My Review of Aladdin And The King Of Thieves (1996)

 

Written by Matt McCorkle And Robert Schooley

Directed by Tad Stones

Aladdin (re Cassim): "I was so stupid to think I could change him."

Genie: "Trying to show him a better life wasn't stupid, Al. Leaving him alone with the parrot, that was stupid."

Until the 2019 live action remake (or arguably Season 6 of Once Upon A Time), this third animated movie somewhat marked the end of the Aladdin side of things in the Disney Universe for a bit and what an ending of sorts.

The first movie introduced us to the loveable title character (Scott Weinger) and his romance with Princess Jasmine (Linda Larkin) while the second movie had Jafar trying to get even. This movie, it was time for Aladdin and Jasmine to finally get married. Oh and also time for Aladdin to get reunited with his father, Cassim (Jonathan Rhys-Davies) to boot.

Proving that the apple didn't fall too far from the tree, Cassim wasn't only just a thief life Aladdin, but he:s also the leader of the forty thieves and they're in need of a certain item at the palace. An item that could make them all a lot wealthier than they could ever dream of.

The item in question being the hand of Midas. The very thing that can turn everything it touches into gold and Cassim finds himself torn between wanting to be an actual father to Aladdin whie at the same time also getting his hands on the Hand of Midas.

Add to that a surprise bond with Iago (Gilbert Gottfried) and dissent in thieving ranks when Sa'Luk (Jerry Orbach) forms an alliance with Razoul and tries to get the gold for himself, it seems that Cassim has his own change of heart when family then wins over his need for gold.

As for the big wedding itself, given how much of a finale this sequel movie was set up to be, it made for a nice coda to the series. Aladdin and Jasmine finally got wedand Cassim left the palace with Iago as a new best friend. All's well that ends well here.

- Robin Williams reprised his role as the Genie for this movie and many other Disney movies (and some of Williams own) were referenced throughout.

- Apparently an idea for a fourth movie was pitched in 2005 but never came to happen.

- Standout music: There's A Party In Agrabah, Are You In Or Out? as well as a reprisal of Arabian Nights. 

- Chronology: Another year since the events of the previous movie.

Aladdin And The King Of Thieves marked a nice end to !y favourite side of the Disney Universe. Cassim was a good addition to the movie, and I liked seeing the Genie on top form again. Had a fourth movie happened, I definitely would've watched it but this was a good way to end the series.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of Aladdin: The Return Of Jafar (1994)

Written by Kevin Campbell And Mirith J.S. Colao And Bill Motz And Steve Roberts And Dev Ross And Bob Roth And Jan Strand And Brian Swenlin

Directed by Tony Shelton And Tad Stones And Alan Zaslove

Jafar (to the Genie): "You're only second rate."

Not two years had passed following the massive success of the first movie and a straight to VHS (at the time) seque happened. A sequel I owned once upon a time as a kid and recently revisted on Disney+ over the weekend.

To this day, the 1992 Aladdin movie is my favourite Disney movie of all time and one of my all time favourite movies. As a kid, I was happy to get a little more of this side of the Disney universe. As an adult, The Return Of Jafar s a sequel that's the sum of it's parts. 

Not much time has passed and for Aladdin (Scott Weinger), he's rather loved up with Princess Jasmine (Linda Larkin), living at the palace and accepted by the Sultan (Val Bettin) as a potential future son in law. Things are for the most part great for the former street rat.

Of course there are some obstacles for Aladdin though, otherwise this sequel would be a nothing burger for him. For starters, there's Abis Mal (Jason Alexander), who Aladdin managed to get on his bad side as well as the somewhat unwelcomed return of Iago (Gilbert Gottfried).

Iago seems detemined to convinced everyone that he's turned over a new leaf and everyone else showed a natural scepticism towards him, with Aladdin being the exception to the rule. However, it's the return of Jafar (Jonathan Freeman) that posed the bigger problem for Aladdin and company.

Still bound as a genie, it didn't take long for Jafar to force Iago's feathers in betrayal, manipulate Abis Mal into doing his bidding, overpower the returning Genie (Dan Castellaneta), frame Aladdin for the Sultan's supposed death and nearly get his bigger obstacle executed by an overzealous Razoul (Jim Cummings). However for the second movie in a row, Jafar greatly underestimated Aladdin.

Yes, Jafar showed that his downtime in a genie' lamp taught him nothing as both Aladdin and Iago during a final battle became his ultmate downfall and unlike last time, ths movie made it very clear that Jafar wouldn't be returning yet again to cause any more trouble.

- This was the only movie where another actor voiced the Genie. Robin Williams would return for Aladdin And The King Of Thieves.

- This movie did manage to make about $30 million dollars in VHS sales at the time, making it a big hit.

- Standout music: Jafar's You're Only Second Rate.

- Chronology: A year since the events of the previous movie.

Aladdin: The Return Of Jafar definitely feels like a mixed bag for a sequel. The animation was a little wonky, the songs bar one are not quite as memorable but there's some good scenes, including a solid third act that makes it mostly entertaining to watch. Overall, it's a divertng enough second entry into this part of the Disney universe.

Rating: 6 out of 10

My Review of Aladdin (2019)

Written by John August & Guy Ritchie
Directed by Guy Ritchie

Aladdin: "Hey, can you make me a prince?"
Genie: "There's a lot of gray area in "make me a prince". I can just... make you a prince."

We all know the story. We've seen the 1992 animated movie, it's two sequels, animated series and maybe the Broadway/West End production if we're lucky and with Disney having mixed success with their live action reboots of their animated classics, this could've gone either way.

For a lot of people, director Guy Ritchie seemed like an odd choice in terms of directors and with various controversies over extras being spray tanned, casting choices and memes inspired by the initial looks for the Genie, could this reboot been a total disaster area? Yes of course. Is it one? Surprisingly no, but there's no denying that there are some things that don't initially work in it's favour.

If you were hoping for a slavish reboot, then that's the first disappointment. There are a lot of noticeable changes from the animated movie and while some are good additions, there's a good few of them that are not if we're being honest. I get that Ritchie wanted his own stamp but some scenes that I loved in the animated movie are not included here, including some scenes between our titular hero (Mena Massoud) and the villain of the piece, Jafar (Marwan Kenzari).

Jafar is definitely the most divisive part of this movie. There's no getting away from the fact that Kenzari is a lot more attractive compared to Jafar's animated counterpart but the biggest gripe I had here that while the actor puts in a decent performance, there's a surprising lack of menace and camp theatricality that made Jafar in the 1992 movie such an iconic foe.

Jafar's backstory isn't widely different here, except for the movie's attempts to throw in some political commentary as the evil Vizier tried to manipulate the Sultan (Navid Negahban) into starting a war with another state as well as his own issues of being seen as second best. There's an attempt to give Jafar some depth but it doesn't quite succeed and even some of his antagonistic scenes with Aladdin and Jasmine (Naomi Scott) aren't as potent as they were in the original movie. The biggest disappointment is the lack of dynamic Jafar also had with Iago (Alan Tudyk) in this movie with the latter having nowhere near as much presence as before.

Then there's the Genie himself. I wasn't initially keen on Will Smith's casting and admittedly, it took a while for him to really get his groove as the most powerful being of the piece. Saying that, while Smith doesn't surpass Robin Williams iconic take on the blue skinned jinn, he does get better as the movie progresses. We even get a romance plot for the Genie as he fell for Jasmine's amusing handmaiden Dalia (Nasim Pedrad).

Now moving on to our leading two actors - both Mena Massoud and Naomi Scott were perfect choices for both Aladdin and Jasmine. Both radiate convincing chemistry together and work just as well as individual characters. Some of the positive changes was how Ritchie altered their original meeting and scenes where Aladdin was Prince Ali trying to woo Jasmine and they're changes that actually strengthen the connection formed with the pairing.

The A Whole New World scene was beautifully recreated and the subplot with Jasmine having political aspirations of her own (which are fulfilled when she became Sultan at the end of the movie) might generate some complaints but I actually thought they fit the character rather well while Aladdin's own earnestness about his poor man status was nicely handled too. Regardless of how this movie performs, I think it's a safe bet to assume that we'll see a lot more of Mena and Naomi in future high profile productions.

- Despite the negative reception to his casting, Billy Magnuessen was actually fairly entertaining as the briefly seen and slightly oafish Prince Anders. The palace guard Hazim (Numan Acar) also had some nice characterisation compared to Raoul in the original movie.
- Jafar's Genie look wasn't very impressive but maybe making Marwan Kenzari looking red wouldn't have worked. There's a reason we had the Genie look human for most of his screen time.
- Abu, Raja and the Magic Carpet thankfully fared a bit better than Iago did in this movie. I didn't like the giant Iago instead of snake Jafar. I wonder why so many of the noted distress moments were written out of the movie.
- Loved the use of the Bollywood dancing during the Harvest scenes at the party and the use of bright colours throughout the movie was great.
- Frank Welker is the only actor from the original movie to have three roles here as he voiced Abu, Raja and the Cave of Wonders.
- Standout music: The obvious highlights include A Whole New World, One Jump Ahead, Prince Ali, Friend Like Me, Arabian Nights and Jasmine's new solo, Speechless. Disappointed that Jafar's Prince Ali (Reprise) was omitted from the movie.

Aladdin won't win the same acclaim that it's original movie generated and while some of the disappointments were hard to ignore, this was a somewhat better live action version than expected. Both Mena Massoud and Naomi Scott carry the movie well, there are some gorgeous visuals (even if Ritchie is too fond of slow mo at times) and thankfully the musical numbers do work well enough on the big screen for a second time.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Aladdin - Further Casting & New Roles Created

A couple of weeks ago I talked about the castings for Aladdin, Jasmine and the Genie for the upcoming live action reboot of Disney's Aladdin, directed by Guy Ritchie. Now further casting has been revealed and one in particular is a rather controversial choice too.

In a role not featured in the movie and where the controversial bit comes in, Billy Magnussen has been cast in the role of Prince Anders. A newly created role for the movie, the Into The Woods actor will play a potential suitor for Princess Jasmine (Naomi Scott) from the fictional place of Skanland. Already this casting decision has seen accusations of whitewashing for the movie and while I'm not sure the movie actually needs the character, I also don't think Anders will be taking any spotlight away from the main characters.

As for the villain of the piece, it seems the role of Jafar will be going to Marwan Kenzari. The actor known for his roles in The Mummy and the upcoming Murder On The Orient Express will play the evil vizer of the Sultan who will scheme to take over Agrabah while also taking on the title character himself, as played by Mena Massoud. I got to admit that Jafar looks pretty hot, casting wise.

As for the Sultan himself, the role will be going to Navid Negahban. The actor who has appeared in Homeland as Abu Nabir and in the US version of Mistresses will be the father of Princess Jasmine, trying to marry her daughter off while also falling fowl to Jafar.

Meanwhile it seems that the villainous Raoul is either being replace or simply renamed as Numan Acar will be playing the role of guard Hakim, who seems to be Jafar's right hand man in the movie. I hope this doesn't mean we're losing Iago though.

The last bit of casting for now (but revealed weeks ago) is Nasim Pedrad. The Scream Queens actress will be playing an original character in the movie named Dalia, who has been described as a handmaid and confidante for Princess Jasmine.

I think that's probably it for casting announcements now. Filming for Aladdin should be starting within the next few months for released on May 24th 2019.

Aladdin - Live Action Movie Cast

And this also happened during the weekend. A few days ago,  Guy Ritchie apparently had trouble finding the leads for his upcoming live action version of Disney's Aladdin but during the weekend, three prominent cast members were announced.

The title tole itself will be played by Egyptian-Canadian actor Mena Massoud. A relative newcomer, Mena's previous credits have included a short film named Americanistan and a role in the upcoming Jack Ryan TV series. Mena will now be the infamous street rat turned prince and while I haven't really seen any of his past credits yet, he does look the part.

Meanwhile the role of Princess Jasmine herself will go to British-Indian actress, Naomi Scott, who earlier this year played Pink Ranger Kimberly Hart in the Power Rangers reboot movie. Needless to say, Naomi's casting has generated some comments on the usual places but personally, I'm pretty fine with her playing the headstrong princess.

Elsewhere Will Smith will be taking on the role of the Genie for this live action production. He's been rumoured for the role for a while now, so I wasn't too shocked when his casting was confirmed over the weekend. The casting so far looks pretty solid and it'll be interesting to see who they get for Jafar, Iago and the Sultan. The live action movie is being written by John August.

Press Release: http://variety.com/2017/film/news/aladdin-will-smith-naomi-scott-jasmine-cast-mena-massoud-d23-1202496767/

Filming for Aladdin begins soon with a release date to be confirmed.

My Review of Aladdin (1992)

Written by Ron Clements And John Musker And Ted Elliott And Terry Rossio
Directed by Ron Clements And John Musker

Aladdin: "Someday, Abu, things are gonna change. We'll be rich, live in a palace, and never have any problems at all."

I've been meaning to review this one for a while now. One of my favourite Disney movies of all time and one I recently familiarised myself with again by buying the actual DVD, this rather loose but sort of faithful (ish) adaptation of the legend was in a slew of amazing films from the 1990s and from Disney's overall collection at the time.

The story is rather simple - master thief/street Aladdin and his monkey spent most of the time on the streets of Agrabah scraping by, stealing food here and there and generally making idiots out of the Sultan's inept guards until a chance meeting with Princess Jasmine results in Aladdin being thrown into a cell and the rather evil vizier Jafar deciding to use Aladdin's expert skills to enter the Cave of Wonders and get the lamp for him.

Of course that doesn't exactly pan out for Jafar, but Aladdin does summon the genie to transform into Prince Ali in order to impress the not so easily impressed Jasmine, who spends a great deal of the movie tiring of her father's attempts to marry her off. Eventually her and Aladdin/Ali do form a connection (along a romantic carpet ride) before Jafar's true colours are exposed and the genie falls into the wrong hands.

One of the reasons why I love this movie so much isn't just that Aladdin is the most perfect hero a Disney movie could conjure up but it's also that Jafar is the most perfect villain too. He's gloriously OTT in every moment, even his subtle ones and the partnership between him and malicious parrot Iago is one of the best villain partnerships of the entire movie.

To be honest the only main character here who is in any way short changed is the Sultan. He's well meaning but largely clueless to his daughter's needs and a little too easily manipulated by Jafar, even when he's not being hypnotised by the latter. Other than that, you've got a root worthy love story with Aladdin and Jasmine, genuinely fantastic villains with Jafar and Iago and wonderful support with Abu and the Magic Carpet. As for the Genie - it's one of my favourite roles with Robin Williams. He's the absolute highlight of the entire movie.

- I used to actually have the Sega Mega Drive game for this movie as a kid. It was a pretty fun game.
- Loved the little cameos of other Disney movie characters as well, courtesy of the Genie.
- The music highlights are too many but obviously, A Whole New World is the biggest one of the bunch. I also loved Jafar's mocking take on Prince Ali as well when revealing his new found power.
- There has been at least two sequels and a TV series to this movie. A live action movie is also being rumoured as well.

Easily one of the best Disney movies I've ever seen and one of my childhood favourites as well. Aladdin is a timeless classic that even over 20 years since it's release has held up incredibly well to this day. A definite must watch.

Rating: 10 out of 10