9 of 9 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars The only good DTV Disney ever made, July 25, 2002 This review is from: Aladdin and the King of Thieves (Disney Presents) [VHS] (VHS Tape) Cinderella II. Lady and the Tramp II. Lion King II. Pochahontas II. The Hunchback of Notre Dame II. Return of Jafar. The list of direct-to-video stinkers made by Disney seems to be endless. Fortunately, Aladdin and the King of Thieves is the exception.
Released early on before Disney decided to defile it animated classics, Aladdin and the King of Thieves features a solid, new storyline that does not simply rehash the original. Maybe this extra attempt at quality was made to get Robin Williams to reprise one of his coolest roles? After two movies and countless tv episodes, Aladdin and Jasmine are finally getting married. Then the forty thieves show up and trash the wedding, and Aladdin goes on a quest to find his father and a unique treasure with the golden touch. While not targeted to older kids like Disney's Atlantis was, this movie is slightly darker than the two that came before it, which is a good thing. A lot of this comes from the forty thieves, who sing about robbing, plundering, in an endearing kind of way. There is a sword duel conveyed in hellish reds, murky blues, and shadows, and lightning is used to symbolize Aladdin being wounded. And the villain's demise is quite original, not the usual "falling to their death" we've seen over and over. In fact, I daresay Atlantis even borrowed the demise for their film's climax. All in all, it's an entertaining, never-boring, thrill ride, and ties up the saga nicely, with a nod to the street merchant who began this whole thing.
The songs in Aladdin and the King of Thieves are not up the quality of the original, but they are much better than all the other Disney DTV's. The two songs the forty thieves sing are quite hilarious and memorable, the romance song didn't make me cringe at all, and the opening number gets the ball rolling really well. The only semi-clunker is the father and son song, but that wasn't bad either. The animation isn't cinema-quality, but it's also above-average and commendable. My only curiosity with this movie is some of the Genie's jokes. The animators went with whatever ad-libs Robin Williams came up with, and even after six years of watching this movie, I still can't understand most of them, especially the homages to past comedians. This is the only part children won't understand.
Aladdin and the King of Thieves is a high-quality Disney DTV, and as things stand, their ONLY high-quality release ever. Worth picking up on video, or even on the eventual DVD release.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews Was this review helpful to you?5 of 5 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars Recovery from "Return of Jafar", July 9, 2004 This review is from: Aladdin and the King of Thieves (Disney Presents) [VHS] (VHS Tape) "The Return of Jafar" was a big step down from the grand Disney hit "Aladdin." Everything about it - the animation, the acting, and the music - was low-quality. But probably the biggest disappointment was that Robin Williams, the perfect Genie, was gone. It was little more than a long Saturday morning cartoon.
"Aladdin and the King of Thieves," on the other hand, is a surprisingly well-made and entertaining direct-to-video cartoon sequel. Not only did the creators return Robin Williams to do his excellent job as Genie, but they also cast none other than John Rhys-Davies (Indiana Jones, The Lord of the Rings) as Cassim, Aladdin's long-lost father. Their acting is the best part of the film.
While the animation is by no means as good as that of the original "Aladdin," it is fairly well-done, and much better than that of "Return of Jafar." The locales and characters are colorful and original. The songs of the movie are only so-so, but the music is better. The storyline with its plot-turns moves along fairly well and keeps the viewer's interest as Aladdin and company search for Cassim's coveted treasure, the Hand of Midas.
All in all, the Aladdin trilogy is redeemed from the failures of the middle chapter by this surprisingly well-made and entertaining film. Hopefully, the entire trilogy will one day be available on DVD.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews Was this review helpful to you?6 of 8 people found the following review helpful: 3.0 out of 5 stars Final episode brings back good old ALADDIN memories, June 23, 2000 This review is from: Aladdin and the King of Thieves (Disney Presents) [VHS] (VHS Tape) ALADDIN showed viewers an unforgetable world.... THE RETURN OF JAFAR was a trasy disappointment....
And now Aladdin has his final adventures as the trilogy comes to a close in this final episode, ALADDIN AND THE KING OF THIEVES. The best part was by far Robin Williams' return as the great blue Geenie. But another pleasent suprise was a fresh, orginial plot (compared especially to THE RETURN OF JAFAR's reused plot), and entertaining new characters (such as the Forty Thieves).
However, the music is no better than THE RETURN OF JAFAR's. Not even the big fanale song. I wish we hadd Alen Meken and Tim Rice back. Their music for the first ALADDIN film was extrodnary! I'll never forget how they helped Aladdin show his princess a whole new world! The visual effects were a treat, though, and made up for the loss of good music. The Geenie's scenes were extreamly elebrate, and the scenes featuring the Hand of Midis were also nicely done.
It was also nice for Aladdin to find relations, but his father's excuses for not being there for Aladdin when he needed him were extreamly poor. As bad as THE RETURN OF JAFAR was (in my opinion). And if you've seen my review of it, you know how I feel.
To sum everything up, ALADDIN AND THE KING OF THIEVES was a treat, but still not as 100% classic as ALADDIN was. It was enjoyable to find that Disney obviously learned their lesson after the trashy THE RETURN OF JAFAR. (Reccomended to rent, but NOT a must-have for your video library unless you have the other two and want to complete your ALADDIN collection.)
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