Christmas is fast approaching and Disney has blessed us with a Christmas gift of their own, that has been at the top of every film-lover's wish list. Entertainment Weekly recently published an advanced glimpse at their latest edition, whose front cover is dedicated to the live action recreation of 'Aladdin'. And at last we all have the chance to see Will Smith as the Genie.
Smith is going to be playing the role of the charismatic character, voiced by Robin Williams in the animated Disney classic. This time, as you can see, the Genie has had a slight costume change and is no longer quite as blue, but he does seem to be sporting the same goatee and ponytail as the animation. It seems that they are still working on the final look of this character, but what Guy Ritchie, the director of the remake has advanced is that Smith's genie will be bringing a little flair: "I like the fact that our Genie has an ego and is a little bit vain and he cares about how he's presented because he's been doing this for a very long time."
Will Smith's Genie will be a step away from that of Williams, as in the words of Smith, "Robin didn't leave a lot of meat on the bone with the character." Thus, just as Williams did, he will be bringing his own personality to the role. Smith has taken some inspiration from his own characters from the 90s such as 'Independence Day' and 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air', in order to offer "something that was an homage to Robin Williams but was musically different". He added, "there hasn't been a lot of that hip-hop flavor in Disney history", which is enough to have everyone excited to imagine where this is heading! In the words of the the studio executive, Smith's genie will be reminiscent of a mixture between 'Bel-Air' and 'Hitch'.
A Princess Who Doesn't Dream of Princes
As well as the Genie, we have also seen a taster of Mena Massoud as Aladdin, and some first glimpses of Naomi Scott as the Princess Jasmine. The Princess in this version of the tale has been described as "resilient and independent, she's focused on things other than which boy she's going to end up with. She really wants to be a leader, and Dalia [a new character and friend of Jasmine's] really supports that but at the same time wants to make sure she doesn't get in trouble." Dalia will be played by Nasim Pedrad.
'Aladdin' is set to be released in cinemas on the 24th May 2019, and in the words of Will Smith, Guy Ritchie's version "brings a beautiful edge to the look and feel and imagining of Aladdin."
