Aladdin Movie Review

Aladdin is the live action adaptation of Disney’s 1992 animated Aladdin movie. It’s not an exact copy of the cartoon and that’s probably a good thing!

The movie opens with Will Smith’s character telling a story about Aladdin to some young kids. It seemed odd and honestly I didn’t like it. I was hoping it would be more like the cartoon version. But 10-15 minutes into the movie, I was hooked. And by the end I ended up liking the way the movie opened. It kept about 2/3 of the original cartoon and about 1/3 new content.

The story is mostly the same as the cartoon we all know and love; however there on some differences. I’ve seen the live Aladdin show that ran at California Adventure for a few years, but I haven’t seen the Broadway play. Not sure if those two are the same or not. In the show at California Adventure, you fall in love with Carpet. Carpet has its own personality and it does in this movie as well. You’ll love Carpet and Abu too. He’s just the cutest monkey.

Here’s the official synopsis:

A thrilling and vibrant live-action adaptation of Disney’s animated classic, “Aladdin” is the exciting tale of the charming street rat Aladdin, the courageous and self-determined Princess Jasmine and the Genie who may be the key to their future.

I won’t give any spoilers about the new content, but it seems Disney is really going after the concept that girls can do anything boys can do (not that this is a bad thing…just an observation). It was the basis of the majority of the differences between the animated and live action movies.

There are some new songs, including Speechless sung by Naomi Scott (Jasmine). It was powerful and I can’t wait to download it from iTunes or Amazon. The other addition was a fun Bollywood dance number (plus a bonus one during the first part of the credits).

Even though I took 10-15 minutes to really get into the movie, I ended up loving it. It all came together and Will Smith was a fantastic Genie (it has to be hard to follow in Robin Williams footsteps).

Scenes during the credits: Yes. There is a fun Bollywood dance number during the first part of the credits. Nothing else after the dance is over.

So, the animated version was one of the first dates my husband and I went on when we were in high school. So it was fun taking him to the screening last night. Kind of romantic, right! We can’t wait to take the kids to see it this weekend!

Aladdin opens nationwide Friday (5/24/19)!

Rated PG, Run Time 128 minutes

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Disclaimer: I was invited to attend the media movie screening.

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