'It was very funny,' the 50-year-old action star said in the new issue of Empire - hitting stands Thursday. 'There was a Sonic The Hedgehog / Genie frog. Everything is under such critical scrutiny.
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I came up in an era where there was no Internet. It's a new thing that I'm trying to get a handle on.'
The 50-year-old action star said in the new issue of Empire: 'There was a Sonic The Hedgehog / Genie frog. Everything is under such critical scrutiny. I came up in an era where there was no Internet. It's a new thing that I'm trying to get a handle on'
In February fans first got their first look at Will as the fast-talking, magic lamp-imprisoned Jinn made famous by the late, great Robin Williams in 1992.
And the DIY memes have since overflowed poking fun of Smith as the big blue wish granter, including one reinterpreting the NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
There were ones likening Genie to Arrested Development character Tobias Fünke, who frequently 'blued' himself in a sad bid to join The Blue Man Group.
There were several memes tweeted out comparing Genie to the Infinty Stones-empowered Marvel Comics supervillain Thanos.
Good one: And the DIY memes have since overflowed poking fun of Smith as the big blue wish granter, including one reinterpreting the NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
Yes! There were ones likening Genie to Arrested Development character Tobias Fünke, who frequently 'blued' himself in a sad bid to join The Blue Man Group
Some compared Genie to the 10ft-tall human-Na'vi hybrids in James Cameron's 2009 sci-fi flick Avatar.
Others were just straight up unsettled or terrified by the Philadelphia-born father-of-three as the blue-hued Genie.
However, Aladdin filmmaker Guy Ritchie felt the first full-length trailer - which dropped March 12 - managed to change some minds about Genie.
'It even came with apologies from the cynics who were so adamant initially,' the 50-year-old King Arthur helmer told Empire.
'I've never seen apologies in that world. I thought, "Oh well, great, we're back to where I'd hoped we'd be."'
Fans can see for themselves when Disney's Aladdin hits UK theaters May 22 and US theaters May 24.
The cast also includes Naomi Scott, Marwan Kenzari, Mena Massoud, Billy Magnussen, Alan Tudyk, as well as returning OG castmember Frank Welker (Abu and the Cave of Wonders).
