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''Aladdin'' is a 2019 American
musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwo ...
fantasy film Fantasy films are films that belong to the fantasy genre with fantastic themes, usually magic, supernatural events, mythology, folklore, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered a form of speculative fiction alongside science fiction ...
directed by
Guy Ritchie Guy Stuart Ritchie (born 10 September 1968) is an English film director, producer and screenwriter. His work includes British gangster films, and the ''Adaptations of Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock Holmes'' films starring Robert Downey Jr. Ritchi ...
from a screenplay he co-wrote with John August. Co-produced by
Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Pictures is an American film production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company. The studio is the flagship producer of live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Studios unit ...
and Rideback, it is a
live-action Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ...
adaptation of Disney's 1992 animated film of the same name, which itself is based on the eponymous tale from ''
One Thousand and One Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...
''. The film stars
Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his acting career starring as a fictionalized version of himself on the NBC sitcom '' The Fresh ...
with
Mena Massoud Mena Mansour Massoud ( ar, مينا منصور مسعود; born September 17, 1991) is an Egyptian-born Canadian actor known for starring as the title character in the Disney fantasy film ''Aladdin'' (2019). He also starred as Jared Malik in the C ...
,
Naomi Scott Naomi Scott (born 6 May 1993) is an English actress and singer. Born in Hounslow, she rose to prominence for her performances in the television film '' Lemonade Mouth'' (2011) and the science fiction series '' Terra Nova'' (2011). In 2015, Scree ...
,
Marwan Kenzari Marwan Kenzari ( ar, مروان كنزاري; born 16 January 1983) is a Dutch actor born in The Hague, Netherlands. Starting his career in 2008, he first came to prominence for his role in the 2013 film ''Wolf'', which earned him a Golden Calf a ...
,
Navid Negahban Navid Negahban ( fa, نوید نگهبان; born June 2, 1968) is an Iranian-American actor. He has appeared on '' 24'', ''Homeland'', '' Mistresses'' and as Amahl Farouk / Shadow King in the second and third seasons of FX's ''Legion''. He has al ...
,
Nasim Pedrad Nassim ( ar, نسیم) also transliterated as Nacim, Naseem, Nasseem, Nasim, Nesim or Nessim, is a unisex Arabic name. It is mostly used in Middle Eastern and South Asian cultures and language groups. It may refer to: Company *Nasim Sdn Bhd, a m ...
and
Billy Magnussen William Gregory Magnussen (born April 20, 1985) is an American actor. He has been featured in the films ''Into the Woods'' (2014), ''Birth of the Dragon'' (2016), '' Game Night'' (2018), and ''Aladdin'' (2019), and has had supporting television r ...
in supporting roles. The plot follows
Aladdin Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part o ...
, a street urchin, as he falls in love with
Princess Jasmine Princess Jasmine is a fictional character who appears in Walt Disney Pictures' 31st animated feature film ''Aladdin'' (1992). Voiced by American actress Linda Larkin with a singing voice provided by Filipina singer Lea Salonga Jasmine is the s ...
, befriends a wish-granting
Genie Jinn ( ar, , ') – also romanized as djinn or anglicized as genies (with the broader meaning of spirit or demon, depending on sources) – are invisible creatures in early pre-Islamic Arabian religious systems and later in Islamic myt ...
, and battles the wicked sorcerer Jafar. In October 2016, Disney announced Ritchie would direct a live-action ''Aladdin'' remake. Smith was the first member of the cast to join, signing on to portray Genie in July 2017, and Massoud and Scott were confirmed for the two lead roles later that month.
Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as ...
began that September at
Longcross Studios Longcross Film Studios is a film and television production facility in Longcross, Surrey, approximately west of central London. Built on the site of the Military Vehicles and Engineering Establishment, the studio began operations in 2006. The s ...
in
Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...
, England, also filming in the Wadi Rum Desert in
Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
, and lasted until January 2018. Additional filming and pick-ups took place in August 2018. ''Aladdin'' was theatrically released in the United States on May 24, 2019. It grossed over $1 billion worldwide, making it the ninth highest-grossing film of 2019. The film received mixed reviews from critics, with praise for its music, costume design, and the performances of Smith, Massoud, and Scott, but criticism for Ritchie's direction, the CGI, and Kenzari's characterization of Jafar. A sequel is in development.


Plot

Aladdin, an orphaned street urchin in the
Arabian The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plat ...
city of Agrabah, and his monkey Abu meet Princess Jasmine, who has snuck away from her sheltered life in the palace. She wishes to succeed her father as Sultan, but is instead expected to marry one of her royal suitors. Jafar, the
grand vizier Grand vizier ( fa, وزيرِ اعظم, vazîr-i aʾzam; ota, صدر اعظم, sadr-ı aʾzam; tr, sadrazam) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. The office of Grand Vizier was first ...
, schemes to overthrow the Sultan and seeks a
magic lamp Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of ...
that only "the diamond in the rough" can retrieve. While sneaking into the royal palace to visit Jasmine, Aladdin and Abu are captured by Jafar. He offers to make Aladdin rich enough to impress Jasmine in exchange for retrieving the lamp from the Cave of Wonders. Once there, Aladdin frees a
magic carpet A magic carpet, also called a flying carpet, is a legendary carpet and common trope in fantasy fiction. It is typically used as a form of transportation and can quickly or instantaneously carry its users to their destination. In literature One o ...
and finds the lamp. Aladdin gives the lamp to Jafar, who double crosses and kicks him and Abu into the cave, but Abu steals the lamp back. Trapped in the cave, Aladdin rubs the lamp, unwittingly summoning the omnipotent
Genie Jinn ( ar, , ') – also romanized as djinn or anglicized as genies (with the broader meaning of spirit or demon, depending on sources) – are invisible creatures in early pre-Islamic Arabian religious systems and later in Islamic myt ...
inside. He has the power to grant Aladdin three wishes. Aladdin gets them out of the cave without using a wish on a technicality. Determined to woo Jasmine, he uses his official first wish to become a prince, and promises to use his third wish to free the Genie from servitude and turn him human. Aladdin makes an extravagant arrival at Agrabah as "Prince Ali of Ababwa", but struggles to impress Jasmine. Posing as Aladdin's human attendant, the Genie is mutually smitten with Dalia, Jasmine's
handmaiden A handmaiden, handmaid or maidservant is a personal maid or female servant. Depending on culture or historical period, a handmaiden may be of slave status or may be simply an employee. However, the term ''handmaiden'' generally implies lowly st ...
. Aladdin and Jasmine bond when he takes her on a ride on the magic carpet. Tricked into revealing his true identity, he lies to her, saying that he actually is a prince and dressed like a peasant to explore Agrabah. Jafar discovers Aladdin's identity and throws him into the palace
moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...
, knowing that if he survives, it will prove he has the lamp. The Genie saves Aladdin, costing him his second wish. Once rescued, Aladdin returns to the palace and destroys Jafar's magic cobra staff, ending his spell over the Sultan and revealing his plot. Jafar is then arrested and imprisoned in the dungeons. The Sultan allows Aladdin to marry Jasmine. He goes back on his promise to free the Genie, feeling uncertain of being able to keep up his persona without him. Dismayed that his master wants to continue living a lie, the Genie retreats to his lamp in disappointment. Freed by his pet parrot Iago, Jafar steals the lamp and becomes the Genie's new master. He uses his first wish to become sultan and his second one to become the world's most powerful sorcerer. Jafar then exposes Aladdin, exiles him and Abu to a frozen wasteland, and threatens to kill the Sultan and Dalia unless Jasmine agrees to marry him. At the wedding, Jasmine rescues the lamp from Jafar and jumps into the magic carpet to escape with Aladdin and Abu, who had been rescued from the frozen wasteland by the magic carpet, after the Genie sent it behind Jafar's back. Attacked by Jafar's magic, Aladdin and Jasmine are recaptured and the carpet is destroyed. Aladdin taunts Jafar for being second in power to the Genie, goading him into using his last wish to become "the most powerful being in the universe". Jafar turns into a genie and becomes trapped inside his own lamp, dragging Iago with him, and the Genie banishes them to the Cave of Wonders. Abu rescues the magic carpet and Genie fixes it up. Aladdin keeps his promise and uses his last wish to free the Genie, allowing him to live as a human. The Sultan crowns Jasmine the new sultana- regnant, no longer bound to marry a prince, and she and Aladdin marry. The Genie marries Dalia and they start a family and explore the world together, becoming the mariner who is telling his children the story about Aladdin in the beginning of the film.


Cast

*
Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his acting career starring as a fictionalized version of himself on the NBC sitcom '' The Fresh ...
as Genie / Mariner:
A comical and kindly
jinn Jinn ( ar, , ') – also romanized as djinn or anglicized as genies (with the broader meaning of spirit or demon, depending on sources) – are invisible creatures in early pre-Islamic Arabian religious systems and later in Islamic ...
who has the power to grant three wishes to whoever possesses his magic lamp. Smith said that he was "terrified" while playing the character, but that " efound a lane that pays homage" to
Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...
' performance in the original animated film, while still making the role " isown thing." Smith described the character as "both a trickster and a mentor," who tries "to guide Aladdin to the truth of the greatness that's already within him." Smith physically portrays the character when he is in the guise of a human, while his giant blue genie form is CGI, portrayed through motion-capture performance. *
Mena Massoud Mena Mansour Massoud ( ar, مينا منصور مسعود; born September 17, 1991) is an Egyptian-born Canadian actor known for starring as the title character in the Disney fantasy film ''Aladdin'' (2019). He also starred as Jared Malik in the C ...
as
Aladdin Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part o ...
:
An impoverished but kind-hearted Agrabah thief and street urchin who is in love with Princess Jasmine. Massoud said that Aladdin "sees a future for himself that's greater than what's been set out for him at the present moment. He doesn't know exactly what it is or how he's going to get there, but he knows it is out there," and felt the character is very selfless and usually does things for other people, but as he falls in love he loses himself a little bit and starts to become someone that he's not. But he's a good person with good intentions and has good people surrounding him who lead him back to where he's supposed to be." *
Naomi Scott Naomi Scott (born 6 May 1993) is an English actress and singer. Born in Hounslow, she rose to prominence for her performances in the television film '' Lemonade Mouth'' (2011) and the science fiction series '' Terra Nova'' (2011). In 2015, Scree ...
as
Jasmine Jasmine ( taxonomic name: ''Jasminum''; , ) is a genus of shrubs and vines in the olive family (Oleaceae). It contains around 200 species native to tropical and warm temperate regions of Eurasia, Africa, and Oceania. Jasmines are widely culti ...
:
The Sultan's daughter and the feisty
princess Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin '' princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subs ...
of Agrabah who wants to have a say in how she lives her life and falls in love with Aladdin. Scott said that the character "will be strong and have fun, but also get it wrong and be emotional. She's a multidimensional woman, and she does not have to just be one thing. So in this movie, you see her go on such a roller coaster, as opposed to her one goal being to escape the loneliness of royalty and find a companion." She further stated that Jasmine will try to find "the courage to speak out for her people," and said that "Jasmine wants to know what goes on in her kingdom and reconcile the distance that has been created, and Aladdin gives her the courage to do just that." *
Marwan Kenzari Marwan Kenzari ( ar, مروان كنزاري; born 16 January 1983) is a Dutch actor born in The Hague, Netherlands. Starting his career in 2008, he first came to prominence for his role in the 2013 film ''Wolf'', which earned him a Golden Calf a ...
as Jafar:
A nefarious, deceptive, power-hungry sorcerer and the
Grand vizier Grand vizier ( fa, وزيرِ اعظم, vazîr-i aʾzam; ota, صدر اعظم, sadr-ı aʾzam; tr, sadrazam) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. The office of Grand Vizier was first ...
of Agrabah who, frustrated with the Sultan's ways of ruling, devises a plot to overthrow him as the ruler of Agrabah by acquiring the Genie's lamp. Jafar's backstory is explored in the film, which producer Jonathan Eirich felt would make the audience "understand why he's so bad," as "that's what makes him such a good villain." *
Navid Negahban Navid Negahban ( fa, نوید نگهبان; born June 2, 1968) is an Iranian-American actor. He has appeared on '' 24'', ''Homeland'', '' Mistresses'' and as Amahl Farouk / Shadow King in the second and third seasons of FX's ''Legion''. He has al ...
as The Sultan:
The wise and noble ruler of Agrabah who is eager to find a capable husband for his daughter Jasmine. On playing the character, Negahban said that it was "very scary because
he Sultan He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
has so many followers. Lots of people grew up with that character, so they have certain expectations. It's not just an animated character. This has become a real personality, a real persona." He further stated that "after I read the script, I felt that re-watching the
original Originality is the aspect of created or invented works that distinguish them from reproductions, clones, forgeries, or substantially derivative works. The modern idea of originality is according to some scholars tied to Romanticism, by a notion t ...
will pollute my vision of the live-action character. In the new ''Aladdin'', the Sultan has more depth and is not a caricature of a father. But I will let you judge it for yourself." *
Nasim Pedrad Nassim ( ar, نسیم) also transliterated as Nacim, Naseem, Nasseem, Nasim, Nesim or Nessim, is a unisex Arabic name. It is mostly used in Middle Eastern and South Asian cultures and language groups. It may refer to: Company *Nasim Sdn Bhd, a m ...
as Dalia:
Jasmine's loyal
handmaiden A handmaiden, handmaid or maidservant is a personal maid or female servant. Depending on culture or historical period, a handmaiden may be of slave status or may be simply an employee. However, the term ''handmaiden'' generally implies lowly st ...
and confidante. Pedrad said that Dalia has "been by Jasmine's side for years and really looks out for her". Dalia is the only new character from the main cast. *
Billy Magnussen William Gregory Magnussen (born April 20, 1985) is an American actor. He has been featured in the films ''Into the Woods'' (2014), ''Birth of the Dragon'' (2016), '' Game Night'' (2018), and ''Aladdin'' (2019), and has had supporting television r ...
as Prince Anders:
A suitor and potential husband for Jasmine from the kingdom of Skånland. Numan Acar portrays Hakim, the head of the palace guards who is loyal to the Sultan of Agrabah; and
Alan Tudyk Alan Wray Tudyk ( ;; born March 16, 1971) is an American actor. His film work includes roles in '' 28 Days'' with Sandra Bullock (2000), ''A Knight's Tale'' with Heath Ledger (2001), '' Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story'' with Vince Vaughn (2004) ...
as the voice of
Iago Iago () is a fictional character in Shakespeare's ''Othello'' (c. 1601–1604). Iago is the play's main antagonist, and Othello's standard-bearer. He is the husband of Emilia, who is in turn the attendant of Othello's wife Desdemona. Iago ha ...
, Jafar's sardonic and intelligent
scarlet macaw The scarlet macaw (''Ara macao'') is a large red, yellow, and blue Central and South American parrot, a member of a large group of Neotropical parrots called macaws. It is native to humid evergreen forests of the Neotropics. Its range extends from ...
companion, This is the first instance where the character is not voiced by
Gilbert Gottfried Gilbert Jeremy Gottfried (February 28, 1955 – April 12, 2022) was an American stand-up comedian and actor, known for his exaggerated shrill voice, strong New York accent, and his edgy, often controversial, sense of humor. His numerous r ...
. In this film, Iago is portrayed as a more realistic parrot.
Frank Welker Franklin Wendell Welker (born March 12, 1946) is an American voice actor. He began his career in the 1960s, and holds over 860 film, television, and video game credits as of 2022, making him one of the most prolific voice actors of all time. With ...
reprises his role as the vocal effects for
Abu Abu or ABU may refer to: Places * Abu (volcano), a volcano on the island of Honshū in Japan * Abu, Yamaguchi, a town in Japan * Ahmadu Bello University, a university located in Zaria, Nigeria * Atlantic Baptist University, a Christian university ...
, Aladdin's
kleptomania Kleptomania is the inability to resist the urge to steal items, usually for reasons other than personal use or financial gain. First described in 1816, kleptomania is classified in psychiatry as an impulse control disorder. Some of the main cha ...
c but loyal pet
Tufted capuchin The tufted capuchin (''Sapajus apella''), also known as brown capuchin, black-capped capuchin, or pin monkey is a New World primate from South America and the Caribbean islands of Trinidad and Margarita. As traditionally defined, it is one of th ...
. Welker also reprises his roles as the vocal effects for Jasmine’s pet
Bengal tiger The Bengal tiger is a population of the '' Panthera tigris tigris'' subspecies. It ranks among the biggest wild cats alive today. It is considered to belong to the world's charismatic megafauna. The tiger is estimated to have been present i ...
,
Rajah ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested fr ...
and the voice of the Cave of Wonders, a sand guardian who guards the magic lamp from intruders and only gives to someone who's worthy, "a diamond in the rough". Out of the three roles the latter is the only one for which he receives credit. Additionally, Tayliah Blair and Jordan A. Nash respectively play Genie and Dalia's daughter and son, Lian and Omar. Also, Robby Haynes portrays Razoul, a palace guard.
Nina Wadia Nina Wadia (born 18 December 1968) is a British actress and comedian. She is known for portraying Zainab Masood in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', Aunty Noor in Citizen Khan Mrs Hussein in the BBC comedy '' Still Open All Hours'', and for ...
plays Zulla, a market trader who dislikes Aladdin. Wadia describes her appearance as "More of a cameo" as extra footage was needed after filming had wrapped.


Production


Development

On October 10, 2016, it was announced that
Guy Ritchie Guy Stuart Ritchie (born 10 September 1968) is an English film director, producer and screenwriter. His work includes British gangster films, and the ''Adaptations of Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock Holmes'' films starring Robert Downey Jr. Ritchi ...
would direct a
live-action Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ...
''
Aladdin Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part o ...
'' film for
Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Pictures is an American film production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company. The studio is the flagship producer of live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Studios unit ...
, with John August writing the script and Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich attached as producers. The studio said that the film would be "an ambitious and nontraditional" take on the tale of ''Aladdin'' that would keep the musical elements of the
original film Original Film is an American film and television production company founded by Neal H. Moritz. Notable films the company has produced include the ''Fast & Furious'' franchise. History Original Film was started out in the early 1990s by Neal ...
. On the nontraditional aspect, the studio had originally planned for the film to be told in a
nonlinear In mathematics and science, a nonlinear system is a system in which the change of the output is not proportional to the change of the input. Nonlinear problems are of interest to engineers, biologists, physicists, mathematicians, and many oth ...
format. On July 17, 2017, it was announced that Disney had hired
Vanessa Taylor Vanessa Taylor is an American screenwriter and television producer. She is known for writing '' Hope Springs'', '' Divergent'', and ''The Shape of Water'', as well as for her work as a writer and co-executive producer on seasons two and three of ' ...
to polish the original screenplay by August, specifically some "character work" and what is called "
script doctor A script doctor is a writer or playwright hired by a film, television, or theatre production company to rewrite an existing script or improve specific aspects of it, including structure, characterization, dialogue, pacing, themes, and other eleme ...
ing". Meanwhile, Richie and the studio focused on casting the other main roles with filming slated to start in August in London. When asked about Ritchie's take on the film, Pasek & Paul described it as "very muscular and action-packed."


Casting

In February 2017, Lin said that they were looking for a diverse cast and that they would not try "to make ''
Prince of Persia ''Prince of Persia'' is a video game franchise created by Jordan Mechner. It is built around a series of action-adventure games focused on various incarnations of the eponymous Prince, set in ancient and medieval Persia. The first two games i ...
''." A worldwide casting call for the lead roles of
Aladdin Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part o ...
and
Princess Jasmine Princess Jasmine is a fictional character who appears in Walt Disney Pictures' 31st animated feature film ''Aladdin'' (1992). Voiced by American actress Linda Larkin with a singing voice provided by Filipina singer Lea Salonga Jasmine is the s ...
commenced in March 2017, with principal production set to take place in the UK from July 2017 until January 2018. The call for the titular role included both south Asian and southwest Asian (Arab) actors, which some critics suggested was "a simplistic conflation" that signaled "an ignorance offensive to both cultures." On April 19, 2017, it was reported that either
Gabriel Iglesias Gabriel Jesús Iglesias (born July 15, 1976), also known as Fluffy, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He has produced a number of stand-up specials for television outlets such as Comedy Central and Netflix, including ''I'm Not Fat… ...
or
Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his acting career starring as a fictionalized version of himself on the NBC sitcom '' The Fresh ...
were in talks to play
Genie Jinn ( ar, , ') – also romanized as djinn or anglicized as genies (with the broader meaning of spirit or demon, depending on sources) – are invisible creatures in early pre-Islamic Arabian religious systems and later in Islamic myt ...
, for which the latter was confirmed in July. In August, Dutch actor
Marwan Kenzari Marwan Kenzari ( ar, مروان كنزاري; born 16 January 1983) is a Dutch actor born in The Hague, Netherlands. Starting his career in 2008, he first came to prominence for his role in the 2013 film ''Wolf'', which earned him a Golden Calf a ...
joined the cast as Jafar, with
Nasim Pedrad Nassim ( ar, نسیم) also transliterated as Nacim, Naseem, Nasseem, Nasim, Nesim or Nessim, is a unisex Arabic name. It is mostly used in Middle Eastern and South Asian cultures and language groups. It may refer to: Company *Nasim Sdn Bhd, a m ...
cast in a newly created role as Mara, "a hand maid and friend of Jasmine" who serves as a "comic relief." Numan Acar was set to play Hakim. The following month,
Billy Magnussen William Gregory Magnussen (born April 20, 1985) is an American actor. He has been featured in the films ''Into the Woods'' (2014), ''Birth of the Dragon'' (2016), '' Game Night'' (2018), and ''Aladdin'' (2019), and has had supporting television r ...
joined the cast in a newly created role as Prince Anders, alongside
Navid Negahban Navid Negahban ( fa, نوید نگهبان; born June 2, 1968) is an Iranian-American actor. He has appeared on '' 24'', ''Homeland'', '' Mistresses'' and as Amahl Farouk / Shadow King in the second and third seasons of FX's ''Legion''. He has al ...
as the Sultan. In May 2017,
Little Mix Little Mix are a British girl group, composed of group members Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jade Thirlwall, and Perrie Edwards. Jesy Nelson was originally part of the group before she left in 2020. After becoming the first group to win the British v ...
member Jade Thirlwall was in talks for the part of Princess Jasmine. On July 11, 2017, it was announced that principal production on ''Aladdin'' had been pushed back by a month, to August 2017, due to struggles in finding the right actor to portray the titular role. Over 2,000 actors and actresses had auditioned for the roles of Aladdin and Jasmine, but finding a male lead of Middle Eastern or Indian descent in his 20s, who could act and sing, was seemingly difficult for the producers.
Naomi Scott Naomi Scott (born 6 May 1993) is an English actress and singer. Born in Hounslow, she rose to prominence for her performances in the television film '' Lemonade Mouth'' (2011) and the science fiction series '' Terra Nova'' (2011). In 2015, Scree ...
and
Tara Sutaria Tara Sutaria (born 19 November 1995) is an Indian actress and singer who works in Hindi films. She began her career as a singer in Disney India's '' Big Bada Boom'' and transitioned to acting with the channel's sitcoms '' The Suite Life of Kara ...
were the final two actresses in the running for the role of Jasmine, but neither could be cast until a chemistry test was done with whomever would be cast as Aladdin. The studio was initially interested in
Dev Patel Dev Patel (; born 23 April 1990) is a British actor. His breakthrough came in 2008 with the leading role of Jamal Malik in Danny Boyle's drama ''Slumdog Millionaire'', for which Patel was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Lead ...
or
Riz Ahmed Rizwan Ahmed (; ; born ) is a British actor and rapper. As an actor, he has won an Emmy Award and has received nominations for a Golden Globe and three British Independent Film Awards, and as a rapper he has won an Academy Award for the short ...
for Aladdin, but later decided to cast a relative newcomer. Achraf Koutet,
Mena Massoud Mena Mansour Massoud ( ar, مينا منصور مسعود; born September 17, 1991) is an Egyptian-born Canadian actor known for starring as the title character in the Disney fantasy film ''Aladdin'' (2019). He also starred as Jared Malik in the C ...
and George Kosturos were among the actors being tested for the role. Two
musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as brea ...
veterans, Marc Platt (who would serve as executive producer) and Chris Montan, were consulted before a final decision was made. At the 2017
D23 Expo D23: The Official Disney Fan Club is the official fan club for The Walt Disney Company. Founded in 2009, the organization is known mainly for its biennial exposition event, the D23 Expo. The name ''D23'' refers to ''D'' for ''Disney'' and ''23'' ...
, on July 15, it was announced that Massoud would star as Aladdin and Scott as Jasmine, ending the four-month long open casting call. Julie Ann Crommett, Disney's Vice President of Multicultural Engagement, said the decision to cast Scott—the daughter of an
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...
father and a
Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub- ...
Ugandan-Indian mother—as Jasmine, reflected the mixing or association of different cultures in the broad region that consists of the
Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
,
South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;; ...
and
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
, all of which make up the
Silk Road The Silk Road () was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and rel ...
. In November 2017, Robby Haynes was cast as Razoul, while
Frank Welker Franklin Wendell Welker (born March 12, 1946) is an American voice actor. He began his career in the 1960s, and holds over 860 film, television, and video game credits as of 2022, making him one of the most prolific voice actors of all time. With ...
was announced to reprise his role as
Abu the monkey Disney's ''Aladdin'' franchise features an extensive cast of fictional characters. The lead character of the series is Aladdin, who was originally a street urchin. During the course of the franchise, he starts living in the palace of Agrabah and ...
. On December 20, 2018,
Gilbert Gottfried Gilbert Jeremy Gottfried (February 28, 1955 – April 12, 2022) was an American stand-up comedian and actor, known for his exaggerated shrill voice, strong New York accent, and his edgy, often controversial, sense of humor. His numerous r ...
said that he was not asked to reprise his role as
Iago Iago () is a fictional character in Shakespeare's ''Othello'' (c. 1601–1604). Iago is the play's main antagonist, and Othello's standard-bearer. He is the husband of Emilia, who is in turn the attendant of Othello's wife Desdemona. Iago ha ...
, Jafar's pet parrot. In March 2019, it was announced that
Alan Tudyk Alan Wray Tudyk ( ;; born March 16, 1971) is an American actor. His film work includes roles in '' 28 Days'' with Sandra Bullock (2000), ''A Knight's Tale'' with Heath Ledger (2001), '' Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story'' with Vince Vaughn (2004) ...
would voice the character instead. In May 2019, Welker was announced as reprising his role as
Rajah ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested fr ...
, Jasmine's pet tiger, and the trailer had confirmed that Welker would reprise his role as the Cave of Wonders as well.


Filming

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as ...
began on September 6, 2017, at
Longcross Studios Longcross Film Studios is a film and television production facility in Longcross, Surrey, approximately west of central London. Built on the site of the Military Vehicles and Engineering Establishment, the studio began operations in 2006. The s ...
in
Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...
, England, and wrapped on January 24, 2018. Part of the film was shot in
Wadi Rum Wadi Rum ( ar, وادي رم ''Wādī Ramm'', also ''Wādī al-Ramm''), known also as the Valley of the Moon ( ar, وادي القمر ''Wādī al-Qamar''), is a valley cut into the sandstone and granite rock in southern Jordan, about to the east ...
Desert, Jordan. The Royal Film Commission provided support to the production during filming and assisted in facilitating logistics. Reshoots took place during August 2018. The film's production sets were designed by ''
Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of '' A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the fir ...
'' production designer
Gemma Jackson Gemma Jackson is a British production designer who has worked on both television and film. She has won two Emmys, one for the television show ''Game of Thrones'' and the other for the mini-series ''John Adams''. She was nominated at the 77th Ac ...
. The "Prince Ali" musical sequence features 1,000 dancers and extras. Smith frequently improvises throughout the film. Massoud also revealed that there was a whole scene, where Prince Ali and Genie meet the royal family for the first time, that was improvised by the cast.


Visual effects

The visual effects were provided by
Industrial Light & Magic Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) is an American motion picture visual effects company that was founded on May 26, 1975 by George Lucas. It is a division of the film production company Lucasfilm, which Lucas founded, and was created when he began pr ...
and supervised by Michael Mullholland, Daniele Bigi, and David Seager, with the help of Hybride Technologies,
DNEG DNEG (formerly known as Double Negative) is a British visual effects, computer animation, and stereo conversion studio that was founded in 1998 in London, and rebranded as DNEG in 2014 after a merger with Indian VFX company Prime Focus. The ...
, Nzviage and Proof.


Controversies

In January 2018, it was reported that white extras were being applied brown make-up during filming in order to "blend in", which caused an outcry and condemnation among fans and critics, branding the practice as "an insult to the whole industry" while accusing the producers of not recruiting people with Middle-Eastern or North African heritage. Disney responded to the controversy saying, "Diversity of our cast and background performers was a requirement and only in a handful of instances when it was a matter of specialty skills, safety and control (special effects rigs, stunt performers and handling of animals) were crew made up to blend in." The decision to cast Billy Magnussen as an entirely new character not seen in the original film also drew criticism from fans. Some viewed the creation of his character as unnecessary, while others even accused the film of whitewashing, since Magnussen is Caucasian. But ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...
'' pointed out that Nasim Pedrad, an actress of
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
ian-
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
descent, also was cast as a brand new character when she was awarded the role of Jasmine's friend Mara (later renamed Dalia).


Music and soundtrack

Alan Menken Alan Irwin Menken (born July 22, 1949) is an American composer, best known for his scores and songs for films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. His scores and songs for '' The Little Mermaid'' (1989), '' Beauty and the Beast'' (1991), ' ...
was brought in to compose the score for the film, reprising his duties from the original animated film. Pasek & Paul wrote a new song with Menken, and several songs from the original film by Menken,
Howard Ashman Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...
, and
Tim Rice Sir Timothy Miles Bindon Rice (born 10 November 1944) is an English lyricist and author. He is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote, among other shows, ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'', ...
were featured in the remake.


Release

''Aladdin'' held its world premiere at the Grand Rex in
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
, France, on May 8, 2019. It was released in 3D,
Dolby Cinema Dolby Cinema is a premium cinema created by Dolby Laboratories that combines Dolby proprietary technologies such as Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, as well as other signature entrance and intrinsic design features. The technology competes with ...
,
IMAX 3D IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating. Graeme ...
and 4DX by
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, formerly known as Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, Inc. until 2007, is an American film distribution studio within the Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. It h ...
on May 24, 2019, replacing the original release date set for '' Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker''. The film was originally going to be released on December 20, 2019. But on September 12, 2017, the film was moved to May 24, 2019. ''Aladdin''s first regional premiere was in
Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
on May 13, 2019, in the presence of
Prince Ali bin Hussein Prince Ali bin Hussein ( ar, الأمير علي بن الحسين; born 23 December 1975) is the third son of King Hussein of Jordan, and the second child of the king by his third wife, Queen Alia. He is also the half brother of King Abdullah ...
and
Princess Rym Ali Princess Rym al-Ali (née Rym Brahimi; born 1969) is the Algerian wife of Prince Ali bin Hussein of Jordan, whom she married on 7 September 2004. Early life She is the daughter of Lakhdar Brahimi, former Algerian Minister for Foreign Affairs ...
.


Marketing

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his acting career starring as a fictionalized version of himself on the NBC sitcom '' The Fresh ...
debuted the first official poster on October 10, 2018. The teaser trailer was released the following day. In December 2018, ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular ...
'' offered a first official look at the cast in costume on the cover of their issue for the most anticipated films of 2019. On February 10, 2019, Disney debuted a special sneak peek of the film during the
61st Annual Grammy Awards The 61st Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on February 10, 2019, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Singer-songwriter Alicia Keys hosted. During her opening monologue, Keys brought out Lady Gaga, Jada Pinkett Smith, Jennifer Lopez, and fo ...
, which was met with largely negative feedback from audiences, primarily due to the quality of the CGI Genie in his blue design, created via motion capture effects. The negative reception sparked a large amount of
memes A meme ( ) is an idea, behavior, or style that spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural i ...
and
Photoshop Adobe Photoshop is a raster graphics editor developed and published by Adobe Inc. for Windows and macOS. It was originally created in 1988 by Thomas and John Knoll. Since then, the software has become the industry standard not only in raster ...
edits mocking Will Smith's appearance in the sneak peek, several of which compared it with
Tobias Fünke ''Arrested Development'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on the Fox network from November 2, 2003, to February 10, 2006. A fourth season of 15 episodes was released on Netflix on May 26, 2013. Created by Mitchell Hurwitz, ...
(from ''
Arrested Development The term "arrested development" has had multiple meanings for over 200 years. In the field of medicine, the term "arrested development" was first used, ''circa'' 1835–1836, to mean a stoppage of physical development; the term continues to be use ...
'') painted in blue in an attempt to join the
Blue Man Group Blue Man Group is an American performance art company formed in 1987. It was purchased in July 2017 by the Canadian company Cirque du Soleil. Blue Man Group is known for its stage productions, which incorporate many kinds of music and art, bot ...
. On March 12, 2019, Disney debuted a second trailer on ''
Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. ...
''. The trailer had a much more positive reception than the previous one, as it featured several songs from the original film and more of Smith not entirely in motion-capture. His CGI scenes received better notices, as well, although it was still mostly criticized by some critics when the film was released.


Novelization

A tie-in novelization of the film was published by
Disney Publishing Worldwide Disney Publishing Worldwide (DPW), formerly known as The Disney Publishing Group and Buena Vista Publishing Group, is the publishing subsidiary of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. Its imprints incl ...
on April 9, 2019.


Home media

''Aladdin'' was released in Digital HD for download and streaming on August 27, 2019, and was released on
Ultra HD Blu-ray Ultra HD Blu-ray (4K Ultra HD, UHD-BD, or 4K Blu-ray) is a digital optical disc data storage format that is an enhanced variant of Blu-ray. Ultra HD Blu-ray discs are incompatible with existing standard Blu-ray players, though a traditional Bl ...
,
Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...
, and DVD on September 10. Aladdin made its streaming debut on
Disney+ Disney+ is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned and operated by the Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. The service primarily distributes films and television se ...
on January 8, 2020. With the launch of
Disney+ Hotstar Disney+ Hotstar (also known as Hotstar) is an Indian brand of subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Novi Digital Entertainment of Disney Star and operated by Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution, both d ...
on April 3, 2020; it was released in India in
Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...
,
Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, na ...
, and
Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode ...
as well as the original English. , the film had earned from worldwide home entertainment and television
net revenue In business and accounting, net income (also total comprehensive income, net earnings, net profit, bottom line, sales profit, or credit sales) is an entity's income minus cost of goods sold, expenses, depreciation and amortization, interest, ...
s, bringing total box office and home entertainment revenue to .


Soundtrack


Reception


Box office

''Aladdin'' grossed $356.6 million in the United States and Canada, and $695.1 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $1.051 billion, against a production budget of $183 million. The film crossed the $1 billion mark on July 26, 2019, becoming the 41st film to ever reach the milestone. ''
Deadline Hollywood ''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. The site is updated several times a day, wi ...
'' calculated the net profit of the film to be $356million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues. In the United States and Canada, ''Aladdin'' was released alongside ''
Booksmart ''Booksmart'' is a 2019 American comedy film directed by Olivia Wilde (in her feature directorial debut) and written by Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Susanna Fogel, and Katie Silberman. It stars Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever as two g ...
'' and ''
Brightburn ''Brightburn'' is a 2019 American superhero horror film directed by David Yarovesky, written by Brian and Mark Gunn, and produced by James Gunn and Kenneth Huang. Starring Elizabeth Banks, David Denman, Jackson A. Dunn, Matt Jones and Mere ...
'', and was projected to gross around $80 million from 4,476 theaters over its four-day opening weekend over
Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have fought and died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is observed on the last Monda ...
. While Disney was projecting a $75–85 million debut, some independent trackers had the film opening to as low as $65 million or as high as $100 million. The film made $31 million on its first day, including $7 million from Thursday night previews, the second-best total of the Disney live action remakes. The film ended up overperforming, grossing $91.5 million in its three-day opening weekend, and over four days during the extended Memorial Day frame. It was the third biggest opening of 2019 at the time (behind '' Avengers: Endgame'' and '' Captain Marvel''), and the fifth-highest Memorial Day launch ever, as well as the best debut of Ritchie's career and second best of Smith's. The film then grossed on its fifth day, the biggest post-Memorial Day Tuesday ever. In its second weekend, the film made $42.3 million, finishing second, behind newcomer '' Godzilla: King of the Monsters'', and then made $24.7 million in its third weekend, finishing third. It retained the third-place position at the box office during its fourth and fifth weekends with $17.3 million and $13.2 million, respectively. Worldwide, the film was expected to open to an additional $100–120 million, including $10–20 million in China. It went on to gross $123.2 million from foreign territories in its three-day opening weekend, for an overall global debut of $214.7 million. It was the number-one film in every Latin American and Asian territory where it was released. Its biggest international openings were in China ($18.7 million), Mexico (), the United Kingdom ($8.4 million), Italy ($6.6 million), and South Korea (). It also won the second best opening of 2019 in Italy, Spain, Indonesia, and Vietnam. In India, it debuted with , the year's third best opening for a foreign film (behind '' Avengers: Endgame'' and '' Captain Marvel''). By Monday, the film had a global four-day launch of . In its second weekend of international release the film made $78.3 million from 54 countries, remaining number one in 32 of them. In its fourth international weekend, ''Aladdin'' remained number one in twenty countries. By the end of June 2019, the film surpassed ''
Independence Day An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Many ...
'' (1996) to become the highest-grossing film of Will Smith's career. , the film's top five international markets are Japan (), South Korea (), China (), the United Kingdom (), and Mexico (). It topped the UK box office for four weeks. In the
Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
, it had the best
Ramadan , type = islam , longtype = Religious , image = Ramadan montage.jpg , caption=From top, left to right: A crescent moon over Sarıçam, Turkey, marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Ramadan Quran reading in Bandar Torkaman, Iran. ...
opening ever in the United Arab Emirates and Jordan, and went on to become the highest-grossing release of all time in the Middle East. In Japan, the film debuted with , the year's highest opening weekend for a foreign film, surpassing ''Avengers: Endgame''. As of September 2019, it is the year's second highest-grossing film in Japan (behind ''
Weathering with You is a 2019 Japanese animated romantic fantasy film produced by CoMix Wave Films and distributed by Toho. It depicts a high school boy who runs away from his rural home to Tokyo and befriends an orphan girl who has the ability to control th ...
''), and one of the top 20 highest-grossing films ever in Japan. In South Korea, it grossed over from over 11.4million ticket sales as of July 2019, making it the year's third highest-grossing film and second highest-grossing foreign film in South Korea, as well as the third highest-grossing foreign film ever in South Korea and the highest grossing Disney film ever (not including the MCU) in the country.


Critical response

On the review aggregation website
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...
, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews with an average rating of . The site's critical consensus reads, "''Aladdin'' retells its classic source material's story with sufficient spectacle and skill, even if it never approaches the dazzling splendor of the animated original." On
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, the film has a
weighted average The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...
score of 53 out of 100 based on 50 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by
CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...
gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while those at
PostTrak PostTrak is a U.S.-based service that surveys film audiences for film studios. History The service conducts surveys in the top 20 markets in the U.S. and Canada with the use of polling cards and electronic kiosks. A PostTrak report for a film ...
gave it an overall positive score of 90% (with an average 4.5 stars out of 5) and a 70% "definite recommend". Writing for the ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the '' Chicago ...
'',
Richard Roeper Richard E. Roeper (born October 17, 1959) is an American columnist and film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times''. He co-hosted the television series '' At the Movies'' with Roger Ebert from 2000 to 2008, serving as the late Gene Siskel's success ...
gave the film 3 out of 4 stars, praising Smith, Scott, and Massoud's performances and calling it a "shining, shimmering live-action update." ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
''s Peter Debruge summarized his review with, "Will Smith steps into Robin Williams's shoes, bringing fresh attitude to the role of the Genie in Guy Ritchie's high-risk, mostly rewarding live-action remake." However, he criticized Kenzari’s performance as Jafar, saying: "Dutch actor Marwan Kenzari may be a handsome alternative to the animated version’s effete vizier, with his pencil moustache and Sophia Loren eyes, but he no longer looms large enough to feel like much of a threat." A ''
Mir Fantastiki ''Mir Fantastiki'' (russian: Мир фантастики), officially abbreviated as ''MirF'', is a Russian monthly science fiction and fantasy magazine. The name also refers to the website run by the magazine, Mirf.ru. ''Mir Fantastiki'' litera ...
'' review by Yevgeniy Peklo gave the film a score of 8/10, saying it was "probably the best Disney live-action remake up to date." Despite praising the cast, William Bibbiani of ''
TheWrap ''TheWrap'' is an American online news website covering the business of entertainment and media via digital, print and live events. It was founded by journalist Sharon Waxman in 2009. Awards ''TheWrap'' has won awards for its journalism, incl ...
'' said of the film, "If you don't think about it very hard (although you probably should), the remake of ''Aladdin'' might entertain you. But you'd be a heck of a lot more entertained by watching the original film again. Or by going to a real-life parade. Or by doing some light gardening. Or by doing a crossword puzzle." Chris Nashawaty of ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular ...
'' gave the film a C+, lamenting that it did not add anything new to its 1992 animated predecessor; he felt that the film was unable to update the original's questionable Middle Eastern characterizations, but nevertheless praised the performances of Smith and Scott. Mark Kennedy of the
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. new ...
wrote that "Guy Ritchie... was always an odd choice to helm a big Disney romantic musical and proves utterly the wrong guy here. ''Aladdin'', in his hands, is more like ''
The Mummy A mummy is an unusually well preserved corpse. Mummy or The Mummy may also refer to: Places * Mummy Range, a mountain range in the Rocky Mountains of northern Colorado in the United States * Mummy Cave, a rock shelter and archeological site in P ...
'' than '' Frozen''." Before filming had started, some commentators criticized racial politics implied by the film's production elements and plot. Some expressed skepticism at the conclusion of the casting process, about its conflation of Arab and Middle Eastern culture and "lack of specificity and care." In a review in ''
7iber 7iber ( ar, حبر) is an Amman-based online citizen media and multimedia journalism organization founded in 2007 and registered as an Limited liability company, LLC in 2009. It is pronounced "Hiber" with the 7 standing in for the "haa" sound in A ...
'', Lamees Assaf observed that "the people and the setting looked more like
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
than a city in
the Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europea ...
." She also critiqued gendered and orientalist stereotypes as reified by the film, writing that " the eyes of Disney and Hollywood, the stereotypical image of the Arab girl– the belly dancer with a small waist and long hair– and the dark-skinned, jealous, and chivalrous Arab man defending and protecting his women from harm’s way, is much more attractive than actual Arabs, who are truly boring in reality." The 1992 animated version received related critiques about the
racialization In sociology, racialization or ethnicization is a political process of ascribing ethnic or racial identities to a relationship, social practice, or group that did not identify itself as such. Racialization or ethnicization often arises out of th ...
and
othering In phenomenology, the terms the Other and the Constitutive Other identify the other human being, in their differences from the Self, as being a cumulative, constituting factor in the self-image of a person; as acknowledgement of being real; h ...
of its characters and script.


Accolades, awards and nominations

" Speechless", a new original song written for Jasmine, was shortlisted for the
Academy Award for Best Original Song The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who have composed ...
at the
92nd Academy Awards The 92nd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released in 2019 and took place on February 9, 2020, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, beginning at 5:00 p ...
, but was ultimately not nominated.


Future


Sequel

On August 12, 2019, producer Lin announced his enthusiasm for a sequel and revealed that Disney is in the early stages of developing a follow-up. The studio also hopes to bring back Ritchie to direct and Smith to reprise his role as The Genie while also telling a story that's "fresh and new". He later stated that if they would make a sequel to ''Aladdin'', it would not be a direct adaptation of the animated films ''
The Return of Jafar ''The Return of Jafar'' (sometimes marketed as ''Aladdin: The Return of Jafar'' on re-release) is a 1994 American direct-to-video animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Television. It is the first sequel to the 1992 fi ...
'' or ''
Aladdin and the King of Thieves ''Aladdin and the King of Thieves'' is a 1996 American direct-to-video animated musical fantasy adventure film produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. It is the second sequel to the 1992 film '' Aladdin'', and serves as the final chapter an ...
'' but could borrow elements of them. It was also told that they would look at various sources for the sequel's story. On February 12, 2020, ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' officially confirmed that a sequel is in development, with
John Gatins John Gatins (born April 16, 1968) is an American screenwriter, director, and actor. For writing the drama film '' Flight'' (2012), he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Gatins made his directorial feature debut by ...
and
Andrea Berloff Andrea Berloff (born 1974) is an American screenwriter, actress, director, and producer. Berloff is best known for writing the 2006 disaster drama film ''World Trade Center'', and co-writing the 2015 biographical drama ''Straight Outta Compton'' ...
set to write the script. Lin and Eirich will return as producers, and Massoud, Smith, and Scott will reprise their roles. ''Aladdin 2'' was officially announced once the producers decided they had a good story and knew their path ahead.


Cancelled prequel

A year before deciding to remake ''Aladdin'', Disney made an announcement in 2015 that it would make a live-action prequel to the aforementioned film above under the title ''Genies''. The new film was reported to focus on genies and their realm and reveal how Aladdin's genie ended up in the lamp. Writers
Mark Swift and Damian Shannon Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Finn ...
were hired to write the script, while Tripp Vinson was to serve as a producer under his Vinson Films banner. However, as of 2021 the film was reportedly scrapped.


Spin-off film

A spin-off film focused on Prince Anders was announced in December 2019 to be in development for
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with Jordan Dunn and Michael Kvamme writing the script and Magnussen reprising his role. In April 2021, Magnussen stated that project was still in development and that writers Shane Andries and Chris Smith had been hired to do additional work on the script. In May 2022, Magnussen once again said that the film is still in the works and going through rewrites.


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