Aladdin (2019) (1 Viewer)

[Jake Lipson]

The official novelization of the film is released today. It was written by Elizabeth Rudnick, but her name does not appear on the front cover at all, and the credit on the title page is as such:

Adapted by Elizabeth Rudnick
Screenplay by John August and Guy Ritchie
Based on Disney's Aladdin

This suggests to me that it basically transposes the script to a prose format without doing much fleshing out. I'm curious, but I definitely don't want to read it until after the film comes out so that the film itself is as fresh as possible for me, so I'm holding off buying it for now. (The title page is available on Amazon's Look Inside feature, which is where I found Rudnick's name.)

There is still no announcement about the release of the soundtrack. It's crazy to me that the movie is coming out next month, in about seven weeks or so, and the soundtrack hasn't been announced/detailed/listed pre-order yet. It would seem to me that since this is a Disney musical well-known for its songs, the soundtrack will be one of the most successful merchandise items. I don't know what they're doing by withholding information about it when you can already order stuff that will probably sell way fewer copies, but there you go.

 

[Jake Lipson]

The new Aladdin movie has received its rating from the MPAA.

It is "Rated PG for some action/peril."

This compares to the remake of Beauty and the Beast, which was "Rated PG for some action violence, peril and frightening images."

So Aladdin doesn't have "violence" or "frightening images" listed (what, Will Smith's blue Genie doesn't count as a frightening image?), but otherwise these are extremely similar.

Also, of course, the animated film was rated G, back when almost anything Disney submitted was automatically rated G. It's obvious they weren't aiming for that again, so the PG doesn't surprise me. Honestly, the animated film as-is would probably be rated PG if it were submitted for the first time today.

 

[Malcolm R]

The new Aladdin movie has received its rating from the MPAA.

It is "Rated PG for some action/peril."

This compares to the remake of Beauty and the Beast, which was "Rated PG for some action violence, peril and frightening images."

So Aladdin doesn't have "violence" or "frightening images" listed (what, Will Smith's blue Genie doesn't count as a frightening image?), but otherwise these are extremely similar.

I've never understood how they come up with the descriptors for these ratings. You can watch two films with similar content and their ratings will seemingly have different descriptions even though they contain scenes and situations warned about on the other rating.

I'm sure there is action violence and frightening images in Aladdin, as with BATB. Why they'd choose to call it out in one and not the other, I'll never understand. Well, actually I do since we're talking about the MPAA here.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I saw the new poster for Aladdin hanging on the wall at my theater this afternoon while I was there to see Missing Link (which is delightful by the way.) It's not surprising that it would be there, but I was delighted to see it and got a photo of myself next to it in one of my Aladdin T-shirts. Even in a very packed year, full of stuff I can't wait to see, this is definitely my most anticipated movie of the year.

40 days until Thursday previews on May 23.

(And the soundtrack is still not up for pre-order.)

 

[Jake Lipson]

Artwork has been revealed for The Art and Making of Aladdin by Emily Zelmer, which will be released April 30. Considering that the book is probably in production already, this took long enough, but here it is, along with images of some interior pages. Of note, according to the cover, Guy Ritchie (who of course directed the film) wrote an introduction for the book.

http://collider.com/aladdin-live-action-movie-art-book-insight-editions/

I think this looks gorgeous, and I can't wait to get my hands on the full book.

Is the flying carpet in the film? By that I mean, a rug with a personality?

I never expected them to delete him, but the rug on the cover of the art book sure looks like he's sentient, because he's standing upright on his own without leaning on anything. So I think that's a yes. Also, it's interesting to me that he appears to be more bright blue in that picture, because the animated film made his dominant color purple.

 

[Johnny Angell]

I never expected them to delete him, but the rug on the cover of the art book sure looks like he's sentient, because he's standing upright on his own without leaning on anything. So I think that's a yes. Also, it's interesting to me that he appears to be more bright blue in that picture, because the animated film made his dominant color purple.

Before I got to your comment, I thought the same thing. The rug appears to be pointing to the lamp.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Amazon is now listing a variety of new Jasmine products, including a "musical singing doll."

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GXMZD4C/ref=twister_B07QDBV1YZ?_encoding=UTF8&th=1

There's also a light-up Genie Lamp, Agrabah Tea Set and jewelry box.: https://www.amazon.com/Disney-86098...YG3S05Y76HPX&refRID=1HQQ9HGBYG3S05Y76HPX&th=1

I'm not the intended market for any of these items. But I do think it's strange that the release date is May 31, which is after the movie comes out.

Disney is usually very good about getting toys on shelves before the movie arrives so that they're there when kids come out of the movie wanting stuff.

Other than the books I've mentioned earlier in this thread which are coming out over the course of April and May, they've been surprisingly lax on new Aladdin merchandise so far. (Did I mention a release date and pre-order option for the soundtrack is still MIA?)

All this seems to indicate to me that they aren't confident in Aladdin. I hope I'm wrong on this, since I can't wait to see it and I want to love it, but they don't seem to be giving it as aggressive of a push as they normally do.

 

[Johnny Angell]

Amazon is now listing a variety of new Jasmine products, including a "musical singing doll."

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GXMZD4C/ref=twister_B07QDBV1YZ?_encoding=UTF8&th=1

There's also a light-up Genie Lamp, Agrabah Tea Set and jewelry box.: https://www.amazon.com/Disney-86098...YG3S05Y76HPX&refRID=1HQQ9HGBYG3S05Y76HPX&th=1

I'm not the intended market for any of these items. But I do think it's strange that the release date is May 31, which is after the movie comes out.

Disney is usually very good about getting toys on shelves before the movie arrives so that they're there when kids come out of the movie wanting stuff.

Other than the books I've mentioned earlier in this thread which are coming out over the course of April and May, they've been surprisingly lax on new Aladdin merchandise so far. (Did I mention a release date and pre-order option for the soundtrack is still MIA?)

All this seems to indicate to me that they aren't confident in Aladdin. I hope I'm wrong on this, since I can't wait to see it and I want to love it, but they don't seem to be giving it as aggressive of a push as they normally do.

I tend not to notice these things. However I do notice the Christmas season arrives sooner every year. Before long, it’ll start right after Memorial Day. OK, I exaggerate (a little).

 

[Jake Lipson]

A couple updates today: first, Empire Online has comments from Will Smith and Guy Ritchie about the response so far to the Genie:

https://www.empireonline.com/movies...ks-aladdin-genie-memes-funny-exclusive-image/

Second, here's low-res video of a new TV spot. It's mostly footage we've seen before but has a couple of new lines Hopefully Disney will supply a higher-quality version soon.



For those counting, the movie opens in 37 days (36 if you count the Thursday previews) and there has still been no announcement about the release of the soundtrack. This is driving me nuts.

 

[Jason_V]

For those counting, the movie opens in 37 days (36 if you count the Thursday previews) and there has still been no announcement about the release of the soundtrack. This is driving me nuts.

Completely understood...part of me is saying to be patient and wait for Endgame to get here next weekend and be in the theater for a week before the Aladdin push happens. And yeah, I know all the other merch is out and/or announced already.

 

[Jake Lipson]

part of me is saying to be patient and wait for Endgame to get here next weekend and be in the theater for a week before the Aladdin push happens.

It makes sense to me why Endgame would be their priority in terms of TV spots and online ads right now being bought by the theatrical distribution division. I'm sure that you're right that their focus will turn to Aladdin in a couple weeks once Endgame has been successfully launched.

But announcing the release date of the soundtrack and putting it up for pre-order is the domain of Walt Disney Records and shouldn't conflict with the Endgame rollout at all. So....I really don't get this, particularly since the soundtrack for a Disney musical will almost inevitably sell more copies than all the other stuff they have announced. Instead, I'm seeing ads on Facebook from Walt Disney Records encouraging me to buy the soundtrack for Dumbo, which has been out for a few weeks now.

It should be noted that the soundtracks for Toy Story 4 and The Lion King remake are also TBA, among things Walt Disney Records has to do, although Aladdin seems more urgent because it comes out first.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I have seen the trailer and thought it lacked some colour and vibrance, I can't wiat to see it in full and form a more informed opinion about it, and I am not sure Lion King should have gotten a remake.

Welcome to the forum, Nnamdi!

I thought the trailer is very colorful (where it was supposed to be) so we'll have to disagree on that, but I look forward to discussing the movie when it comes out.

As far as The Lion King is concerned, while it seems to be pretty much the same thing based on what has been released so far, I do think it has been executed at a very high level. If Disney was going to do it anyway to make money, they could have done a lot worse. We have a separate thread for The Lion King if you'd like to discuss this further.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I hate to say it, but the soundtrack release preorder probably isn’t a huge priority for Disney in 2019 because most music listeners do not consume their music content by buying a physical object or by making a single downloadable purchase from a place like iTunes.

The majority of music sales today come not from individual album sales but from subscriptions to services like Spotify and Apple Music. The soundtrack will almost certainly be on those services on release date.

It is also possible that nothing has yet been announced because work is still in progress. In the digital era, films and their soundtracks don’t need to be finished until the very last moment, and they may be counting on using all that time here.

 

[Jake Lipson]

It is also possible that nothing has yet been announced because work is still in progress. In the digital era, films and their soundtracks don’t need to be finished until the very last moment, and they may be counting on using all that time here.

They wouldn't need to announce very much in order to announce the release date and put it up for pre-order. The Star Wars soundtracks don't announce the track listing until the release date. They could put it up for pre-order today and still be working on it up until they have to press discs.

I just don't see why "This is when the soundtrack will come out and this is how much it will cost" is a difficult thing for them. If they are still working on it, fine, but unless they intend to release it after the film comes out, a pre-order should not be a big deal. Your points about people consuming music differently are well-taken, but unless they are actually withholding a physical release, this information has to come out sooner or later.

For Beauty and the Beast, I was able to pre-order that on December 23, 2016 prior to its CD release on March 10, 2017, which was a week ahead of the film's release. They didn't have full track listing up then, either, but they knew that they were going to do a single-disc release with the songs, and a two-disc release with those plus the instrumental score, and enough about the release model and pricing structure was communicated to online stores to allow for pre-orders to begin. Based on that, they are way behind the curve.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

For Beauty and the Beast, I was able to pre-order that at the end of December 2016 prior to its CD release on March 10, 2017, which was a week ahead of the film's release. Based on that, they are way behind the curve.

Yes, but the music market continues to change dramatically from year to year, just as the film business has - what was true two years ago does not always apply now.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Amazon is now listing a Halloween costume in the design of Aladdin's look from this film (where he is fully clothed) as opposed to in the animated one where he's got a vest on but his chest is showing.

https://www.amazon.com/Aladdin-Outf...aladdin+2019&qid=1555913793&s=gateway&sr=8-14

I'm not sure if this is a Disney-licensed product or not, but it certainly looks like his outfit from the beginning of the trailer. Unless someone actually wanted to dress up to attend the movie, something like this won't be needed until October, but here it is. One of these days the soundtrack is going to come along...but today is not that day.

Also...even if the whole soundtrack is not ready...you'd think they might do a credits single of A Whole New World with some famous pop music people, and getting that out early would help promote a film where the only well-known movie star is Will Smith. The single from the animated film knocked I Will Always Love You out of the #1 spot on the Billboard chart.

Maybe next week after Endgame is launched something will happen...

 

[Johnny Angell]

Amazon is now listing a Halloween costume in the design of Aladdin's look from this film (where he is fully clothed) as opposed to in the animated one where he's got a vest on but his chest is showing.

https://www.amazon.com/Aladdin-Outf...aladdin+2019&qid=1555913793&s=gateway&sr=8-14

I'm not sure if this is a Disney-licensed product or not, but it certainly looks like his outfit from the beginning of the trailer. Unless someone actually wanted to dress up to attend the movie, something like this won't be needed until October, but here it is. One of these days the soundtrack is going to come along...but today is not that day.

Also...even if the whole soundtrack is not ready...you'd think they might do a credits single of A Whole New World with some famous pop music people, and getting that out early would help promote a film where the only well-known movie star is Will Smith. The single from the animated film knocked I Will Always Love You out of the #1 spot on the Billboard chart.

Maybe next week after Endgame is launched something will happen...

What’s really interesting about that costume is that it appears to be worn by The Invisible Man.

 

[Jake Lipson]

New TV spot, which for some reason features a non-blue, human form shirtless Will Smith:



The REST of this looks great, in my opinion. In particular, "Prince Ali got you to the door, but Aladdin has to open it" is a great line.

But then there's that one shot at the end. Like...why? I definitely didn't need that visual.

Edit: I watched it again, and it looks like he could be tinted blue in that shot after all -- it's the one at the very end after Aladdin says "you have to take a risk" -- but it's lit in a weird way so I'm not totally sure. Anyway, that shot looks bad. But I love the rest of this

Also, one month to go until the first shows on Thursday, May 23.

 

[Jake Lipson]

According to information provided by @Jeff Adkins over in the Endgame thread, Disney is attaching the Aladdin trailer to Endgame on 3D showings only. I'm quoting it here because what I want to talk about is more relevant to Aladdin than to Endgame and I didn't want to derail that thread.

Trailers attached by Disney to Endgame:

2-D Showings
The Lion King - Trailer #2
Star Wars Episode IX - Trailer #1

3-D Showings
Toy Story 4 - Trailer #3
Aladdin - Trailer #2

While I understand the desire by Disney to promote The Lion King and Star Wars, the fact is that both of those films come out significantly later than Aladdin does. Aladdin is 30 days away from its Thursday previews today, and there's not another major Disney release between Endgame and Aladdin. So, this is really the last time Disney can guarantee that a large mass audience will see the Aladdin trailer.

We also know that the vast majority of audience members will see Endgame in 2D. Beginning Friday, my local theater currently has 35 showtimes a day listed for Endgame in 2D this weekend. Comparatively, there are only six daily showtimes for Endgame in 3D during the same period.

We also know that Aladdin has had its previous trailers attached to The Nutcracker and the Four Realms and Dumbo, both of which underperformed versus expectations. That means less people saw the trailers attached to those movies than Disney would have liked.

And yes, I know a whole lot of people view trailers online these days, but if you're looking it up online, you're already somewhat invested in it; you have to look it up and click play. Having the trailer play in the movie theater when the audience is already there for another film is a different level of getting people to see it.

To be clear, I am not trying to say that Disney is trying to set up Aladdin for failure. They would not do that; if they thought it was going to fail, they wouldn't have spent all the money to make the film in the first place.

However, they are being less aggressive with Aladdin than they normally would be with one of their films. They've got an incredibly packed schedule this year, as we've already discussed, and I think they're struggling to give all the films equal treatment in the spotlight. It feels to me like they've already decided The Lion King will be the big one, and they are throwing more of their weight behind it, even though it comes out later.

We'll see what happens.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I noticed tonight that Wikipedia says that Frank Welker will be reprising his roles from the original film. Mr. Welker provided the voices of both Abu and the Cave of Wonders.

I haven't seen this actually confirmed by Disney anywhere, so I would take it with a grain of salt. However, the voice of the Cave in the teaser trailer does seem the same, and Disney didn't announce a voice for Abu yet. If they did get Welker back for the Cave, they might as well have him do both. It's not clear if they pulled vocals from the animated film or had him re-record them, but I would guess the latter. James Earl Jones re-recorded his lines for The Lion King, and that appears to be much more shot-for-shot than this does, so it probably would have been easy for Disney to lift Jones' vocals from the prior film but they didn't.

We'll see when they release the official credits, but assuming it's true, I actually think it's kind of cool that they kept Welker around. He'll be the only actor ever to be Abu, since Abu is not in the Broadway show at all.