Starring: Mena Massoud, Will Smith, Naomi Scott

Directed by Guy Ritchie

Disney, out now

 

Street rat Aladdin works the Eastern city of Agrabah, and one day he meets Princess Jasmine and falls in love with her. But the evil Jafar has plans for him that include the recovery of a magical lamp.

I really don’t know why the decision-makers at Disney paired up Snatch director Guy Ritchie with their 90s classic Aladdin, as the two styles really don’t match, and he has delivered a woeful product. Naff, cheap-looking and devoid of charm, he’s taken the genie, shoved it back into the lamp and thrown it over the edge of a cliff.

I don’t look back at the 1992 through rose-coloured glasses, as I have had reason to revisit it recently and watch the West End stage adaptation this year. Each time, the wonderful songs by Ashman and Menken make the story soar, and I’d have gone as far as to say that with such great material any further adaptation would be foolproof. Wrong! Ritchie’s version is closer to the Christmas pantomime in your local winter gardens or pavilion than the Broadway musical it essentially is.

Will Smith is fine as the genie, and he doesn’t make the error of trying to ape Robin Williams’ original manic ad-libbing. It’s a far straighter performance, with just a zing of the Fresh Prince/ Big Willy cheekiness, but he can’t help the rest of the cast who are fated to play the material far too po-faced. More disappointing are the CGI monkey (Abu), tiger (Raja) and parrot (Iago) who all feel like they’re a good couple of passes away from the desired final product. The CGI landscapes don’t convince either, transitioning into the stagey studio sets.

Verdict: It’s all a bit of a mess really, adding 38 minutes to the running time of the original, but nothing more. Don’t even get me started on the overuse of sped-up photography, this is quite possibly the worst Disney live-action remake yet. Aladdin? A loud din! 3/10

Nick Joy