Reviewing Aladdin 2019
Aladdin.
The original 1992 animated film became one of the defining Disney Princess movies of all time. Princess jasmine was right up there with Cinderella, Aurora (Sleeping Beauty), Belle, Snow White, and Ariel. I mean, when I was a kid, these were the top ladies of Disney and they were in every PlayStation Disney video game that I owned.
Now, I didn’t write this article to talk about Princess Jasmine’s popularity amongst the princesses of Disney. Rather, I wanted to dissect and review the new 2019 live action film under the same name.
If you have yet to see this movie, do NOT read on if you don’t want spoilers. I repeat, STOP reading to avoid spoilers!
Alright, I’m going to assume that if you’re still reading by this point, you’re okay with me talking about the live action movie.
What I want to talk about is how 2019 Aladdin is similar and different to its 1992 original, how the live action movie promoted clear and distinct motives for each character, and what I think of Will Smith’s genie.
Okay then, now that this is all set up, allow me to dive into this review!
What is the same? What has changed?
Boy. I was really impressed with how similar the 2019 Aladdin was to the original. I’ve watched the live action remakes of Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty (Maleficent), Alice in Wonderland, and The Jungle Book. (I have not yet seen the live action Dumbo or The Lion King). Some of these movies followed their originals almost identically. And some, veered so far off that the story was warped and became one all its own.
While it’s good and all that some of these legends can be changed for the sake of depth and character development, I am not particularly a fan of changing entire plots in the remakes. This does not mean that I am not fond of The Jungle Book and Maleficent. I think both were well made movies and I enjoyed both. However, I personally prefer the live action to be more similar with its original than different.
Aladdin was so close to its original. And I loved it! I want to be clear that, since it is an action movie, there are still changes for the sake of the film. For example, the climax of the movie involves Iago being transformed into a gigantic bird (rather than Jafar being transformed into a giant cobra). This allows for an epic chase scene through the streets of Agrabah.
Aside from chase scenes, Jafar has a better backstory. Or should I say, he HAS a backstory. There wasn’t much of one in the original. His thirst for power becomes more understandable. He shares with Aladdin how his childhood of thieving affected who he was (thus creating a parallel for the two characters). Jafar’s desires also showcase a political story for the movie which wasn’t in the original.
Jasmine’s mother is mentioned more openly in this film and provides reasoning for the Sultan’s desire to keep Jasmine protected and safe behind the palace walls.
The genie also gets a backstory and even a love interest!
These changes are great for the action movie (as these movies require more depth and realism than animated movies). Do I like all of them? No. However, none of the changes (except the last one maybe) affect the main storyline of the movie, meaning that it can be as close to the original as humanly possible.
Clear and distinct character motives for EVERY character!
Aladdin
Much like the 1992 version, Aladdin wanted to be something more than just a common street rat. He wasn’t necessarily chasing for a girl or the palace (at first). He simply wanted something more to life, a little bit of money, a way to make something of himself.
One thing I really like about the 2019 version is that Aladdin doesn’t fall head over heels for Jasmine at first sight. He admires her, sure. He even attempts to spend more time with her again and again. His love for her is gradual. Now, it is Disney so by gradual I mean like 24 hours.
However, his love for Jasmine isn’t his ONLY driving force. He meets the genie, he makes his wishes, he goes on a cute carpet ride date with the princess, but he has other motives aside from a love story.
He doesn’t want to be just a street thief. He loses himself to luxury and lies (much like in the original). My favorite part of the 2019 version is when Aladdin goes back to his home in the streets and sings “riffraff, street rat, I don’t but that, if only they’d look closer would they see a poor boy, no sir, they’d find out there’s so much more to me.”
Aladdin’s most notable motive was to be something more than just a common street thief.
Jasmine
Now, this is where things get interesting. Aladdin is the main character of the film so of course his motives were pretty clear in the 1992 version. Jasmines motives? Sort of fuzzy.
In the animated version we know she wanted her freedom and fell for Aladdin because he didn’t view her as royalty at first, and even once he found out, he offered her the freedom that she craved.
This is the same in the live action movie as well. Jasmine still wants her freedom. She stills loves Aladdin. But! Those aren’t her only motives!
In the live action version, Jasmine gets her own song (as she only had the duet with Aladdin in the 1992 film). Her song is titled “Speechless” and it’s a representation of Jasmine fighting to be heard and appreciated despite her gender and almost lack of power.
Not only does she get a motivating and moving song, but she also has another motive: she wants to be sultan.
A feminist icon through and through, Jasmine doesn’t want to marry a prince because 1) she wants to marry for love and 2) she thinks she would be a better ruler than any foreign man that she weds. And she’s right. This is where the political aspects I mentioned earlier get brought into the movie. Jasmine disagrees that she should marry to keep the peace between nations as peace already exists, Agrabah already has an abundance of allies, and if the Sultan needs a new ruler, she knows she could handle the title.
I think this is pretty cool! She’s not just the love interest of the main character, she has her own desires and demands.
Genie
This one is by far the biggest change in the movie! I’ll get into opinions more in the next section, but right now I’m going to focus solely on Genies motives.
In the 1992 movie, Genie mentioned how he wanted nothing more than his freedom. And that’s it. That’s his motive. Now, he does become friends with “Al” as the film progresses and he makes many exceptions to try to save Aladdin and bring him happiness.
This is the same in the 2019 version as well. Except! Genie is more dynamic in this movie. He still wants his freedom and he is still Al’s friend. But what’s more is he mentions to his past and how it has affected him. His view of the world is much more pessimistic and cynical than what we see in 1992 Aladdin.
Genie ends up finding love in this movie as well which adds another motive for what he does and why he does it. Of course, Genie, unlike his human counterparts, is limited in decision making. He is bound to do whatever his master bids. So, he still has to follow orders and grant wishes even if his desires lay elsewhere.
Jafar
Jafar Jafar. Power hungry Jafar. This villain was very flat in the original, motivated only by greed and his need for power. Why? No one knows. Until now.
The 2019 live action remake makes a number of changes to Jafar and his story. First off, let me tell you that Jafar appears much younger than in the 1992 film. In 2019 he is closer to Jasmine and Aladdin’s age. This brings more familiarity to him between the characters, and doesn’t paint him just some ugly old villain.
Jafar shares with Aladdin that he too at one point had been just a street thief and that he had grown to become second to the Sultan. The idea of being second is what eats at Jafar. He was born into inferiority and has fought that since he was a kid. However, he still feels inferior. That is what Jafar is fighting for.
Yes, he still wants power, he still wants to be exceedingly rich. He wants to conquer kingdoms and become the most supreme being there is.
All of this is understood once you realize that he’s been told he’s worthless and inferior to everyone else since he was young. His motive isn’t greed, that’s just a trait, his motive is to use that trait to eradicate feelings of unworthiness. That is what makes the remake pretty powerful.
The Sultan
The Sultan, as in the first one, doesn’t get much of a backstory either. However, his intentions to keep Jasmine within palace walls gets cleared up a bit. His intentions to marry her off become understandable. And his character becomes more admirable in the 2019 remake.
The remake specifically includes a scene where Jasmine explains why she must be kept within the palace walls. Essentially it’s due to her mother’s death and the Sultan wants to keep his daughter safe. The Sultans desire to marry Jasmine to an allied prince is to solidify the unions between Agrabah and other nations while also choosing an heir to The Sultan title. However, he is not at all controlling of Jasmine. He only encourages her to think about her safety and the future of Agrabah. In the end, he allows Jasmine to become Sultan herself, seeing that she can protect her country far better than any foreign prince.
What I think of Will Smith’s Genie
Will Smith has received quite a fair amount of shade for his role during Aladdin. People aren’t attacking Smith necessarily, as they are attacking the producers of the movie for casting him as the Genie. More specifically, people are upset or in distaste of the Genie as a character in the new film.
Genie gets a love life, backstory, and a more humanoid appearance and ending this go-around. These are changes to the 1992 version where not much was known about Genie aside from the length of time he was trapped in a lamp.
Will Smith had some “big boots to fill” as quoted by him on his twitter account. Robin Williams is certainly a character hard to live up to. However, I personally think Smith did a fantastic job at creating his own version of Genie.
I’ll be honest, I’m not a huge fan of Genie’s ending in the new film. I’m not a fan of his love story. However, I can understand how this would benefit an action movie. More developed characters are favored in live-action because it gives the audience something to relate to. Also, it’s sort of hard to make a blue, exaggerated featured character look believable in a live action setting.
I actually preferred Genie when he wasn’t blue. It seemed more appropriate given the movie and its circumstances.
I think Smith did a great job during the “Prince Ali” and “A Friend like Me” songs. There were both really entertaining performances with a little bit of “Bel-Air flare.” I think going into a movie like this, you have to be more accepting of the changes. The actors are different with different voices and appearances. What makes live action so great is that it can add depth and connection for its audience better than its animated counterpart.
In the end, I found Will Smith’s Genie pretty great. There are a few changes I didn’t particularly like, but all in all, it made sense for the movie.
Oh! And before I conclude everything, let’s take a moment to appreciate the cultural accuracy of this movie! A Canadian-Egyptian actor (Mena Messoud) was cast as Aladdin, an American-Indian actress (Naomi Scott) was cast as Jasmine, and nearly all of the cast was POC resembling the culture and local appearances of the time and place the movie is said to be set in.
Traditional clothing and bazaar appearances were phenomenal. I love it when movies are accurate for their setting. It makes the movie that much more believable!
Alright, that’s all I have to say about Aladdin 2019. If you have any questions or want to add any additional thoughts or opinions, go ahead and leave a comment below!
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