After the end of the animated Aladdin movie, what happened to the Genie? Disney released Aladdin in 1992 to critical acclaim. The movie became one of its best-loved classics, thanks mostly to Robin Williams’ exceptional voice performance as the Genie. The fourth movie produced during what became known as the Disney renaissance era, Aladdin won two Academy Awards (Best Original Score and Best Original Song), and it has continued to enjoy global popularity. With Disney remaking many of their classics as live-action versions, it was only a matter of time until Aladdin got the same treatment and, with Guy Ritchie at the helm, Aladdin is remade for 2019.
The Genie of the lamp, voiced by Williams originally, is played by Will Smith in the live action movie. The first look at Smith’s Genie was alarming, and it was revealed that he switches between being blue and looking like a regular human – but was the Genie ever human to begin with, or did he change into a human after he became free? This Aladdin remake is not without its share of controversies, with fans taking issue over many aspects of the movie, from it ever being remade in the first place to Smith’s musical performances. Surprisingly, early reactions to Aladdin are fairly positive, and it looks set to be popular at the box office, even if only with fans looking to see how it compares to the original.
The Genie will be a focal point; Williams made the character iconic, but while the comedy came thick and fast, in the original 1992 version we didn’t get to know the Genie’s personality all that well. We do know that he was very fond of Aladdin, and that, if he could have granted his own wish, it would have been to be free. Of course, Aladdin eventually used his own last wish to free Genie, and the last we saw of him, he was dressed in an Hawaiian shirt and Goofy hat, ready to take off around the world. At that point, it’s merely said that Genie is now free; it’s not specified whether that means he’s now a human, though he does still seem to hold his powers.
In the straight-to-video sequel, The Return of Jafar, Genie returns after his time away, because he misses his friends (namely Aladdin, Jasmine, and Abu). Though he is still powerful, he admits that being freed has resulted in a reduction of his powers. In fact, he refers to them as “semi-phenomenal, nearly cosmic power” as opposed to the “phenomenal cosmic power” he wielded in Aladdin.
There is still no confirmation that Genie is now human, though. For example, we are never told if he has another name; he always answers to Genie. He can still fly, shape-shift, and perform magic. On the other hand, Genie is highly aware of human emotions and relationships, and is capable of loving and caring for others. He frequently offers advice and support to Aladdin, despite now being free. It can be assumed, then, that after the end of Aladdin, Genie is free, no longer bound by the constraints of living in a lamp and serving different masters, but he’s not human. He settles with Aladdin, Jasmine, Abu, and Rajah in the Sultan’s palace. What happens to the character at the end of Aladdin (2019), though, remains to be seen.
- Aladdin (2019)Release date: May 24, 2019
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