Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular

Rating: 9/10 (13 September 2019)

Every shot of this movie takes me back to the Aladdin show at Disney's California Adventure. Anyone who's seen the live stage "Musical Spectacular" cannot deny the magic of this live-action movie. Many of the dance/musical numbers and stunts were rough & campy (like you'd expect from a stage show rather than a big-budget movie) but that's what made it so special (to me). There was even the musical curtain call at the end... I half expected to see an epicly animated puppeteer beneath Iago as he followed Jafar around, plotting, scheming and quipping hilariously on Jafar's shoulder! If this movie fell short in any way, it was the lack of dialogue from Iago.
It's true. Will Smith is NO Robin Williams. He had some enormous shoes he could never hope to fill... and, to his credit, he didn't even try. Will Smith played the Genie HIS way. Had he tried to be Will Smith being Robin Williams, he would have failed and people would have hated him for trying. Many hate his performance anyways (my husband barely made it through the first scene without chiming in his disappointment).
You can't go into this movie expecting a remake of such a magical cartoon classic. For starters, there's Robin Williams' timeless performance. But there's also things they can do with animation that live action just cannot replicate (even with CGI). It's an adaptation, plain and simple. It is a different spin on a classic tale (what isn't these days?) and I think it was well-done.
I may have some sentimentality attached to this review as my grandmother & I LOVED the musical at Disney's California Adventure (though she mistakenly thought, all those years, that it was actually Robin Williams on stage!). But, I also grew up watching the Aladdin cartoon. I remember how ill-received the Return of Jafar was when it became known that Robin Williams would not be voicing the Genie. But, truthfully, the actor who played the Genie on stage did an amazing job making the role his. There is no replacing Robin Williams.
So, let's address a few other arguments. I've read some reviews that disagree with Jasmine's "sudden" feminism and desire to be Sultan. I question if these reviewers have ever even seen (or listened to) the original. One of Jasmine's first statements is "IF I do marry, I want it to be for love." The key word there is IF as in she may have eventually decided to NOT marry at all if the right suitor had not come along. Many of her laments throughout the cartoon centered around her feeling imprisoned by her role and duties as a princess and how she just wanted to be free. I will admit that her song in this movie (Speechless, I think it's called) was a little much and felt a little out of place with the original music. I prefer "Lucky Bird Inside a Guilded Cage" from the DCA Musical to this song from the movie. But, as a strong, independent woman ) I don't see anything wrong with Jasmine's character development or portrayal as a strong-minded woman.
I give this movie 9 stars only because well, can it truly BE perfect without Robin Williams? But also because, as one reviewer mentioned, the movie did seem to represent more of Indian culture (many of the musical numbers are reminiscent of a Bollywood feature) than of Arabian culture. It is quite stunning though and I enjoyed every minute of it!