Aladdin and the King of Thieves (August 13, 1996)

This is the second and final sequel to Aladdin and it serves as the final to the animated tv show. It features the welcome return of Robin Williams voicing the Genie. The story is Aladdin and Jasmine are about to be wed when the forty thieves crash the wedding looking for a mystical Oracle that is said to see into the future. Aladdin eventually finds out that the leader of these thieves is his father. This time around the film features completely new music, as opposed to The Return of Jafar which had rearrange songs. Though again, like Return of Jafar, the film is direct to video so the animation quality is lackluster (it does seem better than the previous film, however) I enjoy the wedding aspect with all its pageantry and Aladdin’s understandable nervousness about officially becoming the future Sultan and Jasmine’s husband. The plotline with Aladdin’s father, Cassim, however, seems to undermine Aladdin’s backstory. I think it was better when he was a literal orphan, not the son of a deadbeat dad. It does introduce an interesting existential question for Aladdin as sung during, “Out of Thin Air” Once he finds out his father is not trapped by the thieves but in fact one of then he questions what his place in the world is. Is his attempt at being more than a thief a doomed fantasy? Is he even fit to be king with a lineage such as this? Now it’s pretty simple to see that the son should not be responsible for the sins of the father and Aladdin has become more a man than his father ever was (his father does turn over a new leaf by the end of the film, however). Cassim, at heart, is not a bad guy. He tells Aladdin that he turned to a life of thievery in order to support his family and give them the life he thought they deserved. He and his son are more alike than they think but are different where it counts. He is a pretty awesome character, though., and develops a touching relationship with Aladdin. Moving on, Jasmine has regained more of her spin though she does not play a prominent role in this movie as she waits for Aladdin to return from visiting his father. Iago has reverted to his treasuring loving conniving ways as he joins with Cassim to find the Oracle. Genie is a welcome addition to the cast and, with Robin Williams return, he is back to top form. Overall, Aladdin: King of Thieves is fairly enjoyable and is the better of the two sequels. It is a fun ending to the world of Aladdin and worth watching as a matinee.

Final Rating: 5.5/10