A Reaction Paper on Aladdin

           Aladdin is a live-action adaptation of Disney’s 1992 animated film of the same name
produced and released by Walt Disney Pictures on May 24, 2019. It is a musical masterpiece
directed by Guy Ritchie and written by John August, starred by Will Smith, Mena Massoud,
Naomi Scott, Marwan Kenzari, Navid Negahban, Nasim Pedrad, Billy Magnussen, and Numan
Acar. It follows the story of Aladdin, a poor boy who steals for a living, who falls in love with
the princess of Agrabah, acquired a magic lamp with a wish-granting genie inside, and defeats
the wicked, power-hungry vizier. This live-action is a movie full of laughter, brightness, and
color that can easily hook its audience with its world that has been crafted for enjoyment.
However, does it still capture the magic of the original animated classic film?

           To fully analyze this movie, we will use two different critical approaches. First, is the
Formalist criticism. It is a type of critical approach which determines all the elements of the
literary work and how well it works together to create an effect for the readers. It examines the
style, structure, tone, and imagery that are found within the text. This approach is mostly used to
thoroughly or scrupulously understand a text or literary work within itself alone. The second is
Reader-response criticism. It is an approach that is dependent on the reader’s response. To a
reader-response critic, literary texts have a different meaning for every individual. Hence, two
different readers may derive completely different interpretations of the same literary text;
likewise, a reader who re-reads work years later may find the work shockingly different. Though
this approach rejects the notion that a single “correct” reading exists for a literary work, it does
not consider all readings permissible. As they say, “Each text creates limits to its possible
interpretations.” Using these two approaches, let us now delve deeper into the world of Aladdin.

           Ever since the announcement of Disney planning to bring the 1992 animated film into life,
it already became the talk of the town. Expectations are high from both Disney fans whose
generation grew up watching the original movie and today's generation who are very much
anticipating the remake. When the movie came out, there are a lot of mixed reviews about it.
Especially since the one sitting in the director chair, Guy Ritchie is the last person they imagined
taking up the big-budgeted project. For those who watched the original movie, we have been all
captivated by how magical Aladdin's world is. Cinematography-wise, this live-action version did
a good application of bringing all that magic into life. The accentuation of the colors throughout
the film is absolutely wonderful. Remarkably the night scene where the iconic "A Whole New
World" duet of Aladdin and Princess Jasmine took place proves how well the cinematography is
because of how magical and memorable it becomes. The night photography gave justice to every
scene with the song, making it convincing to the eye. For the stage design, we can all agree that
they did a very good job at it. The use of a bold color palette is a major success for the film as it
is befitting to the fairytale. The wardrobe is absolutely stunning especially Princess Jasmine's, as
it shows her character for every dresses she wore. As for the songs, it is a relief that they
included many of the songs from the original and the added ones are just beautiful and befitting
to the characters. For example, is Naomi Scott's Speechless which is a masterpiece as it became a
major key for her development. It showed a lot of her character and probably just made Princess
Jasmine we knew from the original strong-willed and more admirable. Like she has been
upgraded into a better version of herself. The scene just became the second most memorable to
the A Whole New World song. The genie, on the other hand, becomes more questionable every
time he appears on the screen. He may be there as a scene-stealer but sometimes it becomes too
much. Particularly on the part of Prince Ali, where Aladdin was supposed to be the highlight. It
is a song where he is introduced as a great prince, after all. With all the fanciness going on
throughout the song, Will Smith's face just have to be on anywhere possible, making him stand
out more than Aladdin. Which for me, is just absurd. The plot of the story is pretty much similar
to the original ones and if there may be some little changes, it is just understandable since not all
can be applied to a live-action. The ending is reasonable too. With Aladdin's display of heroism
for the kingdom and the Sultan's eyes being opened to what her daughter truly wants, it is just
natural for them to get married and lead the kingdom together. 

Most Disney films are meant to be entertainment for both adults and children alike. It
became a memorable part of our childhood. The lessons we gained from it is something that we
apply up to now. Most of those films tend to teach us how to become a better version of
ourselves. I think Aladdin's purpose is not straying off from that. It promotes nobility, courage,
and the importance of being yourself. Aladdin may have learned how to be just himself a little bit
late. But it became a great lesson for him. To not live in pretense and appreciate who he is. I
think this is a great trait to develop. Not just for me but other people too. Nowadays, social
media has been shaping our minds about how to be perfect or if not perfect, to be somewhat ideal
in the eyes of many people. We are now living in an age where one can be easily criticized thus,
self-appreciation is essential so we would not conform to the standard of society. Being yourself
does not need anyone's approval, it means accepting every part of you and being able to grow to
your best potential. A movie that is not mere entertainment but also teaches you lessons to pitch
in to be a better person.

Suffice me to say that the live-action adaptation was greater than I expected. Though the
animated classic film is incomparable, its remake film did not lose the magic of love. The
production, the actors, and actresses did a great job. I hope Disney releases more movies like this
one. It would be great to watch it with your friends and family as a bond. I would recommend
this film for all ages.