First teaser for 'Aladdin' released

Mena Massoud and Naomi Smith star in the remake of Aladdin.

THE RELEASE of the first teaser of the live-action Aladdin conjures up the mythical tale that sparked my imagination as a young boy.

The teaser was wonderfully mystical and magical and was as effective as a teaser is supposed to do.

Casting was not easy for Disney, which was sensitive to the fears of whitewashing the characters.

The 2019 Aladdin remake stars Mena Massoud (Jack Ryan) as Aladdin, and Naomi Smith (Power Rangers) as Jasmine, and Marwan Kenzari (Murder on the Orient Express) as Jafar, the evil sorcerer and Will Smith as the Genie.

Today's Aladdin is a remake of the 1992 Disney cartoon version, which was a ripoff of a 1940's film, which was based on an 18th century French translator's story collection, which was a ripoff of a Persian tale, which was a ripoff of a Chinese fable. It is so far removed from its original source material that any controversy surrounding the current telling of Aladdin should be moot.

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