8 Incredible Life Lessons We Can Learn From "Aladdin"

Aladdin is a 2019 American musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Pictures. Directed by Guy Ritchie, who co-wrote the screenplay with John August, it is a live-action adaptation of Disney's 1992 animated film of the same name, which itself is based on the eponymous tale from One Thousand and One Nights. The film stars Will Smith, Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott, Marwan Kenzari, Navid Negahban, Nasim Pedrad, Billy Magnussen, and Numan Acar, as well as the voices of Alan Tudyk and Frank Welker. The plot follows Aladdin, a street urchin, as he falls in love with Princess Jasmine, befriends a wish-granting Genie, and battles the wicked Jafar. In October 2016, Disney announced Ritchie would direct a live-action Aladdin remake. Smith was the first member of the cast to join, signing on to portray Genie in July 2017, and Massoud and Scott were confirmed for the two lead roles later that month. Principal photography began that September at Longcross Studios in Surrey, England, also filming in the Wadi Rum Desert in Jordan, and lasted until January 2018. Additional filming and pick-ups took place in August 2018. Aladdin was theatrically released in the United States on May 24, 2019. It has grossed $1 billion worldwide, becoming the sixth highest-grossing film of 2019, and the 34th highest-grossing film of all-time. The film received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the performances of Smith, Massoud and Scott, the costumes and the musical score, but criticized Ritchie's direction and the CGI effects. Critics were also divided on the deviations from the original animated film, such as Kenzari's casting and characterization of Jafar. Aladdin, a kind-hearted street urchin living in the Arabian city of Agrabah along with his pet monkey Abu, rescues and befriends Princess Jasmine, who has snuck out of the palace to explore, tired of her sheltered life. Meanwhile, the grand vizier, Jafar, schemes to overthrow Jasmine's father as the Sultan. He, along with his pet parrot sidekick Iago, seeks a magic lamp hidden in the Cave of Wonders that will grant him three wishes. He has been unable to retrieve the lamp himself because only “the diamond in the rough“ is allowed to enter the cave; anyone else will be devoured and killed by the cave itself. Jafar discovers Aladdin is the diamond in the rough and when Aladdin sneaks back into the royal palace to talk to Jasmine, he is captured and persuaded by Jafar's deal to help him retrieve the lamp: since only Aladdin can enter the cave alive, he will retrieve the lamp for Jafar and Jafar will make Aladdin rich enough to impress Jasmine. Jafar warns Aladdin not to take anything but the lamp, even though he will be very tempted to. Inside the cave, Aladdin finds a magic carpet and obtains the lamp. Abu accidentally causes the cave to collapse after he picks up a ruby, as the cave thinks he is stealing. He gives it to Jafar as he hangs perilously from the exit of the cave in exchange for his help up. Jafar double crosses him however, and throws him and Abu back into the cave, though Abu steals the lamp back. The magic carpet also catches Aladdin and saves him from falling to his death. Trapped in the cave, Aladdin rubs the lamp, unwittingly summoning an omnipotent Genie, who lives inside it. Genie explains that he has the power to grant Aladdin three wishes, with the exceptions of murder, romance, resurrection of the dead, and more wishes. Aladdin tricks Genie into freeing them from the cave without using a wish. After they get out of the cave, Genie advises Aladdin that the deal is in the detail, meaning he should be very specific with wording his wishes; the vaguer they are, the more chance they can backfire. Aladdin uses his first official wish to become a prince to impress Jasmine, and promises to use his third wish to free Genie from servitude and turn him human. Aladdin enters Agrabah as Prince Ali of Ababwa, arriving in an extravagant spectacle—including Abu, whom Genie has transformed into an elephant. However, Jasmine is unimpressed by his first presentation, including an assortment of gifts and gems. The two later bond when he takes her on a ride on the magic carpet to show her the world she wants to see while Genie goes out with Jasmine's handmaiden Dalia. When Jasmine tricks Aladdin into revealing his true identity, he appears to convince her that he is actually a prince and only dressed like a peasant to meet the citizens of Agrabah beforehand. However, it is hinted later during Jasmine's conversation with Dalia, that she only chose to believe him because she wanted to. Jafar discovers Aladdin's identity and to test his theory, throws Aladdin into the sea, saying if he lives, it will be because he found the lamp and the Genie saved him. If he dies, he really is a prince and doesn't have the lamp. Abu and the carpet arrive with the lamp and Aladdin rubs it just before losing consciousness. He awakens though, having been saved b