Dear Aladdin, Just Let Will Smith Get Jiggy With It

Ugh, this Aladdin movie feels more and more like a punishment the more clips are released to try to create hype for it. In the newest clip, we get a look at the “Prince Ali” song number, which … ugh, you can judge for yourself above.

Look you can do totally animated choreography where anything you can imagine can happen with total freedom

Or you can do actual choreography like in the Broadway show where what’s exciting is real dancers performing live

This CGI-heavy live action is the worst of both worlds https://t.co/29P8BnKPhi

— Arthur Chu (@arthur_affect) May 14, 2019

How is this supposed to compare to either the original or the very dance-heavy Broadway version? Why was Baz Luhrmann not tapped for this production? Are they saving him for the live-action version of Oliver & Company?

It’s unfair to compare a live-action sequence to an animated one. There are things animation can do that you can’t do in real life, but there’s no excuse for not then finding a way to translate the musical number to live-action in a satisfying way. The Broadway Aladdin musical has done that with great success.

What’s most upsetting is the waste of Will Smith’s amazing talent. Smith is a good actor who can sing and dance! Growing up, his music videos that went with his movies were an awesome part of the experience. He seems like he’s been held back in this performance in the scenes that have been released so far.

This video makes up for the Wild Wild West movie, because honestly the soundtrack >>> any single moment of that film.

The Men in Black music video was such a cool tie-in that showed that Will Smith was a genius at marketing his own movies and playing to all his skills. It doesn’t feel like Aladdin gets that. Robin Williams’ version of the Genie is special, and it’ll be forever encased in amber, allowed to be perfect for all time. Will Smith’s Genie shouldn’t be Williams’, and that means changing the musical numbers more to fit Smith’s voice. Even if they’re allowing him to rap, keeping it in the same showtune tempo doesn’t fully work.

But that’s just opinion, man. In the end, despite my biases, I want to give this movie a fair shot when I see it. I’m just concerned that some aspects of this are just not in director Guy Ritchie’s wheelhouse. I think, when it comes to filming the more action-heavy sequences, he will excel, but these musical sequences … that I’m unsure about.

What do you guys think? How is it looking and what are you most concerned about? Honestly, Will Smith will probably be the highlight of this film for me, because he’s a charismatic performer in CGI blue or nah. It’s the leads I’m worried about.

(image: Disney)

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