While Disney is currently dominating the box office with Avengers: Endgame, the mouse company still has a lot on their slate for 2019. Their next release, Aladdin is set to open this Memorial Day weekend. While the release is a few weeks away, the film had its world premiere last night and some of the first reactions to the film have hit Twitter.
#Aladdin Thoughts: A lavish and enjoyable retelling, but not enough of A Whole New World to fully succeed.
Mena Massoud/Naomi Scott are great, while Will Smith brings a fun energy to his take on the Genie, even if the CGI lets him down. The less said about Jafar, the better 😬 pic.twitter.com/LTJfkVZKYn
— Digital Spy (@digitalspy) May 8, 2019
I just watched the new #Aladdin movie and it is amazing! It was so good that I forgot my roza had opened 🤷🏽♂️. Also if Sanjay Leela Bhansali ever made a Disney film, it would be this! I felt like I was watching a cross between Ram Leela/Bajirao Mastani but without people dying. 😂 pic.twitter.com/lI7IfeLCJU
— Haroon Rashid (@iHaroonRashid) May 8, 2019
Can confirm that the majority of your concerns about #Aladdin, especially anything Will Smith-related, will vanish once that first big song kicks in, but my pick for MVP has got to be @BillyMagnussen! He might just be a comedy genius in waiting. pic.twitter.com/0rMs5S0axn
— Rory Cashin (@roarEcashin) May 8, 2019
So #Aladdin is Disney's second-best recent remake, after Pete's Dragon.
Proudly a musical fantasy adventure, the jokes are strong, Smith's Genie is a lot of fun, the human leads work well. It's 20 minutes too long, but works a charm for the entire run.
Will Smith credits rap!!!— Andrew Jones – Social Distancing Champion (@EthanRunt) May 8, 2019
While the reactions are now overwhelmingly positive as they were for Avengers: Endgame, the performances by Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott and Will Smith seem to be the big highlights of the film. With the backlash towards Will Smith’s genie, the positive reactions should ease tensions towards this version of the genie. However, The first reaction describes Marwan Kensari’s Jafar as “the less said about Jafar, the better” which may not be good news for the villain of the film. Cinephiles will be able to find out how accurate these reactions are on Memorial Day Weekend.
