Can Genies Capture the Magic of Aladdin?

Genie in Disney's Aladdin

Wow, was comic con really the last time I posted anything on this blog?  That weekend was a blur and I wasn't even there!

Today I want to write a bit about a film very near to my heart; Disney's Aladdin.  Or, more specifically, the recently announced Genies movie.

Aladdin was, literally, my favourite movie growing up.  I had the action figures, the plastic sword, I watched the TV series religiously every weekend.  I still remember pretty vividly seeing the movie for the first time just before Christmas.  Which is why I've got decidedly mixed feelings about Genies.

In the article it says that "long-term plan is to have the project lead into an Aladdin live-action movie." That just feels backwards to me.  I get that Genie is the most popular character and if Robin Williams was still with us then this project would be a no-brainer.  But right now it feels like a star vehicle without a star.  Surely it would make more sense to do Aladdin first then, if the Genie is popular in that, do the prequel?

I'm nervous because the last time they did a live action adaptation as a star vehicle we got Maleficent, which was an ok fantasy movie but a terrible Sleeping Beauty movie and the title character was an insult to her animated original.  I mean, I get that they wanted to make her more relatable as the protagonist but to actually make her the hero?  Terrible idea!  It's like they wanted to do Wicked but weren't clever enough to work with the original story so had to re-write it completely instead.  That said, Cinderella stayed truer to the original and was much stronger for it and Beauty and the Beast looks to be doing the same so maybe I shouldn't let this be a concern.  Plus, this is a prequel, it's not they're going to re-write Aladdin with this movie.  But if Genies flops then Aladdin, which I would love to see, might not happen.  And if it hits big then there's always the risk that they might make Aladdin into Genies 2 in all but name, to the detriment of the other characters.

But those concerns aside I'm over the moon because, done right, this means that Aladdin will ultimately be getting 2 live action movies! And, I'll be honest, that outweighs any concerns I have!

As for who should play the Genie... I have only one name in mind.  He's a man who's brought the Genie to life on stage every night for over a year and won a Tony Award for doing it.  A man who manages to both honour what Robin Williams created but not imitate, instead he has made the role his own and that's essential for this to work.  James Monroe Iglehart.

Isn't he just awesome!

As for Aladdin I think Disney is waiting to see how Beauty and the Beast does just as much, if not more, than Genies.  Aladdin is Disney's latest Broadway smash that they're currently exporting all around the world.  It will be the first Disney Theatrical show to transfer to London from Broadway since The Lion King.  If Beauty and the Beast does well then you can almost guarantee that Aladdin will be a musical.  Will it be the Broadway show?  Probably not, Beauty and the Beast is getting new songs instead of the Broadway numbers, but it would almost certainly include some of the Howard Ashman material that the show restored.  I really hope they go the musical route, but Aladdin could work just as well as an action/adventure comedy (and I'd love them to work Babkak, Omar and Kassim into it, even without the songs).  Done right I honestly feel that Aladdin could be the best of Disney's live action adaptations.  It has action and adventure, it has romance and comedy, fantastic villains, and plenty of heart.  So here's wishing that Genies does well enough to get us there!