere near as cheap as the trailers have suggested. In fact, the way the visual
effects and production design recreate the cartoon’s iconic landmarks for the
live-action format is quite a marvel to look at. Rendered with great attention on
detail, aesthetics and scope, this Middle Eastern realm warrants a viewing in
the biggest screen possible, whether it’s the bustling, desert-strewn city of
Agrabah or the shiny, fiery glow of the Cave of Wonders. For the Cave of
Wonders sequence in particular, the CG work for the treasures in the background
Aladdin is near to flawless. If there’s
any complaint, the CGI for the characters aren’t as strong. Anytime Genie in
his blue form and Abu is onscreen, they can look noticeably jarring.
Other than the sets, the costumes look
so vibrant and timely. Reflecting modern-day Middle Eastern clothing as well as
the designer’s respect for the culture, Michael
Wilkinson’s fashion choices for the characters retains the cartoon’s fierceness
while veering away from its over-sexualized imagery, meaning no more shirtless Aladdin
or Jasmine’s exposed belly.
Last but not least, reviewing an Aladdin movie would not be complete
without mentioning the musical numbers. And it’s got pretty much all of the
classical tunes from the 1992 cartoon. But that doesn’t mean it’s just actors
lip-synching from the 1992 version. Benji
Pasek and Justin Paul’s top
40-ish reworking of the classics blend seamlessly in a movie that’s filled with
contemporary, semi-anachronistic musical numbers. Yearning for some Bollywood dancing
or break dancing in a Disney movie? This is the place. But Pasek and Paul also have
some new songs up his sleeve, evident from Princess Jasmine’s rapturously
catchy Girl power anthem “Speechless”.
2019’s Aladdin isn’t without flaws. Its first act does feel rushed. Various
plot points are introduced all at once, without being given the proper time to
develop. It’s a condensed version of the 1992’s Aladdin’s first act that ends up abandoning the driving element of
its characters’ arcs.
A notable one is the father-daughter dynamic
between the Sultan (Navid Negahban)
and Jasmine, an important aspect in her character. In this movie, that’s barely
explored. At the same time, they barely have any screentime together. And
worst, even when they do, it has little to no impression. Their relationship lacks
the dramatic tension needed to give Jasmine the desperate urge to inspire her
rebellious, independent personality.
Also, 2019’s Aladdin marks the first time Guy
Ritchie ever helm a family-friendly movie. Considering his track record,
he’s always been the odd choice for this movie and his visual decisions here do
little to prove the doubters wrong. It’s not as if Guy Ritchie did a bad job directing this movie. His touch adds a
sort of hard-edged, Guy Ritchie-esque
ruggedness to Aladdin that other
Disney movies lack, but in the end, it’s just vastly contrasting styles that aren’t meant to be. In some scenes,
Aladdin is a traditional Disney family
movie, but in others, it’s a Guy Ritchie
action movie featuring the type of abrasive quick cut editing and over-the-top
slow motion that felt so out of left field.
But the biggest letdown in 2019’s Aladdin comes in Jafar. Marwan Khenzari portrays the Grand
Vizier, and he is surely a talented actor, but here, he gives a pretty bad
performance. At the very least, Khenzari
tried. He wants to convey the soft-spoken villainous charm of the cartoon’s Jafar
in the most unique way possible. In this movie however, it gets lost in
translation, resulting in a disappointing interpretation that’s all
soft-spoken, no villainous. His body language never reaches peak point of authority.
His line delivery is flat. Anytime his soft-spoken strategy fails, he would
burst out yelling from time to time to make sure people remember that he’s a villain,
providing the movie with its moments of unintentional comedy, further proving
that Khenzari isn’t the right man
for the role.
To Khenzari’s
defense though, the script is also to blame for giving the character very
little to do. For one, Jafar is renowned to be a wizard with the ability to
manipulate people to do things for him, displayed perfectly in the cartoon but
underutilized here. Granted, in 1992’s Aladdin,
the people he manipulated were bumbling idiots. Here, Jafar doesn’t have any
bumbling idiots to control, with the cartoon’s own the Sultan now upgraded to
being a sterner, authoritative figure. Save for a few close calls, there’s
never really a moment where Jafar has the Sultan under his thumb. Even as a villain desperate for power, he
barely does the hard work. Like when he wants to summon Aladdin, rather than
use his disguises and approach Aladdin face-to-face, he just orders his guards
to collect him. In fact, the only moment
he’s doing any hard work is when he pick-pockets someone on the street, which
is such a waste for such a charismatic villain.
But don’t let Jafar’s underwhelming performance
distract from a movie that features mostly well-acted performances from its mix
of veteran and up-and-coming ensemble.
Will
Smith
has the toughest shoe to fill out of everyone as Genie, considering how Robin Williams made the role his own. And
making the role his own is the fitting way to describe Smith’s scene-stealing turn as Genie. Smith stays true to Williams’
manic energy and improvisational comedic riffs, but it’s never in any way
slavish. In fact, Will Smith’s Genie
has more Will Smith to it than Robin Williams, solidified by the fact
that this movie’s version of Genie raps (and not many does that better than
him). Beyond that, his performance also has some emotional depth to it whenever
the script takes the character to personal directions.
Mena
Massoud
seems destined to portray Aladdin. Combining adventure with heart, Massoud beautifully captures the everyday
kid subtlety and the Errol Flynn- like swashbuckling physicality required of
the title role. Naomi Scott embodies
Princess Jasmine’s character in body and soul. Scott retains the princess-like poise and forward-thinking,
female-empowering qualities of her cartoon counterpart whilst injecting the
character with a fresher sense of humor. And Massoud and Scott’s chemistry
feels real despite its fairy tale settings. Let’s not forget Nasim Pedrad as the Princess’ servant Dalia,
a new character in 2019’s Aladdin that’s
consistently funny in every scene she’s in.
CONCLUSION:
Aladdin
cannot
quite recapture the magic of the 1992’s cartoon, but for the most parts, it’s a
pleasant addition to the Disney Renaissance remake repertoire, packed with
elegant set designs, catchy contemporary update of famous classic tunes and a
likable cast.
Score: 7.5/10
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