A hyper-sensory, poetic, and humorously modern take on the Arabian Nights Classic tale. Shot entirely on papier mache sets like a Jodorowsky film made out of cardboard, the film revolves around Aladdin’s dysfunctional family, who live in a “”Regular Town”” ruled by a corrupt Sultan with a decadent socialite daughter. When Aladdin finds a 3-D printing lamp, we are taken on a journey that explores technology, government repression, greed, and true love.

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Video Quality

Adam Green’s Aladdin arrives on Blu-Ray with a fetching 1080p presentation that allows the film to look like the ideal version of itself. The film blends live-action performances with papier mache backgrounds for an artfully crafted yet uniquely lo-fi aesthetic. The screen appears to be impeccably crisp and clear with an abundance of textures within clothing and the background, along with the expected human nuances such as age lines, facial hair, makeup, and the like. All of the material within the film looks as lovely as you would wish for in HD. There are no unwanted digital anomalies present such as compression artifacts or egregious banding. Cartuna continues to put forth good work on physical media.

Audio Quality

This Blu-Ray comes with a DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that brings everything to life well. Dialogue is the driving force of the film, and exchanges are balanced well with the competing special effects sounds so nothing sounds muddled. The musical numbers add some additional personality to the film, and they are executed well here as they fill the room. Environmental sounds are replicated perfectly with the proper heightened quality. The surround channels are exceptionally active, but they flesh things out naturally for an immersive experience. This movie is composed to faithfully deliver this information with care. Optional English, English SDH, French, German, Italian, Russian, and Spanish subtitles are included.

Special Features

Behind the Scenes Documentary: A 15-minute documentary in which the cast and creative team discuss Adam Green’s mad vision for the film, the multimedia nature of the project, the evolution of the idea, the lyrical nature of the dialogue, the themes of the film, raising money for the film, and more.

Cut Lines and Outtakes Reel: A five-minute collection of unused footage is provided.

Me From Far Away Music Video (2:54)

Nature of the Clown Music Video (2:48)

Never Lift A Finger Music Video (2:33)

Köln Q&A: A seven-minute self-filmed Q&A with Adam Green in which he discusses why he wanted to make this film, how he made it, the end result, and more.

Kickstarter Promo #1 (1:16)

Kickstarter Promo #2 (0:52)

Rejected Trailer (1:26)

Trailer (2:49)

Booklet: A multi-page booklet featuring stills from the production is provided.

Final Thoughts

Adam Green’s Aladdin is a singular experience unlike anything you are likely to stumble across anywhere else. The movie has a hypnotic quality reminiscent of a fever dream, further aided by the presence of both known performers and newcomers to our screen. This will assuredly be a polarizing experience for anyone who watches it, but those who get on its wavelength may find one of their new favorite cult movies. Cartuna has released a Blu-Ray featuring a great A/V presentation and a welcome assortment of special features. Recommended

Adam Green’s Aladdin is currently available to purchase on Standard Edition Blu-Ray or with a Limited Edition Slipcover exclusively through Vinegar Syndrome or select indie retailers.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Cartuna and OCN Distribution have supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.