About the movie

The Return of Jafar is a 1994 direct-to-video sequel to the 1992's 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.

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. Williams returned as the Genie in Aladdin and the King of Thieves.

PLOT

Jafar orders Iago to release him from his lamp, 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 of a spell cast on him (though this is untrue). 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 some criminals who try to kill him, but he is saved by Iago. Now respecting Iago, Aladdin returns with him to the palace, where they are greeted by Genie, who has returned from seeing the world.

Meanwhile, Jafar is found by a browbeaten thief named Abis Mal, who also bears a grudge against Aladdin for stealing his loot earlier in the film. As Jafar is a genie, he is handicapped by the incompetence of his new "master". Jafar desires to be free so that he can rule Agrabah, but needs Mal's co-operation to do this. Though Abis Mal is technically his master, Jafar still asserts his power by sending Abis Mal to the ocean's bottom after he wishes for sunken treasure. Abis Mal is forced to use his second wish to return to land. After this, Jafar has Abis Mal take him to the palace, where he coerces Iago into serving him again. 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 as he sings "You're Only Second Rate" before imprisoning the Genie in a magical orb and covering Abu with many individual metal strings, but later having chains around his wrists. Jafar then locks the two in a cell.

Meanwhile, the Sultan arranges for Aladdin to be the future grand vizier. As Aladdin thanks Iago for suggesting the talk, 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 and hated himself for that. Come nightfall, Aladdin recovers on a river back. He is then left to crawl back to Agrabah on foot.

When Aladdin returns, Jasmine accuses him of murdering the Sultan and sentences him to death. Aladdin is shocked, but it turns out that Jasmine was also captured while Aladdin was away, and Jafar disguised himself as her when he issued the death sentence. Before Aladdin is executed, however, Iago gives into his conscience and frees the Genie, who rescues all of them to atone for his actions. Genie tells Aladdin that in order to destroy the maliciously evil red genie Jafar, his black lamp must be destroyed before Abis Mal wishes him free. They are also grateful to Iago for setting them free and they offer redemption, but Iago goes in exile, fearing Jafar's wrath for helping the prisoners escape and narrowly averting Aladdin's death.

Meanwhile, Jafar and Abis Mal are celebrating Aladdin's death, and Abis Mal wants his third wish. However, Jafar refuses unless the wish is used to set him free. As they are arguing, they spot Abu about to grab the lamp. Aladdin runs up and tries to grab it as well.

When he sees Aladdin taking his lamp, Jafar shoots a fireball at him (which hits Abis Mal as well), knocking them onto the palace's balcony, which begins to crumble. Aladdin and Abis Mal try to get back to the palace, but fall through the crumbling structure. Aladdin and Abu are saved by Genie, while Abis Mal gets stuck on a tree branch and is unable to reach the lamp. Aladdin and his friends fly on the magic carpet to get the lamp, but Jafar (in his huge genie form) comes out of the ground before them. Genie (disguised as Aladdin) distracts Jafar as Aladdin goes after the lamp on the magic carpet, but Jafar is too quick and he uses his power to turn the Carpet to glass, causing it to collide with the ground and shatter. Aladdin is feet away from the lamp, but Jafar stops him again by making the ground under him come up like a rock-shaped pedestal. In a rage of fury, Jafar then transforms himself into an enormously gigantic red genie, making the ground crumble away into a lake of molten magma and a showdownbegins. Princess Jasmine, the Genie and Abu find themselves trapped on another pedestal surrounded by the incandescent lava.

The rock Aladdin is on falls into the magma and floats around the lamp's pedestal, but Aladdin is unable to reach it. Jafar laughs at Aladdin to give it up and fires his power at him, making the rock he is on sink further into the magma. Suddenly, Iago comes out of nowhere, narrowly misses Jafar and heads for the lamp. Jafar, realizing that Iago has turned against him for good, attempts to stop him by firing energy blasts at him, but Iago manages to get the lamp first. Jafar fires at Iago again, and this time he hits Iago, badly injuring him and causing him to hit the wall of the pit and fall with the lamp onto a rock just above the magma. Jafar sounds his triumph by laughing and says, "Good help is so hard to find these days, isn't it, Aladdin?" and laughs again. However Iago, with his last ounce of strength, kicks the lamp into the lava. Above, Jafar screams in agony as his black lamp melts and sinks below the surface of the magma.

The pedestal that Genie, Jasmine and Abu are on starts to collapse into the magma. Genie stretches out to form a bridge to the higher ground which Jasmine, Abu and Genie himself quickly take before the pedestal completely crumbles. The rock that Iago is on starts to crumble, but Aladdin catches him. Part of the wall of the pit plunges into the magma, forming a bridge that Aladdin quickly takes just before the rock he was floating on sinks completely, and starts climbing out of the pit. Screaming, Jafar fades to a skeletal genie form and violently implodes into a cloud of dust - destroyed. Everything that Jafar did reverses itself: the magma disappears, the Palace gardens are restored (Aladdin climbs out just before two parts of the garden come together), and the magic carpet is revived. After the showdown, Iago lies motionless in Aladdin's hands. Aladdin says that he thought a genie could not kill anyone. This proves true, as Iago coughs and says weakly, "You'd be surprised what you can live through."

Iago has become Aladdin's true friend. Aladdin tells the Sultan that he cannot be his vizier. Iago asks Aladdin what more he wants and Aladdin simply answers, "The world." He wants to see the world, and can't just stay in the Palace. Jasmine says that she is going to see the world too, but Iago objects with "Why do I keep getting hooked up with these 'warped people'?!" and "Shouldn't somebody ask what the brave parrot wants to do?"

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

What is a fanlist

A fanlisting is, quite simply, a listing of fans. Fanlistings are similar to any other group or club you might join. You can join a fanlisting to 'show your love of something.' Most fanlistings have small codes, buttons, or plaques available which you can display on your own website if you'd like. Our site definition of a fanlisting is: "A fanlisting is simply an online list of fans of a subject, such as a TV show, actor, or musician, that is created by an individual and open for fans from around the world to join. There are no costs, and the only requirements to join a fanlisting are your name and country. Fanlistings do not have to be large sites (although some are); they are just a place where you can sign up with other fans. TheFanlistings.org is the original (but not official) web directory for fanlistings, dedicated to uniting the fans." [From thefanlisrings.org]

Credits

Layout and graphic made by Nekoi Echizen;
Images from the net;
Aladdin - The Return of Jafar © Disney;
Part of: SilverBlood.Net and Evil Cat collective.
Listed at: The Fanlistings