Disney has offered a special look into the new live-action adaptation of “Aladdin” coming May 24—featuring Will Smith as the titular genie—and the reactions are quite divided.
On Feb. 10, Walt Disney Studios released a new trailer for the film, which shows cast members Aladdin, Jafar, Jasmine, and a quick glimpse of the genie at the very end.
However, the studio’s decision to put the blue in the genie via CGI, or computer-generated imagery, has caused some uproar from fans who are very vocal about their opinions of the character.
The fans have quickly taken to social media to voice their opinions, according to BBC, many of which have been on the negative side.
“It turns out that Will Smith’s #Aladdin Genie will haunt my nightmares,” one Twitter user tweeted.
Another user’s reaction is a little more “out there.”
“Will Smith as #Aladdin’s genie makes me want to uninvent CGI,”
Will Smith as #Aladdin‘s genie makes me want to uninvent CGI. ???? pic.twitter.com/OsPHFxZQck
— Steve Bannister (@SteveisSensible) February 11, 2019
“Will Smith genie is what appears in my room when I have sleep paralysis,” says another tweet, in reaction to Will Smith’s genie.
Will Smith genie is what appears in my room when I have sleep paralysis pic.twitter.com/NzMDOgvkkz
— Jenny Nicholson (@JennyENicholson) February 11, 2019
As negative as it might seem, there are also some positive comments from fans who are looking forward to the adaptation when it comes out in May.
“Visuals look good and I’m glad they made Genie blue. Of course Will Smith has some big shoes to fill but I’ll wait to see the film before casting any judgements!” said one internet use.
Other people even saw a resemblance between the Will Smith genie and the natives of Pandora from the James Cameron’s film “Avatar.”
The Genie
The genie itself was originally voiced by Robin Williams, and he created a genie that had a strong personality and an iconic presence that is proving difficult to separate from the character.
According to Entertainment Weekly, Williams brought the genie to life — “the fast-talking wish-maker, turning him into the heartwarming and critically lauded comedic core of the film.”
Some of the lines were even created by Williams, and they did not detract from his memorable character.
Thus, Smith had a high standard to uphold as the genie. But Smith is already known, as Entertainment Weekly puts it, as “one of the funniest forces in entertainment.”
“Whenever you’re doing things that are iconic, it’s always terrifying. The question is always: Where was there meat left on the bone? Robin didn’t leave a lot of meat on the bone with the character,” said Smith.
Fans are hoping Smith will add his own special touch to the genie that, although different from William’s, will be just as iconic.
“Aladdin” and Other Remakes
The original film by Disney back in 1992 was about a homeless youth in the fictional city of Agrabah, who falls in love with the princess and uses the powers of a genie to transform himself into a prince to marry her, according to IMDb.
It’s a children’s movie, except not really—according to Entertainment Weekly, the original movie was much more than just a movie for kids.
“Disney’s flight through a fictional Middle Eastern realm,” was “woven with wanderlust and magic and loosely inspired by the Arabian folktales in One Thousand and One Nights.”
The film dominated the box office back in 1992 and played a crucial role in reviving Disney’s brand, according to BBC.
Disney has created a number of new adaptations and live action films in recent years, such as Maleficent, Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Dumbo, Jungle Book, and Alice in Wonderland.
People tend to favor familiar things, Disney realized, and these well-received animated films, when made into live actions films, have been a surefire way to stay away from risky productions, providing a safe way to entertain and secure profits all at the same time, according to Quartz.
Many of the live action remakes have made Disney a lot of money, such as Alice in Wonderland—it made $1 billion dollars at the box office on a budget of $150 million. Similarly, Maleficent, the Sleeping Beauty tale told from the villain’s point of view, made $750 million on a $180 million budget.
Most of these adaptations, such as the upcoming “Lion King” and the “Jungle Book,” feature a large amount of CGI to create scenes or characters that are difficult to mimic in real life.
CGI and The “Uncanny Valley”
Some films create nearly their entire cast out of CGI, like the upcoming Lion King and Dumbo. CGI is very prevalent now and used more frequently in order to create animated films, three-dimensional character or creatures, as well as special effects, according to GreenLightPix.
However, there are some cases when these computer-generated graphics run the risk of exposing themselves to things that animators try very hard to avoid: the “uncanny valley.”
One of the arguments against the Will Smith genie is the fact that the genie itself, when created via CGI, looked a bit “uncanny.”
The uncanny valley is a term used in animation for something that looks human but is not quite human. It’s a sense of psychological dislike—as it becomes something that’s familiar but in an eerie or unsettling way.
There are a number of films that had this issue, such as the unsuccessful “Polar Express,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” and more notably, the one that started it all, “Tin Toy,” a short made by Pixar that shed light on the uncanny valley phenomenon and promoted animators to take the term and its effects seriously.
There are other films that have succeeded in navigating through the uncanny valley, such as Gollum in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, as well as the Terminator.
Whatever the case, Will Smith will have a big role to play and standards to uphold as the genie, and as Entertainment Weekly puts it, the genie CGI itself isn’t complete. Perhaps, when it hits the theaters, it will be a new and different feel.
