Page 30 - ARUBA TODAY

A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Wednesday 22 May 2019
Recreating 'Aladdin's' magic with Will Smith and fresh faces

By LINDSEY BAHR din" would go on to win the
CINDY MARTIN hearts of millions and be-
LOS ANGELES (AP) — In come the highest-grossing
1992, Disney transported picture of the year.
audiences to the mythical It was an ambitious anima-
land of Agrabah, where tion project that paid off
they met a street rat with and generated decades
a heart of gold, a flying of fan goodwill, not to men-
carpet, a headstrong prin- tion the two Oscars and a
cess and a magical genie future Broadway musical.
with some oddly current Now, following in the lucra-
pop culture references. tive footsteps of "Beauty
With the music and lyrics of and the Beast" and others,
Alan Menken, Howard Ash- the studio is taking another
man and Tim Rice, "Alad- shot at "Aladdin," this time

This image released by Disney shows Mena Massoud as Aladdin, left, and Will Smith as Genie in
Disney's live-action adaptation of the 1992 animated classic "Aladdin."
Associated Press

in live-action. The film, from Naomi Scott, who is of half size of two football fields,
director Guy Ritchie, opens South Asian descent, to and on location in Jordan,
nationwide Friday. play Jasmine. including at Wadi Rum.
But how do you recreate "She was one of my favor- It was not lost on Ritchie
the magic of "Aladdin" ite princesses," Scott said. that "Lawrence of Ara-
without the help of a ge- "I think I gravitated toward bia" was also filmed there.
nie's lamp? her because of her strength Since there's no real city
Well, getting a movie star and because I felt like I saw of Agrabah, production
like Will Smith on board myself in her." designer Gemma Jackson
doesn't hurt. Smith agreed In this film, she's fighting for ("Game of Thrones") used
to play the Genie. The equality and the opportu- elements of Moroccan,
part was originated by the nity to succeed her father Persian and Turkish archi-
late Robin Williams, who as Sultan. tecture as inspiration.
brought his signature irrev- "It's just about her being hu- As far as musical numbers
erence and wit and mod- man and more well-round- go, the biggest produc-
ern references to the role. ed," said Scott. tion of the film by far is
But even with Smith's bona She even gets her own em- the "Prince Ali" sequence,
fides, he was nervous. Wil- powerment anthem in a where Aladdin, with the
liams' performance has new original song called Genie's help, enters the
become iconic in the past "Speechless," written by city as they think royalty
27 years. In other words, it Menken, and fellow Oscar- would, boasting of his great
would be a tough act to winning songwriters Benj wealth, bravery and an as-
follow. Pasek and Justin Paul ("The sortment of animals includ-
"It was not a no-brainer," Greatest Showman," ''La La ing 75 golden camels, 53
Smith said. "I was really ter- Land"). peacocks and 95 white
rified at first. You know, you Menken was the bridge Persian monkeys.
have to be careful with between past and pres- Ritchie employed 250
these types of films that ent for the production, and dancers and 200 extras
mark people's childhoods." said he had to be both the to flesh out the world and
Smith and the filmmakers "keeper of the flame of the commissioned a 30-foot
knew that remaking "Alad- original" and "part of a new high camel made of 37,000
din " would inevitably in- team." flower heads for "Ali" to ride
volve a delicate dance "When you're working at in on.
of paying homage to the Disney you have a lot of "It's one of the biggest
original while also modern- people keeping an eye, dance sequences you'll
izing some aspects of the a very careful eye, on the ever see in a movie. It's the
story, including casting eth- legacy," Menken said. "So I sequence I'm most proud
nically appropriate leads, am very protective." of," Smith said. "You got to
who could sing and dance Naturally, the filmmakers go check it out. It's hot."
and carry a large scale wanted to give the pro- While there will be many,
production, and giving a duction an epic feeling fit- many familiar touchstones
character like Princess Jas- ting of an overseas action- for audiences from the
mine more agency. adventure musical. songs to the score to even
They found Egyptian-born "Aladdin" was shot on a some of the dialogue,
and Canada-raised ac- massive soundstage out- there are some ways the
tor Mena Massoud to play side of London, where the live-action film had to devi-
Aladdin and British actress Agrabah set spanned the ate from the original.q