Aladdin: The Return of Jafar

Iago (Gottfried) is sick of being Jafar's (Freeman) lackey. After digging out od the sandy prison they were sent, he ditches Jafar's lamp and starts a new scheme. He decides to befriend Aladdin (Weinger and Kane).

Aladdin is adjusting to life in the palace. He is overjoyed when Genie (Castellaneta) returns after his journey around the world. When Iago saves his life, Aladdin begrudgingly brings him back to the palace. No one else is happy to see Iago and causes tension in Aladdin's relationships with Jasmine (Larkin and Callaway), the Sultan (Bettin), Carpet, and Abu (Welker).

Meanwhile, Jafar is frustrated by his limitations as a genie. His lamp is discovered by criminal Abis Mal (Alexander). He forces Mal to join his plans for revenge against Aladdin. With a vengeful genie and devious criminal after them, can Aladdin and his friends put aside their differences and save Agrabah?

A sequel to the 1992 Disney film Aladdin. This was Disney's first direct to video sequel.

The Good:

Iago is an interesting character and it's fun to see him in a larger role. Gilbert Gottfried imbues the character with lots of snark and some heart. Most of the cast from the original film reprised their roles here. Val Bettin took over voicing the Sultan for the rest of the series and Liz Callaway took over Jasmine's singing.

The Bad:

Due to an issue with Disney, Robin Williams did not return for this sequel. Dan Castellaneta voiced the Genie for this film and the TV show. He does ok, but I missed Williams.

The animation is not as good as the original. It's not bad, but it isn't the same quality.

Other Comments:

-This film was created to redeem Iago and setup the Aladdin TV show. A second sequel, Aladdin and the King of Thieves, was made after the TV show ended.

-Features new songs. Not quite as catchy as the original, but still entertaining. It also features a part of the song "Arabian Nights" written by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, from the original film.

The Return of Jafar (1994) 69 minutes

Director: Toby Shelton, Tad Stones, & Alan Zaslove

Starring: Gilbert Gottfried as Iago

Jason Alexander as Abis Mal

Jonathan Freeman as Jafar

Scott Weinger as Aladdin

Brad Kane as Aladdin (singing voice)

Linda Larkin as Princess Jasmine

Liz Callaway as Princess Jasmine (singing voice)

Dan Castellaneta as Genie, Omar, and Thief

Frank Welker as Abu, Rajah, Fazal, Egg Vendor, and Thief

Val Bettin as the Sultan