Everyone knows the story of Aladdin, the mystical story from The Arabian Nights. Disney’s version of the story has Will Smith in it as the lead actor. A very smart choice, because as it turns out, Will Smith saves the Aladdin movie with his outstanding, light heart-ed, comic performance, turning a somewhat simple story into a billion dollar success.
The basis of the story is pretty straight forward: a lamp that if you rub releases a Genie who grants you three wishes. In this version of the story, we meet a street ‘hustler’ who while doing his ‘hustling’ activities in the streets and getting in trouble and running out of it smartly, oddly meets a very beautiful woman with whom he gets attracted to.
It’s only in a Disney movie that the woman on the street turns out to be a princess who falls in love with the street thief. The antagonist in the movie is the King’s adviser who badly wants to be a king, and in the process, they end up discovering the lamp.
Yep, the story is simple, weak and sometimes you can almost yawn. Yet when they rub the lamp and Will Smith appears, he captivates the audience, like a true Genie, with his funny antics, wise jokes, and his singing. You can even forget the movie is a musical.
I definitely recommend watching this one.
