Aladdin: Old and New


 Last night, I talked about two movies, Wyatt Earp and Tombstone, and how one outshone the other. Tonight we're going to talk about the same thing.

The original Aladdin was AMAZING. One of my all time favorite movies. And, like Tombstone, it would have been a good movie without the one actor who stole the show. All of the other characters are solid. Even Gilbert Gottfried as the parrot was spot on. 

And of course Robin Williams put on a performance that I'm pretty sure could not be topped. His ad libbing, his impersonations, his songs - all were perfect. The movie is SO GOOD because Robin took it to the next level. He made it a spectacle in the absolute best way. I you haven't seen the original Aladdin, go watch it now. I can't recommend it highly enough.

The live action remake tried really hard, and it mostly succeeded. Everyone in the film was good, even Will Smith as the genie. He inserted his own humor and style into the character. And if he wasn't following in the footsteps of one of the greatest comedians of all time, his performance would have been seen as much better than it was. I don't recommend the live action remake, though I don't say it's terrible and you shouldn't see it. But if you're gonna spend an hour and a half with Aladdin, Jasmine, and the genie, watch the original.

Both are clean and free of nudity, strong language, or violence.

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