Disney Shares The Full "Friend Like Me" Musical Number From Guy Ritchie's ALADDIN at CinemaCon

Fans seem to be split on Disney’s upcoming live-action version of Aladdin. As a fan of director Guy Ritchie and the original film I really hope that it’s good. The stuff I’ve seen in the trailers has had some cool stuff, but will Will Smith be able to deliver a great Genie performance?

Disney recently shared a big clip from the film at CinemaCon and that clip was a full version of the classic musical number “Friend Like Me”, which is set in the Cave of Wonders. Will Smith goes all out in this scene and they really try to match the wild and crazy zaniness of the original film in all the vibrant visual ways.

For the most part they did a really good job with this scene and Smith gave it as much energy as he possibly could. That being said, it’s going to be so hard for fans not to compare him to Robin Williams, and his performance in this scene just did not live up that standard.

I understand that Smith is doing his own thing with the character, but at the same time he’s still doing all of the same scenes and delivering the same lines that Williams did, so you just can’t help but compare the two.

They did point out the visual effects on the film are not complete yet, so I hope that the blue version of Genie will look a little better by the time time the film is released.

If you want to watch the scene, just watch the original version of it below and imagine Smith’s Genie in the place of William’s Genie, only not as good. Don’t get me wrong, Smith looks like he’s going to do a great job in the movie, it’s just not going to be at the same caliber as Willams.

In the end, I think fans and audiences are going to enjoy the film and it’s obviously going to make a ton of money!

From the movie Aladdin, "Never Had a Friend Like Me" sung by the genie.

A thrilling and vibrant live-action adaptation of Disney’s animated classic, “Aladdin” is the exciting tale of the charming street rat Aladdin, the courageous and self-determined Princess Jasmine and the Genie who may be the key to their future. Directed by Guy Ritchie, who brings his singular flair for fast-paced, visceral action to the fictitious port city of Agrabah, “Aladdin” is written by John August and Ritchie based on Disney’s “Aladdin.”

The film also stars Mena Massoud as Aladdin; Naomi Scott as Jasmine; Marwan Kenzari as Jafar; Navid Negahban as the Sultan; Nasim Pedrad as Dalia and Billy Magnussen as Prince Anders.

Aladdin opens in theaters on May 24, 2019.