Aladdin

For a live action adaptation that received a lot of negativities since the announcement of the actors, this live action movie really proves everyone wrong. Kudos to the actors and especially the director. By far, this is Disney's live action movie that I enjoy the most. I maybe biased because Aladdin is my favourite Disney cartoon but being a huge fan also means I have a high standard of expectations for this adaptation.

Story-wise, this live version Aladdin follows the original cartoon faithfully. Despite the 'bloated' runtime of 128 minutes (compared to 90 minutes of the cartoon), the movie does not feel draggy. There are hits and misses with iconic scenes from the cartoon. I think the opening, when Aladdin is running from the guards, the "Friend Like Me" and the "Prince Ali" scenes are impressive. Sadly the escape from Cave of Wonders, the "A Whole New World", and the climax are nowhere compared to the cartoon.

Some changes are unavoidable but I don't think they ruin the essence of Aladdin. Most of the changes are to make the story more human and less cartoonish. Spoilers alert!

Changes which I think are for betterment of the story and movie:

-Sultan, Jafar, and Jasmine get more story related to palace intrigues unlike in the cartoon where their characters are rather poor: Jafar is evil for the sake of evil, Jasmine is just there as a 'prize to be won', and Sultan does not seem to be governing the nation at all. In the movie, at least we see some governing and politics and we know a bit the reason behind Jafar's ambition.

-Genie's appearance as human definitely suits real life situation to hide his identity as a magical being

-Addition of Dalia (Jasmine's handmaiden) helps to give Jasmine more personality. Although Dalia seems to be more of a comic sidekick, her addition helps to maintain the comedy aspects of the movie.

Changes which I think are shit:

-The climax is worse than the cartoon as it lacks the urgency and the gravity of Jafar's threat. There is no final fight with Jafar turning into giant snake so the climax is literally resolved just by talking. 

-I hate the ending the most. In the cartoon, Sultan changes the law so that the princess can marry anyone she chooses. In the movie, Sultan makes Jasmine as the new Sultan so that she can change the law. What the fuck! I have no problem with Jasmine eventually becoming a Sultan. However by making her a Sultan and ask her to change the law just like that makes the Sultan appear so irresponsible. It also ruins the realism a little bit since prior to this, Jasmine is depicted to know little about governance and politics and yet she can become Sultan just like that.

-For the sake of more realism, we get less of Abu, Carpet, and Iago. While this is understandable, I think this is quite a loss since these three characters are great in the cartoon. And Iago's voice in this movie is an abomination.

-We lose that iconic structure of Agrabah palace :(

The set pieces of the city and palace are amazing but the Cave of Wonders lacks any wonders. I enjoy the music and I don't mind they try to make it a bit different from the cartoon version. However I hate it when they change lyrics of iconic songs. Vocal-wise is where the live action cannot compare with the cartoon. The vocal work during the songs lacks the power, energy, and emotion. The vocal work during Disney Renaissance era is of musicals quality while the vocal work in this live action movie is just like any normal human singing in their daily life.

Acting-wise, I think only Will Smith is doing great as Genie: extravagant enough as a genie but not too-over-the-top or too cartoony. The others are very flat and boring. The emotional moments such as when Jasmine realises Aladdin has been lying, when Aladdin is fighting with Genie, or when Genie is set free are all wasted in the movie. That Genie is free scene in the cartoon still makes me tear when I watch it.

Well nothing can be perfect but overall I am very happy with this live action adaptation of Aladdin. It does not ruin the original story, the changes and additions are generally making the movie better, and it still retains the comedic atmosphere. All in all, I am happy that Disney does not ruin my favourite cartoon :D Hehe...