A tale of friendship, magic and love.
I have no doubt that anyone reading this already knows the story of Aladdin, or at least Disney’s version of it. This movie is a live action telling of the animated Aladdin cartoon from the 90’s. A street thief named Aladdin saves a princess, is forced to enter a mysterious cave, encounters a magical genie and finds his life forever changed.
“You’ve never had a friend like me!” – Genie
My favorite character in this re-telling of Aladdin is Genie, played by Will Smith. The cartoon version starts off with a street merchant, who happens to be the genie in disguise, telling the audience about Aladdin. This movie begins with the Genie in human form, happily married with two young children, also telling them the story of Aladdin. It’s a very cool twist and shows us Genie living happily ever after the events of the story he is about to tell.
This new Aladdin really focused on the friendship between Aladdin and Genie. We got to witness character and friendship development from both characters. We saw the downward spiral of Aladdin’s morals as he became a prince and watched Genie pull him back from the brink of death.
Of course we all know that the story ends with the two becoming best friends, and Aladdin using his last wish to free Genie.
A new take on Princess Jasmine.
Naomi Scott played the role of Princess Jasmine. This film took the character of Jasmine in a new direction. She was portrayed as a stronger more independent woman. Some would argue that she was also portrayed this way in the cartoon version, but this movie took it a little farther. Jasmine also got a brand new never before seen song.
Genie was my favorite part of the movie.
I really enjoyed every character in this movie. I loved the music, acting and all around performances of everyone. My favorite song was “Prince Ali”, performed by Will Smith.
I will definitely purchase this film when it comes out on DVD and Blu-Ray. Don’t miss watching Aladdin in theaters! Aladdin is a fun movie; safe for all ages.
Starring: Will Smith, Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott
Runtime: 2hr 8min
Rated: PG
HFR Rating:
