Featured Blu-ray and DVD Review: Aladdin Double-Shot

September 9, 2019

Aladdin (Live Action) - Buy from Amazon: DVD, Blu-ray Combo Pack, or 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack
Video on Demand, Video on Demand (with Extras), Video on Demand (4K Ultra HD)
Aladdin (Animated) - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray Combo Pack or 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack
 Video on Demand or Video on Demand (With Extras)

Aladdin

This week, the live action Aladdin comes out on DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K Ultra HD for the first time, while the original animated Aladdin gets a Blu-ray re-release and debuts on 4K Ultra HD. I’ve previously reviewed the 1992 animated film and I consider it a classic. How does the new remake live up to the original? And is the re-release of the original worth picking up?

The Movie

The plot summary will be talking about both movies, as they are very similar.

Both films take place in an Arabian city named Agrabah. The city is ruled by a Sultan whose only child is a daughter, Jasmine. She has to marry a prince, who will become the new Sultan. The Sultan’s advisor, Jafar, wants to become the Sultan instead and is looking for a magic lamp that will help him achieve his goal. However, he needs to find a “diamond in the rough” to get into the Cave of Wonders and retrieve it. That’s where Aladdin comes into the story.

Aladdin is a street rat, who lives on the streets with his monkey, Abu. He is a thief who steals to eat, but who is kind-hearted enough to give food to those even poorer than he is. One day he meets Jasmine and there’s an instant connection, but before that can develop further, Aladdin is captured by Jafar and made to enter the Cave of Wonders. He is instructed to get the lamp, but not touch anything else. While there, Aladdin rescues a magic carpet before getting the lamp, only to have Abu steal a gem, thus causing the cave to collapse. They manage to nearly get out, but Jafar tricks them getting the lamp and throwing them back into the cave. He doesn’t realize until later than Abu had stolen the lamp back.

While stuck in the cave, Aladdin rubs the lamp causing the Genie to come out and offer him three wishes. At first, Aladdin tricks the Genie into getting them out of the cave without using a wish, but then promises to use his last wish to free the Genie. Then he wishes to be a prince so he can marry Jasmine. Then we get to unacceptable spoilers.

Aladdin

Before we get to my opinion on the two movies, is it important to point out the two biggest changes. Firstly, the Jasmine in the animated Aladdin didn’t want to marry a prince and instead wanted to marry for love. In the live-action Aladdin, Jasmine doesn’t want to marry a prince, because she believes she would make the best Sultan, even though women aren’t allowed to rule according to tradition. Also, there’s Dalia, Jasmine’s handmaiden. She’s a character in the remake and acts as a love interest for the Genie. Some of the scenes are reworked to give the animated Jasmine more agency, but for the most part, there are not a lot of changes between the two movies.

Fortunately, the film works as a live action movie almost as well as it worked in animated form and had it been an original film, I think a lot of people would have considered it one of the best of the summer. I did like the new Jasmine getting more agency and looking for more than true love. Also, Will Smith works as the Genie, when he wasn’t trying to imitate Robin Williams. He’s not as good as Robin Williams was, but Robin Williams’ performance as the Genie is one of the best voice acted roles of all time, so asking Will Smith to match that is asking a lot. On the downside, Iago is treated more realistically here, so it doesn’t have nearly the same amount of personality as the original Iago had.

The Extras

Extras on the live-action Aladdin start with Aladdin’s Video Journal: A New Fantastic Point of View, an eleven-minute behind-the-scenes featurette hosted by Mena Massound, who played Aladdin in the remake. Deleted Song - “Desert Moon” is just what it sounds like, a deleted song. Guy Ritchie: A Cinematic Genie is a five-minute long making of featurette, focusing on the director, Guy Ritchie. A Friend Like Genie looks at Will Smith’s performance as the Genie. There are six Deleted Scenes with a total running time of 11 minutes. Up next are three Music Videos and finally there are two minutes of Bloopers. That’s nearly 50 minutes of extras, which is a solid selection for a first-run release.

The animated Aladdin has four new featurettes, starting with Aladdin on Aladdin, a 30-minute featurette with Scott Weinger, the voice actor who provided Aladdin’s speaking voice. Let’s Not Be Too Hasty: The Voices of Aladdin is a three-minute behind-the-scenes featurette on the voice cast of the film. There is also two minutes of Alternate Endings. Finally, there is a sing-along mode for the movie. There are also a ton of archival extras, including two audio commentary tracks. If you’ve made the leap to 4K, then it is certainly worth picking up. If you haven’t, then I’m on the fence about the Blu-ray double-dip. It is a close call.

The Verdict

The live-action remake of Aladdin isn’t as good as the original animated Aladdin was, but it is closer than I was anticipating and I think the DVD / Blu-ray / 4K Ultra HD is worth picking up. The Blu-ray / 4K Ultra HD for the original is also worth picking up, if you’ve made the leap to 4K, or if you just really like the original and want the new extras.

Filed under: Video Review, Aladdin, Will Smith, Robin Williams, Linda Larkin, Guy Ritchie, Alan Tudyk, Scott Weinger, Gilbert Gottfried, Nasim Pedrad, Naomi Scott, Mena Massoud