Aladdin - Animated Movie Review

Recently, I've been diving into movie reviews and came across some for Aladdin, the live-action movie. I was intrigued by the discussion, and it made me want to review the original animated version since that's what I've seen. In the original Aladdin, I liked the music, art style, and, of course, the characters. I felt like I didn't see some of the characteristics most people saw in Aladdin; I thought he lied too much, and there were some things I wish they'd handled differently about Jaffar.

To start on a positive note, I liked the music. My favorite song was "Friend Like Me" when Genie introduced himself. It was a pretty dancy, fun part of the movie. I also liked the art style; the story was pretty good for what it is, and I love the genie —in my opinion, the genie stole the show. Acted like Aladdin's conscience, and while Aladdin didn't always listen, Genie was a good angel on his shoulder.

Now for the things I did not like. Aladdin. His one good quality was that he cared about his friends, especially his pet monkey. The worst quality is that he lies a lot. I know that's supposed to show he's crafty, but he lied to Jasmine, his love interest, and to make it work, he should have been honest. I also didn't like the Sultan that much because he seemed so childlike. If you're going to be the ruler of a kingdom, you have to know what's going on in your domain. It just felt like he was Jaffar’s puppet. For most of the movie, the Sultan didn't even know Jaffar was evil until the end, but by then, he couldn't do anything to stop him.

And, of course, we have to talk about Jaffar. Jaffar's character was excellent, and I thought his punishment in the first movie was fitting. However, I would’ve asked the genie to send him to some alternate dimension so that no one on this plane of existence could touch his lamp. I also think that Jaffar should have stayed around somehow until the third movie because I thought he was a fantastic villain, and I believe that good villains should always find a way back into the sequels. If Disney decided to bring in a great new villain, then yeah, Jaffar could've been cast in a different dimension. I love sizes, if you couldn't tell.

The biggest takeaway I got from Aladdin is: don’t lie to people you want to get to know, be friends with, or be in a relationship with. Dishonesty will always come back to haunt you in one way or another. I would recommend this film to any Disney fan who may not have seen it. I'd also recommend it to any romantics out there. Also, check out "One Thousand and One Nights," where this story comes from. Have you seen this movie, and what did you think? Let me know in the comments.