Aladdin- One of the Best Trilogies Ever?

[Donald Duck 12]

I just watched King of Theives last night and I forgot how much quality the movies had. Does anyone else feel Aladinn is to go down as one of the greatest action trilogies ever?

[Wesyeed]

I...sorta...kinda...didn't....favor the last movie as much as you... I felt Aladdin's mother should have...well.. made a comeback from the cutting room floor of the first film, but that aside. It was a great set of movies.

[TimTwoFace]

Best trilogy ever, or one of them? No way.

The first movie was excellent, the second movie was a joke (though a decent set-up for a good TV series, I suppose), and the third movie was pretty decent. As far as DTVs go, it was good - ALADDIN was one of the few Disney properties that could realistically and tastefully lend itself to many sequels and storylines beyond the initial movie.

If RETURN OF JAFAR wasn't so bland then maybe I'd have a higher opinion of the series overall - but the bookends are worthy quality movies.

-Tim

[Harley Quinn]

Sorry dude. It's no where NEAR Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Back to the Future...etc.

[Dark Fact]

Had Robin Williams stayed as the Genie for ROJ and the TV series, I may agree...

[Chris Wood]

I'll let you know when I get done with my reviews for the sequel DVDs. So far it isn't looking too pretty.

[Peter Paltridge]

I liked Return of Jafar and was disappointed with King of Thieves. Jafar was back, could do anything to the heroes that he felt like, and was more powerful than Genie. The only reason the heroes won at all was because Iago switched sides and Jafar didn't see it coming(and even THAT almost didn't work). Jafar was a villain's villain.

In King of Thieves nothing nearly as exciting happened. Al meets his father and battles a guy with claw knuckles--oo wow. And they even used the Forty Thieves when they could have come up with something original. Based on the direction of Return of Jafar and the series, I wanted a true kaboom of a climax:

THE REAL THIRD ALADDIN MOVIE
Starting out normally, we see Aladdin and Jasmine about to marry on their wedding day when suddenly the palace is robbed--not by a bunch of thieves, but by what appears to be Genie! The Sultan is kidnapped in the process, and completely disappears!
The country is completely broke and leaderless, and it turns out the rules say that neither Aladdin nor Jasmine can rule Agrabah because they're still too young, so the throne will go to none other than....RASOUL! Finally, Rasoul's hatred for Aladdin can be sated...he accuses him of working with the Genie to ruin the country and gain power early. Genie still insists he's innocent and never went near the treasure room, but with no proof to prove otherwise, Aladdin is banished from Agrabah forever. Refusing to leave his side, Jasmine runs away with him(as well as everybody else).
They can't believe it's all over, but it's about to get worse. They then meet Sadira who explains that they're going to need her help...she's heard some pretty bad things are going down in the underworld, things that could ultimately lead to the release of the most powerful, dangerous sorcerer in all the Seven Deserts....and Rasoul gaining power was the final big step! And as might be expected, Mirage and Mozenrath are involved in it too (but not Abis-Mal and Mekanicles, Mek was impaled by one of his own robots well before the start of the movie and Abis-Mal was zapped by Fasir to the 20th century where he got a job as George on Seinfeld and the voice of Duckman. Plus, every character with a stupid name has wizened up and changed theirs...Prince Uncouthma has changed his name to Prince Valkanyan and he no longer slips the words "heart muscle" into every single blasted thing he has to say.)
Racing against time, and constantly on the run from Rasoul's vigilant army, Aladdin gathers all his friends and even a couple of new ones in preparation for THE MOST GIGANTIC AND CLIMACTIC BATTLE IN ARABIAN HISTORY, putting several LOTR battles to shame. And the final blow that wins is somehow delivered by Abu. :D

I wanted that.

[tucsoncoyote]

I have to say that the Original Movie (with Robin Williams in it was the Classic. Of course then you have to think that Return of Jafar was a bit of 'Last minute idea' Disney Came up with..

Now when the 88 Episodes of the Series (Aladdin: The Series) came out on Disney Afternoon, the Animation still was quality but they had to Change out the voice of the Genie (To that of Dan Castelnella (Better known to us as Homer Simpson) and in fact the stories I have to say were real good.. I think the final Culmination in The Prince of Thieves however left the story "Open" as we see Aladdin's Father and Iago ride off in the Sunset..(oh sure Aladdin does get Jasmine, and they live happily ever after), but because of this openness, they could in theory if they wanted to continue the stories with new ideas..(Given the fact that the Aladdin Fable is based off of just 1 of 1001 stories told by Scherrazade.. After all the Animation was average i feel in my book, yet the stories told were perhaps some of the best that were ever conceived..

so in Essence out of say 88 shows and 3 Feature Films.. maybe 90 of them were enjoyable..(Return of Jafar) being the "odd man out here." Also here's a Little Known fact.. Disney did a Crossover here with Aladdin and another Disney movie that later became a TV Series..and I definitely liked the crossover..) *For 5 extra Points Name the Show that Aladdin Crossed over with...

:coyote:

[Peter Paltridge]

*smashes buzzer* HERCULES!

I've never seen that episode though...and Jafar comes back in it! Woe is I.

[Wesyeed]

I did, It is the BEST Hercules episode I've ever seen besides the one that shows us what happened after the movie. Seeing aladdin again and watching him and Hercules duke it out was a lot of fun, although it was kinda one sided seeing as Hercules could pluck aladdin away with his pinky and knock him uncocious. It was okay though because Herc is dumber than Aladdin. I also can't remember exactly, but I think they drew Al in a new outfit, or vest I should say, in that episode.

Basically Jafar is brought back to life by hades and the two make a bet, I think, about which Hero could beat the other.

[Fone Bone]

I saw the second half of that and thought it was cool. Glad to see it was in-continuity with both series and movies.

I am probably the only person in the world who liked King of Thieves better than the original movie. Robin Williams, (who I hate) wasn't as intrusive here and the movie didn't have any of the lame "lying" subplot that the original did. Add to that nice animation for a DTV, the great idea that despite being reformed Iago is on the run with Aladdin's dad, Jerry Orbach and John Rhys-Davies and you've got a great movie. True, the new songs sucked but at least we got another version of Arabian Nights at the end.

[Metroid_spy]

i saw the first aladdin movie but not those other ones. i don't think there gonna be good. disney sequels aren't always good. but maybe this one will. i dunno. i just have to watch it for myself

[Lehteb]

I just watched King of Theives last night and I forgot how much quality the movies had. Does anyone else feel Aladinn is to go down as one of the greatest action trilogies ever?The original 1992 movie truly brings down the house. But I can do very nicely without either of the sequels. The animation in both are terribly cheap, and this was one of the studio's earliest attempts to defy the "happily ever after" ending from the first movie.

And given how Dan Castellaneta voiced the Genie in The Return of Jafar, don't be surprised if he sounds a little, if not a lot like Homer Simpson!

[Donald Duck 12]

Sorry dude. It's no where NEAR Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Back to the Future...etc.

No where near, that's why I said one of the best. The first movie was one of Disney's finest. Return of Jafar and King of Theives aren't up to it, but are ahead of every other sequal. Some of Genie's humor, songs, and romance got annoying. Still some where entertaining and the action and plots where great. So definetly not as great as the original Star Wars Trilogy or Indy, but a little over the Ninja Turtles.

[SuperStantzio]

I have to agree with everyone else. I like the first movie and that was the best one. As for the Return of Jafar and the King of Thieves, They were okay but not the best as for Disney Sequels go. I think they could've made the Return of Jafar better if theu got Robin Williams to voice the Genie and have a better plotline. I'm pretty much okay with third one.

[Hordesman]

I've gotta say I would've preferred a show about the misadventures of Aladdin's dad and Iago after this movie... maybe with Sedira and Icarus joining 'em...

[90'sCartoonMan]

Seeing aladdin again and watching him and Hercules duke it out was a lot of fun, although it was kinda one sided seeing as Hercules could pluck aladdin away with his pinky and knock him uncocious. It was okay though because Herc is dumber than Aladdin
It's not that one-sided. This was during Hercules' awkward and clumsy years. Aladdin is much more graceful and crafty.

I want to say Aladdin was the best animated trilogy, but I can't think of any other animated trilogies. I will say it's better than the other sequels Disney made (although I've only seen half of them).

Too bad the third movie didn't incorporate the characters/villains from the show. That'd be sweet.

[Conan-san]

And given how Dan Castellaneta voiced the Genie in The Return of Jafar, don't be surprised if he sounds a little, if not a lot like Homer Simpson! Hell, Earthworm Jim sounds a bit like Simpson...

[Classic Speedy]

I actually got used to Dan's Genie more than Robin's Genie, seeing as how Dan voiced him for more total time. Dan gave a different voice but made the role his own. Besides, it's been said that he can do hundreds of impressions, and hearing him for so many years on The Simpsons, I'm inclined to agree.

As for the films- I loved the 1992 original, I was fairly indifferent towards ROJ (though re-watching it recently was interesting, now that I have a better knowledge of the animation studios that the TV series used), and I never saw KOT.

[Hordesman]

I
Too bad the third movie didn't incorporate the characters/villains from the show. That'd be sweet.
Well, the Viking-types were present at the wedding.

[Dudley]

It's the best Disney trilogy ever.

If not the only one...

[Simpler Simon]

The only part of KoT I never got was all of Genie's references to classic comedians. It's been like nearly a decade now and I still have no clue who he's referring to most of the time.

[Johnny Cakes]

I think the original Aladdin was good, but I did not really enjoy the other two. Also, I can't help but hate the Aladdin sequals for being responcible for Disney's mass sequal production of nearly every animated movie they ever made. The only animated movies that I can think of with good sequals are Toy Story and Shrek. Can anyone else think of some?

[raykremer]

The two DTV sequels were more to lead into and cap off the TV series, but in that respect they did their jobs well, and it was a very good TV series.

[Phantasm]

Not the greatest, but I enjoyed it a lot.

[j32885]

Out of all the Disney movies I've seen in the last 15 of my life, Aladdin was the last great Disney movie ever made. Haven't seen what Disney as to Aladdin since the DVD release. Return of Jafar was as good as the movie, but was the pilot to the TV Series. King Of Theives was the best of the 2 DTV movies, and is the ending to TV Series. Overall, Aladdin's Trilogy is way better than Lion King's.

[James_Batista]

No, no, a million times no.

I see Aladdin in a pretty similar way as Jaws or The Exorcist--magnificent first films that spawned sequel after unworthy sequel.

[Chris Wood]

You can check out my reviews for the sequels.

The first film is a classic. Great songs, great characters, great jokes.

Return of Jafar is passable, but you don't really need to see it unless you're a huge Aladdin fan. No Williams = no laughs.

King of Thieves is a lot of fun. Not as good as the first film, but roughly in the same ballpark. In this franchise, the Genie makes the movie.

[FidgitStyles]

Now I thought Return of Jafar was the pilot for the Aladdin Series, which Disney thought at the last minute to sell on video to make money, like with that Buzz Lightyear Movie. Since it would cost a mess load of money to get Robin Williams to play Genie for the series, Disney decided to play it cheap. Plus I doubt Williams had the time to voice the series. They have been doing that with most of the series that were made from Disney movies. Tarzan anyone? Still don't get how Disney couldn't get Wayne Knight for that, but WB got him for Xiaolin Showdown. Anyway, I think the most amazing thing is Disney did some how manage to get Robin Williams to do Genie for their Great Minds Think for Themselves clips from Disney's One Saturday Morning.

[Hordesman]

Since it would cost a mess load of money to get Robin Williams to play Genie for the series, Disney decided to play it cheap. Plus I doubt Williams had the time to voice the series.
There was a salary dispute between Williams and the Disney Company that was resolved in time for the 3rd movie.