Pun Salad

I liked animated Aladdin just fine, ThankYouVeryMuch. We get Will Smith instead of Robin Williams as Genie, but … hey, the next version of this they put out could very well be a deepfaked Robin Williams back from the dead, returning to the role.

What, too ghoulish, even for Disney? Probably. But maybe not.

Anyway: the marriage of live action and CGI works fine. Not at all creepy.

Plot summary: riff-raff street rat Aladdin falls for a young lady who just happens to be the princess of the sultanate, out slumming with the proletariat. He's also drafted by the evil vizier, Jafar, to go spelunking in the Cave of Wonders for a magic lamp, which will enable further nefarious deeds. But due to some legerdemain, Aladdin winds up with the lamp, plus accompanying Genie, and he decides to use his wishes to impress the princess.

Some neat things: although the depicted culture is vaguely Middle East Arabic, some of the production numbers are straight outta Bollywood, very gaudy and fun. A nice surprise: SNL alumna Nasim Pedrad showing up as "Dalia", the Princess Jasmine's handmaiden. Extra half-star for Ms. Pedrad.