Aladdin. Trailer.

[Kyberwulf]

So the new Aladdin trailer is out. Any thoughts? I know on the song, it was kind of jarring. Otherwise it doesn't look as bad as the previous one.

[Olinser]

Will Smith Genie. Still Blue. Will Smith trying to sing Robin Williams song. Pass.

[Cen]

The problem is, Will Smith is not Robin Williams and he never will be. Williams was loved during his life and absolutely glorified when he died. Smith taking role after him will always be compared to Williams and he will never look good in comparison.

[Cockroach King]

The one thing I was curious about and what might have at one point led me to see the film (probably renting it and not in theaters) was the covers of "Friend Like Me," and "Whole New World."

:smalleek:
:smallconfused:
:smallannoyed:

I think I'm gonna pass. Maybe a friend of mine will own it or rent it and let me watch it, but I'm not spending a dime to see this film.

[Devonix]

Seeing as I've not enjoyed any of these disney Reboots I doubt I'd enjoy this one either.

It looks like a made for TV movie, but they're also leaning heavily into making this a full on musical Bollywood style which does seem fun.

The biggest issue with Genie is that they aren't trying to have A Genie, but, specifically Robin William's Genie, at least from the trailers.

However I could see this working if Will Smith basically plays the romantic coach he played in that movie he did with Kevin James, just with magic powers.

[Cikomyr]

Actually feel much better about this one. Not sure about Smith's singing, but the Whole New World cover sounded great.

Although I really liked the "there's a lot of grey area about Make Me A Prince".

I have to take the movie in its own term rather than whine about what's its not compared to the original.

[random11]

I don't think it looks bad or offensive, but I also don't see much difference between this and the movie we already have aside from a few jokes, so I don't see any motivation to see it.

[Calemyr]

Actually feel much better about this one. Not sure about Smith's singing, but the Whole New World cover sounded great.

Although I really liked the "there's a lot of grey area about Make Me A Prince".

I have to take the movie in its own term rather than whine about what's its not compared to the original.

It's not a movie I'm likely to watch, I'll admit, but I do like that line as well - it shows a much more intelligent genie than Williams' version. Williams just knew what a wish meant and made it happen, while Smith just sits back and questions the wording, which could be read as anything from conjuring up a companion out of thin air that is a prince to simply replacing everything Aladdin is with something befitting a prince - turn him from a playful, humble street rat into the worst kind of arrogant, closed-minded aristocrat the region had ever seen.

Glad to see they drop the blue bit at times - it doesn't really work, even with improved artwork. And let's face it, Will Smith only works (assuming he does) by virtue of his charisma, so you don't want that smothered by special effects.

[BWR]

Honestly, I liked the trailer a lot more than I thought I would. It actually makes me want to see the movie, unlike all the other gawdawful live-action remake trailers.
Will Smith looks OK, song could use some work.

And while we're on the subject of Aladdin... (http://existentialcomics.com/comic/277)

[Cikomyr]

Honestly, I liked the trailer a lot more than I thought I would. It actually makes me want to see the movie, unlike all the other gawdawful live-action remake trailers.
Will Smith looks OK, song could use some work.

And while we're on the subject of Aladdin... (http://existentialcomics.com/comic/277)

My theory is that the Genie retroactively made Aladin's dad the King of Thieves so he would qualify

[Traab]

I did NOT like the whole new world cover. It felt like they superimposed the original cartoon soundtrack there. I also am going to have to watch more than the brief 3 second sound bites of will smith to decide if I like it. As for him being a prince, yeah, I think the real problem is being overlooked. Its not about whether aladdin counts as a prince or not, the genie is saying "STOP LYING TO HER! THIS GOT YOUR FOOT IN THE DOOR, NOW BE HONEST YOU IDIOT!" She recognizes you, the more you lie, the more she is going to be upset when the truth gets out.

[Lvl 2 Expert]

I can't believe I'm saying this about a movie, but... I think it doesn't look fake enough.

And not really plastic CGI fake, but made up fake. Will Smith looks like a guy playing a genie. Will Smith, to be precise. But that one is a hard balancing act, so I find it much harder to swallow that the entrance to the Cave of Wonders doesn't look very fantastic. It's almost dull. Jafar looks like a B-list actor in a fancy hat standing in the desert.

Now in the third trailer we see some more scenes with people and sets in them. Those look pretty good. Both Jasmine and Aladdin looked a little not fake enough before, but here they sell me on them being people in this fantasy story. I even like the few seconds we get of the Whole New World cover. Doesn't mean I'll like the full thing, but it's a good start.

I just hope more stuff will end up looking fake.

Except for the tiger, that one should look more real.

[Olinser]

Actually feel much better about this one. Not sure about Smith's singing, but the Whole New World cover sounded great.

Although I really liked the "there's a lot of grey area about Make Me A Prince".

I have to take the movie in its own term rather than whine about what's its not compared to the original.

When the movie is ACTIVELY TRYING TO BE the original, it isn't 'whining' to say that it doesn't look good compared to the original.

They are doing it to themselves. If they didn't want to be compared to the original they shouldn't have had a trailer with Blue Will Smith singing Friend Like Me.

I said from the start that the way to be successful was to separate yourself as much as possible from the original. Do a much more serious genie that still hits the same theme. DEFINITELY NOT BLUE.

That's what they did with Jungle Book, and I enjoyed that movie. It had some poor decisions with the plot, but overall it did a pretty good job of separating itself from the original and making their own vision of the movie. I enjoyed it.

The more I see of Aladdin, the more this looks like its almost a shot-for-shot live action of the cartoon. That is the worst thing they could possibly do. Will Smith IS NOT Robin Williams (NOBODY is, or could be). Will Smith being the more serious genie with some occasional jokes would have been a much better idea than what they're doing.

[Anonymouswizard]

Seeing as I've not enjoyed any of these disney Reboots I doubt I'd enjoy this one either.

It looks like a made for TV movie, but they're also leaning heavily into making this a full on musical Bollywood style which does seem fun.

The biggest issue with Genie is that they aren't trying to have A Genie, but, specifically Robin William's Genie, at least from the trailers.

However I could see this working if Will Smith basically plays the romantic coach he played in that movie he did with Kevin James, just with magic powers.

Hmmmm.... you know, if they tried to make it a proper sung-through musical I think I might be tempted to see it. But as it is Aladdin is a big part of my childhood, and I don't want to see a remake of a childhood movie again unless they go the Maleficent route (I didn't particularly like that film, but I respected it for trying to be more original).

Also agreeing on Will Smith as the Genire. The entirely orginal parts seen were good, potentially even funny depending on how the film sets them up, but the bits where he's trying to imitate Robin William's Genie just fall flat. I'd really like them to A) put less focus on the magic wish-granting, and B) put more focus on the relationship between Aladdin and the Genie, ideally without reducing the focus on Aladdin and Jasmine. Three main characters in essence, so I also hope to see a little less of Jafar (not a lot less, but take away some of the silly moments).

[Zevox]

Actually feel much better about this one. Not sure about Smith's singing, but the Whole New World cover sounded great.

Although I really liked the "there's a lot of grey area about Make Me A Prince".

It's not a movie I'm likely to watch, I'll admit, but I do like that line as well - it shows a much more intelligent genie than Williams' version. Williams just knew what a wish meant and made it happen, while Smith just sits back and questions the wording, which could be read as anything from conjuring up a companion out of thin air that is a prince to simply replacing everything Aladdin is with something befitting a prince - turn him from a playful, humble street rat into the worst kind of arrogant, closed-minded aristocrat the region had ever seen.

Glad to see they drop the blue bit at times - it doesn't really work, even with improved artwork. And let's face it, Will Smith only works (assuming he does) by virtue of his charisma, so you don't want that smothered by special effects.
Agreed on all counts. There's entirely too little of Friend Like Me to judge that one (and most of it is just the music itself, which was pretty much guaranteed to sound fine unless they did something weird with it), but A Whole New World sounded good, and the little bits of Smith's Genie outside of the song that we got seem fine to good.

I'm still unlikely to bother seeing the film, as I don't see much reason why I'd want to see a live-action remake of Aladdin when I could just watch the animated version, but the newest trailer makes it look fine enough.

[Lvl45DM!]

HOW DID THEY MESS UP JAFAR SO BADLY he looks young and charming
I mean the Genie was always gonna be impossible i forgive them that, but messing up Jafar is just embarassing.

Whole New World sounds great though

[Kitten Champion]

I could only see Jafar for - potentially literally - 0.5 seconds in this new Official Trailer.

How is this Jafar = Weak judgement coming about? 'Cause I see it in the Youtube comments too and am nothing but confused.

[Lvl 2 Expert]

I could only see Jafar for - potentially literally - 0.5 seconds in this new Official Trailer.

How is this Jafar = Weak judgement coming about? 'Cause I see it in the Youtube comments too and am nothing but confused.

To be fair this might be exactly the problem. He doesn't get the time to be anything but a person wearing a silly hat. We see no acting. It's a trailer featuring just enough of him to let us recognize the character but not enough to actually show us anything about this new version of the character.

So I'll withdraw my judgement on Jafar, for now.

[Kitten Champion]

To be fair this might be exactly the problem. He doesn't get the time to be anything but a person wearing a silly hat. We see no acting. It's a trailer featuring just enough of him to let us recognize the character but not enough to actually show us anything about this new version of the character.

So I'll withdraw my judgement on Jafar, for now.

I guess, I don't really reject the idea that people find the actor inappropriate for the role. Though, the question of "why now?" comes to mind, it just seems like people who wanted to dislike the movie and were pointing to Will Smith's Genie animations from earlier have been pushed into pointing elsewhere and settled on Marwan Kenzari.

To me though, the core of Jafar is he's a charismatic manipulator. He's a villain who seizes power with force of personality as much as any twisted magics. He has a serpents tongue he uses expertly to control the Sultan and his court. They don't actually have to make him aggressively slimy-looking if they can convey his villainy through acting - especially given that this isn't a cartoon anymore - given that being obviously forbidding and villainous would be somewhat contradictory to how he'd want to present himself. Like, a conman shouldn't look like this...


https://thenewswheel.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Matilda-Worst-Used-Car-Salesmen-Harry-Wormwood-760x429.jpg

Plus, you could move him into trying to seduce Jasmin for his own ambition, and have him being rejected for non-superficial reasons.

[Kyberwulf]

Yeah? I like the look. He doesn't look as obviously evil.

[J-H]

My wife and I watched the trailer together a couple of nights ago. The street action scenes look really good. Will Smith Genie looks OK when blue, but odd when he's at his original color (I know, blending in as a human or whatever - maybe the original genie did it? Don't recall). I had forgotten that it was a musical - the only song I recalled was the whole "Prince Ali - mighty-is-he Ababwa" thing with the parade. I am pretty meh about musicals.

My wife thinks that the Jasmine actress looks "too white." I thought she looked OK for Jasmine; I think Jasmine had more cartoonified features (large eyes, etc.) than Aladdin or most of the other characters in the original, but it's been a long time since I've seen the original.

Jafar was recognizable, but didn't look that much like the original (too 'fat' and without the distinctive facial hair). Jafar will soar or fail based on how well he's played. He's supposed to be an over the top movie villain, and that's hard to pull off convincingly in live action without instead devolving into silliness.

We are probably not the target audience for this anyway...so far behind on movie watching!

[Traab]

Yes, genie did look "human" for a few scenes in the cartoon, primarily while acting as the parade grand marshal and generating buzz in the crowds. He just was rarely around when those who didnt already know he was a genie were there.

[Ramza00]

Jafar was recognizable, but didn't look that much like the original (too 'fat' and without the distinctive facial hair).

Take that back. You may say Jafar does not have the right body type for your imagination, but google the actor who plays him ("Marwan Kenzari shirtless" .) The actor who plays Jafar is anything but fat, and he has been on the cover of Men's health and so on.

Now he may not be the perfect tall and "twinky" instead of twunky with the twunky going on jocky but Marwan Kenzari is not fat.

[Traab]

Take that back. You may say Jafar does not have the right body type for your imagination, but google the actor who plays him ("Marwan Kenzari shirtless" .) The actor who plays Jafar is anything but fat, and he has been on the cover of Men's health and so on.

Now he may not be the perfect tall and "twinky" instead of twunky with the twunky going on jocky but Marwan Kenzari is not fat.

Too be fair, cartoon jafar IS kinda reed thin. He is a staff carrying a staff. Sure the super shoulder pads he rocks kinda conceals it, but dude is slender. https://i.pinimg.com/originals/1f/5b/75/1f5b75bf1160e5b4c2008c4632c8d280.png

[Ramza00]

Too be fair, cartoon jafar IS kinda reed thin. He is a staff carrying a staff. Sure the super shoulder pads he rocks kinda conceals it, but dude is slender.

I understand what you are saying and I can agree that you think Jafar should look like someone else. I am cool with that.

I am not cool with saying Jafar is


too 'fat'

for Marwan Kenzari is many things but fat is not one of them. :smallamused: :smalltongue:

[Lvl45DM!]

I understand what you are saying and I can agree that you think Jafar should look like someone else. I am cool with that.

I am not cool with saying Jafar is



for Marwan Kenzari is many things but fat is not one of them. :smallamused: :smalltongue:

I will grant J-H the benefit of the doubt here based on the quotation marks. It seems like he wanted to say this Jafar isnt skinny enough, which is part of my problem with him too, but lacked the right words. He wasnt saying Marwan was overweight, just over the weight that Jafar is.

And Jafar is my favourite disney villain. He is supposed to be slimy and villanous, who gets his way with brute force hypnosis and scheming not charm and manipulation. I dont even care about the actor per se, but you can make a shredded dude LOOK skinny and gangly with proper costuming and giving him a full beard insults me to my core. And also you hear his voice and his voice doesnt sound awesome

Which is childish and ridiculous i know :smalltongue: but this movie is trying to cash in on my nostalgia so when they mess it up Im irked.

[Ramza00]

I will grant J-H the benefit of the doubt here based on the quotation marks. It seems like he wanted to say this Jafar isnt skinny enough, which is part of my problem with him too, but lacked the right words. He wasnt saying Marwan was overweight, just over the weight that Jafar is.

And Jafar is my favourite disney villain. He is supposed to be slimy and villanous, who gets his way with brute force hypnosis and scheming not charm and manipulation. I dont even care about the actor per se, but you can make a shredded dude LOOK skinny and gangly with proper costuming and giving him a full beard insults me to my core. And also you hear his voice and his voice doesnt sound awesome

Which is childish and ridiculous i know :smalltongue: but this movie is trying to cash in on my nostalgia so when they mess it up Im irked.

I hear you, trust me I do. Jafar is one of my favorite Villians as well (Ursula and Scar come close, I guess I have a thing for Disney Renaissance Villians, though Maleficent is also awesome but she is 3 decades away. I am rambling but Scar is number 4 with Maleficent is number 3)

But while I love Jafar so much, this love is making me sit on my hands and not criticize until I see the final product.



[when Gazeem tries to steal the lamp from the Cave of Wonders, the latter swallows him whole]

Iago : I can't believe it! I just don't believe it! We're never gonna get ahold of that stupid lamp! Just forget it! Look at this. Look at this. I'm so ticked off that I'm molting.

Jafar : Patience, Iago, patience. Gazeem was obviously less than worthy.

Iago : Oh, there's a big surprise! That's an incredib... I think I'm gonna have a heart attack and die from that surprise! What are we gonna do? We got a big problem here, a big... Mmph!

[Jafar grabs Iago's beak to shut him up]

Jafar : Yes. Only one may enter. I must find this one, this... diamond in the rough.

I have hope, for my eye is on the prize, the prize being the wish of my heart.

http://i.freegifmaker.me/1/5/5/2/7/9/15527924233032232.gif

[J-H]

I will grant J-H the benefit of the doubt here based on the quotation marks. It seems like he wanted to say this Jafar isnt skinny enough, which is part of my problem with him too, but lacked the right words. He wasnt saying Marwan was overweight, just over the weight that Jafar is.


Yep. Jafar is supposed to be super-lean and tall enough to loom over people menacingly. It's part of the physical dynamic with the short fat emperor/shah/king (I forget his title) that he bullies around.

[GentlemanVoodoo]

Well let's see...

So far just a movie rehash of the Broadway musical. Unlike Maleficent, I see nothing that makes a different take to the story or contributes something to it. Another empty cash grab.

Costumes for all characters look meh. Set production looks like they were attempting a cheap bollywood movie without the fun.

CGI is pretty weak though the panoramic shots of Agraba I did like. Will Smith in blue is...frankly no words to describe the design choice here other than poor. Animal CGI for Abu, Iago and Rasha look comparable to the CGI animals from Life of Pi but look devoid of personality. Seems the design choice is just generic animal.

Music for "Friend Like Me" in Will Smith's voice just doesn't cut it. Not even complaining it isn't Robin Williams. It just sounds off. Vocals for Jasimine's part in "Whole New World" were not bad but the Aladdin portion (Don't you dare close your eyes) again sounds off.

Jafar is quite mediocre as far as the main villain is concern. First impressions of the actor portraying him make the character feel monotone and boring. Some form of personality is needed.

In all the trailer wasn't inspiring to build interest to watch this.

[Jay R]

I don't judge a movie from the trailer. I've been wildly wrong doing that, and in both directions.

It was intriguing enough to make me watch the movie, but I won't critique it until I see it.

[Clertar]

According to the trailer, Will Smith is making a significant contribution to the movie: the only deep voice.

[Magic_Hat]

I just saw the new trailer for Toy Story 4 today. This Aladdin remake is looking so much better by comparison. Never thought I'd say that.