Aladdin, Disney’s highly-anticipated live-action remake of its Oscar-winning 1992 animated classic, arrives in theatres on tomorrow, Friday, May 24th 2019.
The story is the same one that’s been capturing the hearts and audiences for more than 25 years: Aladdin, a young man of the streets played here by Mena Massoud falls for the strong-willed princess Jasmine now starring Naomi Scott, comes to possess a magic lamp complete with a Genie played by Will Smith and finds himself at odds with nefarious sorcerer Jafar played by Marwan Kenzari. Director Guy Ritchie guides the proceedings with a sure, confident hand.
Julie Ann Crommett, Disney’s Vice President of Multicultural Engagement, explained that while the casting process took time around six months across more than 15 countries, Disney and Ritchie were dedicated to finding the right actors for the film.
The cast of the remake celebrates diversity something that has been bittersweet in that some people did not like the choice of the cast based on their cultural authenticity. Mena Massoud who plays Aladdin is an Egyptian-Canadian, while Jasmine played by Naomi Scott is a British actress and the Genie, Will Smith is Black American.
Aladdin is a bright, high-energy romp of a musical adventure that is at many points simply delightful. It’s thoroughly entertaining.
According to USA Today’s App site, the 1992 original is rated G and ran 90 minutes, the new film is rated PG and lasts 128 minutes meaning that there’s alot of ‘X-rated’ content that was added onto the remake. It may be a bit too loud, action-packed and bombastic for the littlest ones.
Particular attention must be paid to Naomi Scott, who turns in what ought to be a star-making performance as Princess Jasmine. In Scott’s hands, Jasmine is a smart, empathetic and modernly progressive royal clearly ready to rise to the title of sultan, even as every man in the room will quickly point out to her that’s just not the way things have ever been done.
‘Speechless,’ a new Jasmine song created for the film by original ‘Aladdin’ composer Alan Menken with Oscar- and Tony-winning ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ and ‘La La Land’ composers Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, is an instant classic. It’s an of-the-moment ballad that has the potential to achieve ‘Let It Go’ levels of cultural cache.
Smith who is sometimes blue, sometimes is not, outdoes himself as the Genie. Robin Williams’ iconic voice work as the character in the 1992 original is such a singular performance that Smith smartly does everything he can to make the role his own.
That, as it turns out, means bringing some ‘Big Willie Style’ energy straight from the 1990s to the part. It’s a performance that recalls Smith’s glory days roles in the likes of ‘Men in Black’ (1997) and ‘Wild Wild West’ (1999), complete a soundtrack-ready rap rendition of the remixed version of a beloved classic.
Disney isn’t going to stop reviving its animated classics any time soon. The studio’s current release schedule includes ‘The Lion King’ on July 19th 2019 and ‘Maleficent: Mistress of Evil’ on the 18th of October 2019.
