Monday, April 10, 2023

My Review of Aladdin: The Return Of Jafar (1994)


Written by Kevin Campbell And Mirith J.S. Colao And Bill Motz And Steve Roberts And Dev Ross And Bob Roth And Jan Strand And Brian Swenlin
Directed by Tony Shelton And Tad Stones And Alan Zaslove

Jafar (to the Genie): "You're only second rate."

Not two years had passed following the massive success of the first movie and a straight to VHS (at the time) seque happened. A sequel I owned once upon a time as a kid and recently revisted on Disney+ over the weekend.

To this day, the 1992 Aladdin movie is my favourite Disney movie of all time and one of my all time favourite movies. As a kid, I was happy to get a little more of this side of the Disney universe. As an adult, The Return Of Jafar s a sequel that's the sum of it's parts. 

Not much time has passed and for Aladdin (Scott Weinger), he's rather loved up with Princess Jasmine (Linda Larkin), living at the palace and accepted by the Sultan (Val Bettin) as a potential future son in law. Things are for the most part great for the former street rat.

Of course there are some obstacles for Aladdin though, otherwise this sequel would be a nothing burger for him. For starters, there's Abis Mal (Jason Alexander), who Aladdin managed to get on his bad side as well as the somewhat unwelcomed return of Iago (Gilbert Gottfried).

Iago seems detemined to convinced everyone that he's turned over a new leaf and everyone else showed a natural scepticism towards him, with Aladdin being the exception to the rule. However, it's the return of Jafar (Jonathan Freeman) that posed the bigger problem for Aladdin and company.

Still bound as a genie, it didn't take long for Jafar to force Iago's feathers in betrayal, manipulate Abis Mal into doing his bidding, overpower the returning Genie (Dan Castellaneta), frame Aladdin for the Sultan's supposed death and nearly get his bigger obstacle executed by an overzealous Razoul (Jim Cummings). However for the second movie in a row, Jafar greatly underestimated Aladdin.

Yes, Jafar showed that his downtime in a genie' lamp taught him nothing as both Aladdin and Iago during a final battle became his ultmate downfall and unlike last time, ths movie made it very clear that Jafar wouldn't be returning yet again to cause any more trouble.

- This was the only movie where another actor voiced the Genie. Robin Williams would return for Aladdin And The King Of Thieves.
- This movie did manage to make about $30 million dollars in VHS sales at the time, making it a big hit.
- Standout music: Jafar's You're Only Second Rate.
- Chronology: A year since the events of the previous movie.

Aladdin: The Return Of Jafar definitely feels like a mixed bag for a sequel. The animation was a little wonky, the songs bar one are not quite as memorable but there's some good scenes, including a solid third act that makes it mostly entertaining to watch. Overall, it's a divertng enough second entry into this part of the Disney universe.

Rating: 6 out of 10

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