Aladdin (2019)

The latest glut of Disney live-action remakes has me in a bit of a funk; Disney is, without shame, taking beloved childhood classics of mine and repurposing them for a new generation. This in and of itself is not a bad thing; new generations deserve the wonder that I had. But...the original movie still exists. It's there for you to take in and relive the magic of a, inarguably, far superior telling of the story (although it should be noted that as of this writing, Disney in its infinite wisdom has pulled all copies of Aladdin (1992) from everywhere. You can't find it for rental or purchase on any streaming service, and copies of the dvd/blu ray are very expensive).

Setting aside the fact that I find this film's very existence to be superfluous, how does it hold up as adaptation? Well, you could do a lot worse (see 2017's abysmal Beauty and the Beast remake). Aladdin, for all its faults, does manage to infuse this new telling with some fresh spirit, including a likable Mena Massoud as Aladdin and Naomi Scott as Jasmine. The characters possess more personality, and seem more relatable and well defined than their animated counterparts.

The rest of the cast, however, is not serviced very well by this update. Characters that exploded with personality in animation are now fairly forgettable background characters. The Sultan has lost his charm, Razoul has been rewritten as a captain named Hakim, who gets a surprisingly pivotal moment late in the story, and worst of all, Jafar has been aged down significantly and lost all his menace in the process. Played by 36-year-old Marwen Kenzari, Jafar comes across as more whiny and entitled, and when he gains supreme power his seems more ridiculous then terrifying.

The animal sidekicks are also a mixed bag; Abu is rendered with photorealism, but loses that monkey charm the animated character conveyed so well; and Iago has been reduced to a literal parrot, doing not much more then repeat what others around him say. Raja, Jasmine's loyal tiger, is the only character I appreciated the update on. Raja is a menacing presence, protective, yet faithful.

Which brings us to the big kahuna, Genie, played by Will Smith. Credit where credit is due, Smith is a terrifically charismatic actor, and he brings his all to the role. No one could fill the large shoes of Robin Williams (voice of the character in the original film), mostly because that role was written with him specifically in mind. Animation was the only medium that could keep up with Williams' zany energy, and no working actor or comedian could hope to match that performance. Smith had the deck stacked against him and, for what it's worth, he did fine. Although anyone who was put off by his appearance in the trailers will not be assuaged; anytime he appears in blue it just looks odd.

The musical numbers, written by Alan Menken, Howard Ashman, and Tim Rice are all present (although one notable reprise is omitted), along with a new song for Jasmine to belt out. The numbers are staged with great flair and choreography, with dazzling costumes and visuals mimicking the look of a Bollywood film. And there's some fun additions, including a dance between Aladdin and Jasmine that was particularly memorable.

But the movie feels too chained down to the story beats of the original film; I kept thinking "ok, this is going to happen next" as each scene unfolded, and the entire film was a comparison process in my head of how this scene played out in the original. When the film strayed I mostly enjoyed it because I was watching something I hadn't seen in the first one, and when it followed the template I anticipated many lines borrowed from the original. And these remakes are obsessed with addressing "plot holes" from the originals. In vain Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin try to explain the whereabouts of their heroine's mother, which results in Belle's mother dying of a plague, and an offhand comment about how Jasmine's mother was murdered. The latter is no more then a background mention, thank goodness (I was expected it to be revealed Jafar had murdered her).

In all of this I haven't even mentioned Guy Ritchie, a director known for putting his stamp on his films. There is some signature slow motion stuff throughout, but Ritchie is mostly an invisible presence here, his hand working mostly to serve the House of Mouse and make a decent paycheck for his work.

Of course, these Disney remakes show no signs of slowing down. We are getting a Lion King remake in a little more than a month from now, and a sequel to Maleficent this fall, and a Mulan and Little Mermaid remake in the future. I guess if there's one net positive from these remakes, it's the emphasis of casting more diversely for these films. Save Billy Magnusson as one of Jasmine's suitors, the cast of Aladdin is comprised completely of diverse faces, a problem the original Aladdin has with it's all-white voice cast and problematic caricature of Jafar. So if they have to exist, at least they exist to serve some good. But if Disney really wanted to be bold, they would have diversified the behind-the-scenes crew as well, instead of handing directing duties to another white guy.