Aladdin: How To Introduce a Character 

Precisely!

@@CenterRow scar: *starts singing "be prepared"*

Deadass

@@Pissicist2394 Lol

THANK YOU!!!!

Exactly!

It’s interesting because I had never seen the original movie since my parents bought very little “classic” Disney movies for me as a kid (I just always watched the new ones when they came out, except for maybe two or three older movies we actually had at home) but I went to see the remake with a friend who wanted to see it because she’s actually Arabian and I absolutely loved it. I didn’t really feel like there were any gaps or motivations I didn’t get. Same goes for my family who I showed the movie to later (who had also never seen the original). I didn’t really discuss the movie with people who had already seen the original except for the Arabian friend I mentioned and she loved it too so I never got any other perspectives on it.

@ You can't miss what you never had. You going into the remake without having seen the original is like a person who enjoys an Arby's meal because he's never been to any other fast food joint.

@ I'm in the same boat. Only saw the first one when i was very small. I thought the live action was very good-- not a mind-blowing work of art, but a solid movie with excellent actors. The sets were beautiful. Some people have legitimate points about why the first was better but i think a lot of people's opinions were warped by sentimentality

rat bastian it’s lazy filmmaking in every sense of the term

Hooo boy that'd be a long video

@@CenterRow haha true. But it'd be so interesting to delve even deeper into how both movies handled characterization. This video was super fun! I felt something was missing with the new version of Aladdin, but chalked it up to him being more the dorky awkward-cute type compared to the animated version's rakish charm. But you pointed out a lot of little characterization-affecting things I had completely missed!

@@Raelis23 Thanks! Who knows, maybe I'll tackle the whole film one day.

@@CenterRow well, you could go in parts and make several smaller videos. :)

A part that really showed me how misguided the movie was is the Cave of Wonders sequence. That part felt like it did absolutely everything wrong, but I've barely seen anyone mention it.

Amen!

It's almost as if they're attempting to rewrite history and sweep every 'mistake' they've made in the animated movies under the rug :/

I disagree im happy growing up with this

That's a bit harsh don't you think? If kids growing up like this movie, wouldn't they also wanna go back to the original aladdin?

Gaming Galaxies No, the kids _wouldn’t_ want to go back to the original, because the only idea they’ll have of the movie is the boring live-action version. They won’t bother to see it again in the animated versions, because they’ve been told the animated versions are the same exact thing but crappy, sexist, and childish, because that’s what all the marketing is trying to tell people the animated versions are like. Children aren’t magically going to know the animated movies are any better unless their parents tell them why. And the kind of lazy parents that would take their kids to the live action cash grabs and make them sound like the same great thing as the originals, probably aren’t going to explain _why_ the originals were any better. So the kids won’t bother, because why would they? They think they know the story and it wasn’t _that_ good. And they’ll assume the animated version is a worse version of the new, modern one, because that’s what they’ve been told, and their parents won’t explain exactly why the originals were better.

Couldn't have put it better myself.

One “remake” I’m very excited to see is Mulan! They’re sticking closer to the Chinese roots of the story so it’s not going to be 100% the animated movie!

@@piratediscoking1392 No,because of reviewers and RU-vid you will remember that it was a thing that existed,but that is about it.

I mean, yeah. We’ve already completely forgotten about the live action Cinderella. Beauty and the Beast is pretty much goon from our minds too. Sure, Aladdin was a big meme, but it will definitely be forgotten as well.

daryl esese oh boy did this age bad

Good way to put it!

Great analogy

Agreed!

YES!

YASSS I AGREED!!!

Yassss

Yes!!

Believe me friend, I wish I knew. Feel free to help out and share any videos you like on Reddit, that can help!

lol, the algorithm recommends this video to me, and glad it did!

Probably because it is politically incorrect to dislike a film that has arabian influences. So RU-vid doesn't like it when someone gives valid criticism on it. That's my guess

@@CenterRow The titles of your videos can be improved. You need to state more what you're saying in the video, and if it's to do with Disney, put Disney in the title! A better title for this that I believe would increase viewership would be "How Disney Live Action FAILS at Character Introduction" Or something similar. Bit more click-baity, says a bit more obviously what the video's thesis is, mentions Disney, fails is also a very strong title word especially with all caps. Slightly more attention grabby.

@@CenterRow Another example for your "The Problem With Nostalgia Filmmaking" I would convert that to "Why Nostalgia is TERRIBLE in Films". I know I know it's bad and you may feel averse to doing this but it is what it is. I think doing this to get a bit of a larger audience before toning down the click-bait might be a decent idea to increase viewership.

Exactly! Heck, the kid looks kinda smug in the new one.

@@CenterRow Kind of like he was expecting Aladdin to give it to him. That scene made me wonder if they had chosen to give Aladdin a family in the live action version. Which probably would have been more interesting.

Ha!

I understood that reference 😂

A framing deviiice, for this whismical taaaaaale. The credits will go, much faster you know? So the young kids won't baaaaaiiiiiil!

"All this for a loaf of blood?"

"All this for a drop of bread?"

Haha, conspiracy theory: Thanos is actually Aladdin!

Balanced as all things should be

Exactly!

@@CenterRow it's ironic they also took Simba's save the cat scene away in Lion King.

@@SharpDesign phhhtttt lol I didn't think about it that way

Sadly a lot of people are willing to

This is a funny comment 😂 you’re not gonna pay well you appear to be in the minority as the majority of the movies make over a billion dollars?

Dan Baldwick jungle Book is the best one...

I really liked Jungle Book 2016.

Twice, actually. There were two live action Jungle Books.

Haha exactly

imo that sign is in every live action remake thus far. =/

More people prefer everyday life to movies. That's why they make boring movies. They make more money.

Agreed. I was so excited for the live action beauty and the beast and was just so bored watching it. I would have been happy with a word for word remake more than what we got.

And the cinematography is boring, drab and flat

He stole a loaf of bread almost paying for it with his life because he was hungry, and then he gave his half to a pair of starving children... That is pretty impressive

A wise decision

Don't forget her apparently inventing the washing machine. I never sat down and watched it, but my little sister watched it over and over on Netflix and hates the original and it saddens me.

@@compassrose1466 My god, the indoctrination has begun. That is sad.

Emma Watson is a God. Don't you dare disrespect her or our lizard overlords

Dude, the entire rewrite of the beast from sweet but grumpy guy to outright pretentious asshole was what made hate that movie

Thanks! I like making longer videos, but sometimes I just don't have a ton to say haha

@@CenterRow I too would love some longer videos á la Lindsay Ellis, but at the same time I admire you for keeping the videos as long or short as you want them to be. Stay true to your style, you're doing great! :^)

@@elleboman8465 Thanks! Honestly I do need to make longer ones, that's what the algorithm likes haha

@@CenterRow "It puts the filler in the vid, or else it gets the demonetization again"

Exactly! I'm hoping that Mulan might be a little different.

@@CenterRow I'm a bit more hopeful for mulan because from what has been said so far it's an actual revamp and not just copy paste from the cartoon. They've removed lots of things from the original so it should be interesting... let's hope anyways 😅 unless they just fuck it up like they do with a lot of their movies lately lol

Yeah! What did work was Maleficent because they flipped the story and changed the main character and the movie just turns into an interesting a good movie eventhough it's not accurate which I think is better than staying true to the story but not doing it any justice

@@smobworld they removed Mushu... "Dishonor on you, Dishonor on your family, Dishonor on your Cow" so it looks like it will be a Serious, boring, more "accurate to its source" telling. calling it right now, it wont be fun. no fun allowed.

@@Kittsuera I also doubt there will be fun. It will be 100% serious which is an eeeeeh choice imo but still better than every female so far lol

It just kinda looks cheap, there's no real flair to it

Center Row which is fucking weird considering it’s directed by Guy Ritchie!

It’s a great movie, I just wouldn’t compare it scene by scene with the original and look for reasons to hate it. Musics great and the choreography’s pretty good too. It is for a slightly more mature audience as well.

I never saw live Aladdin, but I got the same vibe from live Beauty and the Beast. I realized a big part of it is that the sets *look* like sets. They don't feel like real locations. It really threw me off.

I personally don't like the color scheme... never saw the movie but by the trailer I saw too many PINK buildings and the wardrobe looks more costume than real in my opinion

Probably on purpose to avoid any controversy

I blame the Illuminati

in the original animated film Jasmine is 16 and Aladdin is 18, so i guess that’d be awkward in live action

Jasmine's 15 in the original......... yeesh.

Honestly, I think it's exactly what you said. They adapted the fairytale, not their own movie. The subsequent remakes have adapted their own movie, so they're unlikely to want to stray too far

Great point!

I had the same feeling about the Beauty and the Beast movie. Like, the musical added some really strong, great musical numbers and instead they wrote new songs that did not fit in with the tone of the rest of the original songs at all. I guess because they really wanted a "Best Original Song" nomination? Ugh.

@Lynette Lyon James Monroe Iglehart... nuff said 🧞‍♂️

Honestly the same is said to the Chinese version of Mulan it's true to the actual origin

@@kavyasundar7240 I strongly disliked the Aladdin Broadway musical and loved the life action and animated versions. When Aladdin on Broadway massaged Jasmine's shoulders during a whole new world scene I felt so creeped out. There were so many weird directional choices from the play like that, which made no sense to me. The Aladdin live action movie has its flaws but I think it had a lot more charm and heart than the play

Wow, did not know that!

@@CenterRow same here

Thank you for saying it. These films aren't meant to be good, they're hardly even a money-grab, they exist solely so Disney can retain their strangle-hold on all of this material.

Mokiefraggle when you realize that disney remakes are cash grabs.

Disney: 🤑🤑🤑🤑🤑🤑🤑🤑🤑🤑🤑

It's the same reason why every Fantastic Four movie is awful.

I don't think so. Disney products are already in the safe range for never entering public domain. These remakes are made because of laziness

It works both ways in my opinion.

It may also be that Disney doesn't let directors take any chances with the material.

I know right, every time a new live action trailer comes out I get so sad. They pretty much serve as a reminder to watch the animated movies again lol

Center Row True but it can also be that the directors just aren’t good. I don’t want to be mean, I know that filmmaking is difficult but that’s the feeling that I get sometimes

@@BigBossMan538 In some cases sure, but there are plenty of great directors who have made not great Disney remakes (Jon Favereu directed Ironman, Guy Ritchie made the Sherlock Holmes moves and Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, Kenneth Branaugh who directed Thor, etc.)

@@aditijadhav1270 have you seen the Mulan trailer? It's going to be nothing like the original. I'm quite excited.

“You were born a street rat. You’ll die a street rat. And only your flees will mourn you!” I totally agree. That line was so powerful, and it led into the one jump ahead reprise (don’t know what it’s called but it goes “riff raff, street rat, I don’t buy that. If only they’d look closer...” I felt like the power and emotion of that song and scene was so lost by it not following that prince scene. Honestly the worst part of the live action Aladdin for me was the beginning. When I realized they had gotten through 20 minutes of the original movie in five minutes just to make more screen time for Will Smith, Genie’s love (at first sight) story, and the new original scenes that involved jafar not turning into a snake, I knew this movie didn’t stand a chance.

Thank you so much!

It's not sappy, the whole movie rides on that romance. It's the protagonist's whole motivation. It's absolutely essential to get the romance right in the very first scene, otherwise the whole movie falls a part

That was totally my hope! I'm so happy I could help in some small way! Shoot me a signed copy when you're done!

Yaaaaas... though I fear what sort of monstrosity they'll turn Morph into.

Couldn't have put it better myself!

@@CenterRow Wow, thank you!

Will still isn't as wonderful as Robin Williams was, seriously, no one could ever do such an amazing job. The remake felt so souless and bland, the colors and the personality are missing. Animation is so over the top that they can convey emotion really well, it's not the same without it. All of the magic is gone. Walt must be rolling in his grave, bless his soul.

@@superedmundo1239 I agree wholeheartedly. The thing I kept thinking of when watching the remake was the stage play - which, ironically, was a lot closer to the spirit of the animated film. The climax especially felt like something that was scripted for Broadway, but was somehow handed over to the film director instead.

Let's not forget that the guy they cast as Jafar is about as menacing as a third-grade math teacher.

I feel any director probably would have been hamstrung by Disney's insistence that it be the same movie as the original.

It really didn't. The greatest potential it had was to be second best.

It did though. Can you imagine if they had gone back to the original story for the inspiration instead of the animated movie? It’d a Damn good story.

Yeah, that part was...weird. I was trying to stay on topic

the point was to have a song for the Oscar´s best original song category

@@CenterRow The song was good an inspiring, but it felt out of place, and the fact that right after that she immediately gets shut down? Yikes. Don't do a whole empowering song and not follow it up with something great!

not to mention the whole song was about her not remaining "speechless" and unheard and yet while she was singing no one was listening... bc reality was paused for the song

That whole scene just reminded me of Gabriella in HSM 😂😂 it felt so out of place. It even made me think that maybe Vanessa Hudgens could have been a better Jasmine🤷🏽‍♀️

Exactly!

Lol I like that vampire analogy

Thank you! Maybe I will if this video does well!

Jackie Chan does slap stick well, its possible

@@Countmacula666 I know its possible... but clearly they lacked the imagination to make it work

I definitely found no fault in the production design!

Center Row yet you’re criticizing how it was visually unappealing

Well now I want to see the musical!

I would be so on board for these Disney remakes if they followed their Broadway counterparts. In every musical scene in this movie ,I kept wondering why they couldn't ad least get The Broadway cast so There would be some good in The movie. (Not saying The actors didn't sound good in The movie,Its Just that they're a bit mediocre when compared to The likes of The original voice actors and The Broadway stars)

I feel like they felt like they could economize on time.

I thought his name was Iago, like from Othello

It is and yes.

Thanks, and thanks for watching!

Jasmine is a downgrade imo. Like you said not only we did not get an actual introduction for her (and mind you in that introduction we actually got to know her, what she wants and how she feels in her own life. They even show that through the caged birds scene) but in reality she's all tell, don't show. She keeps talking about how she trained herself to become Sultan, how she has to rule because only she cares about the people of Agrabah (nice disrespect to your father, Jasmine) and how she's being silenced nonstop. Yeah, too bad we get the total opposite of that through the actual events and actions of the story. Jasmine stealing loaf of bread to kids and doesn't know she has to pay for stuff. Yeah, supposed best option for ruling doesn't know that money is a thing... In the original the reason she did not know about money was due to her being isolated and "locked up" in the palace, not really know much about the outside world. There's not a single excuse for why the supposed booksmart princess doesn't know what money is. The new have the whole being silenced part: only Jafar doesn't listen to her while everyone else does, including her father, the guards, Dalia and even Aladdin. And the song while it's nice and sang well, it has no real effect on anything since 1, she's not silenced for the most part, 2, she sings that in her head only 3, she gets almost immediately silenced by Jafar after her little speech to Hakim. And personal complain, but does Jasmine really thinks all she needs for ruling is making people happy? I know Jafar is supposed to be the bad guy, but even he has a bit more sense on actual rling, such as knowing that other kingdoms may not like them and would attack them, therefore having the army prepared and actualy defendign the borders are necessary. Once again good idea,s but horrible execution. For ho much they say Jasmine just wanted love and did nothing in the original, she was way more active and actually stood up against Jafar numerous times, heck she even seduced him just to help Aladdin out. True bravery and shows that she still loves him.

Let's talk about Genie. Warning: personal bias might come up here. While I understand most people praises Will Smith for making the character his own, I couldn't help but dislike this Genie. None of the things he made me like Genie in the original was in Will Smith Genie. Instead of a sad clown who despite him being mostly treated as a mere tool, still remained kind and helped to people, we got a typical jaded genie. He's dismissive towards Aladdin in the whole second act, to the point he tells him he couldn't be his master and to go back to his room, so he can't ruin his fun at the party. Even his dream to become free that meant a lot to him in the original, in the new he barely cares about it. Instead we get a subplot of him wooing away Dalia, because apparently he fell in love with him at first sight (guess to this Genie how the actual person is in the inside doesn't matter). Not once did I believe that they actually became friends in the live-action, not even in the 3rd act where they tried to show Genie as sad and caring as possible. "But Zita, he's clearly mroe caring and selfless. Look at how he reacted to Aladdin' when he broke his promise" yeah no. You see, people usually call out bs and get mad, especially if it's about their friends and family. Genie had all the reasons to be mad at Aladdin in the original, as he felt betrayed and once again feeling like he's just being used as a tool. And mind you there Aladdin was still good, just unsure if he can do this without Genie. There's no excuse why Will Smith Genie acts so calmly and tells him how he's friends with him and breaking his heart when not only he showed barely any kindness towards Aladdin (he was mostly berating him, only help to woo Dalia and he mostly boasted his own ego) but Aladdin actually was a big jerk there and should have been called out on his bs properly. I get that they didn't want to copypase Robin Williams, but was it necessary to change the character entirely? Both Dan Castellaneta and Jim Meskimen could pull of the character well and personally I think Jim Carrey could have been a really great choice for Genie, so why they just made Genie into Will Smith with genie powers, instead of Will Smith actually playing the character? Sorry no offense to Will Smith, but I simply disagree with this choice about Genie. Lastly the themes. If you paid attention, you can see I mentioned the characters feeling trapped and wanting to get out of their situations, why pretending to be something you are not is wrong and show that they are more than what meets the eye. All these elements show what the themes of the original movie was: being trapped, be yourself and freedom. Simple but important themes even today. Yet the new movie threw all these away just to give space to the new ones such as the villain and hero are alike, Jasmine wanting to become sultan and Genie...well, he's more busy with being in love with a girl he just met a moment ago. Issue with this desicion is that the new creators forgot that the themes actually what connected the characters in the first place: Jasmine and Aladdin start to fall for the other because both feel trapped, both feel like there's more to them than what society says and both wanting to get out of their current social position. Genie and Aladdin become friends because once again they both feel trapped, both wanting freedom and both can understand that there's more to other than just the surface. Without these, the characters in the new movie don't feel connected, as all 3 of them wants something else. I not once believed that Jasmine actually loves Aladdin, because the only time she warmed up to him was when he praised and agreed with her being the ruler would be the best. If anything here it feels like Jasmine only marries him, because he would let her do all the ruling stuff without a single word against it. And I already talked about why I never believed Genie and Aladdin became friends here. In short, my issue with the movie is that it took away stuff from the original that were actually important, adding new stuff that they couldn't be bothered to actually execute it properly (Genie romance subplot, the whole Jasmine want to be ruler and Aladdin's changing into bad guy stuff), adding new plotholes in thanks to all the removing and adding changes and giving us characters that on paper may be just like the originals, but in execution they are just shadows of their formel selves. I feel like the people who say this is as good as the original or even say it's better are a bit blinded by nostalgia or simply never actually looked at it beyond surface level. Aladdin is a very dear movie to me and it saddens me to see how the new creators butchered so many elements of it and riding on nostlagia, while claiming they "fixed" the original's issues... Anyway, that's all from me. Sorry for it getting this long and writing this comment this way. Had to split it into 3 parts to actually save my original comment.

Dang, I should have just let you write the video essay! Totally agree!

Haha thanks!

Twisted is an underrated masterpiece.

Seriously though, why the hurry?

New au headcanon that he nd Jasmine adopts them towards the end of the original

Oh wow, it's cool to hear the perspective of someone going in blind!

Thanks! I have a slightly older video called The Problem With Nostalgia Filmmaking that kinda covers that subject.

DaVinci 3 Fr, people have to stop being so nit picky and just appreciate entertainment. Aladdin, Lion King, and The Jungle Book are all entertaining movies whether live action or animated. You shouldn’t care if one tiny scene is slightly different from your perfect picture you have in your mind.

@@editsdump1284 I just don't see the point in paying for a movie that is a shot for shot remake of a movie that I not only own a Blu-Ray of, but I know won't be as memorable or as great as the original. Even the few Disney remakes I've liked like Jungle Book (which is the only Disney remake where I haven't seen the original) i only watch once and have no desire to see again. If I want to be entertained I'd rather just watch something original or just watch the original movies.

@@editsdump1284 But people who don't like these movies aren't but just being nitpicky, at least the reasonable ones aren't. I for one, don't like any of these remakes and never have, going all the way back to the 101 Dalmatian days. Being an animation fan and student, I don't wanna see the movie again but worse looking(at least for me personally). And as a film fan who only casually understands a little of the bts politics and process of how these movies get made, I can't find anything appealing or entertaining that would make me want to actively or even casually watch these movies more than once, if at all. For a person who is more critical of film or who has more specific tastes than just "i just wanna be entertained by something", it's hard to justify going out of your way to watch these, especially when the og films are available, are more guaranteed to be liked by you and friends, and are much shorter (the fact that all movies feel the need to be over 2 hours doesn't help the remakes either). Not to disparage you or the op for enjoying them, you're well within your right to do so, but I think it's a bit unfair and thoughtless to just say people should suck it up and be quiet about them just bc you like them. Just a pov from a non-fan.

@@editsdump1284 if a movie's bad, a movie is bad. It's not really nitpicky, it's genuine criticism. I personally couldn't just sit down and be entertained seeing this movie because it was so poorly done as a film, not just a remake. Some people are more critical consumers of media and don't just idly watch things; it doesnt make us bad or negative people and personally, it makes really well done movies that I enjoy feel even more exciting and enjoyable. It's completely fine to be a less critical viewer, but don't get upset or offended when people dislike a movie you like.

Everything about his character shows that he doesn´t need to steal for a living. I mean, look at his clothes, all new and clean. Does it reflect a person who steals because he is hungry, or because he is good at it?

@@vilwarin5635 The second choice of course. I agree, in the original Aladdin didn't have much, heck! He didn't even have a SHIRT!

@@miraculouseveraftersforeve91 To be fair, in the desert climate of Agrabah he probably didn´t need one. But still, in the original, you see the patches on his trousers, his vest also looks worn out. In the LA, he is so crisp and clean.

@@veronikamajerova4564 the LA?

@@wowanothercookie live action

Thank you so much! Feel free to share it with your friends or on Reddit if you'd like to spread the word!

!

Hmm, maybe

Seconded.

Thank you!

Thanks!

Really hoping Mulan will be the game changer