Disney’s live-action Aladdin review – Not as great as it’s animated counterpart, but fun when not compared!

“Guy Ritchie’s Aladdin is strong enough to earn favour amongst die hard Disney fans.”

Not every live-action remake that Disney has had a go at has landed well (we’re not necessarily pointing the finger at you Dumbo), but this live-action Aladdin remake does have some fun with the source material.

With a mostly strong cast, some fun editing and top-notch music regardless of Fresh Prince-vibe haters, Guy Ritchie’s Aladdin is strong enough to earn favour amongst die hard Disney fans.

The story follows the traditional tale of a young street rat named…what’s his name again? Oh yeah…Aladdin (portrayed by Jack Ryan‘s Mean Massound), coming into possession of a magic lamp that contains an outlandish Genie (portrayed by Will Smith) who is tasked with granting his new master three wishes. Having being tricked by the evil Jafar (portrayed by Murder on the Orient Express‘ Marwan Kenzari) into believing that the beautiful Princess Jasmine (portrayed by Power Rangers‘ Naomi Scott) would never be interested in him due to his poverty, the young hero finds himself on a fun journey that leads him to learning that fortune isn’t everything.

First things first, try not to compare to the animated film. As most Disney fans will agree, nothing can beat the original. However, this live-action take on Aladdin from Sherlock Holmes‘ Guy Ritchie really does stand well on it’s own when not seen as a comparison piece.

the main cast is strong. Massoud’s take on the energetic and charismatic hero makes it as though the cartoon version is leaping into flesh and bone. The young actor doesn’t flaw for a single moment and clearly has fun with the lead role. Scott’s Jasmine is definitely one of the highlights of the flick . Not only does she give this new, feministic take on the character justice, but she adds fun and authenticity. Jasmine is moulded into a woman who is hungry to be a leader and show that a woman does have a place in politics and power. It may sound like forced feminism, but it works brilliantly and also gives Scott a chance to belt out an original song that is an amazing few minutes in the film.

Will Smith’s Genie is not to be compared to the late great Robin Williams’ animated portrayal – you do that and Smith’s performance goes out of the window from his first frame. But, if you caste out the animated version, this new Genie is great to watch.

Obviously being inspired by Williams’ incarnation, it still adds some of Smith’s own flavour. we get a bit of The Fresh Prince when it comes to the music. We get a hint of Alex Hitchings when he needs to get Aladdin interacting with Jasmine. We even get a bit of Oscar The Shark Slayer whenever Aladdin is taunting Al. Yes, the CGI for Genie may not be the best, but overall Smith’s performance is enough to save it.

Then there is the cast member that is the weakest of weak links. Kenzari’s take on Jafar just doesn’t land well. The performance of the Disney villain is wooden and his face is pretty much forgettable. Aside from one moment where he gives an evil laugh, it feels like Kenzari was only cast because he knows how to give an evil expression, and it gets boring when it’s all he does for acts one, two and three.

Oh, and there is also Saturday Night Live‘s Nasim Pedrad as a handmaiden named Dalia and she doesn’t really bring much to the story except the feeling of an SNL sketch whenever she is on a screen.

The chemistry on the screen between the three main cast members is strong. Massoud and Scott bring us a really sweet love story and also a better-than-anticipated rendition of ‘A Whole New World’. The budding relationship between Pedrad and Scott’s character kind of sits well with me – they bounce off each other quite well when put together. Massoud and Smith’s Aladdin/Genie team up is great. They have a lot of moments to shine and work well, making sure that when it comes to that emotional “Genie, i wish for you to be free” scene at the end, it has been earned. And every chemistry test for Jafar must have just been tolerated I guess.

The story has to obviously be fleshed out to make a longer run-time than the animated version, and Ritchie does it flawlessly. You feel like you are watching the animated story unfold as it did some 26 years ago, but then there is the added scenes and extra plot points that fit in nicely and, if anything, compliment the original story perfectly. Honourable mentions have to be the fact that Jasmine dismisses Aladdin as a mere thief within the first 10 minutes and Genie’s interesting new prologue to the film plus a fun opening credits.

You can tell that the film has the essence of Guy Ritchie. Ritchie has a lot of history with creating film’s centred around pick-pockets and thieves so his live-action Aladdin film is no exception. From the skilful moves Aladdin pulls off, to the sudden slow-mo edits incorporated, plus some risky choices with speeding up scenes, Guy Ritchie makes his mark on a Disney film and actually makes it work! Who’d have thought it!

Special effects have a massive presence throughout, but thankfully they are done well, aside from when Smith’s Genie is animated. The magic carpet is the exceptional and the tricks from the Genie here and there are favourable, but when it comes to the look of the Genie in his…well…Genie form, it is just as you feared when you first seen him in the first trailer. It looks TOO CGI (if that makes sense) and even seems to get in the way of Smith’s facial expressions – if Kenzari was playing the part I guess you wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference.

Overall, this is another fine addition to Disney’s mission to transform their classic animated films into living, breathing live-action epics. With a mostly stellar cast, an extended story that doesn’t fall flat and music that is just as jiggy is the originals, you are in for a treat when you see this movie. Just don’t expect much from Jafar or Genie’s eyebrows when he is blue – you’ll just be let down.

From me, the live-action Aladdin from Guy Ritchie gets a nice 7.9.

Aladdin is in cinemas everywhere now.