For the second day of “Disney Sequel Month,” I will be looking at both of the Aladdin sequels. Don’t worry; I’m not going to start this month out like I did last year, where I mostly did two reviews before going to only one. That won’t happen so much this time around, I promise you that. Let’s get things started with the first sequel, “The Return of Jafar,” released on video in 1994.
Steve Rhodes started his review out by saying, “Imagine an INDIANA JONES sequel with Harrison Ford replaced by a minor actor whose repertoire consists mainly of small parts in a dozen obscure films.” “The Return of Jafar” has all of the voice actors reprise their role except for two. Val Bettin came in to replace Douglas Seale as the Sultan, and the only reason why the first “Aladdin” movie was successful in the first place was because of the late Robin Williams.
Replacing him in the role of the Genie is Dan Castellaneta, the same voice actor who has voiced Homer Simpson, Grandpa Simpson, Krusty the Clown, Barney Grumble, Sideshow Bob, Itchy, Groundskeeper Willie, Mayor Quimby and Hans Moleman in “The Simpsons.” Do it to say that he is no Robin Williams.
To give Dan Castellaneta some slack, the story for “The Return of Jafar” can be summed up as let’s get the old cast together, have them dance in the same settings, sing some songs and basically go through the runtime necessary for something to be called a movie rather than a short. In this case, the movie does fill 66 minutes of video tape and can, therefore, just about be rightfully called a feature length movie.
Rhodes mentioned, “With his toothy smile and boyish good looks, Aladdin is back along with his gorgeous girlfriend Jasmine, wearing her same slightly revealing costume.” Their voiced by Scott Weinger and Linda Larkin and, like most of the rest of the cast with the exception of Seale and Williams, are the same as in the original.
In a movie that is actually hard to find positive things to say, the songs, which are not memorable, at least have a catchy tune and have a lot of energy. Rhodes said, “Before watching this tape, we tried the 1970 movie SCROOGE with Albert Finney, where the songs are so pitiful that they sound more like sung dialog. The songs in THE RETURN OF JAFAR, none of which I can remember now, did have at least possess plenty of pep and sounded like real songs.”
Jafar, voiced by Jonathan Freeman, with his evil little goatee is up to his old tricks – like most of this unimaginative movie, there are a few new tricks. The movie is more like a series of bloopers from the original than a sequel. The only way you can tell this is not in any way is Williams is not in the movie.
The jokes are not really funny or original. Even Disney’s usual excellent animation isn’t up to its standards. Looking at the credits, it looks that way for the drawing was framed out. Final verdict: “The Return of Jafar” is a pretty forgetful film.
If you remember what Nostalgia Critic said about the animated series, the problems are very much there in this movie as well. Even though Castellaneta gives everything in the role, the script gives him very little to work with. Aladdin and Jasmine are fine on their own to hold a movie, but they are so bland in this movie. Abu, reprised by Frank Welker, still has that annoying screech, and there is way too much Gilbert Gottfried in here as Iago.
With that said, how is “Aladdin and the King of Thieves,” released on video in 1996? Well Barbara Shulgasser mentioned that “I think you have to have some nerve to release a "movie" straight to video - thereby avoiding all the bother and expense of financial arrangements with theater-owners, advertising agencies and publicists - and still expect to get reviewed in daily newspapers, just as if the thing had had a theatrical release.”
She went on to say, “But this is a family newspaper with social responsibilities, and movie reviews are, to a degree, a service feature, so here we are serving the public and reviewing "Aladdin and the King of Thieves," Disney's newest animated Robin Williams fest, and projected gold mine. (The first "Aladdin" took in a reported $500 million in world-wide box office.)”
Thankfully, Williams returned as the voice of Genie, a role he first played so memorably in the first movie. Whatever they paid Williams was worth it. All they have to do is put the improvisation king behind a microphone and let him go. The results are what we thought: excellent.
This time, Aladdin (Scott Weinger) is finally going to marry Princess Jasmine (Linda Larkin), but the wedding ceremony is disrupted by the famous Forty Thieves, who storm into the place looking for the Hand of Midas; a prized relic that changes everything it touches into gold. (I don’t think I have to remind everyone that I minored in Classical Mythology in college, so I know the reference.)
When Aladdin finds out that his father, Cassim, voiced by John Rhys-Davies, who he thought was dead, is the King of Thieves, he goes out to meet him, and finds himself rescuing him from – you guessed it – the Thieves themselves.
Joining him is the mercurial and wise-cracking Iago, reprised by Gilbert Gottfried, and the always lovable but kind of less personality Magic Carpet. Shulgasser mentioned, “The carpet was one of the first movie's most endearing characters. What happened?”
Shulgasser said this about the music: “Few of the songs are the kind of toe-tappers by Oscar-winners Howard Ashman and Alan Menken found in the original "Aladdin" (although we do hear a reprise of their "Arabian Nights" from the first movie). This time, the songs are by David Friedman and the team of Randy Petersen and Kevin Quinn (songs from "The Little Mermaid").” One good one is Are You In or Out, and is sung by the villain Sa’Luk, voiced by Jerry Orbach.
The screenplay is done by Mark McCorkle and Robert Schooley, but you can bet Williams’ best lines were made by himself. Shulgasser said, “They ought to pay him a screenwriting fee.” Actually, the real joy of this move is Williams’ quick change of characters. He turns into everyone from Walter Cronkite and Woody Allen to Forrest Gump and Dustin Hoffman’s character in “Rain Man.” The animators splendidly kept up with Mr. Williams. Shulgasser ended her review by saying, “As I recall, Walter Cronkite looks good in blue.”
In the end, this movie is better than “The Return of Jafar,” since the story is based on the famous tale of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, but it doesn’t match what the original captured. Just skip “The Return of Jafar” and go straight to this movie because it actually feels like a true sequel.
Well, those are my thoughts on the Aladdin sequels, stay tuned tomorrow for more excitement in “Disney Sequel Month.”
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