Aladdin Was My Go-To Movie as a Kid — Here’s Why I Loved the New One

When I was younger, I wondered what it would be like to visit the Cave of Wonders and ride on a magic carpet. Although it's still not exactly possible for kids themselves to do such things, it was really fun seeing Aladdin (Mena Massoud) "in the flesh," so to say. He and the other actors really brought the story to life, and to watch little eyes take that in would be nothing but pure Disney magic.

Sure, Aladdin is wearing a shirt the entire movie, and there's a new song that was written just for Jasmine, but on the surface, the story is the same — street rat meets Princess he doesn't know is a princess, street rat falls for Princess, magic lamp comes into street rat's possession . . . you know the rest. It's charming and entertaining in its live-action form, and though the animated version will always hold a special place in my heart, I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a grin on my face through most of this movie, and I promise, you and your kids will, too.

OK, so I'm really biased about this role (see aforementioned note about Robin Williams being my absolute favorite) and still thought that Will Smith crushed it. The Genie isn't the easiest character to play in a live-action film, we'd imagine, but Will managed to convey the high energy of Genie through the whole movie. He was entirely too much, but that's for sure how the character should be played. From his singing — and dancing — to the inside jokes between him and Aladdin (a great addition from the original script), your kids are going to be belly laughing at everything he says and does throughout the film.

While there's more than one new face in the live-action reboot, the standout character has to be Dalia, Jasmine's handmaiden played by Nasim Pedrad. I may have been a little more excited about Nasim's roll because she was one of the best parts of New Girl (and Saturday Night Live), but aside from that, she really does add a lot to the movie in a fun way. She utters a few great one-liners, has a bit of a love connection with the Genie (yes, it's true!), and unlike Rajah, Dalia can talk back when Jasmine is speaking to her as her closest friend and confidant (but don't worry, Rajah still makes appearances). It's fun to see Jasmine with a human BFF, and the fact that Dalia is another woman (there are literally, like, no women in both of these films) is a bonus for me — girl power!