Aladdin and the King of Thieves

Image credit: Disney Movies

So the novelty of Disney+ and the access to the cave of wonders that it has, has not worn off yet as I find myself curling up and watching terrible sequels and spin-off films because I can. The other night, it was Aladdin and the King of Thieves.

When Aladdin and Jasmine’s wedding is crashed by the infamous forty thieves, some mysteries from Aladdin’s past come to light and he goes on a quest to find his father. When he discovers that his father is none other than the King of Thieves who crashed his wedding in order to steal a sceptre of the Oracle to find the Hand of Midas, he becomes convinced that he can change his father’s ways. But with a mutinous second-in-command out to get the treasure and a little revenge on Aladdin and the King, this might not be as easy as he thought.

It’s the film that didn’t need to be, but is. I guess it makes a lot of sense for Disney to have a crack at the tale of the forty thieves from 1001 Nights, after all it’s another classic story that was the opening line of Friend Like Me, but twisting it to be about Aladdin’s father and a story of redemption and identity change is a little desperate. The big “I am your father” moment has absolutely no impact because it’s such a predictable plot point that we work it out as soon as Aladdin mentions his deceased father (which he has never done in either of the previous films). From there the relationship between the two men is kind of awkward and forced, the story itself is very weak, and after Jafar, the villain is as un-menacing and mediocre as an arrowroot biscuit!

Image credit: Disney Wiki Fandom

Where the film shines is in the fact that they got Robin Williams back to reprise his role as Genie and just let him run wild. Genie’s screen time completely outweighs the heroes’ and villain’s put together and Williams went absolutely crazy on the imitations and mockeries of other celebrities. I literally lost count somewhere around Sylvester Stallone and Woody Allen (and they were both at the beginning). 

Aladdin and the King of Thieves is pretty mediocre as a film, but nevertheless it is fun to watch and succeeds in eating up over an hour of your time.

Director: Tad Stones, 1996

Cast: Val Bettin, Jim Cummings, Gilbert Gottfried, Linda Larkin, Jerry Orbach, John Rhys-Davies, Scott Weinger, Frank Welker, and Robin Williams.