Aladdin (2019 film)

Aladdin is a 2019 American musical fantasy film and a live-action adaptation of Disney's 1992 animated film of the same name, itself based on the Middle-Eastern folk tale. Directed by Guy Ritchie and written by Ritchie and John August, the film stars Will Smith, Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott, Marwan Kenzari, Navid Negahban, Nasim Pedrad, and Billy Magnussen. The story follows an Arabian street urchin named Aladdin, who discovers a magic lamp containing a genie, with whose help he disguises himself as a wealthy prince and tries to impress the Sultan of Agrabah to win the heart of his free-spirited daughter, Princess Jasmine, as the Sultan's evil vizier, Jafar, plots to steal the magic lamp.

In October 2016, Disney announced Ritchie would direct a live-action remake of Aladdin. Smith was the first member of the cast to join, signing on to portray Genie in July 2017, and Massoud and Scott were confirmed for the other two lead roles later that month. Principal photography began that September at Longcross Studios in Surrey, England, and ended in January 2018. Filming also took place in the Wadi Rum Desert in Jordan. Additional filming and pick-ups took place in August 2018.

Aladdin premiered at the Grand Rex in Paris on May 8, 2019, and was theatrically released in the United States on May 24. The film received mixed reviews from critics and grossed over $1 billion worldwide, making it the ninth highest-grossing film of 2019. Amongst Disney's live-action remakes, the film is the eighth-most-expensive and third-highest-grossing to date.

Plot

In the fictional city of Agrabah (based on Baghdad), an orphaned street urchin named Aladdin and his monkey, Abu, meet Princess Jasmine, who has snuck away from her sheltered life in the palace. She wishes to succeed her father as Sultan but is instead expected to marry one of her royal suitors. Jafar, the royal vizier, schemes to overthrow the Sultan and seeks a magic lamp from the Cave of Wonders, that only "the diamond in the rough" can retrieve.

While sneaking into the royal palace to visit Jasmine, Aladdin and Abu are captured by Jafar. He offers to make Aladdin rich enough to impress Jasmine in exchange for retrieving the lamp from the Cave of Wonders. Once there, Aladdin frees a magic carpet and finds the lamp. Aladdin gives the lamp to Jafar, who double-crosses him and kicks him and Abu back into the cave, but not before Abu steals the lamp back.

Trapped in the cave, Aladdin rubs the lamp, unwittingly summoning the omnipotent Genie inside, who has the power to grant three wishes to anyone who has the lamp. Aladdin gets them out of the cave without using a wish, on a technicality. Determined to woo Jasmine, he uses his official first wish to become a prince and promises to use his third wish to free the Genie from servitude and turn him human.

Aladdin makes an extravagant arrival at Agrabah as "Prince Ali of Ababwa", but he struggles to impress Jasmine. Posing as Aladdin's human attendant, the Genie is mutually smitten with Dalia, Jasmine's handmaiden. Aladdin and Jasmine bond when he takes her on a ride on the magic carpet. Tricked into revealing his true identity, he lies to her, saying that he actually is a prince and dressed like a peasant to explore Agrabah.

When Jafar discovers Aladdin's identity, he kidnaps Aladdin and throws him into the palace moat and into the sea, knowing that if he survives, it will prove that he has the lamp. The Genie rescues Aladdin, costing him his second wish. Once rescued, Aladdin returns to the palace and destroys Jafar's magic cobra staff, ending his spell over the Sultan and revealing his plot. Jafar is then arrested and imprisoned in the dungeons. The Sultan allows Aladdin to marry Jasmine. Aladdin goes back on his promise to free the Genie, feeling uncertain of being able to keep up his charade without him. Dismayed that his new friend will continue living a lie, the Genie retreats to the lamp.

Freed by his parrot sidekick Iago, Jafar steals the lamp and becomes the Genie's new master. He uses his first wish to become sultan and his second one to become the world's most powerful sorcerer. Jafar then exposes Aladdin, exiling him and Abu to a frozen wasteland, and tortures the Sultan and Dalia until Jasmine agrees to marry him. The Genie secretly teleports the magic carpet to rescue Aladdin and Abu behind Jafar's back. At the wedding, as Aladdin returns to Agrabah, Jasmine steals the lamp from Jafar and jumps onto the magic carpet. Jafar then uses a sand twister to recapture Aladdin and Jasmine and destroy the magic carpet.

As Jafar holds Jasmine, Dalia, and the Sultan under his magic, Aladdin taunts Jafar for being second in power to the Genie, goading him into using his last wish to become "the most powerful being in the universe". Jafar turns into a genie and becomes trapped inside his own lamp, dragging Iago with him, and the Genie banishes them to the Cave of Wonders. Abu rescues the magic carpet and Genie fixes it up. Jasmine, Dalia, and the Sultan are freed from Jafar's magic. The Genie encourages Aladdin to use his third wish to regain his royal title and legally marry Jasmine. Aladdin instead keeps his promise and frees the Genie by using his last wish, allowing him to live as a human. Dalia, the Genie, and the Sultan know that Jasmine loves Aladdin. The Sultan crowns Jasmine the new sultana-regnant, no longer bound to marry a prince, and she and Aladdin marry. Meanwhile, the Genie marries Dalia, and they start a family as they explore the world together.