Strap In, Remakes are Coming
We are in a time of the conversion of animated classics to live-action versions. Dumbo, Beauty and the Beast, The Junglebook, and Alice in Wonderland are just a few of them. Aladdin is the next to join the club. It’s got big shoes to fill to follow up the animated version. Will it live up to its name? Let’s find out in my review of Aladdin.
For one of the great Disney musicals, the singing wasn’t all that good. When you open the movie with a song that isn’t sung very well, that lowers our expectations for the rest of it. It’s nice to know that they found actors that were able to sing their own songs and look the part at the same time, but it just didn’t sound good, most of the time. A lot of it felt like watching a step below the broadway version. Naomi Scott, Jasmine’s actress, was the only one who stood out for her singing.
Naomi Scott’s Jasmine was the standout of the movie. They definitely gave the character more to do, compared to the original. The character has evolved to reflect the me too world that we live in. I do like the direction of updating character tropes, but it felt like an excuse to attempt making the new “Let it go”. It especially feels shoe-horned in because it was just a dream sequence. The upside to this change though, is that she was able to become her own independent self, rather than a princess in distress.
Filling Robin Willams’ shoes proved to be an impossible task. Casting Will Smith was a good step in a new direction, but he didn’t make the part his own enough. We didn’t get enough of Will Smith’s take on the character. We did get some fun quips and 90’s rapping, but it often reverted to Williams’ style of impressions, which is hard to top.
***Warning: Spoilers***
I have mixed feelings about the title character. Mena Massoud did a pretty spot on impression of the original in some aspects. He does a good job during “One Jump Ahead,” pulling off that very Broadway singing style. For “A Whole New World,” he was overshadowed by Naomi’s performance. I haven’t watched the original one in a while, but I don’t remember not liking Aladdin as much as I did this time around. He didn’t do much to make me root for him until the end of his and Genie’s storyline. Because of this, I was more invested with Jasmine and Genie.
The overall presentation did not stand out to me. With bringing cartoons to the real world, not everything translates well. The big elephant in the room is a blue Will Smith. It’s possible that they cut back on it a little after backfire when the trailer came out, but it didn’t look too good on the final product. Instead of doing practical makeup, it just looked like Will Smith, but with a few knobs tweaked in After Effects, with nipples. During some sequences, something else stuck out to me. On some dances/chase sequences, it looked like the video speed was changed, making background actors move strangely. I am not sure what the purpose of this was, or perhaps could have even been a mistake, but it didn’t look natural.
The story remains the same, but with a few updates for modern times. Aladdin is a poor guy who wants a bigger purpose, Genie wants to be free. Jafar wants power, and Jasmine wants to stop Jafar. To adjust for the times, Jasmine was given a bigger role, being more than just a trophy to be won. For the most part, the biggest change was the ending, where she was able to become Sultan. The addresses the minimal change from the original, where she can marry whoever she wanted, making Aladdin the new heir.
The Aladdin remake is a bit problematic. With actors that can’t sing, for the most part and unimpressive visuals, this doesn’t live up to its predecessor. Although the story shifts towards Jasmine to reflect the change of the times, the movie title still remains the same. We are only at the door of these classic remakes, and if these aren’t carefully crafted, they’ll only feel like deliberate cash grabs.