By Jeaun Lewis
Aladdin (2019) is a remake of Disney’s Aladdin and is directed and co-written by Guy Ritchie, with a score by Alan Menken and several songs by Menken, Howard Ashman, and Tim Rice. If you don’t already know, Aladdin is the story of street urchin Aladdin (Mena Massoud) who is smitten by Princess Jasmine (Naomi Scott) of Agrabah, in this version a port city and link to the silk road for the rest of the world. Aladdin’s attempts to be with the princess are thwarted by the vizier Jafar, played with a soft creepy menace by Marwan Kenzari and his surprisingly evil and threatening pet Iago, voiced by Disney alumnus Alan Tudyk (which marks the first time Gilbert Gottfried hasn’t played the character). Being tricked by Jafar into retrieving a magic lamp from the Cave of Wonders, Aladdin comes across not only a magic carpet, but also the Genie of the Lamp, played fantastically by an exuberant Will Smith, who promises him three wishes.
The first thing that come to people’s minds when they hear the name Guy Ritchie may not be Disney films or love stories, being that many of his previous films focus on the grungy underbelly or characters on the wrong side of the law. This in fact makes him perfect to tell the story of a street rat attempting to be someone he is not, which can be seen in the way he handles not only the story of Aladdin, but also contributes to many of the funnier scenes full of fast talking from the Genie, a feature present in many of Ritchie’s more popular films like Sherlock Holmes and The Man from U.N.C.L.E . His directing and editing choices do not always gel however, with certain scenes featuring bizarrely sped up action (for example scenes in which characters are dancing), and sometime bizarrely slowed down moments that make the scene feel too slow in contrast to the music (such as during the “One Jump Ahead” segment).
The actors were cast amazingly, with blockbuster newcomers Mena Massoud and Naomi Scott playing the romance expertly, with moments of back and forth feeling natural and earned, while also excelling at their scenes with the more experienced performers. Naomi Scott in particular plays Jasmine with more autonomy and intelligence, showing her interest in running Agrabah and becoming Sultana after her father steps down. Other actors such as Marwan Kenzari perform their roles brilliantly, with Kenzari creating a softer spoken and three dimensional Jafar that can go from cool and collected to paranoid, raving and screaming with one wrong word. Navid Negahban is another surprise, knowing him from his turn as the evil Shadow King in Legion, he brings a sense of tenderness and intelligence that the original Sultan did not have, being more a joke than anything. The best performance in the film is unsurprisingly by Will Smith, bringing, in his own words, “a sense of hip hop” to Disney with his performance of the Genie. He tows the line between an evocation of certain aspect of the performance by the legendary Robin Williams, while also adding his own energy to the role.
The music has taken a leap from the original versions, sounding beefier, and more middle eastern, giving the film an almost Bollywood feeling when it comes to certain songs. Examples of this can be found in “One Jump Ahead” and “A Whole New World”, with added emphasis on using Mixolydian strings and instruments from the region, specifically percussion to add to the texture created by the set designers. Others songs have and added flair of jazzy hip hop such as the expertly produced “Friend Like Me” which features pure Will Smith brilliance and a beat that carries the song with a sense of braggadocios joy that is completely earned, with added lyrics and a beatboxed section that gave me chills and the speaker rumbling and triumphant “Prince Ali” that features another funky beat that just works. Many of the songs have some moments where the autotuning can definitely be heard if your ears are quite sensitive to it like mine are, but the one actor who I don’t believe got hit with the autotune stick was definitely Naomi Scott, who absolutely nails each song she sings, especially “Speechless”, a new song written by Menken and song writing duo Pasek and Paul, who you might remember from The Greatest Showmen.
Overall the presentation of the film is nothing to sneeze at, with much of the CGI looking perfectly acceptable, despite a few moments where certain aspects look a little floaty. The world design of Agrabah is brilliant, with the city being so full of colour, that even at night you can see so many different shades draped over the wall of the city and being worn by the denizens, as can be expected by Game of Thrones production designer Gemma Jackson, who continues to prove why she has won Emmys. The costumes are also all immaculate, with details that I am sure with pop off the screen when the eventual 4K release of the film occurs, with colours from sky blues to dark blacks and blood reds all being found throughout the costuming and the colour palette of the film.
Aladdin was a great time, and while it cannot replace the original in the eyes of many, it is another example, alongside Bill Condon’s Beauty and the Beast and Jon Favreau’s Jungle Book, as to why Disney are remaking many of their older films in live action. Yes, they want to make money off of people’s nostalgia, but they also want to update, adapt and expand upon many of their films in a way that celebrates the films that many people, including myself, grew up watching. In a world that seems bent on dragging people down and being grim, what could be wrong about wanting to add a little bit of wonder, and dare I say it, a little bit of magic back into people’s lives.
On The Brightside 