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REVIEW | 'Minister of Culture' Michael Heaton says 'Aladdin' is summer fun for the whole family

While it doesn’t match its animated precursor, it also doesn’t try to.
Credit: AP
This image released by Disney shows Mena Massoud as Aladdin, left, and Will Smith as Genie in Disney's live-action adaptation of the 1992 animated classic 'Aladdin.' (Disney via AP)

What: Aladdin

Who: Directed by Guy Ritchie. Starring Will Smith, Mena Massud, Naomi Scott, Nasim Pedrad, Marwan Kenzari, Billy Magnussen and Numan Acar.

Rated: PG.

Running time: 128 minutes.

When: Opens Friday May 24.

Where: Area theaters.

Grade: B.

Perhaps the only surprise in Disney’s live action remake of Aladdin is that a rug steals the show. Granted, it’s a flying rug, but it turns out to be a crucial element and plot-driver in the classic fantasy narrative. It pulls the movie together as Jeff Bridges once said in another movie.

Aladdin is being advertised as the cinematic event of the summer. That might be true if you are a 10-year-old girl, but everything in this live action recreation of the 1992 original animated film starring Robin Williams as the voice of the Genie is pretty much as expected.

Watch the film's trailer:

Will Smith is casual/funny as the Genie, but he’s no Robin Williams. No one could be. The likes of the late comic improviser extraordinaire will never be seem again in our lifetime.

The CGI special effects for this Aladdin are spectacular. The song and dance numbers are colorful, yet not overlong or overbearing. This is a completely harmless and fun summer movie for the whole family.

The story begins with Aladdin, played by Mena Massud, making a living on the streets of Agrabah as a pickpocket with the help of his monkey, Abu. He meets a young girl who is really princess Jasmine, played by Naomi Scott. She is roaming the streets incognito because her over-protective father, the Sultan, played by Navid Negahban, never lets her out of the palace. She doesn’t reveal her true identity to young Aladdin, saying only that she's a servant of the princess.

Meanwhile, intrigue is brewing back at the palace as Jafar, adviser to the Sultan, is plotting to overthrow his boss. To this end, Jafar enlists Aladdin to steal a magic lamp from the Cave of Wonders. Aladdin does it, but keeps the lamp for himself.

Enter Will Smith as the Genie. Smith plays the Genie as a laid-back dude. He’s sort of a Fresh Prince Genie. One strange development is that the Genie begins dating Jasmine’s actual servant played by Nasim Pedrad. Can Genie’s co-mingle with humans? That’s a question for greater minds than mine. But I guess the answer is they can, because the people at Disney say so.

Aladdin is a family friendly summer fun movie. While it doesn’t match its animated precursor, it also doesn’t try to.

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