So we’re far from done with delving the deep well of nostalgia so here is another live-action remake of a Disney classic. This one was heavily derided on its initial announcement for the casting of Will Smith as the Genie with his skin a ludicrous shade of blue. But I like how the casting now proper reflects, more or less, the appropriate ethnicities of the characters and I love how director Guy Ritchie completely commits to this as a musical. This is probably my favorite of the Disney remakes so far.

You all know the story here. Petty thief Aladdin roams the streets of Agrabah with his pet monkey Abu and one day runs into the princess Jasmine who has snuck out of the palace to explore the city incognito. When he visits her in the palace, the vizier Jafar notices him and kidnaps him to use in his scheme to become the sultan. He instructs Aladdin to enter the Cave of Wonders to retrieve a lamp for him but when he attempts to betray Aladdin, the latter ends up with the lamp instead. So he uses it to summon the genie and further equipped with a magic carpet from the cave. he returns to Agrabah to woo the princess. As the princess can only marry a prince, he uses a wish to transform himself into a prince complete with an entourage to impress her.

Right from the early scenes of Aladdin free running across the streets of Agrabah, the film brims with energy and color. As a musical, this film far exceeds the other live-action remakes we’ve seen so far in terms of dance choreography and sheer visual spectacle. Ritchie seems to have used Bollywood films as his inspiration as the moves and pacing are all very similar and that too helps explain why they are so good. The exotic setting gives them an excuse to run riot with the colors and that’s why the fabulously flamboyant Genie fits in perfectly. I also love how the set designers seems to have drawn inspiration from Turkey for their version of Agrabah. It’s a big improvement from the original animated version that was all bulbous domes of ridiculous proportions. The CGI isn’t perfect but I think it’s decent and the film succeeds as a visual spectacle. Perhaps one complaint that I have is the original song Speechless. It’s a good song but it’s very clearly an attempt to replicate Let It Go from Frozen and feels out of place.

From a plot standpoint of course, there are all kinds of holes and problems. Jafar is a pretty weak antagonist and the actor cast to play him is probably both too young and not menacing enough. I dislike the nitpicking and rules lawyering over what counts a wish and what it can do. Jafar is totally robbed as his wish to be a sultan has absolutely no effect. Then there’s how Jafar exiles Aladdin to the ends of the earth and then he’s back mere moments later. So yeah this is one fun romps with no sense of danger whatsoever for our protagonists. Similarly Aladdin’s friendship with the Genie isn’t very convincing after the Genie spends the whole film being a fun-loving jokester. Will Smith is fine being an entertainer but I don’t think he can replicate Robin Williams’ emotive range.

So it’s not much of a surprise that this is pure fluff but I find that it visually more original and appealing than the other remakes. Plus I love that it’s much better at being a musical. I have no strong feelings for any of the Disney films anyway but this remains my favorite of the ones so far.