Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Aladdin (2019)

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 05-26-2019, 05:18 PM:

Disney's latest remake is one that I was ready to be severely disappointed in, given the impossible-to-fill shoes of Robin Williams as the genie.

The movie is bigger, bolder, louder and much more elaborate (thanks mostly to CGI and the Disney costuming department) than the famous animated version. This gives it a "lumbering" quality, like it's trying to be fast on its feet but can't quite get the rhythm.

The story is altered slightly to give it more of a girl-power angle (complete with the now-required-by-the-policy-manual, Let-It-Go-style big production number sung by the female lead), and the writers are super-careful that neither gender is more responsible for the happy ending than the other one. This doesn't really hurt the story too much from an entertainment standpoint, but it does make it feel forced at times.

The songs from the animated movie are reused here, sometimes with altered lyrics, and a handful of new songs (including the big girl-power number mentioned above) are included. This, along with about one too many extended action/fight scenes, accounts for the movie being about a half-hour longer than the animated version.

The visuals are, as expected, dynamite. If nothing else, this movie would be a blast to watch even if you kept the sound off. And, as mentioned, the costumes are Oscar-quality (if this doesn't get nominated for Best Costume Design, somebody's nodded off at the Academy). The sound mix is excellent too, with the songs being especially tight.

As for the elephant in the room -- how does Will Smith fill those big shoes? Well, in the surprise of the year, he pulls it off. Some of the original material (mostly improvised by Williams, according to legend) is recycled, but some new stuff works well too. The bottom line is, I found myself wrapped up in the story and not longing for the Williams version, so that's probably a good sign.

So where does this fall in the lineup of current Disney classic remakes? I would say it's better than "Dumbo" for sure, probably just about on par with "Beauty and the Beast," but still not quite as good as "The Jungle Book or "Cinderella." It could have been maybe 20 minutes shorter, but I was fully entertained. I expect the nostalgia crowd and the families will be as well.

3 out of 5 stars.

Posted by James Wyrembelski (Member # 9037) on 05-28-2019, 04:24 PM:

quote: Mike Blakesley
Let-It-Go-style big production number sung by the female lead

First time I watched this I was thinking "Okay..is this Frozen or Aladdin?"

Posted by Terry Monohan (Member # 8285) on 05-28-2019, 06:34 PM:

We enjoyed the new Disney film 'Aladdin' watched opening day at the Theatre DelMar in Santa Cruz CA in the large cinema downstairs at 4 15PM Friday May 24.
Much better then 'Dumbo' and some good color and sound mix.
The Landmark DelMar Theatre never plays 3D movies anymore even though they can show 3D.
Curtains still broke and most of the neon does not work on the marquee but the movie was nice and bright on the large wide screen with good 7.1 split stereo surround.
What was strange for me there was a nice outdoor fountain in the movie (probably a indoor studio shot) but they never turned It on all during the film. Just had flowers in he water? I think I have seen this same fountain before in movies and It does squirt up when turned on and lights up.
Some great effects and the flying carpet was great to see It float around. Must looked hot in 3D.
Great family movie with music and some fantastic special effects, the color was like watching a old Technicolor film print.
I will have to watch it in the fake 3D version soon plus Imax 3D. So many baby Imax theatres in the SF Bay Area just are playing it in reg 2D.
All during the pre show screen part they were putting up a portable stage in front of the screen, real class to do this while people were in the cinema. Very noisy but they did finish before the Disney trailers hit the screen!
So much light leaking all the time on the trailers from way to bright overhead lights, you can even see the curtain folds on the top part of the screen they cause a shadow.

Posted by Jonathan Goeldner (Member # 4854) on 06-25-2019, 11:18 PM:

I actually didn't mind Will Smith as the Genie in this, and Naomi Scott as Princess Jasmine was perfect ~ everyone else felt so one-dimensional. To me the 'Prince Ali' musical number was the stand out scene. Thumbs down though to AMC Tyson's Dolby Cinema presentation of this, the movie looked drab, the color's didn't pop and the Atmos mix was terribly lacking.