The New Characters

Aladdin has always had a wide range of quirky characters, ranging from a talking parrot to a magic carpet. The 2019 edition of the film expands the cast even more by adding a few new characters. SNL alum Nasim Pedrad plays Dalia, Jasmine's hilarious (and loyal) handmaiden, while Game Night's Billy Magnussen pops up as the doofy Prince Anders, whose attempts to woo the Princess are as funny as they are unsuccessful (spoiler alert: very).

We See a Lot More of the Genie in Human Form

All I can say is thank the Disney gods that Will Smith [5] spends most of the movie in his normal human form, because something about his CGI Genie is just . . . off. (I think it's the weirdly wide neck, to be honest.) Not only does Smith's Genie get to bop around Agrabah as a regular dude — a regular dude who wears ginormous blue hats, mind you — but he also strikes up a romance with Dalia, Jasmine's handmaiden. Which leads us to . . .

The Genie Gets a Wife (and Kids!)

The reboot actually opens with the Genie in human form on a boat, where he sits his two young children down to tell them a story. We don't see his wife's face as she hangs laundry in the background, but later on in the film it's revealed that the flash-forward was indeed Pedrad's character. They presumably go on to live a life as poor-but-happy fishermen, travelling the world together with their kids.

Now, is this side-plot needed in the film? Absolutely not. The Genie really does not need a girlfriend to make this movie work. However, despite the bizarre inclusion of their romance, Smith and Pedrad's chemistry is one of the high points, with them sharing some of the film's funniest exchanges.

The Backstory About Jasmine's Mother

We never see Princess Jasmine's late mother, but her presence looms in the background of the story pretty much from the start. Jasmine bumps into Aladdin while she's wearing a disguise in one of Agrabah's street markets, and just like in the original, she gives two starving children loaves of bread because she can see that they're hungry. Of course, this doesn't go over well with the stall's owner, who demands payment. That's when Aladdin steps in to save the day, offering to trade Jasmine's fancy bracelet for the bread, only to steal it back for her a few seconds later.

The interaction is what kicks off their bond, and as we come to find out, the told and turquoise bracelet once belonged to Jasmine's mother and is of great value to her. Jasmine goes on to mention that the queen was from a neighbouring country, and helped foster peace between her former people and her new home. The film never touches on how she died, but it's clear that her strength is what pushes Jasmine to speak up for herself against Jafar.

Jasmine's Involvement in Politics

Much of Jasmine's arc in the film is about her summoning the courage and confidence to speak up about what she believes in, and making sure her father listens. Jafar is her biggest hurdle in doing this, because 1.) he's still a rageing misogynist, 2.) he's devious as f*ck, and 3.) he has a magic serpent staff that can hypnotize anyone into doing his bidding.

Jasmine clashes the most with Jafar over his insistence that their country go to war with their allies, one of which happens to be the country that Jasmine's mother was from. Although the original Jasmine was just as spunky, Ritchie's film highlights just how intelligent and knowledgeable the character truly is.

She's seen standing up to all the men in her life multiple times, pouring over maps and battle plans, and advising her father on what they should do and how the people of Agrabah should be treated. It's no wonder she gets a powerful ballad about her struggles!

Jasmine's New Ballad

As I said before, yes, Jasmine gets a new song. It's called "Speechless," [6] and it's the perfect showcase for Naomi Scott's phenomenal voice. I advise you learn the lyrics now, because it'll be all over the radio (and stuck in your head) soon.

Jafar and Aladdin Cross Paths in a Totally Different Way

In the original, Jasmine runs away from home to escape being forced to get married, which is why she's in the street market and meets Aladdin. He's later captured by Jafar's guards and held in prison in the palace because Jafar used magic to figure out who is the worthy "diamond in the rough" who can retrieve the lamp for him from the Cave of Wonders (he tells Jasmine that Aladdin was beheaded at this point). Jafar then disguises himself as an old beggar and gets Aladdin to go after the lamp that way. However, in the reboot, Aladdin and Jafar's paths cross at another point.

Since Jasmine is only in the street market because she wants to see and meet real people on her mission to be a competent future sultan, Aladdin isn't captured until later when he sneaks into the palace to visit Jasmine. (Jafar notices his Parkour skills and is like "Huh, seems like he'd be good at stealing lamps.") The evil vizier is then able to convince Aladdin to go to the Cave of Wonders to retrieve the lamp in return for being paid handsomely, which Jafar says is the only way to get Jasmine's attention.

Iago Is Far Less Chatty

Iago is no longer the chatty parrot who doesn't hesitate to complain about moldy crackers in Gilbert Gottfried's instantly recognisable shriek. Instead, the 2019 version of the character only squawks out sarcastic quips here and there in a raspy version of Alan Tudyk's voice.

Jasmine Becomes Sultan

In the 1992 movie, Princess Jasmine and her father, the sultan, get into a fight early on because one of their kingdom's rules proclaims that she needs to get married by a certain birthday. The OG sultan clearly loves his daughter, but mainly wants to marry her off so she can lead a "comfortable" life while he's gone. At one point he even says that Aladdin will make a great future sultan when he's still under the impression he's Prince Ali.

In the new film, Jasmine's issues with her father and the kingdom's rules are a little more ambitious — she wants to be sultan herself after her father, but the rules say no woman is allowed to hold that title. The sultan is still trying to marry her off, but it's more about securing an alliance for their country, rather than pawning her off on another man. Luckily, after seeing the strength that his daughter shows in their fight against Jafar, Jasmine's father allows her to both marry Aladdin and become sultan herself.

A Few Costume Changes

Ever since the first trailer [7] for the live-action reboot debuted, I've only had one question on my mind: why does Will Smith look like that?! Kidding. ( [8]Well . . . not really [9].) The real and most important question that I and many others have is: why is Aladdin wearing so many damn clothes?

As you'll recall, the animated version of the beloved street rat in Disney's 1992 film is shirtless [10], wearing only a purple vest over his chest and a pair of billowy white pants topped with a red cummerbund. But actor Mena Massoud's version of the character is, for some perplexing reason, wearing a long-sleeved shirt under his new and improved red vest. It's a tragedy for the thirsty among us, but Aladdin costume designer Michael Wilkinson explained why the choice makes total sense during an interview with EW [11].

"For the same reason why we thought it wasn't appropriate for Princess Jasmine to be flashing her belly button for half of the film, we also felt that once you make that leap from cartoon into live-action, you really have to make some adjustments," Wilkinson said. "We thought having so much skin showing on Aladdin for the whole film would be quite distracting on a human actor as opposed to a cartoon character."

So, don't expect to see belly buttons or pecs when you get to the theatre, OK?