6.7 | / 10 |
Users | 3.8 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 3.8 |
A street rat frees a genie from a lamp, granting all of his wishes and transforming himself into a charming prince in order to marry a beautiful princess. But soon, an evil sorcerer becomes hell-bent on securing the lamp for his own sinister purposes.
Starring: Will Smith, Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott (III), Marwan Kenzari, Navid NegahbanAdventure | 100% |
Fantasy | 85% |
Family | 83% |
Comedy | 36% |
Musical | 31% |
Romance | 2% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
English SDH, French, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
Digital copy
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
It's no surprise that Disney is on the top of the moviemaking world right now. The box office-busting numbers are staggering, and it's not just because the company has absorbed so many popular properties. It's also because of the sheer volume of films the studio is releasing, which includes live action adaptations of favorite internal animated films of yore releasing at a furious, fever pace. These adaptations stretch back further than 2015, but that year's Cinderella certainly seemed to kick the high profile remakes into high gear. Since then it's been a steady parade of films of varying qualities, including The Jungle Book, Beauty and the Beast, Dumbo, and now Aladdin, the remake of the treasured 1992 animated film of the same name that ranks highly on many Disney fans' lists of favorites. Director Guy Ritchie's (Sherlock Holmes) vision for the live action isn't far off the mark, even if it's not particularly imaginative, offering what looks and feels like a fairly straight, if not slightly expanded, take on the treasured tale, favoring lavish production design over a more expansive or expressive narrative focus.
Aladdin was digitally photographed and yields splendid results on Blu-ray. Disney's 1080p presentation may not quite live up to its UHD counterpart but make no mistake it's a well-rounded presentation on this format. Colors spring to life with a richness and depth that pushes the format to it limits. There's a parade of shades throughout the film but perhaps nowhere is the image's excellence more evident than in chapter eight during the performance of "Prince Ali." Explosions of yellows and pinks and greens and purples and a multitude of other colors leap off the screen with striking depth and intensity. The Princess' various adornments and jewels shine while earthy terrain seen throughout the film offers positive nuance. Genie's blue skin is a standout in the film's second half. The 1080p resolution brings out the picture's finest qualities with appreciable clarity and complexity. Core skin textures are very impressive while clothes are refined and those same jewels appear tack-sharp. Various digital constructs, from the monkey Abu to vast stretches of Agrabah, yield very impressive clarity that seamlessly blends with the live action material. There's nary a soft edge to be seen in the movie. Black levels are excellent in the various low light scenes, and it is only here where modest amounts of noise appears in any quantity worth mentioning. Skin tones appear spot-on as well. This is a very good presentation from Disney.
Disney's DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 lossless soundtrack requires the expected upward volume boost from calibrated listening levels. It's hushed at typical reference levels, but the boost yields a fairly enjoyable and very stout presentation. The opening song -- "Arabian Nights" -- presents with solid front end width, healthy surround support, and a fair bit of low end oomph. It's an auspicious beginning that the track largely lives up to for the duration. The marketplace scenes spring to life with impressively immersive din that's also well defined, easily drawing the listener into Agrabah's streets and a few little corners of Aladdin's world. There's plenty of activity in chapter six when the cave crumbles around Aladdin after he secures the lamp. It's a little unruly, favoring raw energy over precision, but it's a fun sequence that pushes the track to it limits for sure and engages the entirety of the listening area with superior saturation. Moments later, the genie arrives out of the bottle with a deep, booming, cavernous voice that echoes about the room with potent authority. Additional score and various songs offer boisterous engagement and fine clarity; "Prince Ali" is the unequivocal highlight. Beyond the need to raise the volume there's not much here that disappoints.
Aladdin contains a fairly basic assortment of extras, including three featurettes, a few deleted scenes, and music videos. A DVD copy of the
film and a
Movies Anywhere digital copy code are included with purchase. This release ships with an embossed slipcover.
Aladdin makes for a fun little diversion and a nice compliment to the original animated film. It's well cast and its visuals are everything one would expect of a live action Aladdin translation. It's not the finest of Disney's live action re-imaginings, but it's certainly far from the worst. Disney's Blu-ray delivers high end video and audio presentations. Supplements are a little thin but adequate. Recommended.
The Signature Collection | Ultimate Collector's Edition
1992
2019
2016
Ultimate Collector's Edition
2016
2014
Ultimate Collector's Edition
2010
2019
Lenticular Faceplate
2012
Collector's Edition
2013
2018
2017
25th Anniversary Edition | The Signature Collection
1991
2015
50th Anniversary Edition
1963
Exclusive Lenticular Packaging
2015
Anniversary Edition | The Signature Collection
1959
1987
Limited Edition Collector's Set
1986
2010
Remastered
1995