Return of Jafar

The Return of Jafar (also known as Aladdin: The Return of Jafar) is a 1994 animated direct-to-video sequel to the 1992 film Aladdin, produced by The Walt Disney Company. The movie was released on May 20, 1994 and serves as the origin of the Aladdin animated series. Another direct-to-video sequel, Aladdin and the King of Thieves, followed in 1996.

The movie centers on Jafar, the villain from Aladdin, trying to gain his revenge against Aladdin, Princess Jasmine, and the Sultan, and become the ruler of Agrabah.

It was the first Disney direct-to-video animated feature release, and is currently available on Special Edition DVD (with "Aladdin:" added to the title), with digitally restored picture and remastered sound. The Special Edition DVD went back to the Disney Vault on Jan 31, 2008.

This was the first and only Aladdin full-length production without the original voice of the Genie, Robin Williams. He was replaced by Dan Castellaneta, who also voiced the Genie in the animated series as well as in Kingdom Hearts and is also known for voicing Homer Simpson. Williams returned as the Genie in Aladdin and the King of Thieves.

This was also the first Aladdin full-length production without the original voice of Sultan, Douglas Seale. He was replaced by Val Bettin, who also voiced the Sultan in the animated series.

Plot synopsis
The story opens with a band of robbers arriving in their hideout with their latest spoils. Just as their incompetent leader, Abis Mal, rouses the ire of his men, Aladdin and Abu steal the treasures back and distribute most of it among the poor of Agrabah - with the exception of a jewel flower, which Aladdin intends to give to Jasmine. Upon their arrival, Jasmine announces to Aladdin a surprise which the Sultan intends to reveal at this evening's dinner.

Meanwhile, in the desert, Iago manages to dig himself and Jafar's genie lamp out of the sand, into which the Genie had fired them. Jafar orders Iago to release him at once, but Iago, tired of being treated badly by Jafar, throws the lamp into a nearby well. He returns to Agrabah, hoping to convince Aladdin that he had served Jafar only because he had hypnotized him just like the Sultan (even though it's not the truth). He meets Aladdin and insists that he is innocent, but Aladdin is not fooled and tries to capture him. While chasing Iago, Aladdin has a run-in with Abis Mal and some of his men, but is saved by Iago. Now willing to give Iago a fair chance, Aladdin returns with him to the palace, where they are greeted by Genie, who has returned from seeing the world and is glad to be home in Agrabah. That night, the Sultan announces that he wants to make Aladdin his new grand vizier. Trying to draw on the good mood, Aladdin attempts to persuade the Sultan to forgive Iago, but Iago inadvertently ruins the dinner and the Sultan and Jasmine are furious. With Iago's help, though, Jasmine eventually reconciles with Aladdin.

Meanwhile, Jafar, by luck, is found by Abis Mal. As Jafar is a genie, he is handicapped by the incompetence of his new "master". Jafar desires to be free so that he can get revenge on Aladdin and rule Agrabah, but needs Mal's co-operation to do this. Though Abis Mal is technically his master, Jafar still asserts his power by tricking Abis Mal into wasting two of his wishes and placing him in dangerous situations before making him return to Agrabah; however, Abis Mal willingly goes along with Jafar in order to get his own revenge on Aladdin. Once in the palace, Jafar reveals himself to Iago and forces him to play along with his plans. The next day, Aladdin and the Sultan depart to have a discussion at a place suggested by Iago. After they leave, Jafar confronts the Genie and Abu in the Palace gardens and shows his power, imprisoning the pair.

Meanwhile, Aladdin has a talk with the Sultan that earns his acceptance as the future grand vizier. When Aladdin thanks Iago, he is ambushed by Abis Mal, accompanied by a group of cloaked horsemen. Aladdin, helpless without Carpet (who is trampled by one of the horses), fails to prevent the Sultan's capture. When Carpet recovers, Aladdin gives chase, only to be shocked when the horses gallop off the cliff and sprout wings. Despite his surprise, Aladdin takes back the Sultan. He is about to make his escape when one of Abis Mal's horsemen creates a waterspout, sucking the Sultan off the carpet and into the waterspout. Aladdin turns the carpet back to save the Sultan, but he and the carpet are sucked in. Aladdin, however, is thrown back out and into the raging river. While struggling to stay above the surface of the water, Aladdin manages to grab a rock. But before he can catch his breath, Abis Mal kicks him back into the river, and he plummets over the edge of the waterfall. Abis Mal enjoys his moment of glory, but one of the horsemen uses magic to keep Aladdin from meeting his death. Aladdin then gently floats over the deadly rocks and is dropped into safer water.

It is finally revealed that all the horsemen were Jafar in disguise. Abis Mal rushes towards Jafar, expressing anger that Aladdin was saved, ("He was this close to being a greasy little smear on the rocks!") Barely keeping his temper, Jafar reminds Abis Mal of the plan and congratulates Iago for his work. Iago, however, is clearly distressed at betraying Aladdin. Come nightfall, Aladdin recovers on a riverbank. He is then left to crawl back to Agrabah on foot.

When Aladdin returns, Razoul, the Sultan's chief guard who holds a grudge against Aladdin, unexpectedly arrests him. Jasmine accuses Aladdin of murdering the Sultan and sentences him to death. Aladdin is shocked, but the truth is that Jasmine was also captured while Aladdin was away, and Jafar disguised himself as her when he issued the death sentence.

In the dungeon, Jasmine and the others berate Iago for betraying them, but their anger is quickly forgotten when Iago chooses to attempt to free Genie so he can save Aladdin. Jafar reveals himself to Aladdin moments before his execution, and Aladdin frantically attempts to tell Razoul, but he either does not notice or chooses to ignore it. Finally, after a great amount of effort, Iago frees Genie, who saves Aladdin just as the sword falls, and then the others. Aladdin goes off on Iago for setting him up, but changes his mind when Jasmine informs him that Iago freed them with no selfish reason. While Iago suggests that they run, Aladdin decides to attempt to stop Jafar. Genie tells Aladdin that, in order to destroy Jafar, his lamp must be destroyed before Abis Mal wishes him free. Iago chooses not to face Jafar, and the others let him go without blame on account of their new freedom.

Jafar and Abis Mal celebrate Aladdin's death, and Abis Mal wants his third wish. However, Jafar refuses unless the wish is used to set him free. He bribes Abis Mal by conjuring mass amounts of gold and treasure in exchange for using the third wish for setting him free, while Genie attempts and fails to steal Jafar's lamp without being seen by the two. But Abis Mal hesitates, suspicious of Jafar's motives. They soon spot Abu attempting to steal the lamp; Jafar, surprised and enraged to see that Aladdin is still alive, blows them out of the throne room into the palace garden. Aladdin and Abu are saved by Genie, and Abis Mal is caught on a tree branch, unable to reach the lamp or properly move, and the lamp falls to the ground.

Aladdin, Jasmine, the Genie, Abu and Carpet engage Jafar (in his monstrous genie form) in combat, but even when bound by the rules of the Genie he easily outmatches them, using his tremendous powers to stop them from getting the lamp. His indiscriminate use of power opens a fissure in the ground which is filled with magma. Thoroughly trapped, Aladdin, Jasmine and Abu face certain death when suddenly Iago reappears and grabs the lamp. Jafar blasts him, leaving him for dead, but Iago manages to recover for a moment and uses his last ounce of strength to kick the lamp into the magma; Jafar violently implodes into a cloud of dust.

To the joy of all, Iago recovers from his injuries, since it is among a Genie's set of laws that he can't use his powers to kill. Amidst the celebration, however, Aladdin announces to the Sultan that he is not yet ready to become a grand vizier, because first he wants to see the world, and can't just stay in the Palace for now. Jasmine declares that she will join him, but Iago objects to this and continues to rant as the film ends.

After the credits, Abis Mal, still stuck on a tree branch, suddenly realizes that, with Jafar and the lamp gone, he will never have his third wish.

Cast

 * Scott Weinger as Aladdin - a former slumdog who now lives in the Palace, but who occasionally still dresses in his old slumdog clothes and still longs for adventure.
 * Jonathan Freeman as Jafar - An evil genie and the former Royal Vizier, he is bent on revenge on Aladdin and the others.
 * Gilbert Gottfried as Iago - Jafar's former parrot sidekick, he sides with Aladdin merely to get back into the Palace, but soon begins to genuinely see him as a true friend.
 * Dan Castellaneta as Genie - A genie who helped Aladdin defeat Jafar and was freed from his lamp in return. He returns from a world tour to join his friends in Agrabah.
 * Linda Larkin as Princess Jasmine - The princess of Agrabah and Aladdin's wife.
 * Jason Alexander as Abis Mal - A clumsy thief who accidentally frees Jafar from his lamp. He is terrified of Jafar, despite knowing that Jafar depends on him to travel.
 * Frank Welker as Abu and Rajah - Aladdin's pet monkey and Jasmine's pet tiger, respectively. They are both initially skeptical of Iago's reform, but eventually warm up to him.
 * Val Bettin as Sultan - The pompous but kind ruler of Agrabah. He becomes a target of the vengeful Jafar.
 * Jim Cummings as Razoul - The Sultan's chief guard. He still harbours a great dislike for Aladdin, and would love an excuse to kill him and get away with it.

Comic
When Disney was publishing their own comics in the mid-90s, they produced a two issue Aladdin comic presenting an alternate version of The Return Of Jafar. It was titled The Return Of Aladdin. The comic is introduced by the Merchant from the first movie.

The story starts off showing that Aladdin has been particularly bored of palace life. Meanwhile, Jafar has escaped the Cave Of Wonders. Iago is given the task of finding the right master for Jafar to manipulate. Their search seems hopeless as some people are able to enjoy all three wishes or messing up.

They find someone to use the lamp, who is known as Isabella, a master magician. Isabella is similar in appearance to Jafar (except his clothing is green). His first wish is to return to Agrabah Palace (as he performed entertainment to the sultan in #1). His second wish is for an army of soldiers to pursue Aladdin and Jasmine when they catch on to Jafar's presence. He is persuaded to use his third wish to trap Jafar and Iago in the lamp again, sending them back to the cave.

Due to persuasion by the Genie, the Sultan hires Isabella to a permanent entertainment job at the palace. The end of the story shows the merchant having a black lamp similar to Jafar's, but he claims it to be worthless.

Home video

 * The Classics of Walt Disney Home Video Premieremovie ToonStudios Presents: Arabian Nights - The Adventures of Sindbad the Sailor: The Adventure Continues - The Return of Jafar and the King of Thieves with Nasira's Revenge (1990) Now on Monday 1. 9. September 1993 with Walt Disney Home Video UK

An execuse trailer for TaleSpin: Phunder and Lighting (1990), The Prince and the Pauper (1991), The Rescuers Down Under (1992) and DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp (1993). An VHS trailer for Beauty and the Beast (1991), Peter Pan (1953), The Jungle Book (1967), TaleSpin TV series (1990-91), The Little Mermaid TV series (1992-93), The Muppet Moment Show segment: Miss Piggy's Family, Walt Disney's Family Studio Collection, Aceamdy Award of Walt Disney Cartoons, Walt Disney Home Video: Pinocchio (1940), Disney's Sing Along Songs 2 videos, The Three Cabellros (1945) and EuroDisney.

Video game
The plot of this movie is loosely used in Agrabah, one of the worlds in Kingdom Hearts II, only with Abis Mal being replaced by the Peddler from the first film. It is worth noting that this is the only Disney sequel to have its plot adapted into a level in the Kingdom Hearts series.

Furthermore, there is a mild allusion to the Agrabah boss battle in Kingdom Hearts, Sora must fight Jafar in Genie form surrounded by a lava pit with raising and lowering levels, while Iago flies above with Jafar's lamp. However, only striking the lamp will have any effect on Jafar's health. This fight also takes place in the second game, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, and its PlayStation 2 remake. In both versions of CoM it the boss fight is due to the majority of the game being illusions created from Sora's memories. A second playable character, Riku, also fights the boss in his mode.

Follow-up
Abis Mal made many reappearances in the Aladdin animated TV series afterwards.