{"id":31841,"date":"2019-09-03T00:33:36","date_gmt":"2019-09-03T04:33:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=31841"},"modified":"2019-09-03T00:39:42","modified_gmt":"2019-09-03T04:39:42","slug":"aladdin-2019-ultimate-collectors-edition-4k-uhd-blu-ray-digital","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2019\/09\/03\/aladdin-2019-ultimate-collectors-edition-4k-uhd-blu-ray-digital\/","title":{"rendered":"Aladdin (2019): Ultimate Collector\u2019s Edition [4K UHD\/Blu-Ray\/Digital]"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Disney remaking their loose adaptations of classic fairy tales and folklore is their newest confusing trend, and as a behemoth of a corporation they\u2019ll keep churning them out. Because they know audiences will go see them. \u201cAladdin\u201d banks heavily on the nostalgia of the nineties much like previous Disney efforts. And like previous Disney remakes, \u201cAladdin\u201d is fine. It\u2019s just fine. I\u2019ve yet to see a Disney live action remake that has completely outshone their original effort; compared to \u201cThe Lion King,\u201d Guy Ritchie\u2019s remake is mediocre, time filling fodder and that\u2019s about the best compliment I can give it.<\/p>\n

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Following the 1992 premise of the animated film, Aladdin is a street urchin in the fictional city of Agrabah who steals to survive poverty. While escaping the authorities one day he comes across Princess Jasmine. Jasmine dreams of exploring the world and taking over for her father, the Sultan, who is insistent on leaving his throne to a man. Meanwhile his Vizir Jafar wants the Genie\u2019s lamp from a sacred cave, which he wants to use to grant him omnipotence in order to become Sultan and rule the land. When Aladdin accidentally unleashes the Genie, he uses the powers of the being to help him win the heart of the princess.<\/p>\n

Guy Ritchie used to be a director that was basically carving out his own niche in modern film, but lately has become something of a journeyman director like Jon Favreau. That problem is that Ritchie never quite clicks in to the family friendly source material, instead dialing down on much of the bright colors and fantasy based elements of the narrative. Instead it\u2019s all toned down in exchange of a much more stern and less innocent romance that Will Smith overshadows. That\u2019s not much of a fault by Smith, as he\u2019s the only element in \u201cAladdin\u201d that seems to want to conjure up the sense of adventure and awe that we had with the 1992 animated film. Smith is solid as this new iteration of the Genie.<\/p>\n

While he can\u2019t even remotely hold a candle to Robin Williams\u2019 original character, Smith aims for just memorable enough to keep you focused on him, and it works. \u201cAladdin\u201d seems to want to re-think the entire original film, while also sticking to the status quo and following the original movie by the numbers. Ritchie greatly emphasizes the Bollywood influence, while also remolding characters like Jasmine and the Sultan with new motivations and more interesting personalities. This works to the film\u2019s advantage, but then Ritchie just dives back in to staging the same musical numbers from the 1992 film, giving us beat by beat action scenes including Aladdin\u2019s \u201cOne Jump\u201d and his journey through the dreaded cave.<\/p>\n

All things considered, the performances are fine, especially Naomi Scott who makes Jasmine her own, and garners a hell of a singing voice. While it\u2019s wholly unspectacular, Guy Ritchie\u2019s \u201cAladdin\u201d is just an okay movie. I wouldn\u2019t recommend it, but I didn\u2019t hate it like I did \u201cThe Lion King.\u201d Disney sadly doesn\u2019t seem to be interested in making a big effort with re-thinking their classics, because hell, it\u2019ll make money regardless<\/em><\/strong>. And there are so many more remakes in the pipeline. Goody.<\/p>\n

The new edition from Disney comes with the 4K Edition, the Blu-ray edition, and a digital copy of the film. All bonus features are found on the standard Blu-ray disc. Featured is Aladdin\u2019s Video Journal: A New Fantastic Point of View<\/strong>, an eleven minute collection of phone videos star Mena Massoud took on the set of the film. There\u2019s the Deleted Song \u201cDesert Moon\u201d <\/strong>introduced by <\/strong>Alan Menken, who also shows us where it was cut from. Guy Ritchie: A Cinematic Genie<\/strong> is a five minute discussion with director Guy Ritchie, who explains how he was driven by wanting to make movies his family can see.<\/p>\n

There is a ton of behind the scenes footage and interviews with cast and crew about Ritchie\u2019s work and what he brought to the table, in \u201cshaking things up.\u201d A Friend Like Genie <\/strong>is a four minute discussion with co-star Will Smith who explains how it was \u201cterrifying\u201d to take on the role (He explains that he considers Robin Williams\u2019 performance one of the greatest animated performances of all time), and explains how he wondered if there was any meat left on the bone to add to the role. There are ten minutes of Deleted Scenes<\/strong>, and three music videos:\u00a0 \u201cSpeechless\u201d by Naomi Scott, \u201cA Whole New World\u201d by Zayn and Zhavia Ward, and \u201cA Whole New World\u201d (\u201cUn Mundo Ideal\u201d) by Zayn and Becky G. Finally there are two minutes of Bloopers.<\/strong><\/p>\n