As a kid I loved anything Disney, Marvel or DC related. I was also very fond of anime series like Spider-Man, X-Men, Dragonball, Pokemon, Battletech or Gundam. When it came to movies, the ones that stuck with me were James Bond, Home Alone, Star Wars and anything Van Damme, Schwarzenegger or Stallone. However there was this one Disney movie that was dear to me: Aladdin.
The setting of Aladdin is a mixture of Persian, Turkish, Arabic and Indian, which all are culturally quite close to how I was raised. Also the main protagonist is a simple guy, trying to get ahead in life, making due with what he has got. It was a story in which I could easily identify myself with.
Disney being on a live-action remake tour, Aladdin was the next one on their list and to be honest with you straight away: Aladdin is my personal favourite. Not only did they not change too much of the original story (I’m looking at you Mulan), the soundtrack is also very well made. I can see that people would say, “yeah, but this is not Robin Williams”, and I agree. But after seeing interviews with the cast and creators, I can honestly say that they do honour his legacy with this remake, whilst putting their own spin on the various characters. So try to not let others influence you too much about how terrible this movie was. Just put it on when you are stuck at home (see what I did there) and enjoy some nice tunes.
I mean Will Smith did a great job as the genie: