The first teaser trailer for Aladdin hit the internet last night and everyone had something to say about it. As they should.
A lot of what they had to say was … not happy.
This is a treasured movie from our childhoods and there is already a lot of controversy surrounding the Guy Ritchie-directed film. The biggest being that the film’s Princess Jasmine is not being played by an actress of Middle Eastern descent.
Naomi Scott will take on Princess Jasmine and she is of Indian descent. Being that Aladdin is set in what would be real life Baghdad, we were obviously put off by the fact that Disney just cast someone that they believed looked like they can fit the part rather than casting with an eye on representation. Mena Massoud, who plays Aladdin, was born in Egypt and raised in Canada. Will Smith plays the Genie.
I really wanna be excited for the live action remake of Aladdin but then I remember a half Indian half British actress was cast in the part of Jasmine 🤔 there are plenty of Middle Eastern actresses out there, give us some representation #Aladdin
— Sara Panahi (@SaraPanahi5) October 12, 2018
Whether the concerns were about the actors or the aesthetic choices, the new trailer brought a lot of anger out of fans of the original film.
Watch the new teaser-trailer for @DisneyAladdin. In theaters May 24, 2019. #Aladdin pic.twitter.com/aDDofBJBFv
— Disney (@Disney) October 12, 2018
People have a lot of Thoughts about the trailer. Comparing the animated to the live-action, it is clear there were some artistic takes on the design of it.
What if Aladdin but every shot was busier and less clear? https://t.co/OtKRxSparH
— Hamish Steele @ Nottingham Comic Con 20th Oct (@hamishsteele) October 12, 2018
From the casting on, Aladdin has many issues, but apparently, Disney is also using a rhyme that Terry Rossio wrote without any acknowledgment that Terry and their writing partner wrote it.
So strange that literally the only words spoken in the new Aladdin trailer happens to be a rhyme that my writing partner and I wrote, and Disney offers zero compensation to us (or to any screenwriters on any of these live-action re-makes) not even a t-shirt or a pass to the park.
— Terry Rossio (@TerryRossio) October 12, 2018
Obviously people were complaining about the lack of other characters. The response?
Aladdin: I can show you the world…
Twitter: Where was Genie, Jasmine, Rajah, Abu, Razoul, The Sultan
Aladdin: Ummmm…it’s called a teaser
— Mark Ellis (@markellislive) October 12, 2018
For just a teaser, people are already up in arms about the changes Disney is making in the live-action version. For instance, the fact that the cave is a completely different animal.
🗣️ITS NOT THE SAME CAVE!! Who told Disney that a lion and a tiger were interchangeable?? #Aladdin #Childhoodruined pic.twitter.com/ePPG0kZxXy
— Benita Lynn (@ForNeverLynn) October 12, 2018
They even changed Aladdin’s costume. Why? Who knows.
I’m still mad they put a shirt on under Aladdin’s vest. It feels like a direct attack.
— Calvin (@calvinstowell) October 12, 2018
Aladdin comes out in May of 2019 and if these initial reactions are anything, it is going to be a long journey to those Arabian nights.
They had better make Rajah perfect.
(image: Disney)
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