Guy Ritchie's adaptation of Disney's 1992 classic "Aladdin" has been a huge success, garnering over a billion dollars worldwide and receiving numerous accolades for its reviving of this timeless tale. There are many things to love about this new remake, from the performances of the up-and-coming stars Naomi Scott and Mena Massoud to Will Smith taking on the big shoes left by comedy legend Robin Williams as the Genie. The movie is a thrill ride of adventure and fantasy that has recaptured the imagination of "Aladdin" fans, but there are small details in the box office hit that you may have missed.
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00:00Despite the mixed reviews, one thing's for sure — the 2019 remake of Aladdin is full
00:05of references to its original animated counterpart, and also features quite a few
00:09noticeable creative departures. As fans of the original flick may remember, the scrappy,
00:14animated Aladdin begins his journey by stealing a simple loaf of bread. However,
00:18the live-action remake has our hero stealing not food from a street vendor,
00:22but jewelry from an unsuspecting civilian. It's not clear why this decision was made,
00:26especially since the song Aladdin sings as he parkours through the market begins with the
00:30lyric, "'One jump ahead of the bread line.'" But perhaps it's because Aladdin's jewelry-snatching
00:34ways become a central plot device of the movie when a stolen bracelet from Princess Jasmine
00:39gives him an excuse to see her again.
00:41You cannot just break into a palace like you own the place.
00:44If you don't have anything, you have to act like you own everything.
00:47As universally beloved as Will Smith is, a genie played by anyone other than the
00:52late Robin Williams was a tough pill for some Aladdin fans to swallow.
00:55Even Smith was hesitant to take on the role. According to director Guy Ritchie,
00:59Will Smith didn't want to be insensitive to the memory of Robin Williams and what he had created.
01:04"'Scuse me, if I was gonna talk to myself, I coulda just stayed in the lab."
01:07"'I'm…'
01:08"'Use your big boy voice.'"
01:09If fans are able to get past the initial shock of seeing the Fresh Prince as the genie,
01:13they'll be pleasantly surprised by the tribute paid to Robin Williams in Smith's rendition of
01:18Friend Like Me. While the majority of the original music number's lyrics remain the same,
01:21Smith brought his own fresh take to the song,
01:24replacing Williams' hilarious quirks and accents with his own flavor. Smith told Variety,
01:29"'That first day messing around with Friend Like Me,
01:31I noticed that it was the BPM range of old-school hip-hop. So when I started playing with it,
01:36it was like, oh man, this really lends itself to a tempo and a flavor that I really understand.'"
01:41Princess Jasmine's handmaiden Dahlia, played by Saturday Night Live alum Nasim Padrad,
01:46is a brand new character in the 2019 Aladdin remake, providing buckets of comedic relief,
01:50a love interest for Genie, and a much-needed friend for our princess.
01:54As fans of the original likely remember, Princess Jasmine's best friend was Raja,
01:58her super-protective pet tiger. In fact, Raja was pretty much Jasmine's only friend.
02:02While Raja is still very much part of the live-action remake,
02:05the lonely princess has found a new pal in Padrad's Dahlia, and these two are total BFF goals.
02:10Naomi Scott, who plays Princess Jasmine in the remake, told The Hollywood Reporter,
02:14"'I never realized it, but in animation, Jasmine is really the only female character.
02:18So we wanted people to watch the movie and see Jasmine's relationship with another woman.
02:22That's something that's missing from the animation."
02:25Adding a second female character to the mix wasn't the only stride the 2019 live-action
02:29Aladdin remake made. The film featured some seriously feminist themes throughout.
02:34In the 1992 animated flick, the thing Princess Jasmine desired most in the world was the
02:38ability to marry for love, not politics or money. When we first meet the live-action Princess
02:42Jasmine, love is the furthest thing from her mind. Instead, this princess wants the ability
02:47to be the sultan, not marry a sultan. And in a welcome surprise twist at the end of the film,
02:52Jasmine finally gets her wish. Also lacking from the original was a musical number for
02:56Princess Jasmine, aside from her duet with Aladdin. Thankfully, the remake features an
03:00empowering solo song for the princess entitled,
03:02"'Speechless,' with lyrics like,
03:04"'When they try to suffocate me, don't you underestimate me,
03:06cause I know that I won't go speechless.' This is bound to be a go-to feminist bop."
03:11The opening scene of the remake features Genie talking to two kids on board a ship
03:15in the middle of the ocean. However, this version isn't big, blue, or Genie-like at all.
03:20He's just a regular dude from a fictionalized version of Arabia, so what gives?
03:24Let's rewind the tape.
03:27Much like in the original, our hero uses his final wish to set Genie free. After all,
03:31he's lived for thousands of years in a tiny magical lamp, something which he detests.
03:36In the animated movie, the Genie excitedly sets off on his first adventure as a free being in
03:40Super 90s garb, but he's very much still obviously the Genie. However, in Guy Ritchie's live-action
03:45remake, Genie reverts to his human form when he's set free, and the opening scene is revealed
03:50to be a glimpse inside his new life with Dahlia and their children.
03:54Even more controversial than Will Smith's Genie before Aladdin's release was Marwan
03:58Khanzari's Jafar. While the royal vizier from the original 1992 animated film was absolutely
04:04terrifying, especially for little kids, the newly updated live-action Jafar is, in a word,
04:09attractive. In fact, the villain's good looks left many an Aladdin fan confused about where
04:13exactly their loyalties lie. In December 2018, BuzzFeed writer David Mack posted a
04:18shirtless picture of Khanzari next to a photo of the actor dressed as Jafar, tweeting,
04:23"'I hope Jafar wins.'" Another Twitter user named Richard Newby expressed his appreciation
04:27of Khanzari's Jafar, writing,
04:29"'Honestly, Jafar looks like a super nice dude who would throw lavish parties with the dopest
04:33mixtapes.'"