The Return of Jafar

The Return of Jafar
VHS release cover
Directed by
Produced by
  • Tad Stones
  • Alan Zaslove
Screenplay by
  • Kevin Campell
  • Mirth Js Colao
  • Bill Motz
  • Steve Roberts
  • Dev Ross
  • Bob Roth
  • Jan Strnad
  • Brian Swenlin
Story by
Starring
Music by Mark Watters
Edited by Robert S. Birchard
Elen Orson
Production
company
Distributed by Walt Disney Home Video
Release date
 May 20, 1994
Running time
 69 minutes
Country United States
Language English

The Return of Jafar (also known as Aladdin 2: The Return of Jafar) is a 1994 American direct-to-video animated musical fantasy adventure film produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. It is the first sequel to the 1992 film Aladdin, and serves as the pilot to the Aladdin animated series. Released on May 20, 1994, it was the first Disney direct-to-video animated film,[1] and marked the first American direct-to-video animated film.[2] Another direct-to-video sequel, Aladdin and the King of Thieves, was released in 1996.

Plot

One year after the events of the first film, Aladdin and Abu have settled in the palace with Princess Jasmine and her father, the Sultan. Still yearning for adventures, Aladdin foils the robbery of a group of criminals led by Abis Mal, stealing their loot and returning it to the people of Agrabah. Meanwhile, in the desert, Iago escapes from Jafar's lamp and refuses to heed Jafar's demands to free him too, instead throwing the lamp into a well and returning to Agrabah, hoping to get close to Aladdin and return to the palace. During a confrontation with Aladdin and Abu, the three are attacked by Abis Mal and his men, and Iago inadvertently saves Aladdin's life. In gratitude, Aladdin keeps Iago on the palace grounds, promising to speak with the Sultan on his behalf.

Abis Mal accidentally finds and takes possession of Jafar after finding his lamp in the well. Hindered by his incompetent master, Jafar manipulates Abis Mal into wasting his first two wishes, and enlists his help in taking revenge on Aladdin in exchange for granting him a special third wish. Abis Mal, still desiring revenge on Aladdin, agrees. At the palace, the Genie returns after seeing the world, having missed his friends greatly, and at the evening banquet the Sultan announces his intention to make Aladdin his new grand vizier. Iago is revealed, however, when Abu and Rajah chase him into the banquet. Aladdin desperately speaks up for Iago and convinces the Sultan to spare him, but Jasmine is left heartbroken that Aladdin did not confide in her. Genie and Iago help them reconcile, and Jasmine agrees to give Iago a chance.

As Iago begins to grow fond of Aladdin, Jafar sneaks into the palace with Abis Mal's help and confronts him, coercing him into helping him take revenge on Aladdin. Iago reluctantly agrees and arranges a trip for Aladdin and Sultan to a waterfall. Jafar captures Genie and Abu and then goes for Sultan, locking them all in the dungeon and framing Aladdin for the Sultan's alleged murder by posing as Jasmine, sentencing him to execution. Iago has a change of heart and frees the Genie, enabling him to save Aladdin in time. Though Agrabah is now under Jafar's control, Aladdin vows to stop him by destroying his lamp, the only way to kill Jafar, while Iago decides to leave altogether.

Aladdin and the group confront Jafar in the treasure room just before Abis Mal can wish him free. In the ensuing fight, Jafar transforms into his Genie form, incapacitates the Genie, shatters Carpet and traps Aladdin in a pool of lava. Iago intervenes and grabs the lamp; he is severely injured by Jafar, but stays conscious long enough to kick the lamp into the lava, destroying it and Jafar once and for all. Aladdin rescues Iago, and they all get to safety as Jafar's magic is undone, restoring Carpet. With Jafar gone, Iago is accepted into the palace, but Aladdin ultimately declines the Sultan's offer to become Vizier, instead opting to see the world with Jasmine, to Iago's chagrin.

A post-credits scene reveals Abis Mal to have survived, albeit stuck in a tree and finally realizing that his third wish will never be granted.

Voice cast

Songs

  • "Arabian Nights"
  • "I'm Looking Out for Me"
  • "Nothing in the World (Quite Like a Friend)"
  • "Forget About Love"
  • "You're Only Second Rate"

Production

Originally planned to be a television special, Tad Stones suggested that the film should instead be released on home video.[3] Instead of receiving a theatrical release, Steve Feldstein, director of public relations for Disney's home video division, stated the decision to release The Return of Jafar on home video was due to time constraints claiming that "to put the film in the theatrical pipeline would have taken up to five years", but releasing it on home video would take "less than two years." In addition to that, Feldstein confirmed that financing was also a consideration since producing a direct-to-video feature would be "less costly to make than Aladdin."[4] Likewise, due to an expanding video market, Disney claimed demand from theatrical and video audiences for Aladdin and other characters was another reason for a speedy follow-up.[5] Due to a well publicized bitter fall-out over the use of his voice in the marketing campaign for Aladdin, Robin Williams refused to reprise the role of the Genie, and was instead replaced by Dan Castellaneta (best known for voicing Homer Simpson).[6] It was also the first Aladdin full-length production without the original voice of Sultan, Douglas Seale. He was replaced by Val Bettin, who reprised his role in the franchise's animated series and Aladdin and the King of Thieves.

Reception

Critical reception has been generally mixed to negative. Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an overall approval rating of 33% based on 12 reviews collected, with a weighted average score of 3.9/10.[7]

David Nusair of reelfilm.com summed up most of the negative feelings that contributed to this rating:

Despite the mostly negative reception, on the television program Siskel & Ebert, the film received a "two thumbs up" from Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert.[9] Writing for Entertainment Weekly, Steve Daly graded the sequel a C- criticizing it as a "knockoff" that "carries the Disney label and costs about as much as a tape of Aladdin, but it's clear from the first jerky frame that the same time, care, and creativity didn't go into it."[10]

Home video

The Return of Jafar was first released on VHS in the United States on May 20, 1994, being the first installment of Walt Disney Home Video collection series.[5] In its first two days, it had sold more than 1.5 million VHS copies.[11] By June 1994, more than 4.6 million VHS copies were sold in less than a week.[4] In the United States, more than ten million copies were sold, ranking among the top 15 top-selling videos of all time (at the time), earning $150 million in profits.[12] The film eventually sold 15 million units and grossed approximately $300 million worldwide.[13]

The trailer for the film was seen on the 1994 VHS videocassette release of The Fox and the Hound. Originally released on VHS that year, The Return of Jafar was later reissued on Special Edition DVD (with "Aladdin:" added to the title) on January 18, 2005, with digitally restored picture and remastered sound. The Special Edition DVD, along with the other two films in the series, were placed on moratorium ("placed back into the Disney Vault") on January 31, 2008 in the U.S., and February 4, 2008 in the U.K.[14] The Return of Jafar, along with Aladdin and the King of Thieves was released on Blu-ray/DVD/Digital HD Combo Pack on January 5, 2016 as a Disney Movie Club exclusive in North America.[15]

Adaptations

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 film.

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.

Video game

The plot of the film is loosely used in Agrabah, one of the worlds in Kingdom Hearts II, and the Peddler appears from the first film. As in the film, Iago escapes from Jafar and does his best to respect Aladdin, Jasmine, Sora, Donald and Goofy, although Jafar coerces him into aiding him in his revenge, almost damaging Iago's friendship with Aladdin and Sora, but he redeems himself after taking a blow for Aladdin which almost claims his life. The Peddler, at the beginning, comes across Jafar's lamp, but sells it to Aladdin, Sora, Donald and Goofy for a rare artifact in the Cave of Wonders. Despite Aladdin sealing the lamp in the palace dungeon, the greedy Peddler breaks into the dungeon and frees Jafar, unleashing his fury on Agrabah until he is defeated by Sora and company. The Peddler's fate is left ambiguous. This was the first Disney sequel to have its plot adapted into a level in the Kingdom Hearts series, which was then followed by the Grid being an adaptation of Tron Legacy, and the Caribbean being one of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.

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. Only striking the lamp has 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 Chain of Memories, 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. The battle is once again visited in Kingdom Hearts Coded and Kingdom Hearts Re:coded.

References

  1. ↑ Breznican, Anthony (2002-02-17). "The Boy Who Never Grew Up Makes Comeback In Disney's 'Peter Pan' Sequel". Retrieved 2014-06-22.
  2. ↑ Martin, Theron (19 March 2014). "Dallos Sub.DVD - Review". Anime News Network. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  3. ↑ Daly, Steve (August 23, 1996). "Wish Fulfillment". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
  4. 1 2 Russell, Candice (June 10, 1994). "Sequel To `Aladdin' Planned". The Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
  5. 1 2 Sinclair, Dawn (May 20, 1994). "Sequel To `Alladin'". Chicago Tribune. The Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
  6. ↑ Fitzpatrick, Ellen (April 5, 1996). "Video: Williams in tow, Disney's third 'Aladdin' sets sail for video stores". The Detroit News. Aladdin Central.org. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
  7. ↑ "The Return of Jafar (Aladdin 2) (1994)". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
  8. ↑ http://www.reelfilm.com/aladdin.htm
  9. ↑ "Maverick / Widows Peak / The Return of Jafar (1994)". Siskel & Ebert.org.
  10. ↑ Daly, Steve (May 20, 1994). "The Return of Jafar Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
  11. ↑ Cerone, Daniel (May 20, 1994). "'Jafar': New Journeys to Profitland? : Videos: Industry experts predict Disney's sequel to 'Aladdin' will wind up among the all-time top sellers". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 9, 2014.
  12. ↑ Cerone, Daniel Howard (September 27, 1995). "Genie Grants Disney's Video Wish : Marketing: Robin Williams will reprise his 'Aladdin' role in 'King of Thieves,' continuing the emergence of direct-to-video projects as an industry gold mine". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
  13. ↑ "Straight-to-video: Straight to the bank". Chicago Tribune. August 4, 2005.
  14. ↑ "Out of Print Disney DVDs". UltimateDisney.com. Retrieved 24 September 2006.
  15. ↑ "Aladdin sequels arrive on Blu-ray, Exclusive to Disney Movie Club members". Hi-Def Ninja. October 14, 2015. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.