New 'Aladdin' Footage Debuts at CinemaCon

Disney's CinemaCon presentation is officially underway, meaning that it's time for the company to [...]

Disney's CinemaCon presentation is officially underway, meaning that it's time for the company to showcase footage from its upcoming projects -- including next month's Aladdin.

ComicBook.com was on hand during Disney's panel, where the company debuted a new bit of footage for their upcoming live-action remake of Aladdin. You can check out our description of the footage below!

"A clip from Aladdin plays. In it, the oil lamp in the cave is shown as the request for it to be retrieved is narrating. Abu wants to touch treasures but Aladdin reminds him they are not to touch anything here. Aladdin climbs up the rock to find the lamp. Abu instinctively catches a falling gem. The entire cave starts to collapse and the Magic Carpet catches theme. Aladdin rubs the lamp and slowly the Genie emerges like a blue tornado. "Oh, great one who summons me, terrible one who commands me, I stand by my oath loyalty to wishes three!" he says in a deep voice. He is just kidding though. He makes the monkey play the jumos and bursts out in song. It turns into a dance number where Genie transforms, grows, shrinks, and goes in and out of the lamp. He sends Aladdin to imaginary locations like amazing dinners, he multiplies himself, and sings "You ain't never had a friend like me!" It's a colorful, extravagant music video of sorts. Aladdin ends up dancing on puppet strings manipulated by the Genie, then Genie doe some circus tricks, dance moves, and sends the Magic Carpet in circles before breaking into a beatbox. He zips around, puts them both on a couch, appears again behind them five times over and adds background tone to the song. He explains himself and introduces himself through the song. They burst into a secret handshake of sorts before becoming synchronized in their dance moves. As the camera pulls out, fireworks, giraffes, elephants, and all sorts of extravagant colors and animals are in the cave.

Cut to the village, Jasmine and Aladdin are developing their relationship, dancing, he asks her to trust him and get on the Magic Carpet. Chases ensues, action flashes by, and it's all very colorful."

Aladdin will see Mena Massoud taking on the titular role of a young man who finds a magic lamp that grants him a series of magic wishes. The cast includes Naomi Scott as Jasmine, Marwan Kenzari as Jafar, and Will Smith playing the iconic role of the Genie.

While the remake was met with some scrutiny initially - mainly surrounding the visual effects surrounding Genie - it seems as if subsequent trailers have changed things for the better.

"The great thing about the role of the Genie is that it's essentially a hyperbole for who that individual actor is, so it's a wonderful platform and tapestry for an actor to fill his boots on," director Guy Ritchie said in a recent interview.

"Whenever you're doing things that are iconic, it's always terrifying," Smith said. "The question is always: Where was there meat left on the bone? Robin didn't leave a lot of meat on the bone with the character. [He] infused the character with a timeless version of himself. I started to feel confident that I could deliver something that was an homage to Robin Williams but was musically different. Just the flavor of the character would be different enough and unique enough that it would be in a different lane, versus trying to compete."

"I think it'll stand out as unique even in the Disney world," Smith added. "There hasn't been a lot of that hip-hop flavor in Disney history."

What do you think of the newest look at Disney's Aladdin? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

Aladdin will arrive in theaters on May 24, 2019.

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