Film: Aladdin

GENRE: Adventure, Musical

RATING: PG for action sequences
RUNTIME: 2 hours and 8 minutes

STARRING: Will Smith (Fresh Prince, MiB, Bad Boys, I Robot)

Mena Massoud (Jack Ryan), Naomi Scott (Power Rangers)

DIRECTOR: Guy Ritchie (Sherlock Holmes, Snatch, Man from UNCLE)

WRITERS: John August (Charlie’s Angels, Charlie & Chocolate Factory) 
Guy Ritchie (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch)

PLOT: A commoner gets a magic lamp and uses its genie to help woo the princess but an evil grand vizier also wants the genie’s powers.   

FULL DISCLOSURE: I loved the original Disney cartoon.

STORY STUFF: Ritchie and August do a pretty good job of sticking to the Disney story while adding a few embellishments. The addition of Nasim Pedrad (SNL, New Girl) as Dalia added some fun to Jasmine’s storyline. I also liked the minor backstory add-on for Jafar. The extra loyalty of Hakim didn’t seem needed though. If you like the Disney cartoon, you’ll probably be okay with this live version.

ACTING STUFF: Will Smith is no Robin Williams. He had some mighty big shoes to fill but I was glad that he made the genie his own. Just imagine less impersonations and more rap bravado. I also had no problem with him being blue. Aladdin and Jasmine are well cast. They sing well and are lovely together. Again, Pedrad is a fun addition. I’m also glad they made the sultan less of an imbecile this time around. I did miss Gilbert Gottfried as Iago (Sorry, Alan Tudyk – I usually like you but not as much this time) but glad they kept voice artist Frank Welker as the Cave of Wonders.

ARTISTIC STUFF: I was incredibly worried when I saw this version of ‘One Jump’ (a song I really enjoy from the cartoon version). Ritchie did some weird editing by speeding and slowing down sequences that felt disjointed. Luckily everything was back on track with the next song, ‘Friend Like Me’. The songs are performed well and I enjoyed Jasmine’s number, ‘Speechless’ written by Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, the geniuses behind The Greatest Showman, La La Land and Dear Evan Hansen. The visuals are impressive, especially the costumes and sets. Of course, some of the CG is a bit much at times.

VERDICT: Four stars out of five

SEE IT IF: You like live versions of cartoons like The Jungle Book.

UPCOMING REVIEWS: Yesterday