It was like a lifetime ago that I went to the theatre with a friend and watched Aladdin, the amazing cartoon, for the very first time. Come to think of it, more than aquarter of a century back!
Maybe it was targeted at younger people even back then, but I still did fall in love with the idea of romance itself as Aladdin and Jasmin flew on that magic carpet, singing together.
What happened then? Well, I grew up, loved someone, married her, then got divorced, and in time I began to close the doors of my mind to any promotion of true love, as it was what I had experienced and bitterly lost.
So, no, I did not really want to see a live action reboot of that masterpiece. I didn't need it to revisit my in-love self. The real deal was out there, with those great songs and impressive scenes.
Also, I was kinda mad at Disney for its twisted promotion of certain stuff while still targeting kids and family.
Still, though with a delay of 5 years I guess, I did watch Will Smith as the Genie on Disney+, finally.
It's okay. Even more than okay. The variations and additions do not disrespect the source material (meaning, the classical cartoon) nor do they drive the experience further away from the actual source (meaning, the tales on which it was based).
The opening scenes looked somewhat stale and overdecorated but the coreography and the CGI were fine. I did get emotional as I identified with poor Aladdin. Will Smith did notch the act up well via references to the "magical negro" tradition, while respectfully borrowing from the amazing performance of the late Robin Williams. Kristin Scott was amazing as Jasmin. I don't know her at all, so, throughout the experience I kept believing she was an actress of Arabian descent.
The night of the magic carpet ride looked somewhat too dark and less developed than it was in the cartoon. I think they could have made it much much better, and that's the major reason I'm not giving the movie a 9.
It was a cool surprise to notice how the story got tied to the opening scene. I wasn't even expecting there to be a tie there, so, that nice touch elevated the whole deal for me.
I'm still not sure Jafar was played by the best option of actor (Al Pacino would have been wonderful!) but the overall balance between characters did make sense. While we're at it - Bassem Youssef would have been marveolous as Jasmin's father, looking back from today!
Love hurts. Not in movies, though. You get hurt only if all those lines and looks now echo something you've been kicked out of. It's not the fault of filmmakers if we are no longer in magical relationships. Or is it? Depends on how much influence we allow fairy tales to grow on our reality, I guess.
Maybe it was targeted at younger people even back then, but I still did fall in love with the idea of romance itself as Aladdin and Jasmin flew on that magic carpet, singing together.
What happened then? Well, I grew up, loved someone, married her, then got divorced, and in time I began to close the doors of my mind to any promotion of true love, as it was what I had experienced and bitterly lost.
So, no, I did not really want to see a live action reboot of that masterpiece. I didn't need it to revisit my in-love self. The real deal was out there, with those great songs and impressive scenes.
Also, I was kinda mad at Disney for its twisted promotion of certain stuff while still targeting kids and family.
Still, though with a delay of 5 years I guess, I did watch Will Smith as the Genie on Disney+, finally.
It's okay. Even more than okay. The variations and additions do not disrespect the source material (meaning, the classical cartoon) nor do they drive the experience further away from the actual source (meaning, the tales on which it was based).
The opening scenes looked somewhat stale and overdecorated but the coreography and the CGI were fine. I did get emotional as I identified with poor Aladdin. Will Smith did notch the act up well via references to the "magical negro" tradition, while respectfully borrowing from the amazing performance of the late Robin Williams. Kristin Scott was amazing as Jasmin. I don't know her at all, so, throughout the experience I kept believing she was an actress of Arabian descent.
The night of the magic carpet ride looked somewhat too dark and less developed than it was in the cartoon. I think they could have made it much much better, and that's the major reason I'm not giving the movie a 9.
It was a cool surprise to notice how the story got tied to the opening scene. I wasn't even expecting there to be a tie there, so, that nice touch elevated the whole deal for me.
I'm still not sure Jafar was played by the best option of actor (Al Pacino would have been wonderful!) but the overall balance between characters did make sense. While we're at it - Bassem Youssef would have been marveolous as Jasmin's father, looking back from today!
Love hurts. Not in movies, though. You get hurt only if all those lines and looks now echo something you've been kicked out of. It's not the fault of filmmakers if we are no longer in magical relationships. Or is it? Depends on how much influence we allow fairy tales to grow on our reality, I guess.