Aladdin (2019)

image for Aladdin (2019)

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Not suitable under 5; parental guidance to 8 (mild fantasy scenes, very mild violence, some scary scenes)

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This topic contains:

  • overall comments and recommendations
  • details of classification and consumer advice lines for Aladdin (2019)
  • a review of Aladdin (2019) completed by the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM) on 27 May 2019.

Overall comments and recommendations

Children under 5 Not suitable due to mild violence and scary scenes.
Children aged 5–8 Parental guidance recommended due to mild violence and scary scenes.
Children aged 9 and over Ok for this age group.

About the movie

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Australian Government Classification Board and the associated consumer advice lines. Other classification advice (OC) is provided where the Australian film classification is not available.

Name of movie: Aladdin (2019)
Classification: PG
Consumer advice lines: Mild fantasy themes.
Length: 128 minutes

ACCM review

This review of the movie contains the following information:

A synopsis of the story

Aladdin is a live action adaptation of Disney’s original 1992 animation of the same name. When poor but goodhearted thief Aladdin (Mena Massoud), accidentally discovers a Genie (Will Smith) in a lamp, he is granted three wishes.  When Aladdin wishes to be a Prince so that he can win the heart of the beautiful and benevolent Princess Jasmine (Naomi Scott), things don’t go entirely to plan.  The scheming advisor to the Sultan, Jafar (Marwan Kenzari) begins to suspect that Prince Ali might not be who he says he is and comes up with a plan to steal back the magic lamp.  Aladdin, Jasmine, Genie, and the monkey Abu must stop Jafar from getting the lamp and taking over the city of Agrabah.

Themesinfo

Children and adolescents may react adversely at different ages to themes of crime, suicide, drug and alcohol dependence, death, serious illness, family breakdown, death or separation from a parent, animal distress or cruelty to animals, children as victims, natural disasters and racism. Occasionally reviews may also signal themes that some parents may simply wish to know about.

Love; friendship; power; magic.

Use of violenceinfo

Research shows that children are at risk of learning that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution when violence is glamourised, performed by an attractive hero, successful, has few real life consequences, is set in a comic context and / or is mostly perpetrated by male characters with female victims, or by one race against another.

Repeated exposure to violent content can reinforce the message that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution. Repeated exposure also increases the risks that children will become desensitised to the use of violence in real life or develop an exaggerated view about the prevalence and likelihood of violence in their own world.

There is some violence in this movie including:

  • A man is pushed down a well to his death.
  • Jafar steps on Aladdin’s fingers making him lose grip of a ledge and fall.
  • Aladdin is strapped to a chair and pushed out of a high window into the ocean.

Material that may scare or disturb children

Under fiveinfo

Children under five are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations.

In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children under the age of five, including the following:

  • The entrance to the Cave of Forbidden Treasures is a giant Tiger’s head made of sand with glowing eyes. This tiger has a deep and foreboding voice, and “eats” a man who tries to enter its mouth. This may distress very young children.
  • Abu the monkey is transformed into different animals. This is more comical than frightening but some children may find it disturbing.
  • Iago the parrot is transformed into a giant version of himself by Jafar’s sorcery. This is likely to frighten young children as the bird is life-like, giant, and chases the protagonists through the city.
  • Jafar transforms into a giant and menacing genie.

Aged five to eightinfo

Children aged five to eight will also be frightened by scary visual images and will also be disturbed by depictions of the death of a parent, a child abandoned or separated from parents, children or animals being hurt or threatened and / or natural disasters.

In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes and scary visual images, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children aged five to eight, including the following:

  • Aladdin and Abu must outrun a sea of lava. They are nearly caught by it.
  • Aladdin nearly drowns in the ocean after being pushed out the window. This may distress young children.

Aged eight to thirteeninfo

Children aged eight to thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic threats and dangers, violence or threat of violence and / or stories in which children are hurt or threatened.

  • It is unlikely that children in this age group will be disturbed by this film.

Thirteen and overinfo

Children over the age of thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic physical harm or threats, molestation or sexual assault and / or threats from aliens or the occult.

  • It is unlikely that children in this age group will be disturbed by this film.

Product placement

  • None noted.

Sexual references

There are some sexual references in this movie, including:

  • Jasmine and Aladdin kiss on several occasions.
  • Genie and the princess’ handmaiden Dahlia make several very subtle and mild jokes about finding each other attractive and wanting to have children.

Nudity and sexual activity

  • None noted.

Use of substances

There is some use of substances in this movie, including:

  • Characters participate in a party in which it appears that the Sultan drinks alcohol.

Coarse language

  • None noted.

In a nutshell

Aladdin is a live action remake of the classic Disney film.  It is visually exciting and has enjoyable performances from the central characters.  Will Smith as the Genie does an admirable job, retaining the comedy of the original film while making it his own.  Several new songs have been included that do not appear in the original, which may make the film feel slightly longer for younger children.  This film is suitable for all children over the age of 5, but parental guidance is recommended for children under 9 due to the mild fantasy themes and very mild violence.

Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with their children include:

  • Be true to yourself and trust that people will love you for who you are.
  • Stand up to injustice, even when it is perpetrated by those more powerful than yourself.

 

This movie could also give parents the opportunity to discuss with their children attitudes and behaviours, and their real-life consequences, such as:

  • Sexist attitudes toward Jasmine. This is a theme throughout the film.
  • Stealing.