Disney has made it clear that they plan to remake all of their classic animated hits into live-action feature films, with both
Aladdin and
Lion King set to hit this summer, and a long list of other projects in the works following that. Since many of these classics were set in the past when things were quite different in society, the film requires certain updates.
Mena Massoud, who plays the titular street rat Aladdin in the film had the following to say about the added diversity in the cast of the upcoming remake.
I’m especially proud of the representation and the ethnically diverse casting that was put together for this. It’s not often that you can go to a movie theater and see all people of color represented like this. It’s certainly something that I was missing in my childhood, so I'm excited for little boys and girls to go see people that look like them on screen.
Naomi Scott, meanwhile, who plays Princess Jasmine, offers some insight into how her character differs in this film from the original.
I think it's a wonderful thing when you have a vision for a character and you think, oh, I'd love to see Disney do this with this character, and it aligns with with Guy and our producers. Guy was talking about ‘equality of challenge,’ the idea that Jasmine needed more of a challenge in this movie, and it was a natural progression. The fact that she wants to become the leader, and kind of just wants people to go, oh yeah, that makes sense, she should be the leader, it’s not this thing that’s been shoehorned in. It just makes sense. For me as an actor, my main thing is how do I humanize her, how do I give her depth. And so those things just came naturally.
Guy Ritchie, director and co-screenwriter of the remake piggybacked her comments and had the following to add.
What was conspicuous was that if there was anything that could use some evolution in this narrative, it was that there needed to be a voice given to Jasmine. It just felt like there was an obvious space there that we could work on. And as Naomi just said, to me it was about equality of challenge, because there’s no point banging on about something until you can back it up. She earns her right there. And for me it’s not as much about gender as much as it is about an individual standing up for themselves at a pertinent time and then they can articulate that point and they have the depth and personality to do that. And I think it really works, because it’s backed up. And that just felt like the most obvious place that this narrative could evolve, to give Princess Jasmine a voice, and that she could back that voice up.
And of course, the man who is taking the risk in giving life back to the Genie, Will Smith, said this.
I think it is critically important to be able to pull stories and colors and textures and tastes from around the world. I think that in this particular time in the world, that kind of inclusion and diversity will be a critical part of turning our connectivity, because we have more connectivity than ever, but transitioning that connectivity into harmony is going to be really critical. And I think these kinds of interactions in these types of movies are a powerful global service. So it was critical and important to me, I spent a lot of time in the Middle East, so this one particularly was a critically important in that way.
What do you guys think about these comments? Are you happy there are more diversity and minor story changes being added to
Aladdin, or would you have prefered a shot for shot remake?
A thrilling and vibrant live-action adaptation of Disney’s animated classic, “Aladdin” is the exciting tale of the charming street rat Aladdin, the courageous and self-determined Princess Jasmine and the Genie who may be the key to their future. Directed by Guy Ritchie, who brings his singular flair for fast-paced, visceral action to the fictitious port city of Agrabah, “Aladdin” is written by John August and Ritchie based on Disney’s “Aladdin.” The film stars Will Smith as the Genie; Mena Massoud as Aladdin; Naomi Scott as Jasmine; Marwan Kenzari as Jafar; Navid Negahban as the Sultan; Nasim Pedrad as Dalia and Billy Magnussen as Prince Anders.
Disney's
Aladdin flies into theaters on May 24.