Aladdin Central Messageboard

[Meesh]

Honestly, as long as there are the main characters (Aladdin, Jasmine, Genie, and Jafar) and Carpet, I don't care who they take out or add. I really want this to be a new telling of the story.
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[Meesh]

So I'm a month late to find this, but Alan Menken announced that he will be co-writing new songs with the lyricists of LA LA LAND

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/VIDEO-Pasek-Paul-to-Team-with-Menken-on-Live-Action-ALADDIN-Miranda-Confirmed-for-LITTLE-MERMAID-20170717

Also, Jafar will have a right-hand man to be played by Numan Acar. His name is Hakim, and he is also the head of the guards. SO I guess Iago + Rasoul = Hakim?
http://deadline.com/2017/08/numan-acar-disney-aladdin-remake-1202152768/

And this page says that the storytelling will be non-linear and not traditional:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/disneys-live-action-aladdin-enlists-936881
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[Chirping Cricket]

Noooo!!!! I wanted Iago to be his own character... Say it isn't so!!
Ahh, I'm honestly kinda pissed. Iago was a decently popular character at one point!
I just wanted to see someone else handle this hot tempered character. It won't be the same if his personality's not the same.
Erg, I'm sorry. I'm just really passionate about one of my favorite fictional characters of all time, hehe.

[Meesh]

Well there's nothing that says Iago is out of the picture.

I'd say the movie is innocent until proven guilty
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[AladdinsGenie]

Updated to add Sultan! Seeing as how filming is underway now, that seems to be the official core cast, so no Iago, Abu, or Rajah to be found. They might make cheeky references or cameos in the film, but they all seem to be replaced with human equivalents save for Abu since it appears Aladdin will be totally alone in this one. Other casting can be found here.

Also announced today was Billy Magnussen as Prince Anders, which is causing controversy because no one is sure of why Disney needed to add a pseudo-European white prince in to the mix when the original movie had zero. If he's taking the place of Prince Achmed, that's fine I guess, but I'm not really here for him having a bigger role than that.

On a lighter note:

[Chris]

Don't think that has been well publicized but apparently the film wrapped just before Christmas. One of the West End ensemble was an extra and posted on Twitter about the wrap party. Now, that may have been just wrapped for Christmas but I think it's done.

As for the film, I really hope it is different. The stage musical couldn't do things that the animated film could, so it leaned more into the buddy comedy. I'd love the film to lean more into the action side. The escape from the cave of wonders, Genie's magic, Jafar's transformation and the final battle could be amazing with today's technology. I want to see the film be inspired by the animated version and I want the characters to be true to themselves, but I don't want a straight remake. I have the original for that. I'm excited to see something new.

And I'm excited by the cast. I love that they're mostly unknowns as that means (hopefully) they've cast the best people for the parts.

[Meesh]

Are there any little holes you'd like this version to patch up, like they did with BatB?
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[Chris]

Not really a plot hole but I'd love to finally learn what was written on the lamp

And filming hasn't wrapped, it must have been a pre-Christmas wrap. Men's just posted on Facebook they've just wrapped the first week of A Whole New World and they have 3 weeks to go

[AladdinsGenie]

I wonder if they're going to address how they got from Medieval Baghdad to Greece in two minutes and thirty seconds

[Meesh]

Rasoul always bugged me. I'd like his story to get cleaned up.

Also does anyone care that Jasmine just goes missing (runs away) one day? Also, I don't believe that she doesn't know that you need money.

Also why did Jafar feel it was necessary to tell Aladdin he was going to murder him BEFORE he actually gets the lamp. And why Jafar, a clever magician, plans to kill a young, agile man with a dagger.
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[AladdinsGenie]

From CinemaCon:

Cathleen Taff, Disney's head of distribution, took the stage to deliver the first footage of the forthcoming Guy Ritchie-directed film Aladdin, which is scheduled for theatrical release in May 2019.

The behind-the-scenes clip shows how the town of Agrabah from 1992 original is recreated as a physical set. The footage also reveals a kinetic camera following Aladdin as he jumps and leaps around rooftops and tangles alleyways of Agrabah to evade Sultan's men in a scene.

The preview also introduces the film's cast including Mena Massoud, who takes on the role of Aladdin, Naomi Scott, who plays the role of Princess Jasmine, and Will Smith, who portrays the character of The Genie in the film.

During the presentation, Taff also noted that in the live-action reboot, Smith will bring his own distinct style and won't try to imitate Robin Williams who famously voiced The Genie in the original animated feature.

"No one can replicate the iconic performance of Robin Williams," Taff said about Smith's portrayal before describing his character as "a little Fresh Prince, a little Hitch, and a whole lot of attitude."

[Fez_Head]

As Aladdin fans, I demand we should get to see this footage! We will wield scimitars if we don’t get our way!
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"You're only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it." - Robin Williams

[AladdinsGenie]

I know, I was hoping to get even a tiny five second shot, but that's what teaser trailers are for, I suppose.

[Fez_Head]

I miss the Disney trailers that used to explain basically the entire plot of the movie.
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"You're only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it." - Robin Williams

[imekitty]

I'm so glad to see you guys are excited about this movie because I am really dreading it...