Aladdin (2019 film)

Aladdin is a 2019 American musical fantasy film directed by Guy Ritchie and written by John August. As a live-action adaptation of the 1992 animated film of the same name, the film was released by Walt Disney Pictures on May 24, 2019. The plot follows Aladdin, a street urchin who falls in love with Jasmine, befriends a wish-granting Genie, and battles the wicked Jafar.
In October 2016, Disney announced Ritchie would direct a live-action Aladdin remake. Smith was the first member of the cast to join, signing on to portray Genie in July 2017, and Massoud and Scott were confirmed for the two lead roles later that month. Principal photography began that September at Longcross Studios in Surrey, England, also filming in the Wadi Rum Desert in Jordan, and lasted until January 2018. Additional filming and pick-ups took place in August 2018.
Upon its theatrical release in the United States on May 24, 2019, Aladdin grossed $1 billion worldwide, becoming the ninth-highest-grossing film of 2019, and the 34th highest-grossing film of all-time during its theatrical run. The film received mixed reviews from critics; while the musical score, visual effects, humor, costumes, and performances of Smith, Massoud, and Scott were praised, criticisms were aimed at Ritchie's direction, the deviations from the original film and Kenzari's performance as Jafar. A sequel is in development, but may be disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
==Synopsis==
Aladdin is a lovable street urchin who meets Princess Jasmine, the beautiful daughter of the sultan of Agrabah. While visiting her exotic palace, Aladdin stumbles upon a magic oil lamp that unleashes a powerful, wisecracking, larger-than-life genie. As Aladdin and the genie start to become friends, they must soon embark on a dangerous mission to stop the evil sorcerer Jafar from overthrowing young Jasmine's kingdom.
==Plot==
In the sultanate of Agrabah lives a kind-hearted thieving street urchin named Aladdin. One day while roaming the streets, Aladdin spots a beautiful girl who gets in trouble after giving away bread to children without paying. Aladdin comes to her rescue, and together they get chased by the Royal Guards. After a while they elude their pursuers, and Aladdin takes the girl to his place for some tea. The girl calls herself Dalia, and is the handmaiden to the Princess of Agrabah. She suddenly has to leave as another suitor for the princess, Prince Anders, arrives. Dalia happens to be Princess Jasmine and Dalia is the name of her handmaid and best friend. Meanwhile, 
's trusted councilor, Jafar, is plotting to overthrown the Sultan by acquiring the Magic Lamp. However, it is hidden in an enchanted Cave of Wonders, and only the "Diamond in the Rough" may enter, which he is not. So, he spends weeks searching for this Diamond in the Rough.
One evening, after turning down Prince Anders' hand in marriage, Jasmine receives a surprise visit from Aladdin, who has come to return her mother's bracelet, which Abu stole. Still thinking she's Dalia, he leaves her with a promise to meet her again, but is caught by the royal guards. The next day, Aladdin finds himself in the desert with Jafar, who assumes that he is the Diamond in the Rough. He tells Aladdin that the girl he met was the princess and that he can make him rich enough to impress her if he helps him retrieve the lamp. By evening, they arrive at the cave, and since Aladdin is the Diamond in the Rough he is permitted to enter the cave safely. The Cave of Wonders is filled with wondrous treasures that tempt both Aladdin and Abu. However, they have been warned to only retrieve the lamp and not to touch any of the other treasures otherwise they would be trapped inside the cave forever. Along the way they meet a Magic Carpet and find the lamp. However, Abu becomes tempted by a big shiny ruby and takes it. This angers the spirit of the cave, and starts to cave in. Aladdin and Abu barely make it back with Carpet's help, but end up trapped in the cave after Jafar takes the lamp and betrays him.
Trapped inside the cave, Abu reveals that he stole the lamp back from Jafar. Aladdin notices the lamp is a bit dusty and gives it a rub. This causes the lamp to release a powerful Genie who can grant him three wishes, as long as he is holding the lamp. Aladdin wishes to escape from the cave (though he makes a wish without holding the lamp, keeping his three wishes intact), and both he, Genie, Abu, and Carpet find themselves in the middle of the desert. After seeing Genie's potential, Aladdin wishes to become a prince in the hopes that he can be with Princess Jasmine. Genie transforms him into Prince Ali, and parade to The Sultan's Palace, where the Sultan welcomes him.
Aladdin starts off a bit awkward being a prince and trying to impress Jasmine, especially when Genie has him dance spectacularly in front of the princess. Instead of being impressed she just leaves. Meanwhile, Jafar becomes suspicious of Prince Ali.
Later, Aladdin decides to go to visit Jasmine in her room, while Genie takes Dalia out for a late night stroll. By just being himself, Aladdin takes Jasmine on a magic carpet ride, where the two become close. While watching the village people from above, Jasmine figures out that Ali is Aladdin, but he manages to convince her that he is really a prince and that he dresses as a commoner to escape palace life. Then he takes Jasmine back to the palace and they share their first kiss.
The next day however, Jafar captures Aladdin, who has figured out who he really is. He threatens to have him thrown into bay unless he tells him where the lamp is. When Aladdin denies everything, Jafar personally pushes him out of his tower and falls into the sea. Abu and Carpet arrive with the lamp, and Aladdin manages to rub it before drowning. Coming out of the lamp, Genie rescues Aladdin and forms a whirlpool out of the sea, carrying the lamp and reviving him. After speaking with Jasmine, they confront the Sultan of Jafar's treachery. Jafar tries to hypnotize the Sultan into thinking they are lying, but Aladdin breaks his staff, proving to the Sultan of Jafar's treachery. He is taken to the dungeon, but manages to escape after Iago brings him the keys.
Meanwhile, the Sultan thanks Aladdin for revealing Jafar's treachery, and would be happy to have him marry his daughter. This makes Aladdin decide not to use his last wish to set Genie free as he promised, as he believes he cannot keep up being a prince without him. Genie is disappointed that Aladdin begins to continue living a lie and retreats to his lamp. Aladdin goes back to his old home in deep thought, and comes to see that Genie is right. He needs to tell Jasmine the truth. Just then, he realizes the lamp is gone and is now in Jafar's possession.
Jafar wishes to become sultan, but when Jasmine convinces Hakim and the guards to refuse to obey him in favor of truly defending the kingdom and its purpose, he uses his second wish to become a sorcerer. He sends Hakim, the guards, and Rajah to the dungeon; exposes and banishes Aladdin and Abu to the ends of the earth; and threatens to kill Dalia and the Sultan unless Jasmine agrees to marry him. However, Genie sends Carpet to find Aladdin and Abu.
As they proceed with the wedding ceremony, Jasmine notices Aladdin coming on carpet. She plays along with the wedding and once she gets close enough to Jafar, when she does not want to marry Jafar, she swipes the lamp from him and jumps onto carpet. Jafar sends Iago after them, turning him into a giant parrot. They almost lose the lamp during the chase, but get it back. However, Iago steals it back, but then loses it when the Sultan interrupts Jafar's sorcery on him. He changes back into a regular parrot. However, Jafar then casts a sand twister that capture Aladdin and Jasmine and brings them back to him. Jafar now has them at his mercy, declaring him the most powerful man in the world. However, Aladdin retorts by claiming Jafar is not as powerful as he wishes to believe. The Genie remains the most powerful being in the universe as he gave Jafar his power in the first place and can also take it away. Realizing what Aladdin says is true and that he is still just "second-best", Jafar uses his final wish to become an all-powerful being. Seeing Aladdin's cunning plan, Genie grants his wish, turning Jafar into a monstrously powerful genie. With phenomenal, cosmic power at his command, Jafar declares himself ruler of the universe, while he plans to use his newly-obtained powers to destroy Shirabad. However, as pointed out by Aladdin, the power of a genie comes with a price. Jafar receives his own golden shackles and a lamp prison, which sucks him inside along with Iago.
Foiled and trapped by his own greed, Jafar's magic over Agrabah is undone. As for Jafar's Lamp, Genie sends it flying to the Cave of Wonders, where the bickering Jafar and Iago would be forced to remain, as prisoners, for many years. Aladdin apologizes to Jasmine and the Sultan for deceiving them, and is just about to leave until Genie reminds him that he has one wish left to make himself a prince again or erase the law of a prince marrying a princess. However, Aladdin decides to use last wish to set Genie free. Genie decides to spend his freedom seeing the world with Dalia, who he has fallen in love with, and have two children together.
The Sultan has decided to pass his crown onto Jasmine, making her the Sultan of Agrabah. Meanwhile, Aladdin sneaks away unnoticed, still thinking he is not right for Jasmine. However, she catches up with him and the two embrace and later marry before their world becomes their parallel world.
==Cast==
*Will Smith as Genie and the Mariner
*Mena Massoud as Aladdin
*Naomi Scott as Jasmine
*Marwan Kenzari as Jafar
*Navid Negahban as The Sultan
*Nasim Pedrad as Dalia
*Billy Magnussen as Prince Anders
*Numan Acar as Hakim
*Alan Tudyk as the voice of Iago
*Frank Welker as the voices of Abu, Rajah, and the Cave of Wonders
==Development==
On October 10, 2016, Deadline.com reported that Disney was developing a live-action remake of Aladdin with Guy Ritchie in talks to direct the film. John August would write the script that will reportedly retain the musical elements of the original film while Dan Lin is attached as producer.
In March 9, 2017, announced the start of the casting of the protagonists (Aladdin and Princess Jasmine). Lin revealed that they are looking for a diverse cast.Guy Ritchie's Live Action 'Aladdin' Specifically Seeking 'Middle Eastern' Actors|IndieWire
On April 19, 2017, Will Smith was in talks to portray the role of The Genie.Guardian
In August 2017, Guy Ritchie revealed that he wanted Tom Hardy to take the role of Jafar.
Later that month, Alan Menken revealed that he will return to compose the music (he also composed music in the original film).
Production on the film was slated to begin in July of 2017. However, on July 11, 2017, it was reported that production on the film would be delayed to August, due to difficulties in finding suitable actors and actresses to portray the leads, Aladdin and Jasmine. Both actors are required to sing, dance, and be of either Middle Eastern or Indian descent. It has also been stated that the studio would prefer newcomers and unknown talents for the two lead roles. Around 2,000 auditions for Aladdin and Jasmine have taken place in London, Egypt, Abu Dhabi, and India, and despite the global search, Disney has not been satisfied with the results. The same report claims that actor Will Smith is "locked" to voice the Genie, while Disney is looking to cast a "big name actor" for the role of Jafar.
Dev Patel, Riz Ahmed, Achraf Koutet, and George Kosturos were all considered for the role of Aladdin. Jade Thirlwall was also in talks to play Jasmine.
At the 2017 D23 Expo, the main cast was announced, including the confirmation of Will Smith as Genie, Mena Massoud as Aladdin, and Naomi Scott as Jasmine.
Production officially ended on January 25, 2018.
==Music==
After composing the music for the original film of the same name, Alan Menken composed the score for the live-action remake with Benj Pasek and Justin Paul writing a new song called "Speechless". Several songs from the original film written by Menken, Howard Ashman, and Tim Rice were featured in the remake.
==Release==
===International premieres===
*May 22, 2019 (Belgium, Finland, France, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Kuwait, Netherlands, Norway, Philippines, Sweden, Taiwan, and United Kingdom)
*May 23, 2019 (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Colombia, Croatia, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Israel, Malaysia, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore)
*May 24, 2019 (Bulgaria, Canada, China, India, Mexico, Malaysia, Poland, Spain, and Turkey)
*June 5, 2019 (Pakistan)
*June 7, 2019 (Japan)
===Home media===
Aladdin was digitally released by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on August 27, 2019. The film was released on DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray on September 10 but also available during the first year of launch on Disney+.
==Reception==
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 57% based on 362 reviews, and an average rating of 5.88/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Aladdin retells its classic source material's story with sufficient spectacle and skill, even if it never approaches the dazzling splendor of the animated original."
==Differences from the 1992 film==
*The Peddler was replaced by the Mariner (Genie in human form), who serves as the narrator of the film. Also, the beginning of the film opens on the sea instead of the desert where the Genie cruises with his wife and his two children.
**This change reflects the original concept that the Peddler was just the Genie in disguise.
**The junior novelization reveals that the Genie's children are 6 and 9 years old.
*Unlike the original film, the main characters are first seen in the "Arabian Nights" sequence; however, their identities are not yet known at that time.
*The "One Jump Ahead" sequence happened when Aladdin and Jasmine tried to flee from the palace guards after giving bread to the street urchins.
**Aladdin doesn't take refuge on a high platform; however, he does push over a platform that two guards are standing on.
**At the end of the sequence, Aladdin doesn't trick the guards into falling into a wagon of manure. Instead, he tricks them into thinking he fell into the building below.
**The lady that says "Still I think he's rather tasty!" is encountered on some stairs instead of at a door. And she tries to block the guards instead of smothering Aladdin.
**The posing strongman and sword swallower do not appear.
**Abu doesn't steal any jewelry or try to intimidate the guards with a stolen sword in this sequence.
**The hot coal-filled area does not appear.
**The guards don't pig-pile on Aladdin and Abu, who are not shown trying to sneak away with large jugs.
**No sheep appear in this scene.
**The man that says "Vandal!" and the woman that says "Scandal!" both have their genders changed.
**The pole-vaulting scene happens during this sequence, except Jasmine was scared to pole vault across the buildings while in the animated film, she showed no fear at all. Aladdin also doesn't lower a long board for Jasmine to walk across.
***Aladdin and Jasmine use the same pole to get across the buildings while in the animated version, they used separate poles. The pole is also much longer than the ones in the original film.
*"One Jump Ahead" has two reprises. The second reprise takes place when Aladdin (as Prince Ali) realizes he needs to tell Jasmine the truth even if it meant to risking everything, unlike the original film where the scene of his decision to tell Jasmine the truth was smaller with no musical number.
*Jasmine was already disguised as a street urchin when she was introduced in the film. Unlike the original animated film, she did not do this in an attempt to run away from the palace to have a life of freedom.
*In the animated film, Aladdin steals a loaf of bread, which he gives to two street urchins after escaping the guards. In the remake, he instead steals a bag of dates, which he sells to get money.
*Jasmine meets one street urchin in the original version; in the remake, she meets two. In addition, she gives them bread instead of apples.
*The junior novelization ages up Aladdin and Jasmine, stating they are both 20 years old.
*The junior novelization also lists Jasmine's many accomplishments: knowing proper etiquette, and being well versed in the history of her country, philosophy, poetry, battle warfare, etc...
*The Sultan is much less childish in his behavior, appearing as a competent, wise, and active leader of his sultanate.
*The palace rooftops are not as big as the animated version.
*Jafar pushes one of his henchmen into a well after he fails to find the "Diamond in the Rough". This does not happen in the original version.
*During both confrontations between Aladdin and the palace guards, Abu doesn't pull Razoul's hat over his eyes nor does he get thrown into a jug.
*In the animated film, Jasmine's mother was briefly mentioned. In this film, Jasmine's mother is said to belong from the Kingdom of Shirabad and was murdered there. Aladdin's parents were also briefly mentioned in the animated film while in this film, it was mentioned that his parents died when he was young. His father Cassim appeared in Aladdin and the King of Thieves but it is not clear if the father's name is the same for live-action version of him.
*Jafar's characterization in the film was changed. In this film, Jafar desired to invade Shirabad rather than serving as a sultan of Agrabah. Additionally, he was given a backstory where he mentioned to Aladdin that he was once a street rat like him. Also, Jafar appears younger than the animated counterpart.
*In the animated film, Jafar is first seen in the the desert waiting for Gazeem to return with the Scarab Medallion half. In the remake, he is instead seen in front of the Cave of Wonders sending an unknown person inside it before the entrance collapses on him.
**Because Gazeem's name is not mentioned, it is unclear if the man that got crushed by the cave entrance is really Gazeem.
**Jafar was with some guards when attempting to send the unknown man and Aladdin into the cave; in the original, no guards accompanied them.
*When Aladdin gets captured, he does not end up in the palace dungeon; instead, he is brought to the desert by Jafar.
*Jafar did not show any jewels to Aladdin while telling him about the Cave of Wonders.
*Jafar did not disguise himself as an old prisoner to negotiate with Aladdin to bring him the lamp from the Cave of Wonders. Though he does briefly disguise himself as a beggar to steal the lamp from Aladdin.
**In the animated film, Jafar promises a reward for Aladdin if he brings him the lamp. In the remake, he instead promises to make him rich.
*In this version, the Cave of Wonders spoke in a more whispering, yet still serious and deep, voice even if someone does touch the treasure inside, but does not appear to be sentient. Also, the cave's jaws simply snap shut instead of dissolving completely to eliminate unwanted visitors and most of the treasure inside was still intact even after the lava flow.
**The cave entrance is made of stone instead of sand and appears as a lion's head instead of a tiger's head.
**The Golden Scarab does not appear in this film, nor is it needed to access the cave.
**The cave entrance is attached to the front of a rocky hill instead of emerging from the sand.
**When the cave awakens, its jaws opens while the flares in its eyes and mouth light up and when it returns to slumber, the jaws close as the flares go out.
**The mouth is the only part of the cave that moves.
**The cave does not ask who wakes it up when someone approaches it, only warning them that only a "Diamond in the Rough" can enter before opening its jaws.
**Aladdin is warned to take nothing but the lamp, while in the animated film he is warned to touch nothing but the lamp.
**After the cave collapses, the treasures are still clearly seen while in the animated version, the cave was shown empty.
*In the animated film, the Cave of Wonders warns Aladdin not to touch any of the treasures hoarded inside it. In the remake, Jafar provides this warning to Aladdin instead.
*When Aladdin enters the cave, he falls down a sand slide instead of walking down some stairs.
*In the animated film, upon entering the treasure room, Abu tried to take some of the treasures before he is stopped by Aladdin. This also occurs in the remake; however, Aladdin himself is also tempted into touching some of the treasures before Abu alerts him.
*In the animated film, Carpet pretended to be lifeless when Aladdin and Abu passed by it and it got their attention by toying with Abu. In the remake, Aladdin and Abu instead find Carpet stuck under a rock and free it.
**Carpet doesn't prank Abu when they first meet; therefore, Abu doesn't get angry with Carpet.
*The inside of the cave is smaller than its animated counterpart. The lamp is in the same room with the treasures while in the original film, it is in a room that's located further in the cave.
*Abu's attempt to steal the red jewel has a few differences from the original film:
**Abu touching the jewel was accidental instead of intentional.
**The jewel is smaller than its animated counterpart.
**The jewel isn't in the hand of a monkey idol; instead, it falls off a rock that Aladdin is climbing.
**Carpet did not try to stop Abu from touching the jewel, as it was too busy watching Aladdin attempting to get the lamp. In the original film, Carpet saw Abu attempting to take the jewel and tries to stop him.
**Aladdin discovers Abu's actions after he picks up the jewel. In the original, he notices it before the latter touches it.
*When the cave begins to collapse, lava pours in from the walls while in the original, the lava emerges from the floor.
*Jafar tried to kill Aladdin with a dagger after he was given the lamp in the original film. In the remake, he instead tried to make Aladdin fall to his death by stepping on his hands.
*There are some characters in this film that are added or renamed:
**Dalia is a new character in this film who is the handmaiden of Jasmine and the love interest of the Genie (instead of Eden). The novel 'The Magic of Agrabah' reveals that she is the one who helps Jasmine sneak out of the palace, instead of Rajah boosting her over the garden wall.
**Prince Achmed is replaced for a similar new character, Prince Anders and while Achmed is a cruel and snobbish bully, Anders is friendly but dimwitted. In addition, his nationality was changed. He also only comes to Agrabah to attend the party hosted there after the "Prince Ali" musical number rather than trying to propose to Jasmine.
**Razoul is replaced by Hakim. Hakim was previously the name for one of Razoul's men in the animated Aladdin continuity. The actual Razoul, however appears in the film, but as a minor character, precisely as a chief city guard, essentially swapping the roles between those two characters.
**Farouk was renamed as Jamal. In addition, prior to Aladdin intervening, he tries to take Jasmine's bracelet as payment for the food she unintentionally stole from his brother's food stand instead of trying to cut her hand off as punishment. This scene was toned down for this film due to both political correctness and to make it less violent compared to the original animated film.
**Genie and Dalia also have children, who appear at the start and later close to the end of the film listening to their father's story.
*Genie teleports Aladdin, Abu, and Carpet outside of the cave instead of bursting them out of the cave.
**When being tricked into getting them out of the cave without using a wish, Genie doesn't lose his temper.
**Genie doesn't take them to an oasis after this nor does he dress up like a female tour guide.
*Genie's bracelets are longer in this film.
*Jasmine's goal was to unite the people of Agrabah and to bring back the glory done by her mother's ruling rather than marrying a prince out of love, not by law.
*Jafar does not try to hypnotize the Sultan in order to arrange his wedding with Jasmine; instead, he does it to try to start a war with Shirabad. Also in the film, Jafar hypnotizes not only the Sultan but Aladdin as well, while the original only the Sultan is hypnotized.
*In the animated film, Aladdin never went to the palace until he became Prince Ali by the Genie. In this film, Aladdin breaks into the palace to return Jasmine's bracelet stolen by Abu. It is here that Aladdin was caught by the guards, unlike the original film where the guards on Jafar's orders invade Aladdin's home to arrest him.
*The novel 'The Magic of Agrabah' reveals that Jafar started out with noble intentions, but that over time his greed and hunger for power warped his thinking.
*In the animated film, Jasmine keeps her identity secret while disguised on the streets, and Aladdin only learns her identity when she revealed it to protect him from the guards. In this film, she passes herself off as her handmaiden Dalia, and Aladdin instead learns her identity from Jafar after his capture.
*In the animated film, Jafar hypnotizes the Sultan to give up his ring and eventually uses it to discover that only Aladdin could enter the Cave of Wonders. In this film, Iago, after witnessing Aladdin's skills, instead reports this to Jafar.
*The Sands of Time do not appear in the remake.
*In the animated film, Jasmine was present when Aladdin was arrested by the Royal Guards. In this film, she was unaware of Aladdin's arrest. Therefore, the lie that Jafar used to trick Jasmine into thinking he had Aladdin executed by having him beheaded in the animated film was omitted. Because of this, the Sultan does not lash out at Jafar for seemly executing Aladdin without him knowing.
*The Harvest Festival is absent in the animated film.
*The animal characters: Abu, Rajah, and Iago were given smaller roles in this film.
**Iago is not as talkative as in the animated film; instead, he is more of a normal parrot who mostly imitates the people that surround him. He is capable of speaking for himself in a limited capacity, but does not have the intelligence that his animated counterpart possessed.
**Rajah is transported with the Royal Guards to the dungeon after Jafar gained the powers of a sorcerer in this film, instead of being magically transformed by Jafar into a tiger cub which occurred in the animated film.
*In this film, Jasmine was given a solo song entitled "Speechless". All the songs she sung in the animated films were duets.
**Though she originally intended to have a solo song in the original film called "Call Me a Princess".
*In this film, Genie helped distract Jasmine by asking Dalia for an evening stroll so Aladdin could get to Jasmine's room.
*In this film, "Ababwa" is now the name of Prince Ali's country, and no longer his surname.
*Jafar doesn't have any trouble with pronouncing "Ababwa" in this film (though it could have been intentional).
*Jasmine was not as resistant of Aladdin as Prince Ali during their conversation in her room.
*During the musical number "Prince Ali", certain scenes in this film were different than the ones in the animated iteration:
**The part where Genie transforms into a journalist during the golden camel and purple peacock verses was omitted.
**The golden camels and purple peacocks are depicted differently. In the animated film, each of the golden camels are depicted with two people holding them together while the purple peacocks are shown on a large parade float. In this film, the golden camels are shown being held individually while the peacocks are shown standing on plates albeit with their eye spots being colored purple rather than having each peacock being entirely purple and on a peacock-themed parade float.
**During the verse about exotic mammals, a flock of ostriches was shown (despite the fact that ostriches are birds and not mammals) during the verse instead of an enormous gorilla balloon in this film. Though it may be referring to Abu in his elephant form as he appeared in that scene.
**The line "He's got slaves, he's got servants and flunkies" is changed to "He's got ten thousand servants and flunkies".
**In the animated film, Jasmine loses interest and walks away after Ali kisses back to the girls during the sequence (with Genie disguised as one of them). In this film, it was after Genie mentions her in the song with the phrase "Heard your princess is hot, where is she?"
**The entire musical remains on the streets, whereas in the animated film, the last part took place in the palace after the palace door is forced open (and smashing Jafar and Iago into a wall after Jafar tried to stop the Sultan from opening the door).
**Genie does not reenter his lamp at the end of the musical number.
*The way that Aladdin introduced himself as Prince Ali to the Sultan and Jasmine was much more awkward and embarrassing in this film.
**The Sultan never rides the Magic Carpet in this film.
*After the "Prince Ali" musical number, there is a party, then a fireworks show at a harbor.
*While on his stroll with Dalia, Genie used his magic to appear simultaneously on a map to both help Aladdin with his conversation with Jasmine and convince him to be himself instead of appearing as a bee in the original film. He also helped him make the kingdom of "Ababwa" appear on the map so Jasmine can believe it's real.
**In the process, he made the landmarks of Disneyland such as Adventureland, Fantasyland, and Tomorowland appear on the map.
*Jasmine's line "How dare you, all of you standing around deciding my future? I AM NOT A PRIZE TO BE WON!" is not featured in the remake.
*During the "A Whole New World" sequence, Aladdin and Jasmine only flew to the skies of Agrabah, the desert, and the seas. This change was made because obviously, it is impossible to fly from Agrabah to Egypt, Greece, and China for one night as it is presented in the animated film. Cutting these countries from the sequence also solved chronological errors of the original film. In the original film Genie tells to Aladdin that his look was "too ninth century." Taking this into account: Aladdin and Jasmine could have visited ruins of ancient Greek cities in Byzantine Greece and still seen fireworks in Song Dynasty China, but they would never see workers in the Sphinx in Egypt, since at that time Egypt was no longer ruled by pharaohs.
*When Jasmine finds out who Aladdin really is, he convinces her that he dressed up like a street urchin to meet Agrabah's citizens beforehand while in the original film, he says that he dresses up like a street urchin to escape the stresses of royal life.
**This happens while Aladdin and Jasmine were still riding on carpet while in the animated version, they were instead sitting on a large building in China.
*Abu and the Magic Carpet were not kidnapped after the "A Whole New World" sequence.
*Abu was changed back into a monkey earlier in the film before Aladdin was caught by the guards the second time. In the animated film, Abu is frequently seen in his elephant form before being turned back into a monkey during the scene where Jafar takes over as the ruler of Agrabah.
**Before Abu was turned into an elephant, Genie doesn't change him into various animals nor a car like in the animated film. In the live-action film, Genie first turned Abu into a donkey, but he thought it was "too small", then he used the camel from the original film, but he claimed it "too obvious" and needed "something robust", so he went with the elephant.
*Aladdin was tied to a chair, but not gagged, and was interrogated by Jafar before he was pushed to the sea. Also, Aladdin did not bring the lamp but instead, Abu brought the lamp via magic carpet and drops it to the sea on the spot where Aladdin sank.
*In the animated film, Aladdin was unaware and never told that his second wish was used when the Genie rescued him from drowning. In this film, the Genie tells him this after completing the rescue.
*In the animated film, the Sultan sends Jafar to the prison, but he disappears by magic. In this film, he actually got imprisoned, but Iago stole the keys and gave it to Jafar to escape.
*In the animated film, Jafar finds out that Prince Ali is really Aladdin when he notices the magic lamp in Ali's turban during his arrest. In this film, Iago instead overhears this information and passes it on to Jafar.
*In the animated film, Jafar had the guards throw Aladdin into the sea to ensure that he doesn't interfere with his plans. In this film, he throws Aladdin into the sea himself to expose his true identity.
*In the animated film, Jafar had Iago steal the magic lamp from Aladdin, but in this film, he steals it himself.
*Unlike in the animated film, Jafar doesn't sing his reprise of "Prince Ali", nor does he have a song of his own. This is because Marwan Kenzari, who played Jafar, couldn't sing, so the song was not included. However, he does use the words from the song when he sends Aladdin to the "ends of the Earth," as mentioned.
*In the climax, there is a moment where Jasmine is supposed to marry Jafar, but she refuses to; this scene does not occur in the animated version.
*When Aladdin changes his mind about freeing Genie, he doesn't get angry unlike in the original film, but still gets disappointed.
*Jasmine doesn't kiss Jafar in this film. In the animated film, she did this to distract him so Aladdin could stealthily steal the lamp back. Aladdin's attempt of stealing the lamp before getting caught was instead done in an earlier scene for this film.
**In the animated film, he noticed him through the reflection of Jasmine's crown. In this film, Jafar doesn't notice Aladdin until after the lamp was stolen from him.
*Genie does not move the palace to the top of a mountain.
*Both confrontations between Aladdin and Jafar switch locations: the first confrontation takes place inside of the palace instead of outside while the second takes place outside instead of inside.
**The clouds that appear during both scenes are not as dark as the animated version.
**Jafar does not steal the Sultan's clothes.
**There was no ceremony during this scene. Also, the crowd that was present in the animated film is absent.
**Part of the palace does not break away during this scene.
*When Aladdin broke Jafar's staff in the original film, only the snake's mouth was smashed. In the remake, the snake head broke off.
*In the remake, a cobra appears from behind Jafar before turning into his snake staff. In the original, the staff magically appears out of nowhere.
*In the animated film, a portion of the palace was broken which Jafar used to send Aladdin to the ends of the Earth, while in this film, Jafar magically transports Aladdin there instead. Also, in the original film, Carpet flies after Aladdin, while in this film, Genie secretly transports Carpet there to bring Aladdin back.
*When Aladdin is sent to the ends of the Earth, he appears further away from the cliff, but tumbles towards it after finding Abu. In the animated film, he and Abu instead land very close to the cliff.
*Aladdin finds Abu in an icy chasm instead of under a pile of snow.
**Abu didn't lose his hat after being transported.
*During the climax, Iago turned into a giant bird while chasing Aladdin and Jasmine; this scene is not present in the animated film. This replaced the moment when Jafar became a giant cobra to attack Aladdin, in addition to paying tribute to the Roc.
*During the climax of the film, many of the inhabitants of the palace are sent to the dungeon when Jafar becomes the ruler of Agrabah also with Carpet getting torn and weakened during the final battle against Jafar. In the animated film, Rajah was turned into a tiger cub, Abu was turned into a toy monkey, and Carpet becomes unraveled during the final battle against Jafar.
**Carpet doesn't get repaired after Jafar is trapped in his lamp. Genie uses his powers to restore it instead.
*In this film, the city of Agrabah is situated near the sea, not in the middle of the desert.
*Jasmine and the Sultan did not become slaves when Jafar becomes the sultan by his wish.
*Jafar did not wish for Jasmine to fall desperately in love with him. Instead, he forced Jasmine to marry him or else he will suffocate Dalia and the Sultan.
*In this film, Jasmine works with Aladdin to help get the magic lamp back. In the animated film, her attempt to do so caused for Jafar to trap her in a giant hourglass to suffocate her with its sand before she was freed by Aladdin after he tricked Jafar into becoming a genie with his last wish.
*In the animated film, Jafar's final wish was to become an all-powerful Genie. This was replaced in this film to an all-powerful being to make it easier for Aladdin's deception to be more believable as Jafar was not aware he was becoming a Genie himself until it was too late.
**In a deleted scene, Genie revealed that several of his previous masters suffered as a result of not being specific with their words when making their wish. This is implied on what caused Jafar to become a Genie, due to misusing his final wish as a result of not being specific with his words when he spoke it. Aladdin 2019 Deleted Scenes (5:15)
*When Jafar is turned into a genie, his upper half remains normal while in the original, he is completely red.
*Jafar's bracelets land themselves on Jafar's wrists instead of magically appearing on him.
*Jafar's lamp is colored bronze instead of black.
*Genie throws Jafar's lamp to the Cave of Wonders instead of flicking it there with his fingers. He is not seen wearing a baseball cap while doing this.
*In the animated film, prior to Aladdin using his final wish to set Genie free, Genie suggests that Aladdin uses it to become a prince again. In this film, this was replaced with Genie suggesting he could magically remove the law that prevents a prince from marrying Jasmine.
*When the Genie was freed by Aladdin at the end, he transforms completely into a human and he doesn't retain his powers unlike in the animated film.
**Genie doesn't gleefully bounce around after being freed.
*In this film, wishes should be more specific in order to be granted by the Genie. The lamp must also be rubbed while granting the wish, a loophole which was how Aladdin got the Genie to allow their escape from the Cave of Wonders for free with a magic carpet.
*In the animated film, the Sultan changed the law in order for Jasmine to marry Aladdin. In this film, the Sultan passes the throne on to Jasmine in which she changed the law to marry Aladdin and to fulfill her goal to bring back the glory of her kingdom during her mother's ruling.
*In this film, Aladdin and Jasmine got married in the end. For their animated counterparts, it took until Aladdin and the King Of Thieves for the wedding to push through. Although the ending of the first animated film was vague on whether or not they got married.
*Genie and Dalia got married alongside Aladdin and Jasmine and don't leave Agrabah until after the wedding.
*The reprise of "A Whole New World" did not happen at the end of the film but instead, it was replaced by "Friend Like Me" with a dance number before the credits roll. Although the instrumental of "A Whole New World" played in the wedding scene before that.
*In the animated version, Genie lists killing people as one of three wishes he can't grant. In this one it's not mentioned but it's implied that he can't grant it either. The junior novelization gives the following restrictions: no bringing someone back from the dead, no looking into the past, no seeing the future.
*In the animated version, Genie reluctantly granted Jafar his third wish and said "Way to go, Al." as he didn't catch on to Aladdin's plan until the near end of Jafar's transformation and imprisonment, to which he calls Aladdin a "little genius". In this one, he catches on right away and willingly turns Jafar into a Genie, knowing that he'll be imprisoned in his own lamp.
*In the animated version, Genie packs up his luggage before flying away to travel the world. In this film, Genie instead uses a boat to travel around the world with Dalia and their children.
*In the animated version, Aladdin and Jasmine fly on a magic carpet ride, and fireworks explode during the "A Whole New World" reprise. In the remake, Abu rides the magic carpet ride after Aladdin and Jasmine get married, then fireworks explode above the palace.
*In the animated film, Genie keeps his powers but no longer has a master. In this, he loses his powers when he is set free.
*In the animated version, Genie is saying "Made you look!" during the "The End" title. The remake ends with the fireworks display and the "The End" title where Abu flies on the magic carpet before it dissolves into the magic dust.
**An earlier fourth wall joke involving Genie rewinding the film to point out that Aladdin wasn't paying attention might have replaced that last joke in the original.
==Gallery==
==Videos==
===Trailers and clips===
Disney's Aladdin Teaser Trailer - 2019
Disney's Aladdin - Special Look In Theaters May 24
Disney's Aladdin Official Trailer - In Theaters May 24!
Disney's Aladdin - "Within" TV Spot
Disney's Aladdin - "Connection" TV Spot
Disney's Aladdin - "Rags to Wishes" TV Spot
Disney's Aladdin - "Basics" TV Spot
Disney's Aladdin - "Confident" TV Spot
Disney's Aladdin - "Inside" TV Spot
Disney's Aladdin - "I Wish to Become a Prince" Film Clip
Disney's Aladdin - "A Whole New World" Film Clip
Disney's Aladdin - "Wingman" TV Spot
ZAYN, Zhavia Ward - A Whole New World (End Title) (From "Aladdin" Official Video)
Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott - A Whole New World (From "Aladdin")
Will Smith - Friend Like Me (From "Aladdin")
Disney's Aladdin - "Friend" TV Spot
Disney's Aladdin - "Dalia" TV Spot
Disney's Aladdin - "Stumbled On" TV Spot
Disney's Aladdin - "On Fire" TV Spot
Disney's Aladdin - "Biggest Event" TV Spot
Disney's Aladdin - "Trust Legend" TV Spot
===Behind the scenes===
Disney's Aladdin - "Cast of Wonders" Featurette
Disney's Aladdin- Empower Featurette
Disney's Aladdin - "World of Aladdin" Special Look
Disney's Aladdin- "Music Of Agrabah" Special Look
Disney's Aladdin - Speechless Special Look
WILL SMITH Interviews Alladin's Naomi Scott & Mena Massoud
===Interviews===
ALADDIN "Genie" Will Smith Behind The Scenes Interview
Aladdin Mena Massoud "Aladdin" Behind the Scenes Movie Interview
Aladdin Naomi Scott "Jasmine" Behind the Scenes Movie Interview
Aladdin Nasim Pedrad "Dalia" Behind the Scenes Movie Interview
Aladdin Marwan Kenzari "Jafar" Behind the Scenes Movie Interview
Aladdin Navid Negahban "Sultan" Behind the Scenes Movie Interview
Aladdin Billy Magnussen "Prince Anders" Behind the Scenes Movie Interview
ALADDIN - Dan Lin Interview
Aladdin - Itw Alan Menken, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (official video)
Aladdin Comspoer Alan Menken Behind the Scenes Movie Interview
Aladdin Director Guy Ritchie Behind the Scenes Movie Interview
==Trivia==
*Aladdin is the sixth of many live-action adaptations of classic Disney animated films released in the 21st century, following Cinderella, The Jungle Book, Beauty and the Beast, Christopher Robin, and Dumbo (Pete's Dragon doesn't count as it is considered an adaptation of a live-action movie).
**In addition, Aladdin is the second of five live-action adaptations of animated films that Disney has slated for release in 2019, after Dumbo and followed by The Lion King, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, and Lady and the Tramp.
***Whereas Dumbo, Aladdin, and Lady and the Tramp are all live-action adaptations of its animated originals, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil is a live-action sequel to its 2014's Maleficent (a live-action reimagining of 1959's Sleeping Beauty), while the The Lion King, despite being considered a live-action film, is in fact animated one because of everything is done entirely through CG. In addition, the former three, as well as Maleficent: Mistress of Evil are theatrical releases; while Lady and the Tramp is an exclusive Disney+ release.
***Aladdin and The Lion King, which were released two years apart (1992 and 1994), both have live-action adaptations/remakes in the same year, though the former was released two months earlier (May) and the latter was released two months later (July).
*This is the second live-action adaptation of a Walt Disney Animation Studios movie that is from the Disney Renaissance, after 2017's Beauty and the Beast, and followed by 2019's The Lion King and 2020's Mulan.
*Frank Welker, who voiced Abu, Rajah, and the Cave of Wonders in the original, reprises his role, making him the fifth actor to reprise his role for a Disney live-action adaptation of a previous Disney animated production after Jim Cummings (who voiced Razoul in the original animated film), Brad Garrett (both of who reprised Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, also voiced by Cummings since the late 1980s, and Eeyore, whom Garrett voiced previously in Animated StoryBook: Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree and recently in Ralph Breaks the Internet, respectively in 2018's Christopher Robin), Nancy Cartwright and Patton Oswalt (both of who reprise Rufus and Professor Dementor in the live-action Kim Possible film), while James Earl Jones (who reprises his role as Mufasa in The Lion King remake) is the sixth, and Chris Sanders (who will reprise his role as the voice of Stitch in the Lilo & Stitch remake) will be the seventh.
**While the teaser trailer used Frank Welker's archived dialogue from the animated film for the voice of the Cave of Wonders, the released live-action film used Welker's newer recordings for the Cave of Wonders' reused lines from the original animated film.
*This is the second Disney live-action adaptation of a Disney classic to have its music score composed by the same composer as the original animated film after 2017's Beauty and the Beast (which was also composed and scored by Alan Menken) and followed by the CGI live-action adaptation of The Lion King (which is scored by Hans Zimmer).
*This is Disney's second film to be featured in the Middle East, after 2010's Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Both the Prince of Persia and Aladdin sagas feature an evil vizier who schemes for power (and tries to forcibly possess a princess).
*This is the first film in the franchise of the same name in which Iago isn't voiced by Gilbert Gottfried, with Alan Tudyk voicing the character instead.
**Additionally, this is the third time that Jonathan Freeman didn't reprise his role as Jafar.
*This is the eighth time that Alan Tudyk does a role for a Disney film, after playing King Candy/Turbo in Wreck-It Ralph, Duke of Weselton in Frozen, Alistair Krei in Big Hero 6, Duke Weaselton in Zootopia, Heihei in Moana, and KnowsMore in Ralph Breaks the Internet.
*This marks the first Disney film to star Will Smith.
*Prior to the film, Nasim Pedrad portrayed Jasmine in the "Disney Housewives" sketch from Saturday Night Live.
*This is the second time that Billy Magnussen starred in a Disney musical, as well as the second time that he played the role of a prince, after playing Rapunzel's Prince in Into the Woods.
*Guy Ritchie originally thought of shooting in Morocco for Agrabah, but decided against this setting and went with designing Agrabah as an original location.
**At Atlas Studios in Morocco serves as the filming location of the movie.
*Mena Massoud was born in 1991, the year before the original film was released.
*Unlike the constantly shirtless Aladdin in the original film and the Broadway musical, Massoud's Aladdin in this version does not appear shirtless and is completely covered up for the entire film, with critics noting that covering up Massoud in character was a conservative move by Disney. According to Michael Wilkinson, the costume designer of this film, the reason that their costumes were changed was due to the fact that this appearance would be seen as distracting and inappropriate for the actors by flaunting more skin. This statement is especially true for the latter since Jasmine's animated counterpart received criticism due to her appearance.
**Also, Jasmine gets a wardrobe selection of outfits for this film, rather than just one outfit in the original; with the iconic turquoise dress in this film being covered and padded to avoid midriff, and the red "slave" outfit being excluded due to its inappropriate nature. Furthermore, much of Jasmine's costumes in this film are also inspired with a combination of South Asian and Arabic influences.
**Her turquoise ensemble also has a peacock motif, which is a reminiscent of the More Than A Peacock Princess song that she sang in Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams.
*Production designer Gemma Jackson drew inspiration from Moroccan, Persian, and Turkish cultures, Byzantine architecture, Victorian paintings, and Iznik ceramics for the design of Agrabah.
*Agrabah in this film is portrayed as a port city, while in the original, it is said to be situated at the Jordan river.
*The novelization indicates that the purple gown Jasmine wears at the end of the film was her mother's wedding dress.
*The idea of Iago turned into a giant bird during the climax is a tribute to the Roc, the giant bird from Sinbad; another Middle Eastern folktale from One Thousand and One Nights.
*The "Prince Ali" song has the lyric "Sunday Salaam" changed to "Friday Salaam". This is actually accurate, as the holy day for Muslims is Friday, while Sunday is reserved as a holy day for Christians (Catholics, Protestants, and Orthodox Christians).
*Riz Ahmed, Avan Jogia and Dev Patel were all offered the role of Aladdin before Mena Massoud won the role.
*Will Smith said that he was "terrified" while playing the character, but that "[he] found a lane that pays homage" to Robin Williams' performance in the original film, while still making the role "[his] own thing".
**Will Smith based his role as Genie on his 1990s roles (, , , ) and remarked that: "There hasn't been a lot of that hip-hop flavor in Disney history, so I think it'll stand out as unique even in the Disney world."
*Guy Ritchie chose Will Smith to be Genie because he believed Smith could give a performance as good as the late Robin Williams, but not similar: "Just the flavor of the character would be different enough and unique enough that it would be in a different lane, versus trying to compete."
*Genie's blue suit in human form, is inspired on Genie's outfit in the Aladdin Broadway musical.
*Will Smith and Alan Tudyk previously worked on I, Robot.
*During the scene when Aladdin asks Genie to "make him a prince", Genie produces an actual prince in the background, being dressed in colors of pink & lime green. This was a reference and a nod to Will Smith's 1990 comedy The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, with the same colors in the title logo. In addition, the prince is also played by Will Smith.
*The scene during the beginning of the "Prince Ali" song number, in which Jafar, the Sultan, Jasmine, and the citizens of Agrabah were seen noticing the vibrations and ripples within the spices, teaware, vases, lanterns, cookware, and bakewares, as caused by the impending arrival of Prince Ali Ababwa (Aladdin in disguise) and his giant entourage, bears a similarity to the scene of which Tim Murphy observes the vibration of the plastic water cups as caused by the Tyrannosaurus rex's stomping in Jurassic Park.
*During the film's final act and as before Genie was about to grant Aladdin's final wish, Genie was seen making an imitation of Sylvester Stallone's character of John Rambo and equipped with a knife and bow and arrow, in reference to Rambo: First Blood Part II in the Rambo franchise.
*This is the first and only Disney Princess film whose animated and live-action versions both peaked at number-one at the box office.
*This is the only live-action adaptation of a classic Disney animated film that includes "THE END" at the end of the movie before the credits begin (The Jungle Book, the live-action adaptation of the 1967 movie, does not include "THE END" at the end of the movie, unlike the original).
**The original 1992 animated film also has "THE END" as the ending scene of the film.
**This "THE END" ending scene was supposed to be a nod to all Disney animated features and other films that released before 1985.
===Cameos and other Disney references===
*During the "Arabian Nights" song number, a cluster of the citizens of Agrabah were seen launching lanterns within the gates of the Sultan's Palace in the night sky, which pays an homage to Tangled (2010).
*The "Friend Like Me" song number features numerous references:
**At the beginning of the song number, Abu is given cymbals by Genie. This was a reference of his animated counterpart being briefly turned into a toy monkey with cymbals by Jafar (by sorcery) during its climax of the 1992 animated original.
**In the "this is the big part" sequence where a multiple mirror images of Genie were performing, Aladdin is seen dancing with strings being attached and manipulated by Genie's hand, in homage to Pinocchio (1940).
**In the "You got a genie for your charge d'affaires" sequence where the Genie is seen sitting with Aladdin in a sofa and upon handing over a scroll to Aladdin of which they were rapidly traveling by speed on a sofa, features hyperspace from the Star Wars franchise (which is also owned by Disney).
*When Genie explains that he is the most powerful being in the universe, he pulls out a scroll that features drawings of the 1992 animated versions of Aladdin, Sultan, and Genie, to illustrate his point.
*Carpet made a sandcastle of Cinderella Castle (complete with a sand arch over the castle like in the Walt Disney Pictures logo) while Genie explains the wish process to Aladdin.
*Genie makes Adventureland, Fantasyland, and Tomorowland from the Disney parks appear on the map when Aladdin and Jasmine discuss the places they would travel to.
==References==
==External links==
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ar:علاء الدين (فيلم ٢٠١٩)
da:Aladdin (2019)
es:Aladdín (película de 2019)
fr:Aladdin (2019)
it:Aladdin (film 2019)
pt:Aladdin (filme de 2019)
pt-br:Aladdin (filme de 2019)
ru:Аладдин (фильм)
zh:阿拉丁 (2019年)
Category:Live-action films
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Category:Aladdin
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