I’m not going to lie – when I heard the live-action Aladdin was coming out this summer, I was as giddy as a schoolgirl. Like many moms, I came of age with the animated Disney blockbusters of the early 90s – The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, and the Lion King. They were part of the fabric of my childhood and Aladdin was one of my favorites. I could sing along with any song from the movie and could even recite many of the lines.
I was a bit disappointed with Beauty and the Beast a couple years ago, since it seemed to stay too close to the original script and somehow managed to be a bit boring. Aladdin was refreshingly different.
Firstly, the sets are magnificent and costumes are exquisite. The dancing is so fun to watch and the acting is pretty good. I was a little nervous about bringing my 5-year old to see it, but thankfully it’s not too scary. Though my sensitive 7-year old buried his head in my shoulder for a couple scenes, my 5-year old stayed riveted and delighted the whole time.
What sets Aladdin apart from the original, though (besides being live-action, course), is the modern take on the Disney princess’ plight. Jasmine must marry a prince so he can be sultan, as in the original, but in this version, she doesn’t see why she can’t be sultan herself. Jafar tells her that her place is to be seen and not heard, and in an emotional performance of the film’s only original song, Jasmine (Naomi Scott) tells Jafar that she will not “go speechless.”
Running through the whole film is the message that we must not get carried away with outer displays of wealth, that it’s what’s on the inside that counts. Coming from Will Smith’s the Genie, the dictum doesn’t sound preachy at all.
Unlike many movies today, the live-action remake of Aladdin is the rare film that the whole family will enjoy – the chase scenes, the music, the breathtaking scenery, and the meaningful messages laced throughout.