Aladdin fends off against Abis Mals clan of bandits, until Iago rescues him. Aladdin hides Iago from the others in the palace. After the Genie returns home, he, Jasmine and the Sultan prepare their special honorable dinner to promote Aladdin as a grand vizier. Rajah chases Iago through the palace and they accidentally ruin the dinner. Though Jasmine and the Sultan mistrust Iago, Aladdin convinces them to respect him. When Abis Mal obtains and uses the lamp, he meets Jafar. Before returning to the city, Jafar grants three wishes for Abis Mal, but he uses the first one. They force Iago to work for them. Aladdin, Iago and the Sultan head through the river, while Jafar imprisons the Genie, Abu and Jasmine. Abis Mal and Jafar kidnap the Sultan, but Aladdin evades them and returns to the palace. Jafar frames Aladdin for the Sultans assumed death, using the guards to prepare for the prisoners execution. However, the repentant Iago releases the Genie, allowing him to save Aladdin and the others. They plan to destroy Jafars lamp which is identified as his soul. While celebrating Aladdins assumed death, Jafar demands Abis Mal to free him from the lamp, but he refuses and uses the second wish to get various treasures. Aladdin tries to steal the lamp from Abis Mal, but Jafar discovers them. He traps Aladdin and the others, turning the palace gardens into a lava filled wasteland. Iago arrives to help them, but is knocked unconscious by Jafar. After Iago kicks the lamp into the pool of lava, it melts away. Aladdin and his friends rescue Iago, and they escape through the closing ledge to safety. With Jafar gone, the palace reverts to normal and Iago is revived. Aladdin refuses to become a vizier, telling his friends that they will see the world. After the credits, Abis Mal realizes he cannot use his third wish. Cast. SongsArabian NightsIm Looking Out for MeNothing in the World Quite Like a FriendForget About LoveYoure Only Second RateProduction. Originally planned to be a television special, Tad Stones suggested that the film should instead be released on home video. Instead of receiving a theatrical release, Steve Feldstein, director of public relations for Disneys 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. Likewise, due to an expanding video market, Disney claimed demand from theatrical and video audiences for more Aladdin and the other characters was another reason for a speedy follow up. 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. 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 franchises 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 2. David Nusair of reelfilm. Notable as the first direct to video Disney sequel, The Return of Jafar follows Aladdin Scott Weinger as he attempts to once again foil Jafars Jonathan Freeman villainous plot to take over Agrabah. And despite the fact that he was freed from his lamp at the end of the first film, the genie now voiced by Dan Castellaneta is back and wackier than ever. Its clear right from the outset that Disney put very little effort into the production of The Return of Jafar, particularly in the realm of animation. The film has all the style and fluidity of a Saturday morning cartoon, while various songs are bland and forgettable. The repetitive storyline doesnt do the movie any favors, and even at a running time of 6. Castellaneta does the best he can with the material, but generally comes up short particularly when compared with Robin Williamss manic performance from the original. The Return of Jafar is a thoroughly needless sequel that may keep small children engaged, but is bound to come off as nothing less than a huge disappointment for fans of the original. Despite the mostly negative reception, on the television program Siskel Ebert, the film received a two thumbs up from Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert. 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 its clear from the first jerky frame that the same time, care, and creativity didnt go into it. Home video. The Return of Jafar was first released on VHS in the United States on May 2. Walt Disney Home Video collection series. In its first two days, it had sold more than 1. VHS copies. 3 By June 1. VHS copies were sold in less than a week. Download Whole How To Train Your Dragon Cartoon. Ultimately, more than ten million copies were sold ranking among the top 1. The trailer for the film was seen on the 1. 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 1. 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 3. U. S., and February 4, 2. U. K. 1. 5The Return of Jafar, along with Aladdin and the King of Thieves was released on Blu rayDVDDigital HD Combo Pack on January 5, 2. Disney Movie Club exclusive in North America. Adaptations. Comic. When Disney was publishing their own comics in the mid 9. 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 Jafars 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 Jafars, but he claims it to be worthless.