Disney’s live-action remake of Aladdin is in theaters this weekend, and it’s only the second of three live-action remakes of animated Disney hits set for 2019. But whereas Dumbo was a late-period Tim Burton disaster and the upcoming Lion King is struggling to escape the uncanny valley, Aladdin is a classic middle-eastern folk tale about a boy, a princess, and a genie that theoretically should have no problem translating to live-action. Then again did you see Will Smith as the genie? But this new Aladdin comes not just from a rich mythic tradition but a rich cinematic tradition as well.
Watch these movies before Aladdin.
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FernGully
I was originally going to suggest here that you watch the original Aladdin from 1992, but seeing that before the remake would probably just make you sad. So you should watch FernGully instead, and not just because its eco-friendly message is all too relevant for our current climate change crisis. This is another animated movie from 1992 where Robin Williams plays a wisecracking sidekick, in this case a raping bat. And Williams’ participation in this movie from a rival studio led to later beef with Disney, causing the company to renege on its deal to not overly merchandise Williams’ role in Aladdin, leading to our current celebrity cartoon Hell. It took years for all parties involved to bury the hatchet. Cool bit of animation history!
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Thief of Bagdad
Aladdin may take place in the fantasy land of Agrabah but you could call him a thief of Bagdad and you won’t be wrong. Thief of Bagdad is the classic swashbuckling Arabian Nights adventure Aladdin absolutely draws from. Magic flying carpets. An animal named Abu. A wish-granting genie. A villain named Jaffar. It was all here… along with the other questionable elements you’d expect from an otherwise acclaimed 1920s (or 1940s remake) movie set in another country.
Amar Akbar Anthony
Aladdin’s lavish production design and big musical bombast owes as much to Bollywood movies as it does to the animated version. This list isn’t nearly long enough to tell you all the movies you should watch from India vibrant cinema scene. But something about the identity-swapping comedy hijinx of Amar Akbar Anthony, where three strangers of different religions discover they are related, feels like a nice Aladdin supplement.
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Another Guy Ritchie Movie
When Guy Ritchie was announced as Aladdin’s director the internet went wild applying his typical vulgar British crime gutter punk style to the beloved cartoon. To be fair, considering Aladdin’s street rat origin, Ritchie’s involvement made some sense. And those Sherlock Holmes movies proved he’s more than capable of making mainstream blockbusters. But man go watch Snatch or RocknRolla and try to picture that same dude directing a Disney hit.
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Lawrence of Arabia
Aladdin and Lawrence of Arabia may not share much in common besides a setting, one’s a lighthearted musical and the other is an epic historical war drama. But if comparing it to a Disney cartoon is the only way to convince you to watch an important piece of cinema so be it.
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Prince of Persia
Originally I picked this because this live-action movie version of the Ubisoft game was already trying its hardest to be Aladdin before Aladdin. Prince of Persia has a low-class dude hanging out with a princess, a very Jafar-like villain played by Ben Kingsley, and a magical time-rewinding dagger instead of a magic lamp. And then I remembered this is also a Disney movie! It’s from the magical time post-Pirates of the Caribbean but before Marvel and Star Wars where Disney kept trying to find its next boy-friendly action franchise. Remember Tron: Legacy?
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Wild Wild West
Before he became a blue CGI nightmare, here’s Wild Wild West, another ill-advised blockbuster adaptation where Will Smith rolls around in the desert and raps about it. Alternatively, watch Hitch to see Smith give a different sad sack dude romantic advice, albeit without any magic powers.
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