LAS VEGAS – All is not rosy for Walt Disney’s Live Action studio. Following a mediocre opening and disappointing critical reactions for “Dumbo,” the Sean Bailey led division now has to convince a skeptical media and moviegoers that their upcoming adaptation of “Aladdin” won’t disappoint. To that point, Bailey unveiled a key scene from the Guy Ritchie directed musical adventure at CinemaCon on Wednesday.
The scene began with Aladdin (Mena Massoud, still wearing a shirt) entering an ancient cave where he’s been instructed to steal a unique lamp. He’s been told not to touch anything else or all could be lost. Of course, that’s almost what happens when Aladdin’s monkey, Abu, picks up a gigantic red ruby. The walls of the gigantic cavern begin to shake and it looks like even volcanic lava appears. Somehow a magic carpet whisks them to safety (where the carpet came from or if its Aladdin’s in the first place is not explained).
Aladdin then notices that the lamp is radiating with waves of blue energy. He rubs the lamp only to have a gigantic Genie (Will Smith, very blue the entire time) appear. Genie makes a grand proclamation in a very deep voice before shrinking down to close to Aladdin’s size. He jokes with Aladdin that he’s joking and then proceeds to start singing the original film’s classic song, “Friend Like Me.”
Let’s get to the good stuff, first. Ritchie absolutely creates some unique and pretty visuals in this sequence that may surprise even the film’s biggest skeptics. Will it absolutely blow you away? No, but most of the Disney live-action films trying to recreate or reinterpret amazing animated moments have so far been unable to do so in a manner that truly impresses (you can argue only Bill Condon‘s version of “Be Our Guest” from “Beauty and the Beast” came close).
Unfortunately, Smith’s vocal performance is disappointing. He simply isn’t a very good singer and the song hasn’t been completely transformed into a rap or spoken word piece (there is a small amount of rap) which better suits Smith’s musical skills. Will kids care? Probably not. Will older teenagers and adults be slightly unimpressed? Maybe, but if this is the scene you want to get theater owners excited? This is the best thing you have to sneak for a movie that opens in less than two months? That’s probably a much bigger concern.
On the complete opposite end of the spectrum was a sizzle reel that mixed behind the scenes footage, interviews and cut scenes from “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil.” Disney just recently moved the sequel to the 2014 blockbuster “Maleficent” from a 2020 opening to this upcoming October (a very rare move for Disney). The studio must have seen a window on the release schedule and thought the movie was good enough to make a mark. Judging from the footage screened, it might turn out to be a very savvy move.
According to Maleficent herself, Angelina Jolie, the new film finds the horned fairy keeping watch over an almost completely grown Aurora (Elle Fanning, barely aged). When Prince Phillip (Harris Dickinson, unrecognizable) asks her to be his Queen, it introduces Aurora and Maleficent to another royal family with an agenda of its own. That family is seemingly run by Phillip’s mother, Queen Ingrith (Michelle Pfeiffer, chewing the scenery beautifully) and Maleficent soon realizes she doesn’t have Aurora’s best interests in mind.
Granted, the effects were not finished (one shot saw Jolie land with wires), some scenes were not color timed and others were captured by the EPK crew, but there was an energy on display that made what was shown look devilishly fun. Disney isn’t hiding at all that this movie is basically a Jolie versus Pfeiffer showdown and thank god they aren’t. When Pfeiffer picks up a long bow, cocks an evil smile and points it like a pro it’s hard not to succumb to the potential of genuine campy fun. Something that seems strangely missing from what we’ve seen of “Aladdin” or the aforementioned “Dumbo.”
Hey, they all can’t be “The Lion King.”
“Aladdin” opens nationwide on May 24. “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” opens nationwide on Oct. 18.