10 Best Disney Live-Action Movie Remakes Ranked Worst To Best

On paper, remaking Aladdin without Williams was a bad idea. Robin Williams wasn't just the voice of the Genie, he was the Genie, for millions around the world who loved him so he was the only person that would ever count in blue. Nobody would ever be able to take what he did and improve upon it, it's not possible because he was perfect in every way.

So, when Will Smith was announced as our new Genie, after reports that William's 20 something hours of recordings for the Genie may be used to bring him back, people were not exactly excited about the idea. This turned out to be unfounded apathy because Smith didn't allow himself to go anywhere near what Williams had done and took the role in a direction that many didn't think possible. Meaning that the biggest hurdle was overcome nicely.

The film itself isn't bad, it was well made with good humour and charm, as well as getting Aladdin and Princess Jasmine's casting right. However, Jafar was a million miles south of bad. The original showed Jafar to be a power-hungry psychopath that was entertaining and scary to watch, whereas Marwan Kenzari's character was so hammy it was an embarrassment.

Guy Ritchie too was a weird choice to helm the film, as he doesn't exactly come to mind when thinking of family-fun directors. Lock Stock and Snatch are testaments to that.

In the end, the film made a billion dollars and Disney happy enough with the work that they green-lit a sequel.