Will
Smith, Mena Massoud and Naomi Scott star in this latest addition to
Disney's live action remakes. The film is overall extremely faithful
to the original animation, both in terms of story and tone. It even
includes all of the recognisable songs. Despite not providing
anything new this live action take on Aladdin proves
to be vibrant and immersive.
The
sets and costumes are arguably the most impressive part of the film.
Agrabah is full of life and colour, and from the opening moments we
are made to feel like a part of the bustling city. This first scene
is set to 'Arabian Nights' and effectively sets the tone and adds to
the vibrancy that is present throughout the whole film. The
experience of seeing Agrabah brought to life in live action is
absolutely one of the most captivating things about watching this.
In
general it seems as though the aim when making this film was to
replicate the animation as closely as possible. This even comes through in the casting choices for Aladdin and Jasmine. Mena Massoud
is incredible in the film, exhibiting perfectly the charming and
fun-loving attitude of the titular hero, and Naomi Scott is similarly
brilliant in the role of the fiercely independent princess. They are
perfect for their roles in not only their acting capability, but also
their uncanny resemblance to the characters and their similar singing
voices. The rendition of 'A Whole New World' sounds almost oddly the
same as the original. Whilst the quality of their performances is
great, the film is very much the same as the animated version and
it's a shame that this film doesn't diverge from or add to the story
that we are used to.
Despite
the vibrancy of the film, translating Aladdin into
live action has its drawbacks. Mainly in the depiction of the animal
characters. Abu and Iago become more alike to real life animals and
lack the personality that they seemed to have before. Jafar's parrot Iago is especially made less of a presence in this version where he
was previously a very prominent and vocal character. Live action has
a similar effect on the villain Jafar, who seems to lose a lot of his
menace when portrayed by a real person. Actor Marwan Kenzari does a
good job, but the versatility of animation made the character much
more expressive and creepy.
The
one member of the cast who brings something different to the film is
Will Smith as the Genie. He definitely brings his distinctive
attitude and acting style to the role and does an excellent job of a
character who many couldn't imagine being anyone but Robin Williams.
For the most part, his take on the character is markedly different
from Williams' portrayal. Regrettably there are several moments that are copied from the original that bring Smith close to a Williams
impression, but this is less a problem with Smith's performance than
with the script. With comparisons to the animation already inevitable
the film damages its ability to stand by itself by rehashing a lot of
the original script. Many lines are lifted verbatim, and it seems
like this happens more often than in Disney's previous remakes. There
is little innovation here and despite this being a remake it would
have been nice to see a bit more creativity in the script-writing.
Overall
this is an enjoyable film, with excellent cast performances and
immersive and vibrant sets. It's just a shame that it rehashes so
much of the original and doesn't bring anything new to the table. It
is a very faithful remake that is, ultimately, good and light-hearted fun.
