Aladdin (2019) – My Review

I grew up in the 90s, and Disney songs were the soundtrack to my childhood.

Like everyone else, I was in awe at the rapid fire, keep up if you can, jokes for everyone, performance of Robin Williams in the 1992 animated tale of Aladdin.
I was romanced by ‘A Whole New World’, cooed at Abu & the Magic Carpet, and feared the evil Jafar.

As the 2019 remake of Aladdin, is not the first of the Disney remakes, it’s taught me to go into these movies with an open mind.
They generally have the same storyline and songs, but sometimes add little bits to the storyline and every now and again they add a new song. I’ve learnt to just kind of go with it.

The beginning of the movie starts slightly differently to the animation but has the same kind of prepare for the story vibe and jumps into ‘Arabian Nights’ with the opening scenes and I have to admit it got me a little excited and feeling the vibes of the movie.
Fast forward to ‘One Jump Ahead’ and the quick paced scene didn’t quite live up to the animation.

From there, I was entertained throughout every scene. I was captivated by the fantastically colourful Royal outfits, mesmerized by the beauty of Naomi Scott as Princess Jasmine, fixated with the amazing dances, and won over by Will Smith’s version of the genie.

Will Smith must have, by far, had the most difficult role. He was the one who had to follow in the footsteps of the late great Robin Williams, who had brought an essence of Disney magic to the 1992 genie.
I’ll be honest, I do like Will Smith, but I wasn’t sure of what I thought of a blue Will Smith trying to play a genie in Aladdin.
My overall opinion? He did a job better than I could have hoped! I don’t think there would have been anyone able to follow on the footsteps better.
He played it true to the original but with his own kind of twist and the writing was all right for him.
We of course know he can sing already, but when he began ‘Friend Like Me’ it was going to be the deciding moment. The fact that I laughed out loud at one part of this, I knew he’d done the best possible job anyone could have done.

I liked Will Smith as the genie. I enjoyed his take and believed the character.

The only character which I didn’t really feel much from is Jafar. He did not have the same evil essence that his animated counterpart did.

The talking point of the movie is Naomi Scott.
I hadn’t ready any reviews before going to see the movie. I like to make my own mind up.
On twitter though, I had seen a lot of interest in Naomi Scott’s portrayal of Jasmine.
Having seen the movie I can understand why. Disney has brought some female empowerment into the movie – most notably with the introduction of the new, relatable on so many levels, song ‘Speechless’. Her voice is on a par with her beauty.

My view is it may divide opinions but I enjoyed this modern live action version and was entertained the whole way through.
To put a percentage score on it, I’d give it 80%.