Aladdin Review :: Aladdin razzle dazzles but needs more magic

Walt Disney Pictures

Disney has been mining their animated film library to make more money from them with live-action adaptations. This isn’t a new phenomenon, of course, because they remade 101 Dalmations back in 1996, long before they really got things rolling with Cinderalla in 2015. And it has been a rollercoaster of varying success with highs and lows along the way to the latest remake, Aladdin.

The animated version of Aladdin was released in 1992 following the successes of Disney’s renewed animation division with The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. The new films follows the same basic story with street thief Aladdin bumping into a beautiful woman in the market place, believing she is a handmaid to the princess (whom no one has seen since the death of her mother). Feeling an instant connection, Aladdin is surprised to learn ‘Dalia’ actually is Princess Jasmine which dashes his hopes of ever having a relationship with her as she is only permitted to marry a prince.

But Aladdin’s skills at getting past the palace guards to see Jasmine does not go unnoticed by the King’s Vizier, Jafar (or rather his nosy parrot Iago). Jafar has his eyes on the throne but needs a lamp from the Cave of Wonders, and no one he’s sent in has made it out alive, always tempted by all the other riches stored in the cave. The cave (voiced by Frank Welker, who also provided the voice in the animated movie) claims a ‘diamond in the rough’ will be the only thing that can enter and exit the cave, and Jafar believes Aladdin is that diamond. Unfortunately, when being told not to touch anything else but the lamp, Aladdin’s monkey is mesmerized by a large jewel and they become trapped. But Aladdin did get to the lamp, and with the assistance of a magic carpet cluing him along, Aladdin rubs the lamp and unleashes the Genie, who grants him three wishes. Of course, the first is to get out of the cave (but Aladdin is crafty enough to not actually waste the wish on that), and now Aladdin sets his sights on wooing Jasmine. But tradition and Jafar still stand in his way, and only a little magic can help.

From the beginning of Aladdin, you are sure to be impressed by the production. It looks amazing, from the crowded streets to the Cave of Wonders to Jasmine’s spacious living quarters. It’s obvious no expense was spared to bring this all to life. Disney has also gone the unusual route with casting mostly unknown actors (at least to US audiences on a vast scale) in the lead roles. Mena Massoud’s (Aladdin) biggest credit is the Amazon TV series Jack Ryan, and Naomi Scott (Jasmine) has the Fox TV series Terra Nova and the Power Rangers movie (she was the Pink Ranger) to her credit. Some may wonder why they didn’t cast bigger names for such a huge movie, but both actors breathe life into their characters and their connection feels real. Bigger names would have only distracted from the character building these two do. And they can both sing, really belting out the classic ‘A Whole New World’ and making it their own.

There are a couple of familiar faces in smaller roles, including former SNL cast member Nasim Pedrad as the real Dalia, and Billy Magnussen as goofy Prince Anders, Jasmine’s suitor from … Arendelle? (No, actually he’s a new character to the story from Skanland, a fictional Scandinavian counterpart to the fictional Arabian country of Agrabah). Of course the film’s biggest star — as was with the animated film — is the Genie himself, played by Will Smith. Now, if you’re a fan of the original film, you know Robin Williams is Genie. His manic energy and comic timing endeared the character to millions of people so Smith has some mighty big harem pant to fill.

Walt Disney Pictures

I’ve seen some complaints about Smith’s ‘Philadelphia accent’ being an issue but … he’s Will Smith. Was he supposed to imitate an Arabian accent? Williams certainly didn’t. Smith brings a completely different energy to the role, however. The animated Genie had the advantage of being able to be transformed into anything Williams brought to the character through his ad libs. With CGI technology, they could also do that to Smith, but it seems by sticking to the script he just remains variously sized versions of himself, occasionally multiple versions of himself, with the biggest change in his look going from genie blue to his natural skin tone (when he needs to ‘fit in’ with the locals). Smith does bring his own swagger to the part, particularly during the massive musical number that introduces the new prince (Aladdin, but the genie magic makes him unrecognizable to everyone) to the Kingdom of Agrabah. He also brings heart to the character which helps humanize him and makes the audience sympathetic when Aladdin gets a little too big for his britches. If you put all memories of Robin Wiliams aside when going in to see Aladdin, you should be okay with Smith’s performance. I don’t think anyone would have been accepted in the part because Williams casts a very long shadow, but I have to give Smith props for doing what he could to make it his own.

Where the film fails, however, is with the villain Jafar. Actor Marwan Kenzari certainly looks the part, looking menacing throughout the film but … his voice. His high-pitched nasal voice is just not right for this part. It’s nothing Kenzari can help, but he never sounds threatening. When you’re casting a villainous role, it requires the whole package, and I’m sorry but Kenzari just does not deliver. There were times, from certain angles, where he looked a bit like the late, great Christopher Lee and that is certainly an actor whose voice could deliver the menace required for the role. To me, his voice was like nails on a chalkboard. Sorry.

Probably the biggest surprise of Aladdin is the director, Guy Ritchie. Ritchie isn’t exactly known for his family-friendly output, his most famous films being the gritty and violent Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch. Of course Ritchie is also behind the clever Sherlock Holmes films and was responsible for the woefully undervalued The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (which should have spawned a franchise of its own), so seeing his name as a writer and director of a Disney musical was a bit of a shock. As I’ve mentioned, the movie looks spectacular (so credit also goes to cinematographer Alan Stewart and production designer Gemma Jackson both of whom scored gigs with Ritchie on his next film The Gentlemen after their work on Aladdin) and Ritchie’s direction is solid, but he does bring a few of his own Ritchie-isms to the movie, for better or worse. The opening chase through the marketplace is a vertigo-inducing series of quick edits that feels completely out of place. During Aladdin’s entrance into Agrabah as the fake prince, there is a huge Bollywood-style musical number that employs some speeding up of the footage that makes some of the dancing look … odd, like some bad CGI (which I believe was also employed later in a big dance scene at the palace), and there is also slow motion applied during the opening chase even though Aladdin appears to be singing at a normal pace. These things may go unnoticed by most viewers, but I found them to be just a little distracting.

In the end, I was entertained by Aladdin but I wasn’t emotionally overwhelmed by it like I was with Beauty and the Beast. I wasn’t in love with it like I was The Jungle Book. It didn’t have all the charms of Cinderella. On the other hand, it succeeds more than both of Tim Burton’s Disney films, Alice in Wonderland and Dumbo. It’s fun, it’s action-packed, it doesn’t over-do it with the songs and most importantly the leads have chemistry and you want them to find a way to be together. Add in Will Smith — even with his decidedly contemporary comedy — and you have an almost perfect film that the entire family can enjoy.

Aladdin has a run time of 2 hours 9 minutes and is rated PG for some action/peril.