Jasmine Fan Art & Review of Disney's Aladdin (2019)

Hello, and welcome back to Jenna Gets Creative!
Today’s video I’m going to be talking about
the new Disney live action adaptation of Aladdin,
and I will be doing a portrait of Jasmine,
because the actress they picked for her is
stunning! She’s gorgeous! I loved it. I did
enjoy the movie. I know it has received some
mixed reviews, but I’m going to talk about
it. I’m going to talk about what I liked,
what I didn’t like, what I wish they did differently,
that kind of stuff. For reference, since I
don’t know exactly when I’m putting this out
as I film this intro here, I’m filming this
intro on June 17th. I’m going to get my thoughts
down on paper pretty soon before I forget.
My husband and I just saw it last night, on
June 16th. A little late to the party, but
we don’t like to go when the theatre’s too
busy. Let’s go!
This piece took a lot longer than I anticipated,
but I also made it a lot more complicated
than I originally planned. At first I was
just going to do a realistic portrait of Noami
Scott as Jasmine in pastel, but then I started
thinking about doing a half and half portrait
with the animated Jasmine character, so I
sketched both. Once I had them both sketched,
I didn’t want to combine them anymore, so
I

decided to draw both completely, but no
matter how I positioned them the piece didn’t
feel balanced. So then I decided to make it
a trio and also added in animated Rajah. I
was finally happy with the layout then, but
I also realized at that point I didn’t want
to do it in pastel anymore. I asked around
on some of my Amino communities how people
would want to see it rendered, and I got almost
exclusively either marker or coloured pencil,
and those are both what I was leaning toward
anyway. What you’re watching me do now is
obviously marker. I laid down a base of marker
for both the Naomi Jasmine and the background,
but I finished animated Jasmine and Rajah
entirely in marker, then hyped up the styling
with fineliners and white gel pens. Next you’ll
see me render Naomi’s Jasmine in a slightly
more realistic style using coloured pencils,
and then for a final touch I’ll cover the
background in a layer of Yellow Gold gansai
tambi from the Kuretake Starry Colours palette.
So, yeah, it turned out to be quite the mixed
media endeavour! The paper is just simple
110lb cardstock, by the way. The same heavy
cardstock I use for larger marker pieces.
I don’t remember the brand. It was just the
cheapest heavy weight smooth cardstock I could
find in the scrapbooking section at Michaels
when I went looking last year. (Sorry if you
can hear Dorothy chattering in the background.
She’s supposed to be napping!)
So as I mentioned in the intro, I’d like to
do a bit of a film review and talk about the
live action Aladdin, and I think I’ll comment
a bit on Disney live action remakes in general.
But first, if you’re new here, please don’t
forget to subscribe and ring the bell for
notifications. I upload every Tuesday and
Thursday at minimum, and I have bonus videos
some weeks as well. July was a great month
for bonuses on this channel, so if you’re
interested, do go check those out! I talked
about Canada Day (July 1st) on the 1st and
how the holiday differs here in Newfoundland.
On the 14th I reviewed the new Ohuhu brush
markers, which I did end up using heavily
on this piece. And then just this past Friday,
on the 26th, I participated in yet another
YTAC group upload date with my “Phobias” themed
piece on Porphyrophobia. And for the Good
Omens fans out there, I did a watercolour
portrait of David Tenant’s Crowley in an 80s
David Bowie inspired colour palette for my
4th of July video as well. That fell on a
Thursday, so it wasn’t a bonus, but I think
because it was a holiday for a large section
of my audience it didn’t really get seen,
so I thought I’d mention it. I’m an art channel,
if you couldn’t tell, but I do like to do
crafts, tutorials, and related product reviews
when I get the chance as well. You’ll be seeing
a crafting video on Thursday this week, in
fact, because I recently tried paper quilling
for the first time!
If you like this video, don’t forget to hit
the like button, and leave a comment down
below. I love reading your comments, and I
do reply to everybody. I’d love to hear your
thoughts on the new Aladdin film, or any thoughts
you have on other Disney live action remakes
in general. I haven’t seen the new Lion King
yet, but I’m really looking forward to the
Little Mermaid remake they’ve announced. Considering
Halle Bailey’s a singer, I’m hoping that means
it’ll still be a musical, like Aladdin and
Beauty and the Beast were. What about you?
To talk specifically about the new Aladdin,
in general, I really liked it. I thought it
was well done overall, and I like the changes
made to Jasmine’s character. She’s much more
of a strong, independent woman than the animated
movie made her out to be. I think she was
always intended to be a strong character,
but back in the early 90s when the animated
film was released, of course the social climate
in Hollywood was quite different. Jasmine
had her moments, but she was still very much
a damsel in distress type character a lot
of the time. Live action Jasmine is not. She
and her handmaiden Dalia, a new character
I was really happy to see, are definitely
not as suppressed and controlled by the men
around them as those men might think or want
them to be. I’m absolutely confident that
Jasmine would have eventually defeated Jafar
and saved Agraba on her own. Aladdin and Genie
being there certainly sped up the process
and made it cleaner, but Jasmine would have
got it done one way or another. Animated Jasmine?
I’m not so sure.
And of course, how could I not talk about
the new Jasmine and draw her for you guys
without talking about the wardrobe choices
made for her! The beautiful turquoise numbers
are there, but I love the fact that she’s
been given a wider array of looks and styles,
and I love the addition of new colours and
different jewelry. Let’s not forget that the
story of Disney’s Aladdin is based on old
Asian stories of Arabian Knights. The fabric,
colour, and style choices made for the 2019
film reflect a nice blend between Arabic and
Asian influences. At times the movie feels
very Bollywood, and I love it. The outfit
I’ve put live action Jasmine in for this piece
is pretty close to the turquoise two piece
she wore in the dance scene, which was the
new film’s nod to the original animated character’s
iconic outfit. For the jewelry, though, I’ve
designed new pieces that are based on a combination
of elements from two or three different sets
she wears throughout the film. I couldn’t
help but include some of the pink jewels on
her tiara, since I really do like the pink
outfits the new Jasmine wears as well. I like
the fact that she doesn’t exclusively wear
a simple headband adorned with an impractically
giant sapphire throughout the entire movie,
and I like the fact that most of her garments
are more modest and practical for the climate
she lives in. They appear to be made of fabrics
that would be light enough to handle the heat,
but also covering enough to provide protection
from the sun.
Moving on to Aladdin himself, I like the fact
that his “street rat” attire actually includes
a shirt. Because again, climate, practicality,
and just the simple fact that he would want
a shirt and acquire one. Live action Aladdin
is played by Mena Massoud, an Egyptian-Canadian
actor who’s just a year older than the original
film. I love the fact that they were careful
to select someone of the correct geographic
origin for a peasant of Agraba. Agraba doesn’t
exist, but it’s clearly meant to be somewhere
in Northern or Northeastern Africa, so an
Egyptian born actor is perfectly suited for
it. And of course I’m also a little proud
of the fact that the titular role is played
by a fellow Canadian citizen. I think Mena
played the character very well, and the small
ways his Aladdin differs from the animated
version are positive changes… except perhaps
for the singing. Mena certainly isn’t a bad
signer, but where Emma Watson struggled to
impress with her vocal strengths as Bell in
the new Beauty and the Beast, Mena definitely
didn’t bring the vocal power I expected of
Aladdin. In Beauty and the Beast, Dan Stevens
musically outshone Emma in a film that should
have been musically lead by Emma’s character.
In the new Aladdin, Noami Scott musically
outshone Mena in a film that was originally
dominated by iconic male-lead ballads.
Then of course, there’s the Genie. When we
were all being teased with previews for the
film, everyone was concerned about Will Smith’s
blue Genie. We were mostly only shown Genie
in the cave, still blue, and it just wasn’t
right. PewDiePie followers in particular had
a lot of fun photoshopping the character to
look like other characters after Felix himself
turned Will Smith’s Genie into Shrek. I was
relieved to find that in the movie, Genie
actually spends very little time being blue,
and mostly takes an entirely human look. I
don’t even mind the top knot, despite Aladdin’s
disapproval. I’ve also heard a lot of criticism
that Will Smith wasn’t allowed to be Will
Smith, and his fans were disappointed, but
I think he and the directors worked together
well to find a happy medium between paying
homage to Robin Williams’ original portrayal,
and letting Will update it. My biggest complaint
about Genie scenes is actually a special effects
complaint. In the parade scene when Prince
Ali is approaching the palace, and Genie is
window hopping, the effects were not well
integrated. The greenscreen effect is just
so painfully obvious, and I think it’s because
they really neglected the backgrounds they
put him against within the frames of the windows.
Those bits of the scenes ended up feeling
like an early 2000s Disney channel sitcom
than part of a 2019 feature film. But that’s
it. Other than that, I love the new Genie.
He’ll never replace Robin Williams, but in
a world without Robin, I’ll gladly take Will
Smith’s Genie.
And of course, we also need to talk about
Jafar. I’m really torn about the physical
appearance here. On one hand, Marwan Kenzari
did an amazing job of bringing Jafar to life,
and I like how his backstory got a bit more
fleshed out this time around. On the other
hand, Jafar is supposed to be a gaunt older
man, and Marwan is quite the attractive fellow
who doesn’t appear to be significantly older
than Jasmine and Aladdin themselves. Despite
everything I’ve just said praising the casting
choice of Mena for Aladdin, I don’t think
I would have been disappointed with Marwan
as Aladdin either. Although of course he’d
have to shave the facial hair… I think what
I liked best about the new Jafar is the explanation
that he used to be a simple thief, and how
he’s built himself up to the position he’s
in now. In the animated Aladdin, it’s clear
that Jafar is power hungry and that he’s inserted
himself into his position as a stepping stone,
but we don’t know where he came from. Now
we do! And of course, he does sing a bit in
Arabian Knights with Will Smith, as well.
Last I’d like to address the animal characters.
I love Rajah. I think the tiger was handled
very well, and he’s definitely true to how
the original big cat was presented. I chose
to draw Rajah as the animated version in this
piece to balance out the animated Jasmine,
and so that rendering a more realistically
styled tiger didn’t take away from the focal
point, which is the Naomi Scott Jasmine, but
I do like the CGI Rajah as well. Abu and Iago
both faded into the background a lot more
than they did in the animated film. Abu doesn’t
have much of a role after the cave scene,
and frankly, I don’t mind one bit. Animated
Abu has never been my favourite character,
but I certainly like the cute little brown
critter more than the CGI capuchin monkey
in the new film. I’m surprised the character
is entirely CGI, and that they didn’t try
to use an actual trained Capuchin for some
scenes, but I think they missed the mark rendering
the character. It’s a bit uncanny valley for
me. He doesn’t look enough like a real monkey,
yet he’s so different from the cartoon character.
I was glad he didn’t play such a big part,
because I certainly didn’t miss his presence
on screen after the cave. Iago, on the other
hand, I did miss. The 2019 Macaw is beautiful,
and fulfills his role as Jafar’s subtle spy,
but that’s it. The quirky, sassy flair of
the original character isn’t there. He’s more
of a prop than a character, and I think that’s
a shame. I understand the choice. I don’t
think the original Iago would have worked
with the updated story and the changes made
to Jafar, but I still miss the character,
and I think I’d rather have seen them drop
the bird entirely than do what they did. Does
anyone else feel that way?
But yes, overall, I really like the new Aladdin,
and it’s definitely one of the live action
remakes I actually want to add to my collection
when it comes out for purchase. I enjoyed
doing this Jasmine fan art piece, as well.
I’m considering doing a series of pieces with
the other characters, but I’m not sure if
I should put the time into it. I would want
to make them in the same way, and the pencil
rendering of Jasmine took so long, so I’m
hesitant to commit to it. Let me know in the
comments if you’re interested! I’m not sure
what sort of talking points I would pair with
other pieces to make them into videos, and
with how long the pieces would take, I would
have to make them into videos. Obviously I
should do a Mena Massoud Aladdin, and I want
to do a Marwan Kenzari Jafar, but I’m not
sure about the companions to pair them with,
or whether or not I would want to do a Will
Smith Genie piece on its own. Like I said,
I don’t really like Abu, so I’d be tempted
to put animated Genie in with Mena Massoud
and animated Aladdin and not give Genie his
own piece. But at the same time, I think Genie
deserves his own piece, so then the Aladdin
piece would have to have Abu in it, but then
who would be the third in the Genie piece?
Carpet? I’m so unsure! Tell me what you want
to see! But anyway, that’s enough from me
today. Thanks so much for watching, and I’ll
see you on Thursday. Bye!

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