To be completely honest, seeing the trailer for this movie a few months back did not have me very excited for the movie, but my expectations were shattered without a doubt. I definitely didn’t not expect Will Smith to keep us entertained with his dancing and singing.

The score was brilliant. The only critique I have on the soundtrack its that they needed to add more culture. Arabian Nights sung by Will Smith by far had the most cultural flavor, while the other songs, though well performed, were somewhat white-washed by Disney and lacking spice. Though it would be difficult to change up the original songs a lot from the cartoon version, they did have several added songs that they could have made more authentic to the Indian culture.  It would have felt like we were really in India.

Mena Massoud is a beginning actor with roles in small unheard movies, but he wowed everyone with his stunning performance in Aladdin. I don’t think they could have cast better for the lead roles. His dancing in the “Harvest Dance” scene blew me away. The casting directors could have easily picked a professional dancer to do this scene for him, but it looked like a lot of the dancing really was him.

Naomi Scott, also being a somewhat unknown actress captivated the audience with her powerful  voice. “Speechless” is bound to be a very popular song, a moving emotional piece that was beautiful with the cinematography.

While the plot was somewhat the same as the original movie, a couple changes were made for the better. I loved how in this movie Jasmine was made Sultan, and she was the one who changed the law about marriage.

All in all, the movie exceeded my expectations and I love what Disney is doing with the Live Action Remakes. Beauty and the Beast was another unforgettable remake, it makes me more excited for the remakes of Lion King and Mulan.