On Feb. 10 Disney released the trailer for the upcoming live-action remake of “Aladdin.”
The trailer garnered a lot of attention, but reactions have been mixed.
Will Smith’s rendition of Genie has become the target of criticism and internet memes due to the strange use of CGI, which makes him awkward to look at.
Disney has remade animated classics such as “The Jungle Book” and “Beauty and the Beast” into live-action flicks and is planning on doing the same with Mulan in 2020.
Despite negative reactions, Disney told USA Today it is “confident that audiences will fall in love with the Genie and all of the characters when it hits the big screen this May.”
No matter how confident Disney may be, it seems that these films using CGI simply don’t hold a candle to the fully-animated predecessors.
The issue with Aladdin isn’t Smith, but what Disney did with him visually.
Disney’s live-action films depend on CGI to replicate the magic of the original movies but CGI has limitations, made obvious by Smith’s strange blue form.
Animation is able to capture a team’s creativity and imagination much better than live action ever could.
It’s now evident by movies like “Into the Spiderverse,” a creation that certainly would not have been the same if it were live action.
We as moviegoers may not realize it when we’re watching a children’s movie, but animation requires a lot of work to become something beautiful and fluid.
Although animated films require hard work, they are not taken as seriously as live action films by both the film industry and audience alike because they’re made for children.
Instead, these movies are seen as a stepping stone for live action movies which are seen as the “real” cinematic feature.
The future “The Lion King” remake, which technically couldn’t be considered a live action movie because it would be entirely animated with CGI, has already spurred a lot of interest in an audience solely because the animals looks more realistic now.
These reboots are unnecessary and the art of animation deserves better.
There is nothing wrong with being nostalgic, but these live action films are a sign that people simply do not respect animation as much as they do the CGI/live action hybrid, despite how iconic these films are.
Even if the new Aladdin turns out to be a fantastic movie despite how ridiculous Genie looks, Disney fans will continue to watch the originals because nothing beats the magic of animation.