A warm hug from nostalgia

Rating: 9/10 (27 May 2019)

Storyline: A street wise boy falls in love with a princess. A power hungry villain bribes to give him everything he wants in exchange for a magic lamp that changes everyone's lives forever.
Characters: Mena Massoud (who is Canadian btw ) as Aladdin is charming and watchable on screen. He gives Aladdin an extra layer of smoothness which resonates well on screen and gives Aladdin that likability that everyone remembers and loves. Naomi Scott as Princess Jasmine is spectacular and PERFECTLY cast. She's beautiful, strong, fearless and gives her character the updated feminist flair that everyone needed . Nasim Pedrad as Dalia, Jasmine's handmaiden has a small but extremely memorable role. She nails the nuisances of her character and the scenes with her in it were some of my favourite scenes. The lady is a true definition of having her work speak volumes . Will Smith as the Genie is, as expected, perfect in every way . I love the emotional depth that was added to the character of the Genie and Will Smith carries it spectacularly along with the main comedic essence of the Genie. He lights up the screen every time he's on it and he does complete justice to Robin Williams original Genie character. Marwan Kenzari as Jafar is great. I love the way Marwan delivered his dialogues as Jafar, there was a slow stealth to them that enhanced Jafar's villainous qualities.
Set Design: I'll be straight up and just say the truth: I FREAKING LOVED IT! Whether it was the winding streets of Agrabah or the majestic royal palace, it was all so perfectly magical and sucked me into the Aladdin universe. Honestly I expect nothing less from Gemma Jackson, the award winning set director of Game of Thrones. She nails it yet again .

Dialogue: Okay, so I love how the Genie has spent thousands of years trapped in a lamp yet comes out knowing and quoting all the recent pop culture references . Makes you live the Genie even more than you did before .
The dialogue has been updated for Jasmine to make her even more of a badass while being a 21st century woke female aware of her rights and freedoms to express and speak . QUEEN!!!!!

Music: To review a Disney Movie and not discuss the music is the biggest unjustice! Guys, I LOVED THE SOUNDTRACK!!!!! It's very rare for me to continue listen to Soundtracks after watching the movie but after this one I literally can't stop singing it and listening to it on repeat. The soundtrack is magical and updated to suit the current music scene, without loosing its core essence. Will Smith's "Friend Like Me" is an earworm and I garuntee it will be stuck in your head too . Naomi Scott's original soundtrack for Jasmine called "Speechless" is perfect in every way. When she performed it on screen, it gave me goosebumps...that's how powerful it was . Everyone's favourite "A whole new world" is splendid and gives you a warm nostalgia feel . This section could literally go on forever considering there are over 30 soundtracks in the film , so I'll leave the rest for you to discover and experience .
CGI: I honestly don't know what everyone was creating a fuss about, the CGI was great and created some lovely characters like Abu and Raja flawlessly. It's sucks you into the universe and that's what you need .
Final Thoughts: Watching this movie made me get in touch with my inner child and experience true joy from seeing a Disney movie after so long. This movie is now in my top three Disney movie and I'll be watching it again and again for a great, stress free time. I recommend this movie to anyone and everyone that likes having fun, has a sense of humour and can appreciate great work. Go watch it, love it and have a great time!