With the release of Disney’s live
action "Aladdin" remake this month, I’ve reviewed both the
original 1992 animated “Aladdin” classic, and covered the TV show that
aired on Disney channel. I feel I might as well finish-up the month by
reviewing the 1996 direct to video sequel titled “Aladdin and the King of Thieves”.
While I’ve always been a Disney fan, I’ve never really been on board with their
direct to video sequels. Even the first Aladdin sequel titled “The Return of
Jafar”, while not terrible, just felt very mediocre and forgettable. “Aladdin
and the King of Thieves” by contrast is that one rare direct to video
sequel that’s stuck with me into adulthood, and I find myself enjoying it just
like any one of Disney's theatrical productions. That’s not to say it’s on par
with the first “Aladdin”, but it is a close second favorite of Aladdin’s
properties under the Disney banner, and a rare sequel that I feel is worth
talking about.
Taking place after the events of both movies and the TV show, Aladdin
and Princess Jasmine are at long last ready to get married. The one thing
eating away at our hero is that he has no family to share the day with, and
wonders if he’s ready to be a father himself, as he’s never had anyone to draw
inspiration from. Things heat up when the wedding is interrupted by a band of
thieves who pillage all the treasury. Their mysterious leader is especially
interested in a golden scepter that was donated as a wedding gift. After fighting
off the villains, our heroes learn that the scepter contains the spirit of a
mystical Oracle, who can answer any one question. With his parentage on his
mind, Aladdin asks about the fate of his father Cassim … and the answer is very
troubling. Turns out his father lives, but he soled is soul to a life a crime,
and is now the leader of the 40 Thieves. We discover later that Cassim
initially become a thief to provide for his family, but ever sense his wife
perished and his son disappeared on the street, he stayed in his place of power,
and is now obsessed with finding the ultimate treasure … the golden hand of
Mites. Hoping to free Cassim from the life he’s trapped in, Aladdin sets off on
a journey to win his father over and be a complete family again … preferably in
time for his wedding. Yet, while his dad has a sense of honor and family ties,
will that be enough to win him over after lifetime of greed and treasure
hunting?
The story was heavily inspired by “The Tale of Ali Baba and the Forty
Thieves” from classic Arabian Knights lore, except Ali Baba was replaced
with both Aladdin and his father. I love that this film drew inspiration from other Arabian Tales, and it makes the movie feel like a new Aladdin venture,
without retreading any familiar grounds from the first movie. This is when
sequels are at their best, exploring more of the main character, moving the
story forward, and challenging our hero’s with new emotional stakes. Also, I’ve
always been intrigued about stories in which a good son tries to fix a problem
with either a conflicted or just plain dead-beat parent. For the most part, the
relation between Aladdin and his father Cassim works, and the two share a
genuinely engaging chemistry. John Rhys-Davies voices Aladdin’s father, and
he’s a great talent that you can never go wrong with. His voice is like a cross
between Sean Connery and Christopher Lee, and when combined with the performance, he can just give a character this magnetic presence. You can tell the writers really
aimed to give the movie a heart and soul that stood apart from the first, and
the effort shows. However, I can’t say this is a perfectly written story, as
there are clashing character motivations that don’t always make sense, but the
film does compensate with some genuinely great character moments.
For example, we have Aladdin trying to give his father a second chance,
and invites him to live with his new family in the palace, which he accepts,
but only to try and steal the Golden Scepter from them again. This never worked
for me as a motivation, especially when he seemed so honest for the feelings he
expressed for his son, but the scenes that follow afterward … I really love.
After his father gets arrested by the palace guards, Aladdin adorns a disguise,
breaks him out of prison, and during a thrilling chase, Aladdin’s identity is
revealed, and he’s forced to flee the kingdom, his home, his future … his
betrothed … and all he has left is a father who betrayed him. It all builds to
a heated back and forth argument about running away from your problems, as the
father wishes to disappear into the desert, while the other aims to return and
face the consequences. It’s a great scene, with strong vocal performances from
both … I just wish the path leading to this moment was written with a pinch
more depth, and better realized character motivations.
One good thing the movie has going is a proper balance between the
emotional conflicts of the father, and the physical threat provided by the main
villain named Sa’luk. He’s the second in command of the 40 Thieves, and wants
to claim the crown for himself. On the surface, he may seem like a one-note brute,
especially when compared to such high-ranking Disney villains as Jafar, or even
some of the villains from the TV show, but he’s still important for adding a level of excitement
to the film. Aladdin’s father Cassim is the antagonist with the complex narrative,
and the one who needs to be the most compelling. However, in his arc, Cassim can
never provide a sense of urgency or excitement, which is why Sa’luk works as
the straight forward physical challenge to balance out. He’s ruthless, strategic,
and apparently an X-Men fan, as he’s got gold painted Wolverine claws. It’s a
cool design, although I always found it amusing that his skin is supper pail …
especially for a guy who lives out in the desert. On a side note, he’s voiced
by Jerry Orbach, who you may recognize as the voice of the candle-stick Lumiere
from “Beauty and the Beast”. He actually has an effective villain voice,
and even though he’s not French in this film, I can still recognize him as the
candle stick.
One thing that’s a mixed bag is the return of the other main characters.
While the film has the right idea of putting the focus on Aladdin and his
father, the remaining characters don’t always feel like they have a place
within that story. The one exception is actually Iago of all characters, who
becomes the figurative shoulder-devil to Aladdin’s father, and keeps him on the
path of greed ... which makes me dislike him even more, especially after he had
a full reformation in the last movie. Princess Jasmine is mostly just there for
emotional support, which is good, but for a movie that features the event of
their wedding … I just feel like she should be playing a bigger part in the
narrative. She at least gets involved in the action, I really like that she’s
become an action prone heroine in this film, and she never once becomes a
helpless damsel ... which is great. Just as a side note, I love that both
Aladdin and Jasmine have finally gotten upgraded clothing that’s not revealing
as much skin as before, and their new color schemes are great. The remaining
characters we all remember are present, but pushed over to the side where they
don’t get in anyone’s way … that is with the unfortunate exception of one
character …
Robin Williams returned to voice the Genie, which is both a pro and a
con. On the one hand, this was one of my favorite talents returning to voice
one of my favorite animated characters, so I’m naturally going to laugh and
enjoy him. However, while it’s great to have him back, he also has a bad habit
of high-jacking the movie, and all for the purpose of making pop-culture
references. That’s not to say he didn’t chew scenery in the first movie, but
that film at least gave him a story arc, and emotional ties to our main character.
This time around, he’s really just there to deliver the jokes. That’s his whole
character, and his scenes tend to overstay their welcome. Still, he has some
funny quips, and even provides some adult jokes that I found hilarious to re-discover
as a grown-up. My favorite line by far is during the opening wedding attack,
just before a stamped of elephants burst through the pavilion. The place starts
rattling, and Genie remarks … “The ground wasn’t supposed to shake until the honeymoon”
… that alone just busted my gut.
Let’s finally talk about songs, because even in a Disney sequel, there
can be musical numbers worth highlighting. The opening number called “There's a Party Here in Agrabah” is something of
a mixed bag, as it's less of a song, and more a string of Genie jokes
with music accompanying.
However, once this song finds its footing, it becomes
a very colorful and upscale number with a really fast, catchy beat and a grand
finish. Aladdin and Jasmine get a musical duet called “Out of Thin Air”, which makes for a genuinely sweet
scene that echoes back to their original carpet ride, but the song itself I find
rather forgettable. Complete opposite is “Welcome
to the Forty Thieves”, which is memorable, but I also find it
incredibly annoying, and would much rather have anything else drumming around
in my head. The song “Father and Son”
is perhaps my least favorite of all, as it could have been a potentially
heartfelt bonding song between our two leads, but once again is really just a
string of Genie jokes, and even the song itself is just painfully average. At
last, we have Sa’luk’s big villain song called “Are
you in or Out”, which I loved back when I was a kid. Granted, it’s
not one of the great Disney villain songs, but it has stuck with me as something
memorable. Now two talents I need to mention are Mark Watters and Carl Johnson,
who composed and conducted the music for the film. Needless to say, the
instrumental score for this movie is excellent, and really elevates the film
with a sense of excitement and adventure. Some of the instrumental ques feel
like they could have been pulled right out of Zorro, Robin Hood or Sinbad, which is good company.
On that note, of the three Aladdin movies, this one does feel the most
like a classic adventure flick. It’s not contained to either the palace or
streets of Agrabah, there’s more exploring, treasure hunting, mystical elements
and beautifully detailed locations. The backgrounds, the environment, and the designs
all seem to take a life on their own.
I feel there’s a wider mythos being
explored here, with the mystical Oracle leading our heroes on their quest, the
words “Open Sesame” are used to open a secret cavern, a cursed object called “The
Hand of Mites” turns anything it touches into gold, and there’s a
vanishing island on the back of a giant turtle ... it’s great stuff. The animation
is also really impressive, at least on the grounds of a direct to video movie. It’s
not on par with the animation of the first film, but it’s much grander, and has a larger
scale then your typical Disney sequel. At last, this movie has far more action
highlights then either of the previous films. Back when I was a kid, my
favorite scene was the massive opening attack during the wedding, which featured
stampedes of elephants knocking down pavilions, Genie firing off magic to repel
the invaders, and Aladdin’s first confrontation with his father. As an adult,
my favorite action set-piece is Aladdin’s duel to the death with the villains
Sa’luk on the mountain side. This scene was
shot with a great sense of intensity, has a gorgeous color pallet, and features
some genuinely cinematic shots. At last, there’s a decent climax that brings together all our heroes for one final showdown with the 40 Thieves. It also builds to an awesome Disney villain death, that might just rank among my favorites.
Overall, this is a really good sequel, and could easily be my favorite
of the direct to video Disney sequel’s I’ve seen. It’s no masterpiece, and it obviously isn’t on par with the original, but it’s a worthy continuation of the
story, it gives the characters a little more dimension, and is just a really
fun adventure, with a layered mythos. Compared to how average to bad Disney
sequels have ranged, this one stands out, and there was clearly a lot of passion
from the creators to make this a worthy finale to the Disney Aladdin
series. If you’ve never been on board with direct to video sequels, but still
have fondness for Disney’s “Aladdin”, I’d highly recommend giving this
one a viewing. It may not stick with you as anything extraordinary, but you
might be surprised to find it a more engaging experience then it really had any
right to be.
Thanks for reading my review of Disney's animated 1996 sequel “Aladdin and the King of
Thieves” … and continue to enjoy the movies you Love!
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