"The Return of Jafar" had almost fooled me when I was 12. My Dad brought us the VHS from some local Spanish bazaar when the original was still a fresh memory as well as an instant favorite. Yet "Aladdin" was bought in a format that featured the same mediocre image quality so while something seemed off with the sequel's animation, it didn't tip me off.
Obviously "Return of Jafar" was an attempt to capitalize on the first opus' popularity and Disney's instinct didn't fail as it was one of the most profitable Made-to-Video projects. And how could it fail anyway? "Aladdin" was immensely popular for its mesmerizing animation, Robin Williams' performance as the Genie and its memorable songs. So any sequel was an offer no fan would refuse. Even my brother and I "yaayed" like Flanders' kids when we got the film.
Needless to say that the feeling didn't last. Immediately I felt something odd in the sight of Iago smiling in the poster. Wasn't he the villain's sidekick? They couldn't even make the poster right as it spoils what should have been an interesting twist. Then the beginning had Aladdin in his "street-rat" outfit again fighting a bunch of thieves whose leader plays like an Oriental version of Smee. Not sure I liked it, not sure I even cheered for Al when he victoriously threw the golden coins to beggars.
Indeed, I don't mind deja-vu in sequels but this one was played for sensations that don't belong to either the comedy or thrills department: why should I be glad to see the hero acting like a hero? It was like a carbon copy of Aladdin without the coolness and complexity, and the first sign that characterization wouldn't be the film's strongest suit. That they managed to make Jasmine annoying was one thing but to make Aladdin boring was the straw that broke the camel's back (no pun intended).
Now, the plot. Iago manages to get himself off the lamp while Jafar lands on the hands of Abis Mal, the Iago part is rather problematic while Jafar deserves a more positive paragraph. But yes it's Iago who, of all the characters, is given a spotlight. Gilbert Gottfried's voice makes the dentist's drill sound like a lullaby and the bird just has the sidekick label all over his feathers so I guess the only reason to give him the benefit of the doubt is because... who else?
What could Aladdin possibly do? Abu can't talk because he's an animal (Disney logic). Neither does the carpet. The only left option is the Genie, but let' face it, after the first film, we get rapidly tired of the old "look-how-funny-and-unpredictable-I-am" shtick; yes, he's fun and can make many impersonations, but what can you say when even his friends can't stand him (I didn't even know at that time about the voices replacements, I saw the French version). Anyway, for some reason, seeing Genie trapped in that globe didn't bother me much.
So it all comes down the film being saved by the villains... and I liked Jafar, I liked him a lot, he was his usual suave self but his eagerness to be set free by his dumb witted master was fun to a limit... his plan doesn't make much sense once you think about it, making Abis Mal rich and asking to be free would have made him the evil counterpart of Genie. Instead, he just toys with his master's wishes and tricks Aladdin with the help of Iago, because a Genie can't kill... but "you'd be surprised what you can live through" (pretty cool arc quote actually).
Now does the returning character save the film? Yes and no. The ending is well done and intense at parts but the whole set-up suffers from the weak characterization of Aladdin and Jasmine. It takes forever for Aladdin to tell that he trusts Iago simply because the film falls in the Idiot plot as he never mentions that Iago saved his life. And Jasmine, such a drama queen! She burst into tears like a high-school girl without a boy for the prom because Aladdin lies to her again. Since when was it such a hot topic? And he had every reason to hide it in the first film, so gimme a break!
The emotional outcome is depressingly flat, and there's no continuity in terms of personalities! we have that dreadfully cliché "say nothing" with the index put on the mouth, the way Aladdin and Jasmine's trust toward Iago gets suddenly inflated once he's with the good guys ("what did you want to tell us, Iago?") and don't get me started on Iago being cuddled by Jasmine (and smiling!). I think the film depressed me as a kid and it did it so much I ended up noticing the flawed animation hidden behind the crappy VHS pixels.To make a long story short, I recorded over the film shortly after... and I didn't see the original for almost ten years. Talk about ruining a legacy.
So to sum it up, I didn't like it the first time. Then I became a movie buff and read that it was made directly for video with deliberately cheap animation as a cash flow thing and a pilot for the TV series, a series I watched only because I had the biggest crush on Jasmine. Still knowing that didn't improve the experience. Even as a pilot, it's not that good... and the whole thing with Arabs throwing knives at any disturbance is getting pretty tiresome too.
But to end on a positive note, here are three not so redeeming qualities: it's still better than many direct-to-video sequels made years laters, Jasmine is still extremely beautiful despite a not so flattering animation (and boy, do I hate that jaw-awkward smile from Aladdin!) and the villain is quite good... a pity they had to kill him off and prevent the series from what could have been a great antagonist... and here's how you conclude a film with a spoiler!
Obviously "Return of Jafar" was an attempt to capitalize on the first opus' popularity and Disney's instinct didn't fail as it was one of the most profitable Made-to-Video projects. And how could it fail anyway? "Aladdin" was immensely popular for its mesmerizing animation, Robin Williams' performance as the Genie and its memorable songs. So any sequel was an offer no fan would refuse. Even my brother and I "yaayed" like Flanders' kids when we got the film.
Needless to say that the feeling didn't last. Immediately I felt something odd in the sight of Iago smiling in the poster. Wasn't he the villain's sidekick? They couldn't even make the poster right as it spoils what should have been an interesting twist. Then the beginning had Aladdin in his "street-rat" outfit again fighting a bunch of thieves whose leader plays like an Oriental version of Smee. Not sure I liked it, not sure I even cheered for Al when he victoriously threw the golden coins to beggars.
Indeed, I don't mind deja-vu in sequels but this one was played for sensations that don't belong to either the comedy or thrills department: why should I be glad to see the hero acting like a hero? It was like a carbon copy of Aladdin without the coolness and complexity, and the first sign that characterization wouldn't be the film's strongest suit. That they managed to make Jasmine annoying was one thing but to make Aladdin boring was the straw that broke the camel's back (no pun intended).
Now, the plot. Iago manages to get himself off the lamp while Jafar lands on the hands of Abis Mal, the Iago part is rather problematic while Jafar deserves a more positive paragraph. But yes it's Iago who, of all the characters, is given a spotlight. Gilbert Gottfried's voice makes the dentist's drill sound like a lullaby and the bird just has the sidekick label all over his feathers so I guess the only reason to give him the benefit of the doubt is because... who else?
What could Aladdin possibly do? Abu can't talk because he's an animal (Disney logic). Neither does the carpet. The only left option is the Genie, but let' face it, after the first film, we get rapidly tired of the old "look-how-funny-and-unpredictable-I-am" shtick; yes, he's fun and can make many impersonations, but what can you say when even his friends can't stand him (I didn't even know at that time about the voices replacements, I saw the French version). Anyway, for some reason, seeing Genie trapped in that globe didn't bother me much.
So it all comes down the film being saved by the villains... and I liked Jafar, I liked him a lot, he was his usual suave self but his eagerness to be set free by his dumb witted master was fun to a limit... his plan doesn't make much sense once you think about it, making Abis Mal rich and asking to be free would have made him the evil counterpart of Genie. Instead, he just toys with his master's wishes and tricks Aladdin with the help of Iago, because a Genie can't kill... but "you'd be surprised what you can live through" (pretty cool arc quote actually).
Now does the returning character save the film? Yes and no. The ending is well done and intense at parts but the whole set-up suffers from the weak characterization of Aladdin and Jasmine. It takes forever for Aladdin to tell that he trusts Iago simply because the film falls in the Idiot plot as he never mentions that Iago saved his life. And Jasmine, such a drama queen! She burst into tears like a high-school girl without a boy for the prom because Aladdin lies to her again. Since when was it such a hot topic? And he had every reason to hide it in the first film, so gimme a break!
The emotional outcome is depressingly flat, and there's no continuity in terms of personalities! we have that dreadfully cliché "say nothing" with the index put on the mouth, the way Aladdin and Jasmine's trust toward Iago gets suddenly inflated once he's with the good guys ("what did you want to tell us, Iago?") and don't get me started on Iago being cuddled by Jasmine (and smiling!). I think the film depressed me as a kid and it did it so much I ended up noticing the flawed animation hidden behind the crappy VHS pixels.To make a long story short, I recorded over the film shortly after... and I didn't see the original for almost ten years. Talk about ruining a legacy.
So to sum it up, I didn't like it the first time. Then I became a movie buff and read that it was made directly for video with deliberately cheap animation as a cash flow thing and a pilot for the TV series, a series I watched only because I had the biggest crush on Jasmine. Still knowing that didn't improve the experience. Even as a pilot, it's not that good... and the whole thing with Arabs throwing knives at any disturbance is getting pretty tiresome too.
But to end on a positive note, here are three not so redeeming qualities: it's still better than many direct-to-video sequels made years laters, Jasmine is still extremely beautiful despite a not so flattering animation (and boy, do I hate that jaw-awkward smile from Aladdin!) and the villain is quite good... a pity they had to kill him off and prevent the series from what could have been a great antagonist... and here's how you conclude a film with a spoiler!