Disney invents new white character for 'Aladdin' movie and fans are fuming

'Aladdin' remake harvested many complaints regarding race and ethnicity


IANS/ Entertainment Desk September 07, 2017
PHOTO: FILE



Disney's remake of the 1992 live-action cartoon classic Aladdin, is making waves for all the wrong reasons, reported Huffington Post.

A recent casting choice seems to have changed the game and people did not hold back when voicing their opinions on the matter.

Pakistani-American Aladin's magic carpet video goes viral




According to The Hollywood Reporter, Billy Magnussen has been cast as “an original character not seen in the 1992 animated pic.”

PHOTO: MEN'S FITNESS PHOTO: MEN'S FITNESS

The 'original' character has been named Prince Anders and has drawn criticism due to Magnussen’s ethnicity.




Fans on Twitter raised the roof and expressed their disappointment:



https://twitter.com/_tasiaMS/status/905364589671571456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fentry%2Fdisneys-aladdin-remake-casts-white-actor-and-the-twitterverse-isnt-happy_us_59b02068e4b0dfaafcf4aab2

https://twitter.com/skimcasual/status/905243763290902529?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fentry%2Fdisneys-aladdin-remake-casts-white-actor-and-the-twitterverse-isnt-happy_us_59b02068e4b0dfaafcf4aab2

Whilst some were truly unhappy, others shifted to comedic responses:


https://twitter.com/nicholaisays/status/905236297488457729?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fentry%2Fdisneys-aladdin-remake-casts-white-actor-and-the-twitterverse-isnt-happy_us_59b02068e4b0dfaafcf4aab2

https://twitter.com/ravingsockmonky/status/905236338475192320?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fentry%2Fdisneys-aladdin-remake-casts-white-actor-and-the-twitterverse-isnt-happy_us_59b02068e4b0dfaafcf4aab2

Including Jeromy McLellan:

jeremy

The remake already harvested many complaints regarding race and ethnicity before the full cast was even announced. Fans also took issue with the casting of Naomi Scott as Princess Jasmine.

PHOTO: THRDS PHOTO: THRDS

Scott is biracial - the daughter of a white British father and Gujarati Indian mother. As a result, some viewed her inclusion in the film as problematic because it suggests that “South Asian and Middle Eastern people are interchangeable.”

Dear Disney, casting Naomi Scott as Jasmine just because she’s brown highlights the Orientalist tendency of conflating all brown cultures

On another note, Hollywood star Will Smith has revealed the first look of Aladdin and shared a photograph on his Facebook page.

Smith is playing the Genie, previously voiced by the late actor Robin Williams in the original film. The photograph shows Smith and co-stars Mena Massoud, who will play Aladdin, Naomi Scott, who will essay Princess Jasmine, and Marwan Kenzari who will play Jafar.

PHOTO: FACEBOOK/WILL SMITH PHOTO: FACEBOOK/WILL SMITH

"I'm over here gettin' my Genie on," read Smith's caption.

Other cast members include Navid Negahban (Homeland) as the Sultan, Nasim Pedrad (Saturday Night Live) as Dalia, Billy Magnussen (Into the Woods) as Princess Jasmine's confidante and potential husband - Prince Anders and Numan Acar (Homeland) as Hakim who is Jafar's right-hand man and head of the palace guards.

Will Smith proves he's a superhero on and off screen

Ritchie is directing from a screenplay by John August based on the animated film Aladdin and stories from One Thousand and One Nights.

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