Movie Review: Aladdin and the King of Thieves

Stars: 3 out of 5
Pros: Robin Williams, decent story

Cons: Songs, animation, and did I mention the songs?

The Bottom Line:

Robin's fun return

Is not enough to save film

For die hards only

Aladdin and the 40 Thieves

During the 90's, Aladdin was truly a cash franchise for Disney. After the huge success of the original movie, the company made a direct to video sequel (their first) and a TV show. Aladdin and the King of Thieves follows the TV show and wraps up the entire Aladdin story.

I have never seen more then one or two episodes of the TV show, and they are but a distant memory. As a result, I can honestly say that you don't need that background to understand this movie. While it obviously helps to have seen the first two, that's all the background you need.

The big day has finally arrived. The entire kingdom has turned out for Aladdin (Scott Weinger) and Jasmine's (Linda Larkin) wedding. Thanks to the Genie (a returning Robin Williams), it looks to be a spectacular day.

But then tragedy strikes. The 40 Thieves attack the wedding and try to steal just one present. Yes, that's right. But that present turns out to be an oracle that will answer one question. And through that oracle, Aladdin learns that his father is still alive.

What he doesn't realize is that his father, Cassim (John Rhys-Davies), is the leader of the thieves. The family reunion pits Aladdin against Sa'luk (Jerry Orbach) who isn't happy with the way that Cassim has been running the gang. How will Jasmine react to the identity of Aladdin's father? Can Aladdin reform his dad? And how many different Disney movies can Robin Williams reference?

To be honest, I didn't remember especially enjoying this movie. Granted, it's still not something I would rush out and watch, but it was better then I remembered. The big think in its favor is having Robin Williams back as the voice of Genie. Once again, he is hilarious, and his scenes (he's not in as much of the movie as he could have been) are laugh out loud funny. He does quite a few gags referencing other Disney movies, and those were my favorites.

The rest of the cast is fine as well. All the voice talent reprises their roles from the previous movies except Douglas Seale who is replaces by Val Bettin as the Sultan. And yes, that means Gilbert Gottfriend is back as Iago the parrot. John Rhys-Davies and Jerry Orbach are great in their new roles as well.

The story moves along fairly quickly. There's plenty of action and suspense. In fact, the story takes on even more of an epic tone then in the original. And, while Jasmine takes a back seat at times, she shows she can hold her own if the situation calls for it.

The one thing that really sabotages the movie is the songs. There are six of them here. One is slightly catchy and memorable. The rest are almost a pain to sit through. As much as I normally enjoy Disney songs, these could have been left on the cutting room floor with no complaints from me.

The other drawback is the animation. Once again, the movie was done by the television animation department. It's adequate, but it doesn't have the charm and magic that the original feature's did.

Ultimately, Aladdin and the King of Thieves is still only an average follow up to a great film. But fans of the original will enjoy it, and it will keep kids entertained.