One of my least favorite things in the world is admitting I was wrong.

You know where this is going.

About a year and a half ago Disney released a new, live-action version of Aladdin, starring Will Smith (of all people) as the Genie and for the past year and a half I’ve flat-out refused to see it. Why? Simple. The cartoon version of Aladdin (1992–also Disney) is so awesome I figured nothing could ever compare.

Well, the cartoon version is still my favorite, but I must admit the 21st offering is pretty dang good as well. The music, the sets, the costumes… I even liked Will Smith. Gettin’ genie wit it.

The tale of Aladdin and his lamp and a thousand and one nights and all that has been around a long time for a reason. It’s good. And we take care with things that are good because it’s so easy to mess them up. Fearing a mess up I avoided seeing this film until my son talked me into it this past weekend. I’m glad he did. And I’ll admit… I was wrong.

First time for everything.