Highly Recommended
It’s hard to top a classic, but this reimagining has its own energy and flavour, making it satisfying as a fresh pot of jam. Seedless, delicious, exotic jams.
Disney’s 1992 animated Aladdin was part of the studio’s renaissance, a revival that began in 1989 with The Little Mermaid. What followed was a decade of hits that includes Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, and Mulan. While Disney now seem intent on converting them all into live action adaptations, director Guy Ritchie’s new version of ALADDIN takes the opportunity to update the politics of the piece as well.
Ritchie and John August’s screenplay follows the same basic structure that Ron Clements, John Musker, Ted Elliot, and Terry Rossio laid out seventeen years ago. Street rat Aladdin (Mena Massoud) is trying to make ends meet in Agrabah when he encounters Princess Jasmine (Naomi Scott). After falling madly in love with each other, Aladdin’s fate is sealed when the Sultan’s Grand Vizier Jafar (Marwan Kenzari) forces him into the Cave of Wonders to retrieve a lamp. Aladdin soon lets loose the Genie (Will Smith), along with all manner of hilarious hell.
Ritchie’s film is almost forty minutes longer than its predecessor, and the difference is immediately noticeable. Ritchie and August spend far more time establishing the scene via a framing device of a boatman (also Smith) singing a modified version of “Arabian Nights,” smoothing out some of the formerly questionable lyrics. Cue some acrobatic parkour and a rendition of “One Jump Ahead” and we’re back on more familiar ground.
Given the chance to flesh out the comparatively brief original, Ritchie and August focus some of their time on Jafar. With his parrot sidekick Iago (voiced by Alan “Steve the Pirate” Tudyk) now more naturally animalistic, Jafar’s backstory gives his power madness a more desperate hunger. Far darker than his cartoon counterpart, his origin mirrors Aladdin’s own and provides an interesting moral counterpoint. He is what the script glibly refers to as “that guy.”
An even more significant change comes for Jasmine, who is no longer simply an object left crying into a fountain. With more than a little modern Disney flavour to this adaptation, her life of being trapped in the palace mirrors that of Elsa/Anna from Frozen. Her quest is not to be married, but to achieve agency and equality. She wants to be nothing less than the first female Sultan in Agrabah. New song “Speechless” – scored by Alan Menken and lyricists Pasek & Paul (La La Land) – is her “Defying Gravity” (or “Let It Go” if you prefer). In many ways, Jasmine has more of a hero’s journey than the titular thief.
Jasmine is also joined by a second female character (yes, two!) with handmaiden Dalia (Nasim Pedrad). In addition to providing Jasmine someone other than the tiger to talk with, she is the centre of a new subplot in which the Genie has a romantic interest of his own. Which, of course, brings us to Will Smith.
The crucial role of the Genie was always going to be a make or break for ALADDIN. The iconic Robin Williams performance has been imitated but never bettered. So, Smith doesn’t even attempt to replicate it, bringing his own persona to the role. It’s like the Fresh Prince busts out of the lamp (with the help of some amazing CG) and slowly turns into contemporary Smith. The big introduction of “Friend Like Me” kind of takes the Rex Harrison approach, talking/rapping his way through the signature tune. Like the rest of the movie, it’s different but it has its own joyful energy.
Similarly, Ritchie follows some of the original styling of the Clements/Musker film but mixes in a decent amount of Bollywood with his imitable motifs as well. The “Prince Ali” sequence is a full-blown event, using every inch of the screen as it bursts with colour and song. There is a smaller scale Bollywood style sequence that follows, a flashy courtship between Aladdin and Jasmine that is impressive in its own right.
Naturally, the film is at its strongest when it makes a hero out of the core songs from the original. Ritchie doesn’t mess with the karaoke classic “A Whole New World,” as Jasmine and Aladdin soar on a magic carpet duet across the known world. Massoud and Scott give new life to the song, although undoubtedly there will be more commercial interest in ZAYN and Zahvia Ward cover version found in the credits and on the soundtrack album.
A dazzling mixture of song and visuals, ALADDIN surprises with frequent political statements about staying silent in the face of false leaders betraying the values of the kingdom. It doesn’t take a Grand Vizier to get the reference. Nevertheless, as the film wraps up with a dance sequence and a reprise of “Friend Like Me,” you may find yourself just as dazzled by this new fantastic point of view.
2019 | US | DIRECTOR: Guy Ritchie | WRITERS: John August, Guy Ritchie | CAST: Will Smith, Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott, Marwan Kenzari, Navid Negahban, Nasim Pedrad, Billy Magnussen | DISTRIBUTOR: Disney | RUNNING TIME: 128 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 23 May 2018 (AUS)
