A live-action Aladdin?

Aladdin is the Disney Movie of the Month here on the blog, but other than an initial post I’ve been really bad at following through with any subsequent posts. So here’s a few thoughts on a possible live-action adaptation of Aladdin.

In recent years Disney have decided to go through their extensive back catalogue and adapt much loved movies into new live action reinterpretations. So far Alice in Wonderland, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella and The Jungle Book have all had adaptations and in a few months the much anticipated live-action Beauty and the Beast is going to be released. Disney are not stopping there, a live-action Mulan is already well into development and there’s numerous other live-action adaptions on the release schedule. A live-action Aladdin has been confirmed to be happening eventually but precise details are still unclear. In this blog post I am going to be sharing a few ideas about how I think Disney could tackle a live-action Aladdin movie.

Cast Properly

• This is probably the most obvious example which is why I’ve put it first on my list. A live-action Aladdin movie must have a culturally correct cast. Disney have to cast Arabian actors.

Explore Jasmine’s character more

•  Jasmine is an interesting character, she’s clearly unwilling to follow tradition and has a rebellious side. But in terms of character development she doesn’t really get that much in the original movie. That’s something I’d like to see change in a new version of Aladdin.

Don’t try to replicate Robin Williams

• The Genie is one of the most important parts of the original movie and Robin Williams’ performance is iconic. Therefore I think that any attempt at remaking Aladdin should not try to recreate his performance. Instead of the comedic animated Genie I’d want to see a more mysterious and magical Genie who would be more based on the genies from mythology.

Be Epic!

• A live-action Aladdin (probably more so than any other Disney movie) has so much potential to look epic. From the Cave of Wonders, to the sword fights, to the city of Agrabah, to the A Whole New World sequence. Everything about a live-action Aladdin should be looking big, bold and epic.

Reference other Disney movies

• Okay this one’s a little bit of an odd one, but given how many live-action remakes Disney are producing I’d love it if Disney started to connect them up to be set in the same universe. Aladdin and Jasmine teamed up with Hercules to take on Jafar and Hades in an episode of a 1998 animated TV Series, so why not add hints that there’s more heroes and villains out there?

Aladdin – Disney Movie of the Month

Starting off a new regular feature on the blog with Aladdin.

So it’s a new year and for this year I am planning on having a Disney Movie of the Month for every month of the year on this blog. I will watch a Disney movie at the start of each month, then I will post a review/opinion/thoughts piece and then I shall aim to follow up on that with other posts about that movie later on in the month. The first Disney Movie of the Month is Aladdin.

I used to watch Aladdin a lot when I was a kid but then I lost my copy of it on DVD and until recently I hadn’t seen it for about a decade. So when I watched it for the first time in years back in December I was worried that I was going to be disappointed, however I was pleased to find that it’s actually still a really enjoyable movie.

On paper the story might not be the most original, as a Disney fan Aladdin definitely feels like it’s got a lot of familiar moments, but it’s the characters and the sense of humour that runs throughout which really makes this movie work.

Obviously everyone knows the Genie but he really is a funny and likeable character. Robin Williams’ performance is just as enjoyable in 2017 as it was when I watched the movie as a kid.

Jafar might be a villain in the typical ‘mad, bad and evil’ mould but sometimes villains like that are just fun. As people who know me can tell you I think Maleficent is awesome, partially because of the 2014 live action movie but also because all out evil villains are just fun to watch sometimes. And that is certainly the case with Jafar.

Jasmine is also interesting. She might not be as powerful as Elsa, as brave as Merida or as determined as Tiana, but Jasmine is certainly not a passive princess. She’s way more interesting than the likes of Snow White and Cinderella. Also it’s worth pointing out that the fictional kingdom of Agrabah is a Muslim country, thus meaning that Jasmine is a Muslim Disney Princess making her a more progressive character for Disney than she may initially seem.

In conclusions, sometimes I’ve found that Disney movies which everyone seems to love but I’ve not seen in ages/never seemed don’t live up to the hype – like The Little Mermaid for example. However Aladdin did not disappoint me.