Aladdin: The Return of Jafar
Year: 1994
Directed by: Toby Shelton, Tad Stones & Alan Zaslove
Starring: Gilbert Gottfried, Linda Larkin & Scott Weigner
Runtime: 69 mins
BBFC: U
Published: 24/01/22
Directed by: Toby Shelton, Tad Stones & Alan Zaslove
Starring: Gilbert Gottfried, Linda Larkin & Scott Weigner
Runtime: 69 mins
BBFC: U
Published: 24/01/22
From the early 1990’s until the mid 2010’s, Disney made an attempt at trying to squeeze as much out of its Disney Animated Classics line as possible without actually having to go through the effort of financing a full theatrical release. The results of which often led to series airing on the Disney Channel, but occasionally a property would be ‘blessed’ with a straight to VHS/DVD sequel. The first of these was 1994’s Return of Jafar, sequel to 1992’s Aladdin, and the finale to the first season of the Aladdin Disney Channel series. I won’t lie to you, it’s rough.
One year after the events of the first film, Aladdin (Scott Weigner) is about to be given a great honour by the Sultan (Val Bettin) for his role in rescuing Princess Jasmine (Linda Larkin) and saving Agrabah from the nefarious Jafar (Jonathan Freeman) and his pet macaw Iago (Gilbert Gottfried).
However, when Iago escapes from the lamp he and Jafar were imprisoned in, he sets out to get his own back on Aladdin. Meanwhile Abis Mal (Jason Alexander), a local criminal, discovers Jafar’s lamp and gains him as his Genie. With both Jafar and Iago let loose, Aladdin must once again rise to the challenge to save Agrabah.
One year after the events of the first film, Aladdin (Scott Weigner) is about to be given a great honour by the Sultan (Val Bettin) for his role in rescuing Princess Jasmine (Linda Larkin) and saving Agrabah from the nefarious Jafar (Jonathan Freeman) and his pet macaw Iago (Gilbert Gottfried).
However, when Iago escapes from the lamp he and Jafar were imprisoned in, he sets out to get his own back on Aladdin. Meanwhile Abis Mal (Jason Alexander), a local criminal, discovers Jafar’s lamp and gains him as his Genie. With both Jafar and Iago let loose, Aladdin must once again rise to the challenge to save Agrabah.
I cannot even begin to describe how much of a downgrade Return of Jafar is from 1992’s Aladdin. I mean to be fair to the film, it’s a straight to VHS film with a budget of five-million dollars, compared to Aladdin’s twenty-eight million. However, when compared to other five-million-dollar films, Return of Jafar is still very underwhelming.
Even just in relation to the story, there are so many plot holes and inconsistencies that it becomes impossible to be invested in the story. First of all, it takes place roughly a year after the first film, but Aladdin has yet to be recognised for his heroism by the Sultan until now. Plus, he’s still living on the streets thieving for a living, despite dating Jasmine and seemingly having a place to stay in the palace. Then we have the issue of Iago somehow breaking out of a magical lamp, despite the fact that they’re supposed to be totally impenetrable as established by the first film’s lore. There’s countless other problems, and I’d be here all day if I were to list them all, but when the film can’t play by its own rules what’s the point in even sticking it out till the credits roll?
The animation quality is comparable to that of the TV show, so safe to say it’s very rough looking. The colours are flat, the character models move very stiffly, and the environments lack detail. For a children’s TV series this is somewhat acceptable as a low budget must be shared across multiple episodes, but for a straight to VHS film with its own budget this is just awful.
Most of the voice cast return from the film, but all of them seem to have completely forgotten how to deliver the most basic of dialogue in a way that’s halfway convincing. Larkin’s is by far the worst offender as Jasmine as she often sounds like she’s intentionally delivering lines the wrong way, sounding happy when she should be angry, and nonchalant when she should be shocked or surprised. Robin Williams famously didn’t return for this project due to his feud with Disney, and so Dan Castanella (better known to the world as Homer Simpson) takes his place. Unfortunately, Castanella spends so much time trying to do his best Robin Williams impression that he never gets to do anything fun with the character. I do expect that was at the request of Disney and not Castanella just wanting to try out his impersonation skills, but that doesn’t make it any less sad that Genie has been reduced to this.
Even just in relation to the story, there are so many plot holes and inconsistencies that it becomes impossible to be invested in the story. First of all, it takes place roughly a year after the first film, but Aladdin has yet to be recognised for his heroism by the Sultan until now. Plus, he’s still living on the streets thieving for a living, despite dating Jasmine and seemingly having a place to stay in the palace. Then we have the issue of Iago somehow breaking out of a magical lamp, despite the fact that they’re supposed to be totally impenetrable as established by the first film’s lore. There’s countless other problems, and I’d be here all day if I were to list them all, but when the film can’t play by its own rules what’s the point in even sticking it out till the credits roll?
The animation quality is comparable to that of the TV show, so safe to say it’s very rough looking. The colours are flat, the character models move very stiffly, and the environments lack detail. For a children’s TV series this is somewhat acceptable as a low budget must be shared across multiple episodes, but for a straight to VHS film with its own budget this is just awful.
Most of the voice cast return from the film, but all of them seem to have completely forgotten how to deliver the most basic of dialogue in a way that’s halfway convincing. Larkin’s is by far the worst offender as Jasmine as she often sounds like she’s intentionally delivering lines the wrong way, sounding happy when she should be angry, and nonchalant when she should be shocked or surprised. Robin Williams famously didn’t return for this project due to his feud with Disney, and so Dan Castanella (better known to the world as Homer Simpson) takes his place. Unfortunately, Castanella spends so much time trying to do his best Robin Williams impression that he never gets to do anything fun with the character. I do expect that was at the request of Disney and not Castanella just wanting to try out his impersonation skills, but that doesn’t make it any less sad that Genie has been reduced to this.
Return of Jafar does have its own musical numbers, but almost all of them are duds. The only one that’s worth mentioning is ‘Forget About Love’, a duet between Iago and Jasmine. I’ll give Disney props for trying to retain the musical aspect to Aladdin in Return of Jafar, but considering once the credits rolled, I could only really remember one song, so it’s worth wondering whether there was any point in keeping it a musical.
This combined with the shoddy voice acting and low-quality animation means that Return of Jafar an all-round failure in its presentation.
Whilst I have to remind myself that Return of Jafar is a straight to VHS film, I am also reminded that for its budget so much more could have been achieved. Return of Jafar is nothing but a lazy cash in on the success of Aladdin. With so many plot holes, an awful performance from the whole voice cast, and some horrendously low budget animation, Return of Jafar should be avoided at all costs. Not a great start to Disney’s line of home video sequels.
This combined with the shoddy voice acting and low-quality animation means that Return of Jafar an all-round failure in its presentation.
Whilst I have to remind myself that Return of Jafar is a straight to VHS film, I am also reminded that for its budget so much more could have been achieved. Return of Jafar is nothing but a lazy cash in on the success of Aladdin. With so many plot holes, an awful performance from the whole voice cast, and some horrendously low budget animation, Return of Jafar should be avoided at all costs. Not a great start to Disney’s line of home video sequels.