Trying too hard to be original

Rating: 6/10 (26 May 2019)

Perhaps because the animated Aladdin it is one of my favourite movies of all time, or perhaps because I've waited so much for this live-action remake to be out, I could not get myself to enjoy this version as much as I did with the Beauty and the Beast live-action remake.
I feel the changes introduced removed part of the magic and the fun. So many of the original funny moments were removed! Neither Abu nor Iago are as funny, leaving everything to the Genie (who delivers, though). In any case, the original movie flowed with constant action and excitement, and I did not feel any of it in this remake.
About the music, the songs try to be too modern and add too much beat to them (even in "A Whole New World"!! Really?!). I felt this broke the magic of an old tale in an arabic land. The new song from Jasmine is incredibly executed, but I honestly do not think we need an explicitly feminist song in each new Disney movie... Don't get me wrong, I do believe the message should be out there, but I think Beauty and the Beast made a better use of the story to empower the feminine cast without resorting to explicit messages. I mean come on, in the original movie Jasmine demonstrates Aladdin she can use the pole to jump by herself, while in here she needs him to cheer her up because she's scared... How difficult would have been to leave the original sequence, surely more empowering than a song?
Anyway, the Genie was very nicely done by Will Smith, and the sequence to the entrance of Agrabah to the "Prince Ali" song was just PERFECT. Those were the highlights for me. It's still an enjoyable movie (a must watch for kids), but I hope The Lion King is better (and that they announce Hercules soon!!!).