• Podcast
  • Reviews
  • NJ IPA Podcast
  • About
  • Search
  • Podcast
  • Reviews
  • NJ IPA Podcast
  • About
  • Search
SCENE IT ALL BEFORE

Will Smith Should Play The Genie In The Rebooted Aladdin

4/20/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
The business of live-action remakes has been a lucrative one for Disney, to say the least. So far the movie studio has made six live-action remakes, with the movies grossing over 4.6 billion dollars worldwide. And it looks like they have no intention of slowing down with 12 more remakes in the works including Mulan, The Lion King, and most recently Aladdin.  
​
Guy Ritchie is set to direct and it was recently reported that Will Smith is in early talks to play The Genie in the upcoming movie. But can he match the iconic Robin Williams performance? Can he even come close?

If there is a big-name actor out there who could play this part, Will Smith may be it. We know he has a big over-the-top personality, we know he can sing, and we know he has comedic chops. Disney has already come out and said that this will be an "ambitious and non-traditional take on Aladdin," but even with all that the Internet has made their opinion known; no one but Robin Williams should ever play The Genie. 

And it's tough to argue that point considering The Genie was made specifically for Robin Williams. For a 95-minute movie, there are almost 16 hours of recorded material from Robin Williams. A lot of which will never be released from the Disney Vault because of its grown-up material. This was the first time in animated movie history that it was the animators trying to match the voice acting instead of the other way around. This must have been a nightmare considering the movie is hand-drawn. The result is undeniable. It's been 25 years and I still don't get all the impressions that Robin Williams did. But that doesn't take away from the enjoyment of the film. How do you recast an actor like that?
Picture
No actor will ever be able to recapture Williams' magic but that does that mean the role is forever untouchable?
Disney tried once before. Remember the direct-to-video sequel Return of Jafar? After Robin Williams and Disney got into a fight over a contract dispute Disney was forced to recast the role. They even got a legendary actor Dan Castellanta, the voice of Homer Simpson, to play the part. But no one remembers that movie. Aladdin was also adapted to a Broadway play, with James Monroe Iglehart winning a TONY for his performance as the Genie. (He recently left to go play the role of Marquis de Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson in Hamilton). But the stage version is such a different medium; a movie remake won’t get as much leeway.

Some animated classics are begging to be redone; The Jungle Book was a prime example. Does anyone remember—really remember—the story to the original Jungle Book? I would imagine no because the original animated movie is garbage—it's a mess of sixties animation, wayward storytelling, jazz music, and casual racism throughout.  But the new The Jungle Book with Bill Murray (and less racism) got a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes. Aladdin is different, in that they are adapting a movie that is already considered an animated classic, but Disney has shown they are more than up to that challenge. 

I had my doubts about a Beauty and the Beast remake, especially when it came to the animation style and the voice acting. After all, how could Emma Thompson ever hope to match Angela Lansbury as Mrs. Potts? The answer is she didn't. Angela Lansbury is still a better Mrs. Potts. In fact, I'll come right out and say that the live-action remake doesn't come anywhere near to the quality and perfection that is the original animated movie. But that didn't stop me from enjoying it any less. I still saw it twice in theaters and enjoyed myself both times. 

Robin Williams is one of the most beloved actors of his generation and The Genie is the role he may be best remembered for. No one is going to be able to recapture the brilliance of Robin Williams, but I say lean into it. A new movie won't take away my enjoyment of the original. If the story is good and the quality of computer-generated animation is there then I'm going to keep seeing these movies. Disney is going to continue to put all their resources behind these movies and they are going to be spectacles. And that's why I go to the movies— to be amazed.  
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Categories

    All
    1920s
    2015
    Action
    A Nightmare On Elm Street
    Aquaman
    Baby Driver
    Batman
    Ben Affleck
    Black Panther
    Blade Runner
    Blade Runner 2049
    Bradley Cooper
    Charlie Hunnam
    Chris Messina
    Chris Pratt
    Christopher Nolan
    Coco
    Cyborg
    Dave Bautista
    DC
    Director
    Disney
    Drama
    Dunkirk
    Ferdinand
    Game Of Thrones
    Gangster
    GLOW
    Guardians Of The Galaxy
    Guardians Of The Galaxy Volume 2
    Guy Ritchie
    Happy Death Day
    House Of Cards
    I
    Jennifer Lawrence
    Jude Law
    Justice League
    King Arthur
    Kumail Nanjiani
    Live By Night
    Marvel
    Mob
    Movie
    Orange Is The New Black
    Oscar Picks
    Passengers
    Patton Oswalt
    Pixar
    Podcast
    Prohibition
    Rain Man
    Review
    Sci-Fi
    Space
    Spider Man
    Spider-Man
    Star Wars
    Suburbicon
    Superheroes
    Superman
    The Big Sick
    The Dark Tower
    The Faculty
    The Flash
    The Last Five Years
    The Last Jedi
    The Little Giants
    Tommy Boy
    Tonya
    Top Ten
    TV
    Twin Peaks
    Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
    Universe
    Vin Diesel
    Wonder
    Wonder Woman
    Zoe Saldana

    Archives

    May 2021
    February 2020
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.