Pretty Decent Overall

Rating: 7/10 (31 December 2019)

I'm not going to lie: I'm not a big fan of Disney's new tactic of remaking their older animated films. Cinderella's remake was excellent, but outside of that, the others have felt fine at best. 2019's "Aladdin" is one of the more interesting cases, as it makes a few improvements to the original, but also does some things worse. Overall, it's pretty much comparable to the original. Will Smith does quite well as the genie, and there's a nice twist for his character which was a welcome addition to the story. Additionally, Mena Massoud and Naomi Scott do pretty well with their roles overall. However, the score is comparatively weaker, with the newer takes on older songs not really matching up to their predecessors, and the one newer song feeling out of place with the others. Additionally, Jafar is not portrayed successfully, undermining a lot of the tension. As it stands, it's a decent remake that's worth a watch. It doesn't replace the original, but it does do a fair amount to differentiate itself.