THE ALADDIN TRILOGY
“Aladdin: The Return of Jafar”
(G)
MOVIE: **1/2 (out of 5)
DVD EXPERIENCE: ** (out of 5)
STARRING
Scott Weinger as ALADDIN
Dan Castellaneta as GENIE
Linda Larkin as PRINCESS JASMINE
Jonathan Freeman as JAFAR
Frank Welker as ABU
Gilbert Gottfried as IAGO
Directed by: Toby Shelton, Tad Stones and Alan Zaslove
“Aladdin and the King of Thieves”
(not rated)
MOVIE: ***1/2 (out of 5)
DVD EXPERIENCE: ** (out of 5)
STARRING
Scott Weinger as ALADDIN
Robin Williams as GENIE
Linda Larkin as PRINCESS JASMINE
John Rhys-Davies as CASSIM
Gilbert Gottfried as IAGO
Directed by: Tad Stones
BY KEVIN CARR
Here is the final resting place of one of Disney’s classic characters – direct-to-video sequels. While I’ve found some of these DVD sequels to be decent (like the ones to “The Lion King”), many of them just don’t have much magic in their frames.
This review is technically for the Aladdin Trilogy, but I’m only covering the last two films. I spent plenty of time gushing over the original “Aladdin” when it was released on DVD last year. Plus, the original “Aladdin” was so good, it couldn’t be anything more than a step down to hit these sequels.
Somehow, these sequels just don’t look as good as the original. Sure, the feature film had a far bigger budget, but these cartoon follow-ups don’t have the expense of character development and background research. The sequels to “Aladdin” just don’t live up to the high standards set by Disney feature animation back in the 1990s.
“The Return of Jafar” is easily the weakest of the two. The biggest reason for this is because Robin Williams bailed from the project after “Aladdin” became a hit (due to contract violations, according to the trivia on IMDb). To replace him is Dan Castellaneta. While I love this guy as Homer Simpson, and I admit he does a decent impression of Williams’ Genie, the magic is gone. Castellaneta tries to do the same kind of jokes, but they just don’t work. They try too hard with no solid results.
This isn’t a slam at Castellaneta. It’s just that Robin Williams is impossible to duplicate. And he had such influence on the development of the Genie character and his lines that it is impossible to really use the character without him. Of course, Castellaneta has logged more hours as Genie than Williams ever has because Castellaneta voices him for the television series. And this, in my estimation, is why the television series doesn’t really work.
Robin Williams returned to be Genie again in “Aladdin and the King of Thieves,” and it is this major aspect that makes the second sequel superior to the first. We’re still given a substandard plot and have to watch substandard animation, but at least things got a little better.
The other big problem with “The Return of Jafar” is that the story never quite gels with a soft return of a classic villain. This isn’t a big surprise, considering that no fewer than eight people are credited with the writing of this movie. At least “Aladdin and the King of Thieves” only had two writers to deal with. It allowed Aladdin to search – and find – his long, lost father as well as provide an action-filled chase to find the Hand of Midas.
The DVDs have scant features, with a couple games on each disc. The second film contains a featurette of the voices behind the characters, and both discs have a song selection feature.
I do forgive many of the problems in these movies because they were made when direct-to-video sequels were in their infancy. Nowadays, they’re planning sequels almost as soon as movies are released. And with the addition of “Bambi II” coming later this year, the Disney company is proving that there is no sacred cows for new DVD releases.
At least now they are putting some pride into their work.
Aladdin fans will enjoy these films, but it’s best to know when you rent or buy that they don’t really hold a candle to the original. But in the DVD player, they should keep your kids quiet for 70 or 80 minutes.
Specifications: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. Fullscreen (1.33:1). French and Spanish language tracks. English language subtitles for the hearing impaired.