Exceeded expectations.

Rating: 10/10 (23 June 2019)

The trailers for this are extremely deceptive. Many critics complain that Aladdin relied too heavily on cgi, and the teasers don't do much to disprove that. However, critics are called critics for a reason, and a cover is nice but a cover is not the book!
Just so to make readers aware of the potential biases of the review, I'm a huge Disney fanatic and grew up in the Disney Renaissance era. I was also, like many others, very nervous after viewing the trailers. Silly me.
Go see Aladdin in theaters. It's visually spectacular and that's to say the very least. The acting was beautiful done with just the right twist from each character, the choreography was unique and refreshing and the score was ever beautiful as it always has been with a slightly different vibe. It's not the original, and it shouldn't be. It's a great movie all the same.
Starting with the actors, Naomi Scott, ever beautiful, costars as Princess Jasmine. She does it perfectly. She's strong willed and rebellious, and she handles the dynamic of the character smoothly.
Mena Massoud plays Aladdin, and I was very impressed with his performance. His expressions may be my personal favorite part of his performance, they hold the sincere, troubled, yet ever lighthearted street rat fantasticly. However his singing and dancing are the most notable. This is because(being the dork I am I did extensive research after seeing the movie) he has no real background in musical theater at all.
Marwan Kenzari as Jafar was not well portrayed in the trailers, and that's because this character has a much slower, more derranged villainy than 1992's Jafar. He has a Faraway look in his eye that only comes to surface in his intense anger, and it's a different kind of chilling.
Last, but certainly not the least, Will Smith's Genie. Every single review, good or bad, agrees that Robin Williams is often imitated, never duplicated. Thankfully Will Smith didn't try to duplicate it, nor did Guy Ritchie, or the writers. Because it simply can't be done and should never be tried. Enough of that, Will Smith nailed his performance. They went left field, took the genie in a unique direction that caused controversy but worked out beautifully. Charismatic and very trendy, the Genie is still Al's pal. He pays homage to Robin's performance but is different in a way that is perfectly Will Smith, still carrying an obvious hip hop vibe.
Abu is a little off. His relationship with Aladdin doesn't seem as deep as the original, likely because it's hard for a person to talk to nothing with sincerity, even if they are acting. Iago however, I feel makes up for that, don't let him go unnoticed as a regular parrot. For one, it's Alan Tudyk! Two, he subtly seems to act as Jafar's dark inner voice, while also still bringing occasional comic relief. Not very many lines but still a nice interpretation. The magic carpet? Well it's still a magic carpet, and still very cute.
The dancing was controversial among critics, however I thoughroughly enjoyed it. The combination of hip hop and Arabian dancing blends together extremely well and is very eccentric. The singing was different of course, the most classic being Mena Massoud as Aladdin. Naomi Scott gets a much deserved solo that carries a lot of symbolism. Will Smith's singing and dancing performance was expectedly fun. The musical numbers as a whole were incredibly well executed while being visually spectacular. Most of them carry a subtle hip hop vibe, and it may sound out of place but surprisingly, really fluid.
Nostalgia is there. Not as much as the Lion King will undoubtedly have, but it's there. With the way the world has progressed Aladdin was forced to be more original than other Disney remakes, and that's for the good.
Overall, I don't think Aladdin is getting enough positive attention, and if my expectations were higher going it to it my rating may have been a 9. Still, I would have given the same written review.