Will Smith goes from fear to joy as a new genius of Aladdin

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – In the beginning, Will Smith was worried about playing the genie in the live action version of Disney's "Aladdin" after the famous performance of the late Robin Williams more than 25 years ago, but that finally became a joy.

"What Robin Williams did with that character – he just did not leave a lot of room to add to the genie, so I started to be scared, but when I got the music, it started waking up this fun, childish and silly part of me, "Smith said.

"It was the best experience of my career," said the 50-year-old actor before the film's global release this week.

"Aladdin", directed by Guy Ritchie, marks Smith's first participation in a film by Walt Disney Co. The remake includes many elements of the animated original of 1992, for which Williams won a Golden Globe for his work voice.

"I like the original movie, I am aware that I do not want to contaminate the nostalgia of the first," Ritchie said. "What you want to do is embellish."

"My main job was to entertain my five children and my Disneyphile wife," said Ritchie, who is best known for his action adventure films such as "Sherlock Holmes" and his adult film, " RocknRolla. "

Naomi Scott who appeared in "The 33" and "Power Rangers" plays Princess Jasmine. Mena Massoud, who participated in last year's "Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan" series, plays the lead role in the film.

"Aladdin" is Disney's latest remake of his animated family movie classics. He follows a live version of the tale of flying elephants "Dumbo" in March, the upcoming re-launch in July of "The Lion King" and "Mulan", whose release is scheduled for 2020.