Aladdin and the King of Thieves

Aladdin and the King of Thieves is a 1996 animated film that is the second direct-to-video sequel to the Disney animated feature Aladdin. Aladdin and the King of Thieves serves as the final chapter of the Arabian Nights-inspired Disney stories that began with the theatrical feature Aladdin (1992) and continued with its first direct-to-video sequel The Return of Jafar (1994) and the Aladdin animated TV series (1994–1995).

The film is inspired by the tale Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves from the 1001 Arabian Nights, replacing Ali Baba with Aladdin, and for the first time since the original Aladdin, the film has a completely new soundtrack instead of the rearranged music from the original film for The Return of Jafar and the TV series.

Though the film serves as the finale of the series, the characters would later return in a crossover episode of the animated series Hercules, titled "Hercules and the Arabian Night."

Plot
As people from near and far are arriving in Agrabah it's revealed that they have come to celebrate a magnificent celebration; The wedding of Aladdin and Princess Jasmine. Everyone is getting ready for the big event and they all express their excitement to the occasion, but the Sultan discovers that the groom is no where to be found. Aladdin is revealed to at his old hovel and recovers a dagger, his only memento of his lost father, who had died when Aladdin had been a small child. Aladdin reveals to Genie that he is worried as to what kind of father he will be in the future since his father was never around, but Genie reassures him and they head to the palace for the wedding. Meanwhile, unknown to the guests or guards, the legendary Forty Thieves and their leader the King of Thieves, have sneaked into the Agrabah to raid the wedding, while at the same time to steal a particular piece of treasure. The ceremony begins and it starts off beautifully, as Aladdin and Jasmine are about to say their vows to each other, the ceremony is interrupted by the Forty Thieves who start to steal treasures from all the guests. While Jasmine, Abu, Carpet and Genie fight out the thieves, Aladdin faces off against the King of Thieves who is trying to steal a particular wedding gift from Aladdin and Jasmine; a specter.

The Forty Thieves, and their leader soon escape without the staff. Aladdin, Jasmine and company soon discover that this is no ordinary specter, inside it contains a powerful oracle. They discover the Oracle, who has the power to answer a single question about absolutely anything to any individual. When Iago accidentally asks her why the thieves want the staff so badly, she says that they were looking for the "ultimate treasure". Learning of the Oracle's power, Aladdin becomes curious about his past. She hints to him that those questions can be answered by his father, who is still alive, much to Aladdin's shock. Later on, Aladdin is at his hovel reflecting over the recent news that his father is still alive and is wondering if he should even consider learning or knowing him as he left Aladdin as a child. However, after some encouragement from Jasmine, Aladdin decides he does want to know about his father and asks the oracle about his whereabouts; the oracle reveals that his father is with the Forty Thieves, "trapped within their world".

Aladdin, along with Abu, Iago and Carpet, tracks them down and stows away into their hideout, Mount Sesame, where he discovers, to his shock, that his father is Cassim, leader and King of the Forty Thieves. Though Aladdin shares a brief, heartfelt reunion with Cassim, Sa'luk (Jerry Orbach), Cassim's subordinate tries to punish Aladdin for entering the hideout. Cassim, however, slyly suggests that Aladdin instead face "the Challenge"—an initiation ritual—where he must defeat another one of the Forty Thieves and take his place. Sa'luk fights Aladdin, but the latter just barely manages to prevail by throwing his opponent off a cliff into the sea. He is welcomed into the band, and Cassim reveals to Aladdin why he had left his wife and son: to find the Hand of Midas, a powerful artifact that can transform anything it touches into gold. Cassim believed that, with the Hand, he could return to his family and give them the life they deserved instead of one living out in the streets, and had instigated the raid so he could capture the oracle's staff and question the seer as to the precise whereabouts of the artifact. Aladdin convinces Cassim to return with him to Agrabah to live an honest life. Initially reluctant, Cassim eventually agrees when Iago inadvertently reveals that Aladdin's wedding may be his final chance to get the Oracle.

For a while, Cassim is happy to spend quality time with his son. Cassim meets with Genie, Jasmine and the Sultan, and they immediately take a liking to Aladdin's father. Cassim decides to carry on his original scheme with Iago as his new henchman. Meanwhile, Sa'luk makes his way to Agrabah. He reveals himself to Razoul and sells out his fellow thieves by telling Razoul the password to their hideout in exchange for immunity from prosecution. After thirty-one of the thieves are captured, Sa'luk tells them that Aladdin is one of the forty, and his father Cassim is the King himself. While attempting to steal the Oracle from the palace treasure chamber, Cassim and Iago are captured by the royal guards and Razoul reveals to the Sultan that Cassim is the King of Thieves. The Sultan has Razoul detain Cassim and Iago in the dungeon for life. Aladdin frees Cassim, but is discovered by Razoul. Despite being a criminal, Aladdin returns to the palace to take responsibility for his actions. The Sultan prepares to punish Aladdin, but Genie and Jasmine come to his defense, stating that all he wanted was to give his father a second chance. The Sultan accepts his apology, much to Razoul's dismay.

With the oracle in hand, Cassim and Iago return to Mount Sesame, only to be captured by Sa'luk and the remaining seven thieves. Cassim is forced to use the stolen oracle in order to find the location of the Hand of Midas and then lead his men there. The Oracle directs them to The Vanishing Isle, a great marble fortress built on the back of a gigantic undersea turtle that periodically dives to the bottom of the ocean, where the Hand is hidden. Iago flees from the group, and goes off to lead Aladdin and Jasmine, Abu and Carpet to his imprisoned father. Aladdin manages to free and reconcile with his father. Working together, they retrieve the Hand just as the turtle is beginning to submerge, when they are attacked by Sa'luk. While trying to flee from the flood Sa'luk takes Aladdin hostage, demanding that Cassim surrender the Hand. Cassim throws the Hand of Midas to Sa'luk, but Sa'luk turns into a gold statue after grabbing the Hand and Cassim and Aladdin flee. Realizing that his obsession with the Hand can cause destruction and his son is actually his ultimate treasure, Cassim throws the Hand. It lands on the ship with the remaining thieves aboard, turning it into gold and sinking it. Everyone goes back to Agrabah where Aladdin and Jasmine finally get married, with Cassim attending in the shadows, as he is still wanted for his crimes. Also among the guests are several cameos from characters from the TV series. Iago decides to join Cassim as a traveling companion, and they both go off once again to see the world.

Cast

 * Scott Weinger as Aladdin (Brad Kane singing)
 * Robin Williams as Genie
 * John Rhys-Davies as Cassim
 * Linda Larkin as Princess Jasmine (Liz Callaway singing)
 * Gilbert Gottfried as Iago
 * Jerry Orbach as Sa'luk
 * Frank Welker as Abu and Rajah
 * Val Bettin as Sultan
 * C. C. H. Pounder as The Oracle
 * Jim Cummings as Razoul
 * Robin Williams as The Narrator, the mysterious merchant who appears at the beginning of the first film. His singing voice is supplied by Bruce Adler.

Production
Following the success of The Return of Jafar, in January 1995, Disney announced that a third Aladdin feature was in production, and later in June, it was scheduled for a home video release in 1996. In September 1995, it was confirmed that Robin Williams will reprise the role of the Genie reportedly for a $1 million salary after he received an apology from Joe Roth for Disney breaching an agreement not to use his voice to merchandise products inspired by Aladdin. With Williams on board, all recordings and animation footage of Dan Castellaneta as the Genie was scrapped, and all of the Genie's scenes were rewritten to fit Williams's comic style.

Release
Upon its release, Aladdin and the King of Thieves was accompanied by a marketing campaign at more than $70 million with commercial tie-ins with McDonald's and General Mills.

Home video
At the time of its release, King of Thieves was reportedly outselling The Return of Jafar, but Disney declined to disclose actual sales figures for the release. In 1997, The Wall Street Journal reported that it sold over 10 million units, and generated at least $130 million in revenue. In January 2005, the film was re-released as a Special Edition DVD, with digitally restored picture, remastered sound, two additional games, and a behind-the-scenes bonus feature. However, the film was matted into a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen ratio (an aspect ratio Disney has rarely used for animation). The DVD went back into the Disney Vault along with the other two films in the series in January 2008.

Reception
Based on 11 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, the film received 27% approval rating from critics, with an average score of 4.8/10. Caryn James of The New York Times praised the sequel as "far better than The Return of Jafar", but acknowledged that "the video has some other weak spots, but these hardly matter when Aladdin and the King of Thieves is so brimming with comic invention and adventure."

Soundtrack

 * "There's a Party Here in Agrabah": Sung mostly by Genie, and partly by Iago, some of the Forty Thieves, Aladdin, and Jasmine. There is a brief pause in the song in which Aladdin takes out his father's dagger. It tells about what Genie does during the beginning of the wedding, complete with his trademark sight gags.


 * "Out of Thin Air": Sung by Aladdin and Jasmine. Aladdin reminisces about his childhood and Jasmine urges him to find his father, saying their wedding can wait until he returns.


 * "Welcome to the Forty Thieves": Sung by the Forty Thieves after the defeat of Sa'luk and Aladdin's acceptance into the team.


 * "Father and Son": Sung mostly by Genie after Cassim arrives at the palace in Agrabah and Genie says how Aladdin and Cassim are together again.


 * "Are You In or Out?": Sung by Sa'luk and those who remained of the Forty Thieves, where Sa'luk turned them against Cassim. During the song, the Forty Thieves make several attempts to kill Sa'luk, but he easily defeats them even when they gang up on him in groups.


 * "Arabian Nights Reprise": Sung by the peddler seen in the beginning of Aladdin. It was originally meant for the first movie.

Adaptation
Two comic adaptations of the movie were on sale September 1996.
 * The first was in Marvel Comics Disney Comic Hits #13.
 * The second was in Disney Adventures Volume 6 #12.