When Robin Williams headed into a recording booth and laid down his vocal contribution to the 1992 Disney animated smash Aladdin, could anyone who was lucky enough to be there for those sessions have any idea that what the comic mastermind was doing would go down as one of the great performances (animated or otherwise) in cinematic history. His Genie was the stuff of legend. Needless to say, when it was announced that Disney was adding Aladdin to its animated efforts being made in live action, all conversation turned to the Genie role and if it was an endeavor even worth taking due to Williams’ seismic turn.
As everyone can see, now that Aladdin is out on Blu-Ray, 4K Blu-Ray, DVD and digital download, the avenue chosen by director Guy Ritchie for the role of Genie was a stroke of genius. It is impossible to “make audiences forget” Williams … in anything for that matter. This was now a live action Genie, i.e. everything Williams did was able to be stroked out by those movie magicians in Disney Animation. The idea behind casting Will Smith as the Genie, was that if there was one actor who could give audiences a Genie that would be unforgettable in its own right, it was him. Ritchie, ever the smart helmer, just got out of the way and let the Fresh Prince do his thing with the believe that and audiences will embrace this remake wholeheartedly, largely due to that fact.
That is exactly what happened: The film banked $1.046 billion (and counting) in box office receipts and will easily go down as one of the most profitable of 2019.
Smith is the Genie, that much we know, but what about the core of the film—the titular character and of course, one of the most beloved of the Disney princesses, Princess Jasmine? Mena Massoud was extraordinary as Aladdin and almost effortlessly updated a character we never knew needed an alteration. The Egyptian born actor’s take on the wish fulfilled prince modernized it and gave him depth beyond what everyone already knew about the iconic part.
Naomi Scott inhabited Jasmine in such a way that had her soaring to new heights, both sonically and literally. That fateful magic carpet ride scene, it is as if Jasmine is our eyes and ears into this Whole New World which she and Aladdin are singing about as they swoosh across the Arabian night. Scott (soon to be seen as one of the angelic titanic trio in Elizabeth Banks’ Charlie’s Angels) brings an approachability to her turn that sets it apart from the 1992 original. Not that the animated princess wasn’t approachable, but there’s a palpable grounded-ness to the 2019 Jasmine that never was fully realized in the animated classic.
Then, there’s Smith. He is beefed up and plays his mesmerizingly muscular Genie with a strong sense of duty to the institution of being a genie that was never part of the Williams character equation. It didn’t have to be. But in this live action “reality,” one gets the sense that the soon-to-be-seen-in-Gemini Man actor made the risky (but intelligent) decision to embrace his characters’ longstanding belief that there are certain things a genie must do, can do and most importantly, won’t do. If you’re wondering how he does with certain things—such as his take on the Williams’ belted classic Friend Like Me—let’s just say he also makes it firmly his own. It’s easy to forget because it’s been a long time, but Smith first introduced himself to us as a toe-tapping inducing hitmaker. He brings all that (and then some) to Genie and although we can never forget what Williams did with his Genie, Smith firmly makes it his and it will go down as one of the actor’s greatest cinematic efforts.
Ritchie seemed like an odd choice to tackle an animated classic and morph it into live action blockbuster. But he handles all of those potential minefields effortlessly and the musical numbers are wildly entertaining and extravagant. One could argue that staging musical scenes are no different than choreographing an action sequence. It all involves immense planning, employing experts in that realm and then tapping performers who can hit it out of the park. It’s truly stunning what Ritchie was able to accomplish and here’s hoping that his work on Aladdin broadens what he’s offered to helm and what he pursues to direct in the future.
The 4K Blu-Ray copy, which is what The Movie Mensch got to review, further shows why this is the future of home video tech. The sound, the visuals … it’s hard to even come up with the right words to describe how stunningly beautiful each is for the eyes and ears. If you are thinking of making the upgrade, Aladdin 4K would be a great film to start you down that path. The colors, the desert landscape, the costuming, production design, they all add up to some eye candy of the highest order and being a musical, well that just plays right into the strengths of the sonic succulence in the higher definition cornucopia.
One thing that Disney is known for with their home video releases are a bevy of brilliant bonus features. Aladdin 2019 is no different. Since I brought it up just a few paragraphs ago and it is such a brilliant moment, the making of that Smith song and dance epic moment is chronicled sensationally in A Friend Like Genie. Smith is spotlighted and we learn everything it took for him to say yes to the role, then make the role uniquely his and of course his thoughts on tackling an iconic song like A Friend Like Me. Like Smith himself, this featurette is electrically entertaining, all while being wholeheartedly enlightening as well.
Aladdin’s Video Journal: A New Fantastic Point of View is an utter treat. Aladdin himself, Massoud not only gets the close-up in this featurette, but these are behind-the-scenes moments that are captured by the star himself! It is fun, it doesn’t doddle and gets right to the point, and is about as entertainingly efficient a featurette as any we’ve seen in some time.
I am a longtime fan of Ritchie, and even I wondered why he would commit to this project. Guy Ritchie: A Cinematic Genie is an enthralling effort at capturing the exhilarating experience that is making a Guy Ritchie movie within the framework of the Disney landscape. Hearing from him first-hand adds priceless insight into his artistic process, but also what it is he sought to do, for himself as an artist, by tackling this enormous challenge.
There’s a deleted song that is just beautiful. Desert Moon was cut from the film and songwriter Alan Menken introduces the scene (which was ready to go, fully shot, fully edited, synched and everything) and as such, some fascinating insight is given into the creative process of making a musical movie and how sometimes a great song can just not make the cut.
Anytime you have Smith on a set, those Bloopers are going to be fun and so too are the deleted scenes in that it provides a great opportunity to get inside the moviemaking mind of Ritchie and see why he decided not to include these moments.
Lastly, there are a few music videos for those of you who cannot get enough of the Aladdin musical magnificence. Speechless features an intro by Scott before its music vid, and then there’s two versions of A Whole New World. There’s the Zayn and Zhavia Ward version and the Spanish version (Un Mundo Ideal) performed by Zayn and Becky G.
Film Grade: B
Bonus Features: A