Aladdin's First Trailer Reveals the Diamond in the Rough

So this little beauty arrived last night. And yes, I did stay up until 3am to watch it :o)

I posted my initial thoughts over at Movie News Net (yes, I get to write about Disney movies on slightly more professional basis now!) but it was way too late to write a blog post as well. But I'm awake now so let's take a deeper look at this trailer!

Right off the top, I love the orchestrations they've done for this teaser. Arabian Nights sounds haunting and beautiful as the camera flies across desert landscapes and Friend Like Me sounds epic once we enter the Cave of Wonders.

The teaser is very much a mood setter, with sweeping shots of desert and the fabled city of Agrabah. In fact you might call it a parrots eye view. That's right - Iago is in the movie!!!

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

The trailer literally opens with caravan camels roaming and that just makes me happy. It evokes memories not just of the film but of the original opening for the show (I will never forget Tuachan using live camels in their production, just magical).

The desert has never looked so good. Just look at that vista of Agrabah.

Then the sun sets and we get a closer look at the city at night.

As Aladdin might say, "It's not much, but it's got a great view." The city looks fantastic. And there's Iago!! Ok, now I'll have my happy little freak out. We finally, finally, have confirmation that Iago's in the movie. Does he talk? Who's voicing him? No idea! For now I'm just happy that my favourite evil sidekick made it into the movie. Sure, he'll probably have a smaller role (since Numan Acar's Hakim is replacing him as Jafar's right hand man) but he's there. Now, if you bring back Gilbert Gottfried or Don Darryl Rivera to voice him I'll be in heaven!

And speaking of bringing back voices...

The only dialogue in the trailer comes from the Cave of Wonders, booming those familiar words; "Only one may enter here. One whose worth lies far within. The diamond in the rough." And yes, that is the one and only Frank Welker reprising his role from the original movie. And yes, I'm embarrassed to say I missed it on my first viewing. It sounded familiar, but I'm that used to Brandon O'Neill's rendition now that it still sounded different enough that my sleep deprived brain didn't pick it up at three in the morning.

My embarrassing moment aside, I think the Cave looks fantastic. I love the visual of it growing out of the mountainside. I can't wait to see the moment it first comes alive. My only reservation is that the effect of it growing out of the mountain gives it a mane like appearance that makes the cave look more like a lion than a tiger. Maybe it is a lion in this version? At the end of the day I don't think it really matters too much. It looks great and that's the main thing.

It's here we also get our first look at Jafar, or at least his silhouette. We can't see any details but his shadowy form looks very true to both his animated and stage counterparts.

What's interesting is that there appears to be four figures here. Jafar, Aladdin, and two people who I presume are palace guards. And Jafar isn't in disguise. Now the stage adaptation did away with Jafar's disguise, but for the guards to be there as well, literally pushing Aladdin towards the cave, that suggests larger changes are in store.

And you know what? I'm really excited for that. I've said before (on multiple occasions), I don't want this to be a straight remake. If it's a straight remake then the chances are that it will always remain in the shadow of the original. By offering something new it can truly stand on its own, like the stage show does. Take what's worked before and retell it in a way best fitting a new medium and a new generation. From the trailer it looks like Aladdin will do that, and that's what excites me the most. As long as they remain faithful to the characters they shouldn't go wrong.

Speaking of changes - when Aladdin enters the cave, Abu isn't on his shoulder. Now, Iago has just been confirmed so I'm still hopeful that our furry little thief will be in the film somewhere. I know you can tell the story without him, but if there really is no Abu (and certainly no Babkak, Omar and Kassim) this Aladdin will be the most isolated and lonely of all of three Disney adaptations.

Some one did suggest to me that the person pushed towards the cave may in fact be Gazeem, not Aladdin, and this is the scene from the opening of the movie. It's certainly a possibility. If it was just the distant shot I'd agree wholeheartedly. But I still think it's Aladdin. The close up of the man entering the cave certainly looks like Aladdin and a guard can still be seen in that shot as well. It could be Gazeem, it's very shadowy so you can't be sure, but there's a real focus on him entering the cave and it feels like Aladdin's moment in teaser, entering as the Cave of Wonders says only the diamond in the rough can. It'll be an impressive bait and switch on Disney's part if it does turn out to be Gazeem. On the plus side it would be an excellent reason for Abu not being with him!

Inside the cave looks great! It's hard to judge the scale of the cave from the single panning shot we get but the stairway to the lamp looks great surrounded by the forbidden treasure (I'm assuming the huge rooms filled with gold and a helpful magic carpet will still be in there as well).

And then we finally get our first clear look at Aladdin as Mena Massoud recreates the iconic moment of the diamond in the rough reaching for his destiny.

I really want a clearer look at the costume. He looks great but I want to see the full costume before I make a real opinion. Yes, the purist in me would have liked him to be shirtless, but I have to admit this is a more practical look for a live action adaptation. Plus it works as a homage to Aladdin's look in the parks (and Once Upon a Time). Like I said, I really want a better look at the full costume. At everyone's costumes. Gregg Barnes set a high bar with the costumes for the stage show, so I'm excited to see what the movie team have come up with.

So yeah, it was a pretty perfect teaser. It set the tone and got me excited to see more. It looks faithful but teases at surprises lying in wait ("the plot that you knew with a small twist or two" as it were). I don't want to say that next May can't get here soon enough because then Aladdin will have just three months left in the West End, but at the same time I truly can't wait to see this film. Hopefully it will be just as magical as the trailer implies.