Aladdin – Film Review

Title: Aladdin

Age: PG

Released: 24th May 2019

Director: Guy Ritchie

Genre: Comedy, Family, Romance, Musical

Rating: ***** (5/5 stars)

About: Aladdin is a lovable street urchin who meets Princess Jasmine, the beautiful daughter of the sultan of Agrabah.

While visiting her exotic palace, Aladdin stumbles upon a magic oil lamp that unleashes a powerful, wisecracking, larger-than-life genie.

As Aladdin and the genie start to become friends, they must soon embark on a dangerous mission to stop the evil sorcerer, Jafar, from overthrowing young Jasmine’s kingdom.

Review: I know that there have been a few mixed reviews about this film, but I absolutely loved it.

I was a bit worried about watching this film because I loved the original film (I mean anything with Robin Williams in is just amazing) and I’m always a bit worried when a classic film is recreated.

Although having said that, I have so far loved every Disney live-action remake.

But when I went to go press play on the film, I had this sudden dread in my head and I was just left thinking “oh please be good”!

Thankfully I had nothing to worry about.

My biggest worry was that Will Smith would not be able to be as good as Robin Williams, but Smith made the role his own.

Smith admittedly did not want to recreate the perfect role that Williams had already created and instead aimed to make the role his own.

We see plenty of Smith’s own humor and comedy moments throughout the film, as well as his own musical flare (also please tell me you’ve seen The Fresh Prince of Bel Air and heard the song – you know the one I mean).

All in all, though, I think Smith was a huge success in this film.

Moving on from him though, I loved the title character (played by Mena Massoud) and I have to say that he was perfect for the role! He was exactly how I would have pictured a real-life Aladdin.

Not only that but his singing was exceptional and the cheeky attitude and general charisma was just perfect for the role of Aladdin.

Pair that with a great co-actor like Will Smith and you’ve got the perfect couple. With some great dance scenes and hilarious comedy, these two really help make the film a success.

As with any Disney live-action film, there are always some new things that have been added. The main thing that stood out for me was the introduction of the song “Speechless” sung by Jasmine (played by Naomi Scott).

Now I do kind of like this song, but also it’s not my cup of tea.

Having said that, Naomi Scott’s singing is just exceptional! Her singing is enough to send shivers down your spine and just makes me wish that I was as skilled as her regarding singing (my singing voice is absolutely awful compared to her!).

For any Disney fan, I can’t stress how good this film is.

Guy Richie (the director) has been able to place his own original spin on the film, whilst also making sure to not stray from the original storyline, whilst also maintaining the magic of the original film!

I’ve already watched this film several times over, but I can quite honestly say that I would be more than happy to rewatch this again over the weekend!

It is definitely one that you need to put on your watch list if you haven’t already seen it!

Don’t forget you can now get Disney+ as well, so it’s even easier for you to watch it!