Aladdin (2019) (4½ Stars)

This film is based on the 1992 Disney animated film with the same name, rather than being a direct adaptation of the tale of Aladdin from "1001 Nights".

I've been seeing the trailer in the cinema for weeks, and I was fascinated. It looked like a bloated comedy romp, silly but entertaining. I had to see it. What I didn't realise until I saw the film today is that it's a musical. That wasn't made clear in the trailer. That made the film even better in my eyes. I also didn't know the film was directed by Guy Ritchie. Despite a few mediocre films in his career, he's still a director whose films I need to see.

Aladdin is a young thief who lives on the streets of Agrabah. He meets and falls in love with Princess Jasmine, who has sneaked out of the castle where she's usually confined for her own safety. Aladdin guesses that she's from the palace because of the expensive bracelet she's wearing, so she lies and tells him she's a handmaiden. After stealing the bracelet he wants to give it her back, but his monkey Abu has already hidden it. He sneaks back into the castle at night to return the bracelet, but he's captured by the Sultan's second-in-command, the Grand Vizier Jafar, who used to be a thief like Aladdin.

Jafar takes Aladdin to retrieve a magic lamp from the Cave Of Wonders in the desert. Aladdin is trapped in the cave, and when he rubs it a genie appears. The genie offers Aladdin three wishes, although it's a standing joke throughout the film what counts as a wish and what doesn't. The genie, hilariously portrayed by Will Smith, takes an immediate liking to Aladdin, because he's not like the previous owners of the lamp. Everyone else wanted wealth and power, but Aladdin just wants to get the woman he loves.

The film is excellent in its comedy and its pacing. The songs are never out of place, always complementing the action. What I like about the film is that even though the two main characters, Aladdin and the genie, are men, it's a tale of female empowerment. The princess isn't happy with the prospect of marrying and obeying a prince after having obeyed her father all her life; she wants to live her own life and become a ruler in her own right. I'm sure that this message wasn't in the ancient tale of Aladdin, and probably not in the 1992 film either. This is a very topical message for the 21st Century.

Maybe not all the women are as liberated as the princess. Jasmine's handmaiden Dalia, shown her on the left, just wants to marry a man and have children. I suppose that after being a servant all her life it's difficult for her to change her ways.

Naomi Scott, who plays Princess Jasmine, is an amazing singer. This is the perfect film for her to show off her talent. I look forward to seeing her in other films in the future, preferably musicals.

When I arrived today children were walking out of the previous showing. I asked two young girls, aged about eight and ten, what they thought of the film, and they both said it was great. That's the mark of a good film, that it can appeal to both children and adults.