A Disney classic comes to life!

Rating: 9/10 (27 May 2019)

What can I say? When you hear that one of your favourite Disney classics is going to be recreated for live action, you also hear that tiny voice of trepidation in your head saying "please don't mess this up". Well I'm pleased to say that was not the case here. Aladdin is a complete triumph.
Let's break this down.
Will Smith as the Genie was always going to be a huge talking point. He had some very large Robin Williams style shoes to fill. Smith admittedly did not want to recreate perfection but instead put his own spin on the character whilst still maintaining the nostalgia of the role. It's fair to say it was a success. There were some classic Smith comedy moments throughout as well as stamping his own original musical flare into some of the films most famous numbers. A great job for the Hollywood legend.
As for Mena Massoud (a fairly unknown actor) who played the title character, he was simply perfect for the role. He looked the part, had an excellent singing voice and managed to capture the cheeky charisma of the character brilliantly well. With some excellent dance scenes and some hilarious comedy timing with co star Smith, Massoud was a truly wonderful casting choice for the film. He really is the real life Aladdin.
It wasn't just Massoud and Smith who stood out either. Naomi Scott (Princess Jasmine) and Marwan Kenzari (Jafar) gave an equally believable performance in recreating these characters. Naomi's out of this world singing voice was enough to send shivers down your spine whilst the villainous stare and evil tongue of Kenzari did not disappoint. A film is only as strong as its actors and everyone in Aladdin did a phenomenal job.
The film itself was very well directed. A huge standing O to Guy Ritchie for putting his own personal film style on this without diviating from the well known story line and maintaining the magic of the classic 1992 original.
Visually spectacular scenes including the memorable flying carpet scene and the cave of wonders greatly exceeded my expectations. This CGI magic mixed with some excellent musical production scenes made this film one I would watch again and again. A classic story exquisitely made with an immensely talented cast. What more could you want from Disney? For me, watching this was like watching one of my favourite childhood films come to life.
A well deserved 9 stars!