Clip Of Will Smith Singing "Prince Ali" From New Live-Action Aladdin Has Fans Missing Robin Williams (Video)

A clip of Disney's new live-action Aladdin remake has just been released on Twitter showing Will Smith as the genie singing the infamous song "Prince Ali."

And, of course, Twitter is already rife with reactions... and unfortunately, much like each instance that Disney has released promo images of the film, fans have some criticisms about the whole thing. 

The major criticisms again come back to Will Smith's portrayal of the Genie, made infamous in the animation by the late Robin Williams. Watch the clip of the song below and see what you think. 

One major question that I had right off the bat was... is he going to be blue or not? Originally he was not going to be blue, and people were confused and a little saddened by that. 

So then Disney released images of a blue Will Smith and people reacted much the way they did when they saw the first iterations of Sonic the Hedgehog. Which is to say, not well.

The criticisms went past the colour of Will Smith's skin and the differences in choreography, though. Many people couldn't help but miss Robin Williams after watching the infamous scene where his energy was notably not present.

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Not only is Robin Williams a master of comedy and improvisation, but his energy is also infectious and carries the song, even though he's only present through his voice. 

Which isn't to say Will Smith lacks a funny bone, because we all know that's not true. But the Genie is an infamously goofy character who played with voices and personas. Will Smith just kind of seems like Will Smith in a costume. 

People could tell that the song was pre-recorded, which is not much of a shocker, but it certainly does impact the energy level of the song. If you were really in the midst of a parade, dancing with animals all around you, there would be more than a little need for some projection.

A lot of people made comments comparing this Will Smith performance to some of his other performances where he does bring a lot of originality and energy, essentially wondering where that Will Smith was for this role.

Will Smith brings his own spin to the role which is great for new viewers. But for those of us that grew up with Robin William's hilarious voice coming out of the big blue blob that is the Genie it's going to be hard for us to fully appreciate what Smith brings to the role. 

Of course, we're going to have to see the movie in its entirety before we can judge how the whole thing has turned out. But these first glimpses certainly do have me questioning how necessary this remake was.

When a movie as amazing as Aladdin exists in animated form, what is with Disney's compulsion to create live-action remakes... other than money?

In the end, we can be cautiously optimistic about this film while still missing the glory of Robin Williams' iconic performance. 

It actually would be nice to see more Will Smith in this performance. Part of what made Robin Williams' depiction of the Genie is that it is so uniquely Robin. 

What makes a good cover song is how the second iteration is changed and altered to reflect the new artist creating the song. Remaking a film and playing an iconic role should function in the same way.

So I will be here, cautiously optimistic that Will Smith will bring his personal flair and flavour to the film as a whole and that will inevitably turn these initial opinions around. 

I can say, though, that I'm very glad they decided to nix the whole blue CGI idea...