PDA

View Full Version : Entertainment Weekly Reviews Aladdin



EandCDad
02-12-2003, 04:46 PM
The February 14th edition of Entertainment Weekly includes a capsule review of Aladdin. I tried to find an online version, but I can't.

Basically, the review says pretty much what I think (don't you love when that happens). I won't retype the whole thing here but here is my favorite quote:

Anyone suggesting that this might eventually join The Lion King on the Great White Veldt has probably been rubbing a magic bong, because even if the flying carpet ride is as cool as it is inevitable, the show mostly plays out like on long Oscar production number.

Bottom line - Decent for a theme park but doesn't stack up to real Broadway. Good for kids 8 and under (B+) but not for anyone over 18 (C).

Kuzcotopia
02-12-2003, 09:54 PM
Hmmm...

Entertainment Weekly always seems to think they are more of a highbrow magazine than they are. They always seem to trash movies that are popular hits. I mean c'mon, it's Entertainment Weekly, not the New Yorker!

I agree that this show isn't ready for Broadway yet, but I finally got to see it and I loved it!


(Kuzcotopia eats his own hat).

It was great! And it totally packs in the crowd, which is awesome. The audience loved it too. I say it's a big step forward for themepark shows. (Which is good after the big furry-footed steps backward recently).


And the Genie! WOW! As soon as he came onstage, my wife and I had the same thought: If this guy sucks, we are all in Hell for the next 40 minutes. A bad wizecrackin' Genie would be fingernails on a blackboard.

SURPRISE!!!! He was GREAT!!!

So Entertainment Weekly can take a hike! I totally recommend it to everyone!

Kuzcotopia Weekly gives it TWO HOOVES UP!

EandCDad
02-13-2003, 07:11 AM
Originally posted by Kuzcotopia
Entertainment Weekly always seems to think they are more of a highbrow magazine than they are. They always seem to trash movies that are popular hits. I mean c'mon, it's Entertainment Weekly, not the New Yorker!

Hmmmm, right back atcha.

Entertainment Weekly has features on the "hottest couples" and so forth, so I don't think they misunderstand their place in the the magazine world.

Looking at their reviews for recent popular hits:
Spider-man - B
Fellowship - A
Two Towers - B
American Pie - B (ok, this is an oldie, but its as low brow as they come)
Harry Potter Chamber - B+
Goldmember - B

Not exactly raves, but they are recommending the movies. They did give Big Fat Greek Wedding a D (but for some reason a B for the video release), but I think the idea that they "always" trash popular movies is not supported. They probably do sometimes trash popular movies, like alot of critics.


Originally posted by Kuzcotopia
And the Genie! WOW! As soon as he came onstage, my wife and I had the same thought: If this guy sucks, we are all in Hell for the next 40 minutes. A bad wizecrackin' Genie would be fingernails on a blackboard.

SURPRISE!!!! He was GREAT!!!.

I agree with you here. The Genie that we saw was funny, although some of the "improv" type jokes were duds. If he had sucked then it would have been torture.

I'll tell anyone who goes to the park to go see it, its entertaining and while I find it less enjoyable than Blast, it is a pleasent way to pass 40 minutes. I just can't see any reason to see it again for quite sometime. Unfortunately for me, my kids love it, so I probably will. I recognize that I'm in the minority on this one, though.

Alex S.
02-13-2003, 07:20 AM
The San Francisco Chronicle ran their review ("") last week. And again Disney seems hoist upon its own petard. If they just hadn't used the Broadway hopes as a marketing ploy. But they did, and now every review ends up being split between reviewing it as a "theme park show" and reviewing it as a potential Broadway show.

The final paragraph from the Chronicle review:


Above all, it's the special effects that make "Aladdin" work -- some borrowed from Taymor, like the magnificent puppetry of the huge elephant that lumbers through the aisles. Zambello and Taylor-Corbett enliven the stage with good old-fashioned theatrical spectacle full of dancers, jugglers, banner wavers and truly spectacular set designs. It's only middling theater, but as a theme-park show, "Aladdin" soars.

So, once again Disney is stuck. By hyping it as real theater, they get a much broader press than they normally would (you don't see reviews of Mickey's Detective School, do you?), but they also are up against a much higher critical standard.

I can't say that I know which way they would be better off, but I personally would have preferred they just said they were shooting for one of the greatest shows in Disneyland history. Then we could review it purely on that level.

cstephens
02-13-2003, 11:32 AM
Originally posted by Kuzcotopia
Entertainment Weekly always seems to think they are more of a highbrow magazine than they are. They always seem to trash movies that are popular hits. I mean c'mon, it's Entertainment Weekly, not the New Yorker!

I'm kind of surprised that Entertainment Weekly did a review on a theme-park show.

I've always hated Entertainment Weekly. Hated the format and the content, or lack thereof. I had a subscription to American Film (from the American Film Institute) for the longest time. When they decided to discontinue the magazine, :( they transferred all subscriptions to Entertainment Weekly instead. I immediately cancelled and got a refund for the rest of my subscription.