A Whole New Aladdin

Elizabeth Clark and Emily Vinson, Writers

On May 24, Disney’s live-action Aladdin made its world debut and amazed both the world and Disney lovers alike around the country. It featured some notable stars, such as Naomi Scott, who is known for starring in the Disney Channel Original Movie, Lemonade Mouth. Mena Massoud played Aladdin in his big break, while trained actor Will Smith was the Genie. Another notable actress was Nasim Pedrad, who played Aly in the popular TV show, New Girl. They worked together cohesively, and along with the CGI animation of other characters like Abu, made for an amazing film.

The film made around $117 million during its opening weekend and was the top selling movie that week. (Memorial Day Weekend). We went on Friday, the night it came out, and were impressed by the impeccable visuals and sounds. This was definitely one of the best live action movies that Disney created. I believe that it was better than the live-action Cinderella but not as good as the live action Beauty and the Beast. It was visually stunning and did the original movie justice. Also, the cast portrayed their characters amazingly.  

The songs were spectacular, with classics like A Whole New World, Friend Like Me, One Jump Ahead, Prince Ali, Arabian Nights, and a new song, Speechless, sung by Princess Jasmine (Naomi Scott). We thought the new song was great, as it described the princess’s thoughts of putting up a fight against the villain, Jafar, as he tried to take over Agrabah. The other songs also made you want to sing along, and are both peppy and catchy.

Overall, we would give this a 10/10, and I would make your way to the theater to see it now!