Guy Ritchie doesn't understand why everyone is so upset with his Genie in 'Aladdin'

Guy Ritchie is a bit baffled at the reception to his remake of Aladdin.

Despite just a few minutes of footage online, the Lock, Stock director’s take on the Disney classic has proved divisive among fans from the off.

Most enduring has been the resistance to Will Smith as the Genie, the role voiced by the iconic Robin Williams in the original animated movie.

Read more: The mockery of Will Smith’s Aladdin genie is real

His massive blue face emerging from the lamp in the movie's trailer was described as 'nightmare fuel' by one critic.

Ritchie told The Irish Times: “Yes, I was surprised actually. I’m not quite sure what happened there. Something happened. It can be quite hard in retrospect to even analyse it.

“But clearly people had an emotional reaction. One way or the other.

“I expect the issue was they should have just showed more Genie [in the trailer]. What happened was a feathery fish. It was neither enough nor not enough.

“I think as long as you showed the Genie in his full splendour you would have been consoled.”

Smith has also spoken about the mixed response to his Genie online, notably the meme-worthiness of the whole thing.

Read more: Prince Ali clip from Aladdin splits fans

“It was very funny,” he told 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.”

Ritchie's Aladdin is not going into theatres on the best of terms, with early footage of the movie not received spectacularly well by critics, and a recent clip of Smith performing the Prince Ali song deemed a bit lacklustre.

But perhaps it'll prove us all wrong when it hits cinemas across the UK on May 22.