Disney's Aladdin: New Trailer Features Plenty Of Genie, Teases 'A Whole New World'

You ain't never had a friend like him. 

On Tuesday, Walt Disney Studios lifted the lid off a brand-new, full-length trailer for its upcoming live-action adventure, Aladdin. And the footage? Well, it's quite captivating — magical enough to make skeptics totally reconsider their thoughts on the reimagined take of the 1992 animated classic, cool enough to completely change your thoughts on Will Smith's iteration of the Genie. 

Like all solid trailers should do, this latest one for Aladdin sets up the central story: a street-savvy, scrappy young dude named Aladdin (newcomer Mena Massoud) meets a gorgeous and headstrong princess called Jasmine (Power Rangers actress Naomi Scott) in a market in the fictional city of Agrabah. Wanting to woo the royal woman over and get her to see him as more than just a poor boy who has to swipe loaves of bread from vendors because he can't pay for them himself, Aladdin has a chance encounter with the deceptive Jafar (Murder on the Orient Express actor Marwan Kenzari), a powerful sorcerer who acts as the Grand vizier of Agrabah and the advisor to Jasmine's father, the Sultan of Agrabah (Legion's Navid Negahban). Jafar tasks Aladdin with finding a magical lamp inside the Cave of Wonders with the promise of riches beyond his wildest dreams — but when the wide-eyed hopeful releases a magical Jinn named Genie (Smith, of course) out from the lamp, it's he who has the power and not Jafar. 

Genie ultimately helps Aladdin look like a prince, teaching him to walk the walk and talk the talk. But this is a Disney movie after all, so there's a heartfelt message of accepting yourself for who you are woven throughout, too. As the Genie tells Aladdin post-prince-makeover, "You look like a prince on the outside, but I didn't change anything on the inside." An external transformation is easy, but an internal one will take more work on Aladdin's part — hopefully in time to sweep Jasmine off her feet. 

The subject of many an internet meme and tons of harsh criticism after footage of him done up as the blue Genie in Aladdin, Smith absolutely dazzles in this new trailer. He bursts onto the screen with the charisma natural to him and characteristic of the character that the late Robin Williams originated. He starts off bellowing a warning to Aladdin — but then quickly reveals his goofy nature and softens to crack a joke, shimmy-shake around the Cave of Wonders with a trail of sparkly blue smoke swirling behind him, and string Aladdin up like a puppet to participate in the big-band number "Friend Like Me," complete with Aladdin's cheeky little pet monkey Abu (voice of Frank Welker) on the trumpet. 

All throughout the trailer, there are moments that will make you warm up to Smith's take on the Genie, entirely forgetting that the first look at the character was 50 shades of freaky. These range from Genie summoning a random prince as a gift to Aladdin to explain the nuances of wish-making, carrying out yet another musical sequence in the middle of the desert, and using his powers to push Aladdin toward Jasmine, knowing full well that he wouldn't make a move on her if it wasn't for a little encouragement and a lot of magic. 

Elsewhere in the footage, viewers get a taste of arguably the most famous song from Aladdin: "A Whole New World." Longtime Disney fans have the scene memorized: It starts with Aladdin, already aboard his flying magic carpet, extending his hand down to Jasmine's, asking her, "Are you ready?" The two lovebirds then soar over the streets of Agrabah, taking a trip through various different countries in the span of a few minutes (because magic, duh). There's also teases at the iconic "Prince Ali" sequence in which Aladdin makes his big debut as the fake prince Genie helped turn him into. 

Those into the music of Aladdin certainly won't be let down by the live-action film, as it features new songs written by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, the Oscar, Tony, and Grammy-winning duo of La La Land and The Greatest Showman fame, and long-time Disney composer Alan Menken. One track is said to be a "beautiful" solo song for Jasmine, while another is a "sweet" duet between Jasmine and Aladdin. Plus, Pasek, Paul, and Menken snuck an extra-special verse into the classic "Arabian Nights" that opens Aladdin. 

Response to this new Aladdin trailer has been overwhelmingly positive — a near complete 180 switch from reactions to the teaser trailers Disney has previously released. Many are admitting that they judged the movie far too harshly, and that the new footage has turned them from anti-live-action-Aladdin to all-pro. 

"Disney just cleared any doubts about the movie by showing us a part of A WHOLE NEW WORLD in this trailer. Chills," one fan wrote in the comments of the trailer on YouTube. Another added, "Thank you for saving the movie, Disney. This is how you do it."

Twitter is blowing up with positive reactions to the clip, with countless people owning up to the fact that they unfairly criticized Smith as the Genie and the film as a whole without getting a full trailer.  

"This Aladdin Trailer is amazing! I don't think people will be worried about Genie after this!" one wrote. User Jordan Maison tweeted, "Amazing the difference a full trailer can make....definitely more interested in #Aladdin now." Another shared, "Oh wow! This trailer just threw all the internet's doubts about this movie out the window. #WillSmith's blue genie looks amazing, and I'm ok with this new take on Jafar. Yes, even the actor's not-menacing-at-all voice. #Aladdin and Jasmine are perfect. This all looks FANTASTIC!" One other user tweeted, "This is the BEST the movie has looked so far!! We got some of the songs AND way more footage. Will Smith looks significantly better in this trailer!!"

In all, Disney has seemingly taken advice from Don Draper: they didn't like what people were saying about Aladdin, having roasted Smith's Genie to a crisp, so they changed the conversation with this new trailer. 

Directed by Guy Ritchie and also starring Nasim Pedrad as Jasmine's handmaiden Dalia (a new character for the live-action film), Billy Magnussen as Skånland-born Prince Anders (another fresh face to the Aladdin story), Numan Acar as Jafar's right-hand man Hakim, and Robby Haynes as Guard of Agrabah royal captain Razoul, Aladdin will open in theaters on May 24.