A live action remake of Aladdin arrived in theaters on May 24 and brought in an estimated $112.7 million over Memorial Day weekend.

Some of the highlights of the movie are the performances of the classic songs, “A Whole New World,” “Friend Like Me,” and “Arabian Nights.”

The movie is undoubtedly uplifting and heartwarming. The many upbeat songs and intricate dance numbers kept me smiling throughout most of the movie. However, despite the evidently expensive set and the powerful performances of classic songs that submerged me in the fictional Arabian world, the mediocre acting dragged me back to reality.

The main characters, Aladdin and Princess Jasmine played by Mena Massoud and Naomi Scott, delivered unimpressive performances in certain scenes, which made it difficult to thoroughly enjoy the movie.

One character that was excellently portrayed was the Genie, played by Will Smith. I had high expectations for Smith’s performance, as he has already had many memorable roles in cinema, including Agent J in the Men in Black series of films and Alex Hitchens in the romantic comedy, Hitch. He delivered, being an obvious standout among the rest of the main characters.

Still, the film is not one of Disney’s best live-action remakes. The new Beauty and the Beast (2017) movie, for example, perfectly captured the brilliance of the original animated movie by casting well and keeping the movie very similar to the animated version. Compared to Beauty and the Beast (2017), Aladdin is simply unexceptional.

I asked my six-year-old friend and fellow movie enthusiast, “What was your favorite part of the new Aladdin movie?” to which he responded “All the parts.” So, even though I would not recommend this movie to anyone, I imagine that from the eyes of a young child, the directors’ target audience, Aladdin is an extravagant, mesmerizing, and imaginative film that cannot be missed.