After the immense success The Return of Jafar had on home video, it seemed more logical to keep funneling out these Disney Sequels out at an unquestionable rate, or as long as the film had popularity. At this point, in 1996, despite being overshadowed by The Lion King in terms of grosses, Aladdin was still the most successful franchise Disney had to market. With a hit TV show set to end, Disney moved ahead with plans to release a third and final chapter in the saga. It didn't receive much attention or garner many pre-orders...that is, until Disney announced Robin Williams was returning. Despite the returning presence of Robin, he is only a footnote in what today remains the only non canon Disney Sequel you will ever here me say "YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS!" Aladdin and the King of Thieves represents a last gasp of breath from the new Disney Studios in terms of quality of story, dialogue, character, music, and animation. Every film from Pooh's Grand Adventure forward would be directly compared to this film. It is one of the top ten best sellers on home video for all time, and is a high quality film. Though it still fails when in comparison to the original, this is one of the few that can actually pose even a minute threat to the original film.
PLOT: Agrabah is brimming with excitement over the upcoming wedding of Aladdin and Jasmine. Despite most of the city praising the couples marriage, Aladdin begins to doubt his ability to lead and be a father in the future. He reveals his tragic past of orphanage to Genie, wishing his father would be around to see it. Just before the wedding begins, the legendary group of thieves known as The Forty Thieves raid the wedding in search of an Oracle. Aladdin, Genie, Jasmine, and the others fend off the thieves, who are forced to retreat when the King of Thieves fails to recover the Oracle, which could reveal the location of an ultimate treasure.
The Oracle reveals to Aladdin that his father is not only alive, but trapped within the world of the Forty Thieves. Aladdin sets out to find him, ultimately learning that his father Cassim (John Rhys Davies) is the King of Thieves. Aladdin is challenged by one of the thieves, Saluk (Jerry Orbach), who intends to undermine everyone's faith in Cassim by killing his son. Aladdin manages to survive and Saluk is sent supposedly to his death.
Iago convinces Cassim to return to Agrabah under the false pretenses of being there for Aladdin's wedding, but really to acquire the Oracle. Saluk, who survived his duel, approaches Razoul and sells out almost all of his former allies in order to get Cassim caught. But Razoul catches Cassim stealing the Oracle and reveals his true identity to the Sultan, who locks him in the dungeon. Aladdin disguises himself as his father in order to free him and distract the guards, but is revealed in the process. Though Aladdin escapes, he refuses to leave Jasmine at the altar again. Father and Son part ways, but Saluk and the remaining thieves capture Cassim and force him to bring them to find the Ultimate Treasure. Aladdin and the gang must prevent this treasure from getting into the wrong hands and save Cassim from both the Thieves and himself.
What's Bad?: The only flaws in the movie are when you compare it to the original Aladdin, in which you see several big mistakes. Saluk, for example, is a good villain, but not nearly as good as Jafar. And while the Genie's humor in the original film is more geared towards older adults, the Genie's humor in this film is mostly geared towards kids.
What's Good?: Everything else about the film works well. I always love when a film focuses on a relationship that is different from the original film. While the original film focuses on a love story, this is much more of a Father-Son story. Aladdin and Cassim do butt heads, but it only further shows the respect and love they have for each other.
The songs are pretty catchy too. While none of them are household names, they are pretty good. My personal favorite is "Out of Thin Air", the main song between Aladdin and Jasmine.
But c'mon guys, the only reason this movie is as good as it is is because of one man, Robin Williams. With his warm welcome back to the franchise, Williams gives the Genie something both the Return of Jafar and series incarnations failed to, actual serious laughs. I love Dan Castellaneta and all, but Williams IS the Genie.
Overall: The film is fairly good on it's own. The only direct to home video film worth getting, this film is a sheer delight from start to its Arabian Nights finale. If not for the tragic story of Father and Son, Robin Williams more than welcomed return makes for a very solid film and a definite worth it
Report Card
Hero: 95
Heroine: 90
Villain: 85
Side Characters: 95
Songs: 85
Score: 85
Animation: 85
Themes: 90
Story: 90
Does it Hold up?: Not Really
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