The opinions, viewpoints, and beliefs expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the opinions, viewpoints, or beliefs of the Titan Times newspaper, Tuscarora High School or Frederick County Public Schools.

The remake of Aladdin was released on May 24, 2019, and has created a lot of talk around the internet. Both really good and.. not so good. If you need a quick refresher on the plot, Aladdin, a young street rat in the city of Agrabah, makes his living on stolen food and goods. He finds a magic lamp while on a quest (given by Jafar, the main antagonist) and transforms him into a prince, Prince Ali of Ababwa, so he is able to marry Princess Jasmine while staying true to the royal laws. The rest of the story follows Aladdin through all of his wishes and his journey to get Princess Jasmine while battling against Jafar and his power over Agrabah.

Let’s talk about the music. Even though I’m a little ashamed to say it, I came close to tears a few times throughout this film, and they were all during the songs. I felt that the main songs on the soundtrack that everyone is familiar with (“Friend Like Me”, “A Whole New World”, “Prince Ali”, etc.) were delivered almost flawlessly. They kept the humor and key elements from the original 1992 version, while also adding many different new things that kept the film fresh. I was particularly impressed with the vocals on this soundtrack. They added a song titled “Speechless” that Jasmine (Naomi Scott) sings about speaking her mind and standing up for herself. Although adding songs onto a soundtrack that everyone already loves so much is a little risky, I was extremely impressed. Her vocals were displayed perfectly through this song and it quickly became one of my favorites.

The acting in this movie also exceeded my expectations. While the entire cast was amazing, in my opinion, I want to shine a little extra light on Will Smith. We’ve all seen Will Smith play a wide variety of roles whether in a drama, romance, action, or comedy, he’s done it all. A lot of people were skeptical of how he would portray the genie, and if he would be able to follow Robin Williams’ in playing this role. But, I think I can speak for a lot of people when I say that there wasn’t a better person to play Genie.

In overview, I was pleasantly surprised by the Aladdin remake. I went into the theater without many expectations, because of the many concerns that were floating around before the movie’s release. The only issue that I found was in the CGI during the high-speed scenes. Mostly during the beginning, when Aladdin was jumping from rooftop-to-rooftop, it was awkwardly quick, so it was clear that it was computer generated. Everything else though, I feel was exceptional. It’s the kind of movie that I could watch multiple times and not get tired of it. If you have been on the fence about purchasing a ticket, I’m here to tell you to do it! It was very much worth it and I would recommend it to anyone. I give Aladdin (2019) 4.5/5 stars.