The Monkey From the New Aladdin Disney Movie

décembre 21, 2021 Enregistrer un commentaire

Did the live-action get it right or nah?

Disney's latest live-action remake of a cartoon classic is Aladdin.

The film stars Naomi Scott, Mena Massoud, and Will Smith in a retelling of the animated story beloved by Disney fans everywhere. The hype for this upcoming Disney flick has been real with countless collabs and merch available in time for the premiere. The movie releases to theaters on May 24.

Early teaser trailers had fans suspicious of whether or not the live-action film would live up to its name. And while it's impossible to replicate the original, the casting department pretty much nailed these characters on the head.

They found the perfect substitutes for live-action versions. Even the computer generated animals have a resemblance to their animated predecessors.

Aladdin

Massoud captures Aladdin's mischievous curiosity and charm perfectly. In the trailers he is charismatic and alluring; the film kept in line with the original plot in which Aladdin pretends to be a prince in order to win over Princess Jasmine. This comparison shot of Aladdin with the lamp is an almost exact replica from the original cartoon version.

Jasmine

British actor Naomi Scott was drawn to the role of Jasmine because of her tenacity. She's a stronger role model than some other original Disney Princesses — *cough* ARIEL *cough*. The actor's beautiful singing voice fills the trailer in the duo's rendition of "A Whole New World." The team decided to add in a song for Jasmine, "Speechless," partly because of Scott's voice and to show the independent side of the princess.

Rajah

Jasmine's ferocious feline Rajah has tons of personality in the animated feature. In one scene Raja growls disapprovingly at Jasmine's statement that she doesn't have any "real friends." The princess responds lovingly, "except you Rajah."

It's unclear if the computer generated tiger will have as much spunk as the animated version did, but there is a scene shown in the live-action trailer in which the pet gives Aladdin a full face smooch with his pink tongue.

Carpet

Surprisingly, the carpet has one of the most turbulent dispositions in the animated movie. The way it cocks one side to the other can portray a variety of emotions. It appears from the trailer that the carpet is still treated in that same way using its positioning to tell a story and to communicate.

Sultan

Navid Negahban plays Jasmine's father the Sultan of Agrabah. In the animated tale he is mainly focused on his daughter's stubborn personality and lack of a desire to marry, and is a plump man with a white beard. In the live-action he's a bit taller, but still has the royal garb and full facial hair.

Abu

Aladdin's cheeky monkey Abu is constantly getting into trouble. In the original, he is the cause for the collapse during the Cave by giving into temptation and trying to steal a priceless gem. The live-action version of the monkey still has that rascally personality. Plus they were sure to include his adorable purple vest and matching fez hat.

Genie

Will Smith puts his own spin on the Genie role made iconic by the late Robin Williams. In the first look at Smith's character, fans were shocked and disturbed by his blue hue and frightening expression. After getting a few different looks at the character, things have returned back to normal, or at least as normal as a wish-granting genie can be.

Smith tells some of the jokes crafted by Williams's original version, and has put his own spin on the character.

Cave of Wonders

While the Cave of Wonders isn't a character necessarily, it is an important image from the original movie. The live-action has made it blend in with the natural surroundings a bit more, while still keeping the beastly lion face. It's still unknown whether the growling voice will ask Aladdin, "who dares disturb my slumber?"

Jafar

The movie's creepy villain Jafar still has an evil air about him, but has toned-down his twirling beard. He still has his powerful serpent staff and a desire to steal the throne. Marwan Kenzari will play the antagonist in the live-action film.

Iago

One of the most prominent characters in the animated tale is Jafar's wise-cracking sidekick, the parrot Iago. He has made a few brief appearances in the live-action trailer, but only in flight or in this scene perched atop Jafar's shoulder. The iconic vocalist Gilbert Gottfried voiced the parrot in the original, but was not asked to return in this version. Instead, Alan Tudyk will voice the bird's few lines.

According to Digital Spy, the director of the live-action film didn't want to include large amounts of dialogue from the bird because the film still needed to be "rooted in some form of reality."