Aladdin is a 2019 American musical fantasy film and a live-action adaptation of Disney's 1992 animated film, itself based on the Middle-Eastern folk tale. Directed by Guy Ritchie and written by Ritchie and John August, the film stars Will Smith, Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott, Marwan Kenzari, Navid Negahban, Nasim Pedrad, and Billy Magnussen. The story follows an Arabian street urchin named Aladdin, who discovers a magic lamp containing a genie, with whose help he disguises himself as a wealthy prince and tries to impress the Sultan of Agrabah to win the heart of his free-spirited daughter, Princess Jasmine, as the Sultan's evil vizier and sorcerer, Jafar, plots to steal the magic lamp.
In October 2016, Disney announced Ritchie would direct a live-action remake of Aladdin. 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 other two lead roles later that month. Principal photography began that September at Longcross Studios in Surrey, England, and ended in January 2018. Filming also took place in the Wadi Rum Desert in Jordan. Additional filming and pick-ups took place in August 2018.
Aladdin premiered at the Grand Rex in Paris on May 8, 2019, and was theatrically released in the United States on May 24. The film received mixed reviews from critics and grossed over $1 billion worldwide, making it the ninth highest-grossing film of 2019. Amongst Disney's live-action remakes, the film is the eighth-most-expensive and third-highest-grossing to date.
Plot
In the fictional city of Agrabah, an orphaned street urchin named Aladdin 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 royal vizier, schemes to overthrow the Sultan and seeks a magic lamp from the Cave of Wonders, 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 and finds the lamp. Aladdin gives the lamp to Jafar, who double-crosses him and kicks him and Abu back into the cave, but not before Abu steals the lamp back.
Trapped in the cave, Aladdin rubs the lamp, unwittingly summoning the omnipotent Genie inside, who has the power to grant three wishes to anyone who has the lamp. 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 he struggles to impress Jasmine. Posing as Aladdin's human attendant, the Genie is mutually smitten with Dalia, Jasmine's handmaiden. 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.
When Jafar discovers Aladdin's identity, he kidnaps Aladdin and throws him into the palace moat and into the sea, knowing that if he survives, it will prove that he has the lamp. The Genie rescues 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. Aladdin goes back on his promise to free the Genie, feeling uncertain of being able to keep up his charade without him. Dismayed that his new friend will continue living a lie, the Genie retreats to the lamp.
Freed by his parrot sidekick 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, exiling him and Abu to a frozen wasteland, and tortures the Sultan and Dalia until Jasmine agrees to marry him. The Genie secretly teleports the magic carpet to rescue Aladdin and Abu behind Jafar's back. At the wedding, as Aladdin returns to Agrabah, Jasmine steals the lamp from Jafar and jumps onto the magic carpet. Jafar then uses a sand twister to recapture Aladdin and Jasmine and destroy the magic carpet.
As Jafar holds Jasmine, Dalia, and the Sultan under his magic, 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. Jasmine, Dalia, and the Sultan are freed from Jafar's magic. The Genie encourages Aladdin to use his third wish to regain his royal title and legally marry Jasmine. Aladdin instead keeps his promise and frees the Genie by using his last wish, allowing him to live as a human. Dalia, the Genie, and the Sultan know that Jasmine loves Aladdin. The Sultan crowns Jasmine the new sultana-regnant, no longer bound to marry a prince, and she and Aladdin marry. Meanwhile, the Genie marries Dalia, and they start a family as they explore the world together.
Cast
Will Smith as Genie / Mariner, a comical and kindly jinn 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 "[he] found a lane that pays homage" to Robin Williams's performance in the original animated film, while still making the role "[his] own 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 as Aladdin, 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 as Jasmine, the beautiful princess of Agrabah and the daughter of the Sultan 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 as Jafar, a nefarious, deceptive, power-hungry sorcerer and the grand vizier of Agrabah who, frustrated with the Sultan's ways of ruling, devises a dastardly 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 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 [the Sultan] 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. Nasim Pedrad as Dalia, Jasmine's handmaiden 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 as Prince Anders, a suitor and potential husband for Jasmine from the kingdom of Skånland. Numan Acar as Hakim, the head of the palace guards who is loyal to the Sultan of Agrabah. Alan Tudyk as the voice of Iago, Jafar's sardonic and intelligent scarlet macaw companion. This is the first instance where the character is not voiced by Gilbert Gottfried. In this film, Iago is portrayed as a more realistic parrot. Frank Welker, the only voice actor from the original film, would reprise his role as the voices of Abu, Aladdin's kleptomaniac but loyal pet Tufted capuchin; Rajah, Jasmine's loving pet Bengal tiger; and the Cave of Wonders, a sand guardian who guards the magic lamp from intruders and only gives it 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. Stefan Kalipha as Imam.
Additionally, Taliyah 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 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 would direct a live-action Aladdin film for Walt Disney Pictures, 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. On the nontraditional aspect, the studio had originally planned for the film to be told in a nonlinear format.
On July 17, 2017, it was announced that Disney had hired Vanessa Taylor to polish the original screenplay by August, specifically some "character work" and what is called "script doctoring". 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."Pasek & Paul talk Guy Ritchie's 'muscular, action-packed' and 'very cool' 'Aladdin' Metro, December 11, 2017The Aladdin Remake May Have Jasmine's Tiger After All Cinema Blend, November 9, 2017EXCLUSIVE: IAGO TO APPEAR IN THE LIVE-ACTION ALADDIN REMAKE! Disney Film Facts, January 17, 2018
Casting