So... My sister convinced me to watch Aladdin (2019) and I really liked (among other characters) Prince Anders. Yet, he doesn't seem to be very appreciated in general. Could someone explain why, please?? I'm just intrigued.
Disney is working on a spin-off of their live-action Aladdin film that will focus on Prince Anders, one of Jasmine’s suitors who was played by Billy Magnussen. Magnussen would reprise his role as the Prince of Skanland. Jordan Dunn and Michael Kvamme are writing the script. The film would release on Disney+.
So, Disney is gonna make an Aladdin spin-off starring Prince Anders (the only main white character from the live action movie) and I gotta ask one thing....
Nobody asked for a spin-off of this guy, Disney!!! So why the hell are you making one?! Prince Anders is a minor character! WTF?!
What disney could have done if they were so desperate to do more on Aladdin 2019: Give Jasmine a spin off, adapt the sequels or maybe even do a show similar to the animated one.
What Disney did instead: "You know that one white character in the entire movie whose meant to be a example of the suitors who see Jasmine as a prize to be won and is there for two-three minutes tops??? Give him a spin off"
Spoiler Warning: I am posting this review a few days after the movie is first released in the U.K, so if you haven’t yet seen the movie do not read on until you have.
Characters:
I just want to clarify as it may not have come across in my non-spoiler review, I really enjoyed this movie. I think, once you get yourself out of the mindset that this movie needs comparison to the original animated movie, it’s a very fun and immersive movie with rather vibrant characters that echo their original animated counterparts.
As usual, this list will be in order of my favourites and not of their role in the movie for reasons I will go into with each character.
Jasmine:
By far and away Jasmine is my favourite character in this movie. Naomi Scott elevates the already well-established ethnic princess and gives her both a purpose and a story outside of her romance with Aladdin.
The romance is still there and is also elevated from the original animated version, but the fact that Guy Ritchie and the writers give Jasmine her own arc in the movie of wanting to rule Agrabah so she can better help her people was a great way to take the character without making her way too much of a feminist princess as Emma Watson’s Belle was.
I really loved the running theme of Jafar and even The Sultan pretty much dismissing Jasmine’s political ideas as the wimperings of a woman which led to Jasmine eventually having the courage to speak up and be heard by convincing Hakim the guard to stand by her.
I did feel that her new song, which was used a couple of times throughout the movie, was a great fit for the character and her development in the movie, even though the styling of the song didn’t really fit with the Arabian theme.
I really enjoyed the twist the movie took on Jasmine taking to the streets in peasant form, not only was her styling clearly more royal than her peasant disguise in the animated movie which I am glad Aladdin commented on, but the fact she went so far as to pretend to be her handmaiden not only when they first meet but also when Aladdin visits her at the palace made for a comedic spin on things.
But also we are pretty much introduced to Jasmine as soon as we are Aladdin in this remake so, if for some reason you were unaware Naomi Scott was playing Jasmine in the movie you would believe what she was saying.
I really loved her styling in this movie, Naomi Scott is a very beautiful woman and this movie highlights that. While I think her turn in Power Rangers gave her a grungy rocker look, being an Arabian princess obviously gives the actress the chance to look glamorous, but that’s not all she was which worked well for her.
But in terms of her outfits, she had a couple of distinctive looks. But the character’s classic attire does make an appearance during the A Whole New World scene but I do not know if that means it’s supposed to be undergarments or not, because while she’s wearing that pink dress that she first wore when meeting Prince Anders and then again at the climax of the movie, it did look as if the turquoise leggings from that outfit were under the dress.
Rajah was used very well in this movie, I didn’t really understand why everyone was calling him a cat rather than a tiger but I guess having a pet cat is easier to believe than a pet tiger.
I really liked it when he showed his aggression towards Prince Anders and Jafar, they do say cats can sense evil, I’m not saying Anders is evil but he isn’t right for Jasmine as Rajah knew because he was loving towards Aladdin even disguised as Prince Ali.
Also when Jafar ordered Jasmine be removed from the palace and Rajah instantly went on the defensive and warned off the guards away from his master, that was just really good to see. I’m not saying it wouldn’t have been nice to see Jafar turn him into a kitten, but what we got elevated the character more than the animated movie did.
Genie:
I am not saying I take back any negative thoughts I had about Will Smith’s Genie look from that teaser that dropped, but I almost forgive it because I enjoyed Will Smith in this movie so much.
Okay yes, as the big blue Genie, the CGI was wonky and disproportioned the character’s body so much. However, Will Smith’s charisma and comedy really shined through and almost distracted me fully from that.
Some of my funniest moments in this movie came from him, I am not a big Will Smith fan but in recent years, more specifically with Suicide Squad and now this, I can actually see what others see in him because when he’s invested in a role he is invested.
One of my favourite scenes is when Prince Ali first meets the Sultan and Jasmine and while Mena Massoud’s comedy is there and is meant to fall flat, Genie is just standing there so poised yet internally he is screaming. I loved how he was essentially telling Aladdin what to say which I guess is the point of an adviser to a prince but Aladdin quite clearly had no clue as he stayed too focused on jams and went so far as to say he wanted to buy Jasmine.
I also loved in that same scene when Aladdin is trying to laugh off his own stupidity and keeps slapping Genie on the back, Genie just grins and says “Don’t touch me”, I would have been him in that situation because yeah you are already dying so why make it worse.
Then the party scene which I think directly follows that scene, Genie just becomes such a diva as when he discovers Aladdin has never been to a party he just turns and says “Alright then you need to leave as you’re not ruining this for me”. I love it.
This Genie did seem to emphasise more of his development and backstory than the Robin Williams version did. All we know about the animated Genie is that he wants to be free, here he has a love story and you feel the weight of the centuries he has been slave to the lamp.
Then with explaining the rules of the genie, again he did a better job here than the original animated movie did because it seemed to answer a few plot holes that the original had, for example the importance of being specific with wishes because “I wish for you to make me a prince” could literally be the genie creating a random prince for Aladdin. I also love that theme of grey areas around wishing that came back nicely in the climax.
Then of course the moral of this movie, and the original to a degree, is being true to who you are will win you the day was utilized brilliantly here. The added commentary of Genie asking Aladdin why he wants to become a prince in Jasmine already likes him as him as well as the line about Genie changing Aladdin on the outside but not the inside, but then they go further than they did in the original Aladdin with having this Aladdin actually buying his own con of thinking he is a prince and that’s why he has to break his promise to Genie to set him free on his third wish.
It is the same thing that happens in the original but here from the end of A Whole New World where Aladdin starts saying “Actually I kind of am a prince now” and Genie just says “Oh okay, you’re going to drink from that cup” it just seems as though Aladdin is being taken in by the power he has despite him being so sure that he’s not that type of guy.
Also the fact Genie has a love story in this movie so he finds a purpose after being freed rather than just “off to see the world” was rather nice. I also thought that his chemistry with Dalia was very sweet. It did mirror the Aladdin/Jasmine relationship rather well but the fact that we know to expect that relationship as opposed to this new one made it that much more interesting.
Will Smith’s rapping has always been part of his charm dating back to The Fresh Prince of Bel Air but here and now with Will putting his own musical spin on all these classic songs was interesting to see. On the whole I enjoyed what he did with them but I’m not about to say they were as good as the original, save for Arabian Nights in the opening.
His reasoning for remaining in human form here was a lot more organically done than say Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique. When he looked like Will Smith it was because he was in disguise as Prince Ali’s adviser and then at the end of the movie it turns out that is him when he’s human.
Dalia:
With Dalia, my love of her kind of ties in with both Jasmine and Genie so it makes sense that she is third, but a lot of that is also because Nasim Pedrad gives a scene-stealing performance to a role that fans dismissed as “Why does Jasmine need a handmaiden and why is she so prominent in the promotions?” Watch the movie and you will know why.
I loved the comedic charm and genuine likeability that Dalia had here, not only in interactions with Jasmine but also the Genie.
First of all, I knew that Genie’s wife in the opening scene who had her back to the audience was Dalia. Not only with how the woman looked but also why keep her secret unless it was going to be a reveal at some point in the movie?
Now granted, I did not think that Genie was going to have a love interest in the movie but I am glad he did, I am also glad that Dalia wasn’t just the handmaiden or the love interest but she stood out as her own person. Granted we don’t know anything about her character other than being a handmaiden or love interest but she’s shown as a good friend to Jasmine and able to hold her own against both Genie and Aladdin.
I really loved her reaction to when Genie made it known to her that he was interested in her and she remained having a composed exterior until she closed the door, turned to Jasmine and acted like a teenager. Also the scene when we first meet her and she has to act as Princess Jasmine but doesn’t quite understand that’s what she has to do and Nasim Pedrad really sells that scene.
Also my favourite line of hers is right at the end when Genie asks her if he’ll travel the world with him and she responds with “When do we leave also I want children”...if someone said that to me I would not be so sure of their sanity but the fact the Genie is over 10,000 years old it’s understandable that he is okay with that.
Aladdin:
Now as for our titular hero, Mena Massoud does a great job at looking like Aladdin and almost sounding like Aladdin. But there is something missing from his performance that makes it seem disjointed in places.
I think the direction they wanted to take this version of the character in was to try and make him a rogue, which it could be argued the original was in the same way that Han Solo or Jack Sparrow are, but then all that goes as soon as he gets his wish to be a prince and then it just becomes more about his ego being inflated.
I get being poor and living in a hovel he’d want to cling on to the taste of the good life he got, but Genie kept telling him and the character of Aladdin is so likeable because he has a good heart and is only deceitful to get the foot in the door, like Genie said Aladdin has to open it and go in.
On the positives, I did like how street savvy they made him, not only in knowing where Jasmine should go when they’re running away from that merchant but also in how he potentially rigged up that pulley staircase to his home.
It reminded me of Belle with her inventions in the live-action Beauty and the Beast. I know they didn’t focus on that aspect of him as much but it was good that this movie focused on his more intuitive side than the original animated version did in making him just seem to stumble into these things.
His styling was interesting, it wasn’t the small hat and shirtless vest look that he had in the animated version but I think it was a more authentic and appropriate outfit for a live-action movie.
His Prince Ali attire, may be more culturally appropriate than how it was in the animated movie, although it did look similar, but I just missed the big blue feather and the cape-like back to the outfit.
I thought Aladdin’s interactions were Abu were very genuine, Mena Massoud acting as if he was actually talking to a monkey was very believable. I did love it when Abu picked up that ruby and his eyes went almost exactly like they did in the animated movie was rather funny.
Carpet didn’t get much screen-time here but then again he didn’t really have much screentime in the original either. It did seem as if he was always either getting stuck or tangled by something, but aside from that there wasn’t really much to him.
Although I did find it interesting during A Whole New World how Carpet needed to be steered because being a sentient magical being you would think Jasmine literally taking the reigns would be slightly degrading.
Overall I feel Mena Massoud was a good fit for the character but probably not the best choice out there. He had a great look and winning smile but there just seemed something disjointed personality wise.
Jafar:
Jafar was the biggest problem for me in the movie. Right from when Marwan Kenzari was cast I knew I wasn’t going to be on board with this version of the character.
The problem is, Kenzari could have been a great villain if this wasn’t Aladdin and he wasn’t portraying one of the best Disney villains of all-time. In the way that Mena Massoud had the look and charm of Aladdin down, Kenzari did not look like Jafar, sound like Jafar or act like Jafar should.
They did go in a different direction with the character which is something I think fitting for this version. Having a bit of a back-story revealed with Jafar starting off as a thief but then becoming the Royal Vizor was a great commentary on the kind of life Aladdin could have had if he went down a certain route.
Also the line Jafar had of “Steal an apple you’re a thief, steal a kingdom you’re a conqueror” was a great line and delivered rather well.
I did enjoy the new political elements that they had in the movie, whereas in the original Jafar was the way he was because he simply wanted to be Sultan for the power, here he wanted to invade Jasmine’s mother’s kingdom and have Agrabah be the main kingdom of power.
I didn’t know what to make of Iago, I did feel the loss of Gilbert Godfried but I don’t know if that is a good or a bad thing. This movie did make Iago be more like an average parrot which I guess was a good move rather than having him talking as freely as the human characters, also he did seem more sinister rather than a comedic character.
The fact that the climax of the movie we didn’t get Jafar as a giant snake and instead having a giant Iago as the predator in quite a brilliant carpet chase to get the lamp was an interesting choice. I like the fact again that they made Iago more villainous but Jafar turning into the snake before turning into the Red Genie is so iconic that I don’t know if I miss it or not.
As for Jafar’s motivations in the movie, I did genuinely feel like this Jafar was having a tantrum whenever he didn’t get his way like when he first meets Aladdin as Prince Ali, loved him being illuminated by the red firework by the way, and Ali is trying to get away and Jafar snaps, if that were me I’d be thinking “Yeah you’re unhinged”.
The “second best” theme that ran through the movie for Jafar was well done, from the start of the movie when his henchmen are bringing him “ruffs” rather than the diamond in the ruff that he needs for the Cave of Wonders and he was getting frustrated because he sought out the lamp and needed the diamond to do it and yet when his one henchman is saying “What’s so wrong with second?” and Jafar just ranted about how he must be first.
Then at the end when Aladdin calls back to the “second best” remark as he does in the animated movie which leads Jafar to wish himself into being a Genie, it did seem more organic but in terms of this version of the character it just seemed as if “Baby wants his lamp, baby wants the power” rather than a formidable opponent that he is in the animated movie.
Others:
There weren’t that many more characters to focus on, the three that stood out were Billy Magnussen as Prince Anders, who I know is supposed to be similar to Prince Achmed but was in it for longer than Achmed was, then Navid Negahban as the Sultan who was a lot more seriously than the cuddly comedic version from the animated movie and also Numan Acar as Hakim who was supposed to be Razoul the Palace Guard.
Songs:
Alright so I enjoyed all of the songs to some degree in this movie and as such rather than going Best, Worst and Mediocre. I will instead be talking about them in order of my favourites.
Speachless:
Speachless was my favourite song of the movie, not only do I love these types of empowerment songs but I feel rather than just having meaning of Jasmine’s feelings of oppression, the song applies to anyone with feelings of oppression.
Naomi Scott was a surprisingly brilliant singer and the fact the song was sung in two parts of the movie made for a great tease resulting in a great climax.
I also enjoyed the visuals of Jasmine in this dream state of seemingly banishing the guards away into dust.
Arabian Nights:
In terms of songs that were reworked from the original animated movie, Arabian Night was probably my favourite because of how it sets up the movie.
It isn’t as visually interesting as the original animated version because it doesn’t have the colour pallet of the Peddler going across the desert. However, the visual styling of the camera floating through the streets of Agrabah as if we as the audience were on the Magic Carpet was very cool.
Will Smith’s singing is best here, I don’t know what they do to it but for some reason his voice doesn’t sound like him here. Also the Arabian instruments being used to emphasise the grandeur of the number was great.
A Whole New World:
This is arguably the most romantic Disney duet out there and both Mena Massoud and Naomi Scott emphasise why.
Yes the scale of the number is toned down because rather than going to Egypt, Greece and China, they only seem to visit neighbouring countries. It was still great and the fact that they made clear that Jasmine doesn’t get out of the Palace at all helps with the fact that anything outside of Agrabah is a whole new world to her.
Also the singing is rather close to the original, yes Mena Massoud isn’t the best singer but it does match with the original version quite well. Naomi Scott again is the best part about this number.
Friend Like Me:
Alright so I have already stated and it is well established that Will Smith is not a naturally born singer, however I think he was helped out a lot by the fact that Friend Like Me is more of a talking-rap style song than it is an actual song, or at least this is how Smith himself saw it.
I loved the visuals, the differences in lyrics like when Genie went “Mr...uh what’s your name?” rather than “Mr. Aladdin sir” were good fits for the song and I really enjoyed Abu on the drums and Carpet with the maracas at the start of the number.
It visually had everything great about the original animated version, but with Will Smith’s own spin on it.
Prince Ali:
Again, everyone who has seen that clip they released prior to the movie will be hating on this number. I do agree this is the weakest in terms of Will Smith’s vocals, but I really like what he did as the Genie with the song.
Yes he wasn’t as zainy and didn’t interact with the crowd as much as the animated version did but again when you’re talking animation vs. live-action it’s always going to be a rough transition.
My favourite part was when he turned himself into a woman, again like the original animated version, but with a new comedic twist of having his veil torn off and revealing the beard. It was quite comedic.
One Jump Ahead:
Weakest number, weakest vocals. Mena Massoud tries and I give him credit for that but considering the energy the original version had, bearing in mind there isn’t really a lot that is visually difficult to transition from the animated version here, it’s really just the vocals that let it down.
I did like the fact Jasmine was involved in this number, not singing but she was in the scene and it’s almost like Aladdin was singing to her rather than just the audience.
That last line as well where originally Aladdin jumps out the window on that carpet but instead here he dumps the carpet and swings through the window to make it look like he fell through the roof, I liked the intuitiveness of it but the fact the song just ended simply on the note of “Jump!” rather than “Juuuuuuump!” left me a little bit underwhelmed.
Conclusion:
Do I think this is a perfect movie? No, it definitely has its problems as I have highlighted. However, while it doesn’t quite capture everything that makes the original so iconic, it still keeps the magic alive and has its own uniqueness which hopefully allows fans to appreciate both interpretations.
The acting is good in general with standouts being Will Smith, Naomi Scott and Nasim Pedrad. There are two brilliant bollywood-style dance scenes which are fantastic. The comedy is really well done particularly again from Will Smith and Nasim Pedrad.
Yes the villain is a letdown particularly being Jafar who is up there with Maleficent and Cruella as the best and baddest Disney villains, but hopefully it won’t be such a focus on that and more on the changes they made that are good, elevating Jasmine into a political leader rather than just someone who wants to make her own choices, Genie turning human and finding love, all these good elements really work.
Overall I rank the movie an 8/10, Jafar being weak did lower the score as well as the songs which again were good but not as strong as the original save for Arabian Nights and new song Speechless.
So that’s my review of Aladdin (2019) what did you guys think? Post your comments and check out more Disney Movie Reviews as well as other Movie Reviews and posts.
