1 step forward, 2 steps back. That’s what Aladdin’s subtitle should be. Disney’s CGI remakes of their classic animated films is not a bad, thing, but Aladdin is a bad example, because it mostly feels like a cash grab. At least it makes you appreciate how amazing Robin Williams’s Genie was…
The story isn’t any different than the 1992 film. Aladdin (Mena Massoud) is your lovable street urchin in the country of Agrabagh, the “Diamond in the Rough” that the Machiavellian Jafar (Marwan Kenzari), 2nd in command to the Sultan, needs to obtain a magic lamp from the Cave of Wonders. Aladdin obtains the lamp, and uses it to summon the Genie (Will Smith) who grants him 3 wishes. Aladdin hopes to use the wishes to woo Princess Jasmine (Naomi Scott), whom he has become smitten with.
Before the bad, let’s start with the good part of these CGI remakes: Disney modernizing its storytelling. How do they do that? One was is character dimensionality. Jafar in the cartoon was so hilariously over the top that it was hard to see anything other than an evil person. In 2019’s Aladding, Jafar is smartly given a similar backstory to Aladdin: making his rise to power impressive….but too all consuming. This makes his 3rd act lamp power grab fit better in character, as Aladdin keeps mocking how he’s always only 2nd best at everything. One could even see Jafar as a tragic figure if you look hard enough, a testament to the writing and Marwan Kenzari’s performance. The other way Disney modernizes its storytelling is giving its female characters more personal agency. Naomi Scott’s Jasmine doesn’t JUST wax poetically about love. She’s fully immersed in the politics of Agrabagh, and repeatedly told she doesn’t belong, also similar to Jafar. She however, uses this disenfranchisement to find her own voice, getting the best moment of the movie standing up to Jafar and winning over her people. Naomi Scott gets to belt a couple new songs too (they’re not as good as the lengendary titles, but they’re fine), and give Jasmine an even more fierce and commanding presence. Oh, and Scott and Mena Massoud are adorable together, completely selling their connection to the point that the “A Whole New World” montage is even more breathtaking and awesome that in the animated version.
As you can see, Aladdin flips all of its weaknesses into strengths…but more importantly, it flips its biggest strength into its greatest weakness. In rewatching the 1992 Aladdin, it’s so clear that the Genie was written as an animated embodiment of Robin Williams, using every great trick the legendary comedian had at his disposal to build one of Disney’s 5 greatest characters they’ve ever created. Those are BIG shoes to fill for Will Smith, and unfortunately this 2019 version of The Genie is not only not close to Williams’s, it actively derails the movie. In Genie’s conception, it’s clear the writers want to homage what Robin Williams did. However, no thought was put into how a “Will Smith” Genie might sing or act. Dude’s a really good rapper! Let’s give Will a chance to do his own musical thing, but instead we get Will Smith doing a Robin Williams impersonation on every song, which just…doesn’t work. More attempt is at least given to the relationship between Genie and Aladdin, but it mostly consists of Genie mocking Aladdin repeatedly as he botches his introductions as Prince Ali. You always feel Smith sort of eye-rolling his way through the material, as if Genie/Smith is better than the story he’s being presented. As such, any emotional impact of Aladdin and Genie’s fights or reconciliation is lost because of the subtle contempt Smith gives the material with his performance. You know it’s not going well when I’m saying “when can we get more Jafar” during all the Genie scenes.
So who should go see Aladdin? Little girls should: this Princess Jasmine is great and should be appreciated. Fans of Middle Eastern Architecture should: the “Whole New World” and chase through Agrabagh sequences are wonders of CGI and set design that give the movie color and life. Nostalgists, sadly, should not, because of the retconing of an iconic Disney character into a blue CGI monstrosity. Also I guess the “I wanna see a hot Jafar” crowd might be a tad pleased too ;).