New Aladdin Official Trailer Almost Restores My Faith

So, after the initial Genie reveal for Aladdin, I thought it was going to take a whole lot to restore my trust the film being good. Looks like all it took was a full trailer. I'm not saying this made me go full 180. Not by any means. I still think their Jafar is far from the evilness of his animated counterpart. This guy still totally reminds me of the cologne guy at a department store. On top of that I'm not 100% on the look of Genie, even though this extended look helped a whole lot. This proved at least what I thought in Smith being a good pick for at least conveyingthe role, & seeing a little magic behind him helped the overall look. Which was my only problem after that first reveal. Those being the only shakey parts still though. As the rest of this film looks amazing. The parkour style chase in the beginning looked thrilling, the carpet scenes were totally magical, & I'm way into the casting of Jasmine & Aladdin. So, while this didn't completely sell me on the look of Genie still, & more so the presence of Jafar, it did give me the impression that this is still going to be a very entertaining film. For right now I trust in Aladdin once again. What about y'all? The internet skewered this last time. Does this alleviate any of your worries as it did some of mine? Put it in the comments, like, & share.

Mixed Feels When It Comes To First Real Look At "Aladdin"

I'm battling with myself on this one. I absolutely love the original animated Aladdin to the point one of my daughters are named Jasmine. It's probably my personal favorite of all the classics. That said, I knew I'd be particularly hard on the live action version coming this year. While the first pics were a pleasant surprise, I've been impatiently waiting for an actual trailer to give this some real contrast. In comes this special look from last night. Now there's a lot more pluses for me here than minuses. The backdrops are amazing. From the deserts, to Agrabah, all the way to the Cave of Wonders, I was awestruck. Aladdin himself totally looks the part. Jasmine is absolutely gorgeous. Even the quick look at the flying carpet was amazingly on point. The bad part is the minuses here are really big minuses. Jafar didn't come off half as menacing as his animated counterpart, & that's a really big thing. To me your hero's story is only as powerful as the portrayal of its villain, & even though it was just a small piece, I wasn't buying in at all. Even worse though was the long awaited reveal of the often imitated, never duplicated Genie of the lamp. I have my fingers & toes crossed that this feeling will go away, but big blue Will Smith just took me right out of this. I've never had a major actor's appearance pull me out of something like this did. The bad part, is I'm not sure if even a recast would fix this problem. The more I thought about it, I'd almost say we needed a full CGI character just voiced. Maybe it's the fact that personalizing him doesn't really work. I'm not sure, but whatever it is, it's just not working with me. Sad it falls short for me in two of its biggest, most pivotal roles. What do y'all think though? Put it in the comments, like, & share

EW's First Look At "Aladdin" Might Have Just Realized My Greatest Fears

We have our first look at Guy Ritchie's live-action Aladdin, & it's looking & sounding more street rat than prince. I'm gonna focus on the pluses first. Mena Massoud & Naomi Scott look absolutely amazing as Aladdin & Jasmine. Just like they were ripped straight out of the animated classic. Second, the proposed mixture of lands & culture to Agrabah, giving it a Middle Eastern & Asian feel really intrigues me. It sets it in a fully imagined place. For me that adds to the fantasy of it all. Third, is probably one of the strangest parts, Guy Ritchie. Even though I thought it was a very strange choice at first, Aladdin is a very fast paced, chase film. That's actually right in Guy's wheelhouse, & I think he can really knock this one out the park. Alright, now I'll address the big blue elephant in the room. I was very worried when they cast Will Smith in Robin William's iconic role as the Genie. Not because of Smith himself, I've actually loved this guy since his Fresh Prince of Bel-Air days, & even before them for that matter. Just knowing Smith's character, I had a feeling I knew where this was going to wind up. First strike was straight out of Ritchie's mouth with, “I like the fact that our Genie has an ego and is a little bit vain and he cares about how he’s presented because he’s been doing this for a very long time.” The words ego & vain just immediately suck the fun out the whole character for me. And if that didn't work, we're also going to get some tired hip-hop from Will Smith to go along. Who mentions there hasn't been a hip hop flavor in the Disney universe yet. Well, there hasn't been any heavy metal either, & there might just be a reason for that. The third strike came with the actual look of the Genie, but I'm putting a hold on that one for now. Only because I'm convinced there's a level of CGI that will be involved in post that doesn't make the EW pics. At least I'm hoping so. If I'm wrong it just looks like Will Smith with a funny top knot. So, all in all there's three wishes answered, & three thrown right back in my face. These are just still pics & a synopsis as well. My reserves could be wrong, & this could blow us all away. Here's hoping at least, as Aladdin is one of, if not my all time favorite of the classics. What do y'all think though? I'd love to hear it. Put it in the comments, like, & share.

First Look At Live Action "Aladdin" With New Teaser Trailer

Between trying to get ready in this new place, hurricanes, & just life stuff, I feel like I've been missing a lot. Even though I'm not fully back on track though, I said I wouldn't miss the big stuff, & this is pretty big. A couple of days ago Will Smith put out the poster for the upcoming Aladdin . I've been noticing a pattern. The poster release has usually been followed within a day or two by a trailer. So, last night I had about gave up, when I got a notification in bed that sure enough it was here. I wasn't expecting much, the movie doesn't come out until May 24th 2019, but I was looking forward to it after seeing the poster. It was basically an upgraded version of the original animated poster. Now the trailer. It's impossible to make any real decisions on these small teasers, but this one had three things that really stuck out. Aladdin was an instantly a classic for me when it released. This familiarity gives us a little more to work with in these quick looks. Out of my three standouts, we've got one bad & two good. So, I'll start with the bad. I wasn't really digging the reflection shot of Agrabah. I don't know why offhand, I just wasn't that impressed with the model. I thought the Cave of Wonders looked amazing though! Right after it bit down though, I remembered the original teaser. I immediately thought there is only one way this trailer can end to make me fully happy. Sure enough, we get that shot of Aladdin walking up on the lamp for the first time. Loved it! So one trivial, don't really care dislike. Followed by two amazing "love its" all in the course of a minute & twenty-eight seconds. A lot of which is the title. Which looks really good by the way. Once again, paying homage to the classic, but having a distinctive new, real feel as well. Very impressed, especially for just a teaser. I know it won't happen, but part of me wants them to hold off on Will Smith's Genie until I'm actually in the theater. Anyway great teaser in my book, what'd y'all think? Put it in the comments, like & share.

Will Smith Puts Up First Photo Of Live Action Aladdin Cast

Will Smith posted this photo of the main Aladdin cast to announce that they've started shooting. It's Will (Genie), Mena Massoud (Aladdin), Naomi Scott (Princess Jasmine), & Marwan Kenzari (Jafar) looking like they're having a blast. I'm so intrigued with this one. All the way down to being directed by Guy Ritchie, this thing is riddled with strange decisions. I don't know if they'll wind up good or bad, but I guess that's what you get when you go for something this big & different. It seems like random decisions, Guy, a cast of relative nobodies, & a Genie from a guy whom at one point I would've said hands-down had the charisma to play him. Now however, Smith just hasn't displayed that side, opting for more somber roles. Like I said though, I'm intrigued. I can't wait to see how all this comes together in a whole new world. What do y'all think though? Who's excited for this & who thinks we're on the brink of a disaster? Put it in the comments, like, & share.

Apparently Disney Wasn't As Needy For An Aladdin As They Let On

Just days after letting everyone know they couldn't find an Aladdin after searching through 2,000 fresh faces, Disney has announced the cast for the upcoming Guy Ritchie film. Confirming Will Smith (Do you really need a reminder of who this is?) for the Genie, which we pretty much had known, at D23. As well as, Naomi Scott (Power Rangers/2017) for Princess Jasmine & Mena Massoud (Who?) for Aladdin. This is right down the line for what they were going for. I liked Naomi Scott in Power Rangers, I actually really enjoyed the first 3/4s of that movie. As for Will Smith, he's a great actor, I just hope he can dial back in to that funny. I know it's in him with Bad Boys & Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Even the first Men In Black he still had a strong comedic timing, & was fun. If we get that, this could be great. I'm just not sure he still can tap into that. As for Mena Massoud, he better be good. I want to see more of this. I like relative nobodies in main roles, I would love to see more of this.. As long as you surround them with talent, you can get a diamond in the rough of a performance. Any concerns with these choices? Let us know in the comments, like, & share.

Will Smith In Early Talks To Play Genie In Aladdin Live-Action Remake

Yup, after turning down Tim Burton's Dumbo earlier probably something hitting to close to home, you know, with the big ears thing. Seriously though, Dateline says Will Smith is now in early talks to grant some wishes in Guy Ritchie's Aladdin. Not my first pick to fill Robin Williams shoes, but when Will Smith is on he is one helluva talented actor. Not to mention if you look at his early days, he had an amazing comedic presence as well. I'll give almost anyone a chance so who knows he could knock this out of the park. It still doesn't top confusion I have about this being a Guy Ritchie movie. Lock, Stock, & Two Smoking Barrels & Snatch aren't the first things I think of when I think Disney. What do you think of Will Smith as the Genie? Let us know in the comments below.