Will Smith opens up about playing Genie after Robin Williams in new 'Aladdin'

The star admits it was "terrifying" being asked to follow in the late comedians footsteps

Hollywood star Will Smith realises he has some big, blue shoes to fill in the live-action remake of Disney's Aladdin after late comedian Robin Williams voiced the original Genie.

While reluctant at first, Smith realised he wanted to bring his own fun-loving take on the beloved Genie character.

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The actor added a personal touch and some hip hop and rap to portray the vivacious CGI-enhanced blue Genie who rises from a lamp in a cave of treasures.

“Robin Williams didn’t leave much room to improve on the Genie. ... So I looked at it and the first thing for me was that it was going to be live action. I thought it could be a little different,” Smith said to Reuters.

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The Aladdin star rose to fame in the 1990's television series Fresh Prince of Bel Air, since added big Hollywood films to his name such as Men in Black, I, Robot and Ali.

The film follows the original animated film plot that saw poor 'street rat' Aladdin fall in love with headstrong Princess Jasmine, but director Guy Ritchie said the story “needed updating.”

The director especially wanted the character of Princess Jasmine to evolve and develop, who is played by The 33 British actor Naomi Scott.

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“(Jasmine) finds her voice and she goes through a journey to find it. ... I want little girls to see that,” she explains, referring to the upcoming flick.

Newcomer Canadian-Egyptian actor Mena Massoud plays the lead role of Aladdin, who stresses on the importance the flick will have on "middle-eastern representation."

'Aladdin' should boost Middle Eastern representation: Mena Massoud

Various animals and some 1,000 extras were involved in making the musical spectacle, which features original songs from the animated film as well as new tunes.

Pakistani-British singer Zayn Malik swoons the end title of 'A Whole New World', along with R&B sensation Zhavia ward.

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Aladdin is the latest live-action remake from Disney, which has revisited old animated films like The Jungle Book as well as Dumbo, and is set to release a new version The Lion King this summer.

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