Entertainment Weekly The Ultimate Guide to Aladdin

By The Editors of Entertainment Weekly

The editors of Entertainment Weekly Magazine present Aladdin.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Entertainment Weekly
• Release date: May 10, 2019
• ISBN: 9781547846412

Book preview

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Foreword

TALE AS OLD AS TIME

FANTASY! WISH FULFILLMENT! FLYING AREA RUGS! WHY AN ANCIENT FABLE CAN STILL MAKE TODAY’S AUDIENCES ALADDIN INSANE. By Steve Daly

An early-1900s illustration of Aladdin and the afreet (genie).

STORYTELLERS HAVE BEEN SPINNING FABLES about wish fulfillment for centuries. But in our current anxious age of seemingly bottomless bad news, we’re especially hungry for these fantasies. It’s self-­medication. It’s distraction. And no one knew the life-giving power of an engrossing narrative better than Scheherazade, the wily heroine of The Thousand and One Nights, a collection of Arabian folktales from which Aladdin hails. Aware that the evil sultan she weds plans to kill her after one night of marriage, Scheherazade tells him a story, leaving the cliff-hanger ending for the following evening, piquing the sultan’s curiosity and thus saving her skin. She spun a lot of famous yarns—Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves and Sinbad the Sailor among them. But it is Aladdin that inspires the most wonder.

The story’s been told many ways, but we know it as basically this: A street urchin wins the love of a princess thanks to the help of a powerful, wish-granting genie. Who among us can’t identify with wanting to supersize our dreams? We wish we were rich. (Not tacky rich, just comfortable.) We wish we lived in a palace—but without drafts or medieval plumbing. We wish we could marry a handsome prince or a beautiful princess—who, you know, really gets us. Oh, and world peace too. What? Already used up three wishes? Perhaps it’s not so simple after all.

That may be what makes the real star of the story, Genie, an enduring character. Wish, he says, but be careful what you wish for. Disney saw the potential here, pairing folklore’s ultimate wish granter with the mighty, whirring comic mind of Robin Williams and adding songs from the team that had made The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast sing. Poof! The 1992 animated musical became a hit for the ages.

Now Disney—and director Guy Ritchie, best known for the Sherlock Holmes films—is giving Aladdin the live-action treatment, and we’re once again flying over the alleys of Agrabah on a magic carpet. When that lamp is uncorked and the smoke clears, it is Will Smith in command of Genie’s powers. Twitter tittered when they first saw him with blue skin and rocking a high ponytail. (Couldn’t you hear his Agent J voice countering, I make this look good . . . ?) But, just as Robin Williams threw off generations of Genie conventions, Smith won’t simply be imitating the beloved late comedian’s indelible take. The actor-musician has promised a hip-hop flavor to the role. And why not? This time the mythical kingdom where the story is set has been reimagined as a Silk Road fusion of not just Middle Eastern customs, names and architecture but South Asian cultural references too. We’re still hungry to see new splendors and new lands in a world where every place seems already discovered, and to do it in ways that celebrate and expand possibilities.

No wonder the pulse pounds at the prospect of another Aladdin adventure. The familiar Ashman-Menken-Rice songs are there, but this is a whole new world. There are fresh, additional melodies to be hummed, luxurious raiments to be ogled and a few new characters, including a female pal for Princess Jasmine. (Think of it: A story that sprang from a wife’s trying to save herself from death might in 2019 pass the Bechdel test!) EW has the most comprehensive look at this new movie: its cast, its creators and the magic it took to make it. Also inside is a fresh telling of how the animated classic came together. So turn the page, and let’s begin a tour down the rollicking road that leads to a happy ending.

Robin Williams lent his voice and warmth to Genie in the animated 1992 film.

Now Will Smith (far right) takes on the role of Genie, with Mena Massoud as Aladdin.

A World of Wonders

INSIDE THE BRAND-NEW LIVE-ACTION MOVIE

Inside Look

IT’S... WISH CRAFT

DISNEY’S LIVE-ACTION ALADDIN ENCHANTS WITH ITS MODERN SENSIBILITY, SUMPTUOUS VISUALS, TALENTED CAST—AND WILL SMITH WORKING BLUE. By Piya Sinha-Roy

Life swiftly changes for street urchin Aladdin (Mena Massoud) after releasing Genie (Will Smith) from his lamp.

A DISNEY MUSICAL ABOUT A STREET URCHIN who befriends a genie and falls in love with a princess isn’t a premise that comes to mind when one thinks of Guy Ritchie. The British director, 50, is known for gritty thrillers featuring robberies, explosions