A new poster for the live-action film Aladdin was released by Disney this week on Instagram. Will Smith, who takes on the role of the Genie - played in the animated classic by the late Robin Williams - is seen without his blue makeup in the right-hand corner of the artwork.
This comes after fans reacted in a very positive way to Smith’s performance in the first official trailer, which was shared. While the first teaser from February only offered a brief glimpse of Smith’s blue Genie, this trailer offered a much more comprehensive look at the character. This new trailer reveals more storyline and also the voices of the lead characters singing the classic song A Whole New World while Smith belts out Friend Like Me.
Also in the film are Marwan Kenzari as Jafar, Navid Negahban as the Sultan, Nasim Pedrad as Dalia and Billy Magnussen as Prince Anders.
Aladdin is about the streetwise Aladdin who falls for Princess Jasmine and the Genie who helps them out.
Smith’s Genie was first revealed in December. A second trailer showed him on film in February. And he is seen more prominently in this first official trailer. The clip opens with Aladdin running through the busy streets of his hometown. He is being chased but no one can catch us with him as he jumps from building to building with ease. But when he runs into the Princess he is caught dead in his tracks by her incredible beauty. The royal knockout looked like a goddess even though she is in humble peasant clothes and not her incredible gowns. She locks eyes with him too, obviously entranced by the boy.
Jafar - the Royal Vizier of the fictional city of Agrabah - is seen talking to Aladdin in the desert telling him he can make him rich; rich enough to impress a princess.
Next, we see a flash of Jasmine in a magenta silk gown as she walks down the stairs of her castle. When Aladdin asks the man what he has to do to get the money, he is told there is a ‘cave of wonders’ that has a lamp in it.Aladdin goes into the cave, then rubs the lamp.
Blue smoke comes out of the lamp and gets taller and wider.
Out comes a blue Will Smith who says he stands by his oath and will grant him three wishes in a deep, scary voice. The monkey Abu stands near. Then the goofy side of the Genie comes out. The jokes then roll out and Smith’s Genie seems anything but serious. Here Smith is more like his Fresh Prince of Bel Air character; easy with the quick banter and the bravado.
Aladdin then finds out that Jasmine is like a prisoner in her castle.
‘I thought a princess could go anywhere,’ Aladdin says to Jasmine before grabbing her hand for a magic carpet ride, to which she replies, ‘Not this princess.’
A montage follows showing them on a flying carpet, a tiger in the castle, and fireworks as A Whole New World - a song from Alan Menken and Tim Rice - plays in the background with the voices of Scott and Massoud.
Jasmine is upset that the law requires her to marry a prince instead of one she loves. But the two are determined to get around that law.
The last Aladdin movie came out in 1992 and was animated, not live action. It starred Scott Weinger, Robin Williams, Linda Larkin, Jonathan Freeman, Frank Welker, Gilbert Gottfried and Douglas Seale.
Williams passed away in 2014 and many thought no one could ever replace him as the Genie in another Aladdin. But Smith took the challenge.
He has been criticised for his look when images were first released in 2018 of his blue Genie. But in this first official trailer his charm and charisma come out making him look like a natural fit for the film.
Aladdin will be released in theatres on May 24, 2019 by Disney.